[Neil_Crafter]

I recently bought a copy of Darwin's 1937 Golf Club Handbook for Cooden Beach GC in Bexhill-on-Sea. The course is a 1912 vintage by Willie Park Jr.
In Darwin's description of the 18th hole he says:

"The home hole which has been strengthened by some new bunkers and has had its green re-modelled makes an eminently satisfactory finish."

The handbook contains a photograph of the 18th hole showing some most remarkable bunkers.



There is no indication in the handbook who may have been responsible for this work - and Cornish and Whitten shed no light on it as far as I can see. Who could have been doing the style of bunkering in the 1930's? Mackenzie was dead and perhaps Tom Simpson may be a candidate. Any ideas or suggestions?

cheers Neil

[Jason McNamara]

Hi Neil -

My copy of C&W also says Willie Park Jr, but the course's own website says it's a Fowler.

The other interesting thing is that the bunker isn't greenside - it's a bit removed.
http://www.coodenbeachgc.com/course_yardage_18.html

[Neil_Crafter]

Thanks Jason
I should have checked the website and interesting they have it as Fowler. He died in 1941 aged 85 and assuming this work was relatively new in 1937 (it could be earlier as we do not know if Darwin's text was updated or not from previous editions of the handbook) it would be very unlikely that it was Fowler's work. Fowler joined with Croome, Simpson and Abercromby in 1923 but by 1928, with Fowler then 73, and Abercromby 68, the younger Simpson went out on his own. I think it is possible that the Club sought out Fowler but he was retired and so Simpson was recommended in his place. Just a thought. It will be interesting to see what turns up.

And yes, I could see the bunkering was short right of the green but it is surely a most striking bunker complex for its day and looks nothing like any of Fowler's work I've seen, so Simpson seems the most likely candidate given his partnership connections with Fowler.
Neil

[Paul_Daley]

Neil/Jason,

Thanks for sharing this; it sure looks like the work of Tom Simpson. From mundane to striking!

[Sean_A]

Thanks Jason
I should have checked the website and interesting they have it as Fowler. He died in 1941 aged 85 and assuming this work was relatively new in 1937 (it could be earlier as we do not know if Darwin's text was updated or not from previous editions of the handbook) it would be very unlikely that it was Fowler's work. Fowler joined with Croome, Simpson and Abercromby in 1923 but by 1928, with Fowler then 73, and Abercromby 68, the younger Simpson went out on his own. I think it is possible that the Club sought out Fowler but he was retired and so Simpson was recommended in his place. Just a thought. It will be interesting to see what turns up.

And yes, I could see the bunkering was short right of the green but it is surely a most striking bunker complex for its day and looks nothing like any of Fowler's work I've seen, so Simpson seems the most likely candidate given his partnership connections with Fowler.
Neil

Neil

I assume you are asking if Fowler was involved in a redo of the course.  If that is the case, I agree with you.  I think it highly unlikley that Fowler had anything to do with Cooden Beach.  The only courses I am aware of that Fowler worked on in the 30s was the new course at Saunton and Manor House.  In fact, it could be that Fowler's swan song were The Berkshire courses.  Some have suggested that Simpson may have had more to do with these two courses than we know of - same with Blackwell (all done in the late 20s).  I have my doubts that Fowler actually designed the new at Saunton, but it matters not as the course is no longer around  - though it would be nice to see which bits of the NLE course Pennink included in his design - it would also be cool to know which bits on the East that Fowler is responsible for.  I also agree that Simpson is a candidate for the bunkering you see in the photo - though it looks to  be somewhat of a departure from his other bunkering that I have seen. 

As an aside, is the Manor House that Fowler supposedly designed the course that is now called Bovey Castle?  I stayed at this hotel under the old name and there was a golf course surrounding the hotel that was very short and tricky - very old fashioned but good.  It is my understanding that this charming little garden course has been updated by Steel recently when DeVere bought the hotel to turn it into a 5* deal.  In any case, I don't think Fowler designed this original course - I think Aber did.  From the sound of things, it would seem that the original Aber holes along the river are still the star of the show.

Ciao 

[Joe Hancock]

What I find interesting about that bunker is the surrounding land. My training has been to find a landform, however small, to utilize in creating features in an effort to help it appear normal or natural. In this photo, it appears the surrounding land is dead flat, and here is this highly artistic, striking bunker complex created from a flat piece of land. I like the creativity.

Joe

[Sean_A]

What I find interesting about that bunker is the surrounding land. My training has been to find a landform, however small, to utilize in creating features in an effort to help it appear normal or natural. In this photo, it appears the surrounding land is dead flat, and here is this highly artistic, striking bunker complex created from a flat piece of land. I like the creativity.

Joe

Joe

Your point is the reason why I seriously doubt Fowler did this work - it isn't his style.  Though I could definitely see Simpson doing it.  I think he was much more willing to go "against" the land as it were. 

Ciao

[Paul_Turner]

Neil

That must have cost a nice chunk of change ( i recall seeing a copy auctioned a couple of years ago and it wasn't cheap!)  I do know that HSC redesigned Cooden Beach but at 1925-1930.

Sean

The great golf course chronicler Robert H K Browning wrote that C K Cotton (probably Pennink as well) reconstructed/kept 13 of Fowler's holes and built 5 new ones.  There were apparently 2 courses before WW2 and these 5 new holes were from the second course.

[Sean_A]

Neil

That must have cost a nice chunk of change ( i recall seeing a copy auctioned a couple of years ago and it wasn't cheap!)  I do know that HSC redesigned Cooden Beach but at 1925-1930.

Sean

The great golf course chronicler Robert H K Browning wrote that C K Cotton (probably Pennink as well) reconstructed/kept 13 of Fowler's holes and built 5 new ones.  There were apparently 2 courses before WW2 and these 5 new holes were from the second course.

Paul

I am not quite sure I follow.  Do you mean that the 13 old holes were from the second course built in the 30s or that 13 holes were from the original course (which Fowler redid about the start of WWI) and 5 holes from the second course?  Does the book state when Fowler built the second course - I have a 1935 date (I think) which seems to me that Simpson could have been the main chap at Saunton as Fowler must have been quite old by then - 80ish and Simpson was on a last whirlwind of productivity before WWII which I think essentially ended his interest in design.  Though the start of WWII could just be a coincidence as an end of an era for Simpson as Aber & Croome were dead and Fowler didn't have long to go. 

Man, I wish I knew more about this quartet.  Fowler interests me immensely and the other 3 just make the story that much more intriguing.

Ciao

[Paul_Turner]

Sean

13 holes from Fowler's original.  5 new holes by Cotton/Pennink,  but on the land previously used by the second course.

[Paul_Turner]

How about Hawtree/Taylor?  Some similarities to these bunkers at another flat site: Stratford.  That team could get super fancy with their bunker style.

[Mark Bourgeois]

Neil

Whoever did it must have known they were paying homage to MacKenzie, yes?

What about Charles Mackenzie?

Mark

[Sean_A]

Sean

13 holes from Fowler's original.  5 new holes by Cotton/Pennink,  but on the land previously used by the second course.

Paul

Thanks.  Just to be sure, you are saying that 13 holes are from the 1930s course (not the original 18 Fowler did) and 5 holes from the same land, but reworked.  Do you know which 5 holes they are?  Also, are the two opening holes on the current West Pennink or Fowler?

That pic of Stratford is interesting.  It really shows how the green was lifted and the bunkering laid into the shoulders.  It does look a bit similar  to other pic to me, but I would like to see the greenside bunkering closer. 

BTW, nothing like the Stratford pic exists today.  It is seriously tree-lined and the bunkering is altered.  Still, its not a bad course, but its over-priced.

Ciao

[Paul_Turner]

Sean

Saunton:

36 holes before WW2, "East" designed after WW1 in 1919,  "West" designed in 1935. 

After WW2 Cotton redoes the "East" using 13 (don't know which) of its 1919 Fowler holes and 5 brand new holes using land from the 1935 "West" course. 

The "West" is redone in 1973 by Pennink...I don't know if he used some of Fowler's 1935 holes.

[Mark Bourgeois]

Reaching now but there's also Sir Guy Campbell to consider.  He had worked with C Mackenzie on a redesign of Pannal Golf Club in 1933, plus in 1936 he started in earnest on reworking Rye (after apparently playing the opportunist in a chain of events that led to the club giving Simpson the boot).  That would put him just a ways down the coast.

On the other hand, Campbell's m.o. apparently was to work..."intuitively."  That bunker doesn't look like something a designer would pawn off on an assistant!

Mark

[David Stamm]

These photos are great! I agree with Joe. The creativity is quite extraoridnary considering the flatness of 18. IMHO, the 18 looks more MacKenzie-like than the second photo. Could this maybe be Alison's handywork?

[Sean_A]

Sean

Saunton:

36 holes before WW2, "East" designed after WW1 in 1919,  "West" designed in 1935. 

After WW2 Cotton redoes the "East" using 13 (don't know which) of its 1919 Fowler holes and 5 brand new holes using land from the 1935 "West" course. 

The "West" is redone in 1973 by Pennink...I don't know if he used some of Fowler's 1935 holes.

Paul

Thanks.  That is very interesting and more like how I thought the progression of Saunton was - meaning the original course developing into the East and the new course developing into the West.  However, I didn't realize that the West could be completely devoid of Fowler.  It strikes me that between Cotton, Pennink and the Hawtree firm, that these guys were very influential in the design evolution of a significant percentage of classic British courses. 

Ciao

[Jason McNamara]

Neil, thanks for the update.  I assumed Fowler didn't do the addition, but had no idea who.  I think you and Paul T. could improve the club's History page immensely just by including your notes from this thread.

The more I think about it, the more I like that bunker's location.  The golfer who went for that green in two 70 yrs ago and missed with a slice just bought himself a 25-yd bunker shot (and no clean look at the flag) for his up and down birdie attempt, since a missed shot then would have likely meant more appreciable distance loss.  Either that, or a 40-yd semi-blind pitch over that chasm....  Some of those not-quite-greenside bunkers seem to serve mostly as tee/approach shot intimidation, but this particular bunker at CB strikes me as having even more bite than bark.


Sean, that's the course with the nasty little par 4 to start, right?  I think either name is basically right, since (iirc) the resort is called Manor House but the course is called Bovey Castle.  (Like having ABC Field at XYZ Stadium, I suppose.)  It's Aber, at least according to Mark Rowlinson's '05 Christmas quiz.   

Jason

[Sean_A]

Neil, thanks for the update.  I assumed Fowler didn't do the addition, but had no idea who.  I think you and Paul T. could improve the club's History page immensely just by including your notes from this thread.

The more I think about it, the more I like that bunker's location.  The golfer who went for that green in two 70 yrs ago and missed with a slice just bought himself a 25-yd bunker shot (and no clean look at the flag) for his up and down birdie attempt, since a missed shot then would have likely meant more appreciable distance loss.  Either that, or a 40-yd semi-blind pitch over that chasm....  Some of those not-quite-greenside bunkers seem to serve mostly as tee/approach shot intimidation, but this particular bunker at CB strikes me as having even more bite than bark.


Sean, that's the course with the nasty little par 4 to start, right?  I think either name is basically right, since (iirc) the resort is called Manor House but the course is called Bovey Castle.  (Like having ABC Field at XYZ Stadium, I suppose.)  It's Aber, at least according to Mark Rowlinson's '05 Christmas quiz.   

Jason

Jason

I don't know how the Bovey Castle course starts out now, but it used to be a tricky little par 4 that was driveable, but with a creek lurking,  if I recall correctly.  I seem to recall many of the holes were driveable or darn close to it.  It was essentially part of the hotel gardens immediately around the hotel - a very cool setup for a quick game.  In fact, it was a nice hotel that didn't charge an arm and a leg, but I am going back about 15 years ago. 

Ciao 

[Andrew Mitchell]

Sean

There was an article in a recent edition of "Golf Punk" about Cooden Beach.  I can't find it on their website but will have a look to see if I still have it at home.  I'm not sure there was much in the article about the historical background of the course though.

I have to confess that I'd never heard of it prior to reading the article! Now I've seen two seperate references to it in a matter of weeks.

[Neil_Crafter]

On looking through the handbook (which I only recived a couple of days ago) it is rather unusual in that it has a quite detailed set of plans of each hole and a detailed description of each hole by Darwin. This is certainly not the norm in these sort of handbooks from this period. Accordingly the booklet has a lot more pages, 48 where a typical handbook may have around 24. Some of the other holes are also described by Darwin as 'new', in particular the 12th, which he describes:

"This hole adds perseptibly to the sum total of the excitement of the course, and does much credit to Michael Bingham, who designed it, although the original outlay has been slightly altered."

Hole 13 is also 'new' and Darwin writes:

"Now we have got to our furthest point outwards and turn our faces for home. The making of the new twelfth has made necessary another change, and we now play a two shotter over some new ground with the second shot uphill to the old tenth green. Formerly the tenth was a one-shot hole, with the result that it is guarded with considerable severity."

Fortunately the handbook says that Michael Bingham was the club professional, formerly of Stourbridge GC. However, it seems unlikely that Bingham was responsible for the bunker work on the 18th in my mind, it looks like the work of an inspired architect who really knew what he was up to.

The handbook also includes a layout of the course and if anyone is interested in seeing that I can scan and post it.

cheers Neil

[Mark Bourgeois]

Neil

One vote for.

Do you think it significant that Darwin doesn't mention the architect?

Mark

[Neil_Crafter]

Mark -one vote for what? Scanning the layout?
I don't know if its significant or not. He mentions Bingham but not the other person.
Neil

[Mark Bourgeois]

Sorry, yes, for the scan.

Why would Darwin mention the original architect but not the redesigner?  Answering my own question, he mentions Bingham because of the direct connection to the club.  He doesn't mention designers all or even most of the time in his writings (does he?), so maybe there's nothing in omitting the redesigner. And maybe the work was so limited as to not merit a mention.

Or maybe the person's rep didn't merit a mention. Maybe it was an old foreman for the British Golf Course Construction Company -- although wouldn't the plan for the redesign have to come from an architect?

My but how the mounding, on flat ground, with lacy bunkers embedded, is straight out of MacKenzie's writings and pictures in "Golf Architecture."  The mounding could have been built to add interest, to save on carting costs, or both.

Sorry I have only questions...

Mark

[Jason McNamara]

No listing in C&W for a Cooden Bch remodel.  They do list Simpson as doing redesigns at the Berkshire ('35) and Felixstowe ('36), fwiw.  Also others in SE England, but those are the ones with dates.

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