Tom D,
I was told that the club had been toying with the idea for a number of years. The tees were taken back as some players hit long irons off the tee to avoid a barrier of heather that crosses the fairway. As for the green, the original is uncharacteristically flat, short and defenseless and I suppose the space available was just too tempting.
Maybe their project was delayed so long due to the clubs respect for Simpson's work, the club is not known for chopping and changing, regardless of who is in charge. I can only assume that Kyle Phillips managed the situation well enough to reassure the club members.
Did they really need to do it, probably not !
However club members may tell you that they still have their original tees and green, hence still intact. When you think of it, earthmoving or bunker additions between the original tee & green would have been much more controversial, don't you agree ?
I was certainly sceptic before seeing the changes, but to be honest it doesn't shock me. You can always be picky about bunker entrances, ridges or swales, but generally speaking, I like it.
Keith,
The front of the 4th green is concave, so unless you get an enormous amount of backspin, I think you're safe.
The 5th is reachable with two decent hits, although not without risks. Getting the 2nd shot over the fairway bunker is fairly straight forward but a draw maybe necessary (perfect for you) to avoid heather left or the bunkers right. The slopes favour a typical flirt with the right side bunker.The downhill run-in is some 30-40m so the line is more important than exact length.
The course could be a touch firmer, although the severe slopes still take you where you want to go.
The strategy on 12 has definitely changed. The new tees create a prononced dogleg and asks the player how close he wants to get to the corner, a few extra meters is always welcome. This line is the only realistic chance of getting close in two as a diagonal ridge / false front protects the left side of the green.
IMO 550m is a little too long to tempt enough players. A 4-6m wide green entrance, between ridge and bunker (right), is the opening available for a 2nd of 260m+. Anything shortish or left will run away into a large hollow leaving a tricky approach. A subtle swale eats into the rear of the green and moves slowly but surely left towards the grassy hollow. The high right side is home to the only bunker.
Noel and Tom M,
I will reply a little later.