Ault,Clark--Any experience with their renovation efforts?

[mike_malone]

 I'm wondering if there is good or bad to report about their work. There is an extensive list on their website.

[Paul_Turner]

Some really bad bunker work by Clarke at Hamilton in Canada.  

We stood on the 15th tee and one of my playing partners said "ah I see, this is Colt going through his Myrtle Beach phase."

[Robert Thompson]

I'm with Paul on this one -- I have no idea why Hamilton works with the firm. The club could do much better....

[wsmorrison]

I've seen their work on some Flynn courses like Norfolk CC--now Sewells Point, which everyone thought was a Ross; CC Harrisburg (I'm nearly certain), Springdale and a few other courses not Flynn that do not come to mind as I am extremely tired after a looooong day.  Their fairway bunkering style on the courses I've seen are repetitive and tend to be serpentine.  Look at an aerial of Springdale and you'll probably see half the fairway bunkers look alike.  

If research and sympathetic work is required, they would not be on my list of architects.

Why do you want to know?

[Mike_Cirba]

Mayday,

My understanding is that they are no longer partners.

During their time together, they built some fair to good original modern courses, the best when associates like Dan Schlegel and Bill Love were on the project IMHO.

As far as their "renovation" work, fuggetaboutit..

[mark chalfant]

Their work at Hamilton is not graceful. Maybe someone could appraise their work at Columbia in DC, Im guessing that work
would not earn a gold medal, or even a bronze.

[Forrest Richardson]

Mike — I had not heard anything about them not being partners...where did you hear that?

[Tim Gavrich]

I don't believe it's a renovation, but Toftrees Resort's golf course is designed by that firm, and I thought it was pretty good.  Some very interesting tilted fairways away from the direction of the hole (a really good risk-reward tee shot on number 5 where you can try to bomb it over a bunker on the inside of the dogleg to a fairway tilted away, leaving a shorter approach).  I also liked some of the green complexes and bunkers (I played it in August, before I knew what good bunkers were).

[redanman]

They renovated the Allentown Muni just prior to 2000.  It is inoffensive and unassuming.

[Sean Remington (SBR)]

  I will add Green Valley Country Club bunker renovation to the list the Wayne has provided.

[Kyle Harris]

I don't believe it's a renovation, but Toftrees Resort's golf course is designed by that firm, and I thought it was pretty good.  Some very interesting tilted fairways away from the direction of the hole (a really good risk-reward tee shot on number 5 where you can try to bomb it over a bunker on the inside of the dogleg to a fairway tilted away, leaving a shorter approach).  I also liked some of the green complexes and bunkers (I played it in August, before I knew what good bunkers were).

Toftrees does have some interesting work, especially in the par 3s. 3, 6, 10 and 15 are good to great par 3s.

Two of the par 5s there are over 600 yards, with the 13th being quite good at that as well. The 18th finisher is a mixed bag with me, but is generally considered to be a good closer along with the tough as nails first hole. The short 5s, 2 and 17, are wonderful holes to have a go for the green.

The uphill 5th is probably the most difficult hole with a reverse camber dogleg leading to a skyline green. Depending on how much of the corner you cut the shot into the green is anything from 150-210 yards.

The course is a tee to green course as the greens themselves are relatively benign and without much depth. Hole locations dictate play of the hole on only a handful of holes.

[Mike_Cirba]

Mike — I had not heard anything about them not being partners...where did you hear that?

Forrest,

This is pure hearsay but two weeks ago I visited a course where the firm has been building a third nine.  The Superintendent told me that the partners had split.

Tim/Kyle,

Toftrees was done by the late father, Edmund Ault, who did many medium budget, very functional and serviceable courses in the mid-Atlantic area primarily during the growth period of the 50s and 60s.   I've played many of them and believe Toftrees is one of his best, as is the original course at Penn National and the front nine of what is now called Sunset GC south of Harrisburg PA.

[Kyle Harris]

Mike,

As you saw, the Ault/Clark renovation effort at Mountain Valley was/is quite good. However, one must consider the course before hand, so really, the course is A/C on an old routing.

[Mike_Cirba]

Mike,

As you saw, the Ault/Clark renovation effort at Mountain Valley was/is quite good. However, one must consider the course before hand, so really, the course is A/C on an old routing.

Kyle,

Agreed, and similar to redanman's mention of the work at Allentown Muni, it was primarily the work of Dan Schlegel, as you're aware.

Mr. Schlegel left the company about a year ago and has his own architectural firm in Maryland.  Bill Love left a few years back to go solo and built a few well-regarded courses since then, such as Dauphin Highlands.

[Mike_Cirba]

In fairness to the firm, and not wanting to start rumors based on one person's statement to me, I should mention that their company website is still active.

www.acagolf.com

[mike_malone]

 What I am hearing is that you need to investigate which associate did the work in each instance in order to properly judge their work.

[SPDB]

I think this is one of those instances where distinction between restoration and renovation become critical. If you're looking for a remodel (renovation), then the decision becomes very easy - do you like Ault Clark original work? If so, they're your guys.

I would not hire them for restoration work. Not being familiar with what their directions were at places like Chevy Chase or Columbia, I can't really say they screwed it up, but I would inquire with those clubs to see if restoration was in mind.

[Craig Disher]

The list on AC's website includes a lot of courses that they renovated long ago, especially the better known ones. Some of them (Chevy Chase, Columbia, Manufacturer's, Congressional e.g.) have been recently re-renovated or restored by other architects . The first course mentioned in their project list is Lakewood CC near DC; a couple of photos are included. Lakewood had Rees Jones build a completely new course 3 years ago and the photos are about all that's left of AC's work.

AC upgraded my club - Argyle CC - in the early 90s and this photo of the 9th hole perhaps gives an idea of why AC fell out of favor. The original hole was a less angled dogleg with a large, contoured bunker about where the trash pines now stand. AC increased the angle of the dogleg and built the repetitive little bunkers that are now to the right of the pines, the "aiming bunker", and the bunker short right of the green. The semi-circular, caped bunkers shown here were an AC signature - they were seen all over the DC area and were a tipoff that AC had visited. The topography here is terrific for a golf hole but so little was done with it.

[George Pazin]

I think Ault Clark added the new 9 holes at Hannastown, JohnV's home course. The holes don't really fit, but there are some interesting ones in their own right.

In a measure of my gca bias, I always play the old holes much better than the new ones.

[Andy Hughes]

Craig, thanks for the pic. I was at a bat mitzvah reception at Argyle several months ago, but it was too dark to see anything other than the putting green in front of the clubhouse.
Looks like very nice terrain.

[Sean Remington (SBR)]

Craig,

Same bunkers hear at Green Valley Country Club outside of Philadelphia. Very repetative and they all appear to be the same size. I would prefer a more random approach.

[JSlonis]

Ault-Clark did some work at Tavistock years ago.   I'll be nice and say, that in my opinion, overall it was poor at best.  The bunker work on a few holes was just plain BAD.  Thankfully, this upcoming August, that will all be undone during our extensive restoration by Ron Forse & Jim Nagle.

When we start to get some growth on the course this Spring, I am planning on undertaking an extensive photo taking effort so that I can present a "Before & After- My Home Course" essay to GCA.

[Paul Carey]

I believe the most recent renovation at Chevy Chase Club was Arthur Hills not AC.

[Craig Disher]

Arthur Hills' renovation built over Ault/Clark's modifications to the original Ross design.
 
Sean - This picture from AC's website shows their standard bunker. Argyle has 10 or 15 of them. I always thought they were unique to the DC area.

[wsmorrison]

I hate to pile on here, but what can possibly go through an architect's mind that would allow them to repeat a bunker shape throughout a golf course let alone from course to course?  Is it a lack of artistry, a subordination of form to function or lack of talent?  Or something else I am missing completely.  And beyond that, what allows a club to accept such designs and/or results?  I know we're a bunch of loonies on this site, but come on, isn't this lack of variety obvious to all?  What process allows it to happen?