I will also attest to Kelly's vision, capability and character. Long story short, he was the victim of a textbook example of what can go wrong at a private club whose membership really doesn't deserve working with a qualified architect who really would respect their best interests if truly given the opportunity to do so.
We had the complete cast of characters....
1. the "old school" member who had previously been green chairman since time immemorial and because of his membership at **** and his involvement there had reworked our non-descript alfred tull layout in to something that had more flower beds per yard than strategic elements. Every change Kelly suggested was taken as a personal affront and this member would take every opportunity to undermine Kelly to anyone who would listen including a sister club in the area who mysteriously cancelled an interview with Kelly after speaking with him.
2. the club president who would not allow the green committee to make a single decision without his oversight and control and ended up causing over two thirds of the allocated budget to be spent on an irrigation system for a golf course that will never be built.
3. a board that was so focused on a new men's locker room construction project being undertaken at the same time, that as the golf course renovation project fell apart they allowed the club president to "blame" Kelly for the failure instead of asking what really happened.
4. the "new" president who inherited the project and the four holes that had been completed and had to answer to the membership with regards to what happened to the $500K that was supposed to be left over to continue to project this year.
5. the green superintendent whose job was already on the line before the project began and found it easier to blame Kelly for work he could not handle than to look in the mirror.
I could go on and on, but I wonder how many times this scenario has played out in private clubs across the country?
Kelly, whose only fault was trying to accomodate all the parties involved in the hopes of getting the project completed ended up not getting paid in full and having his good name questioned on the north shore of long island.
What should have been a project that would have really put him on the map instead is now one that he has to explain as to what what wrong instead of what went right.
Personally, I am embarrassed by how he was treated by my club, and I have offered to provide a reference should his work at my club ever be brought up in a negative way in the future.
He's a great golf course architect, and even more importantly, a great guy. The four holes he did complete are pretty damn good, certainly better than what was there before.
p.s. In case you are wondering, I'm #6...the green chairman who quit because he simply could not take the BS going on and did not want to be the one who would get blamed when the project eventually would come in over budget and under done.
I got blamed anyway, but I still have my self respect. I could not be a party to what I saw coming.
I posted Kelly's original drawings on the project on GCA, can't seem to find them now, but if I can, I will add them later....