A question for MacKenzie Fans...

[Neil_Crafter]

Clayts
You mention that there is not much of Mackenzie on the ground at Heretaunga - does that mean there once was? Does the club have any records of a Mackenzie visit? Would the Club's archivist/historian have checked the Wellington newspapers of january 1927 for any mention of Mackenzie visiting town? His presence seemed to make the papers in Australia in 1927 when he turned up in a city and I wouldn't think it would be too much different in NZ. I'd appreciate it if you could ask the club about this when you get the chance.

I think Tom is spot on with his take on 'Spirit'. It really is a compilation, but one with Mackenzie as the compiler. There is stuff in there still from 1920 Golf Architecture which was based on his 1913 and 1914 lectures to the British Golf Greenkeepers. Certainly from an Australian perspective it is disappointing he never mentioned Alex Russell and practically nothing about his visit to Australia.

Rich
Spirit was published in 1995 - so 25 years ago would put it back to 1983. If it was announced then that the manuscript had been found I wonder why it took so long then to get it published? I had the feeling it was announced by SBP at a British Open around 94 or 95.
cheers Neil

[Mark Bourgeois]

Was Spirit a completed manuscript? Had it gone through any rounds or edits / revisions?

That's the thing with books published after the author's death: it's hard tip know how much it represents the author's intent.

Mark

[Michael Powers]

OMG, enough with Merion.  We got it guys.  What's this guy's legitimate question got to do with your bickering?

[Thomas MacWood]

Was Spirit a completed manuscript? Had it gone through any rounds or edits / revisions?

That's the thing with books published after the author's death: it's hard tip know how much it represents the author's intent.

Mark

I agree with Neil that MacKenzie was defintiely the compiler. I have not seen the original manuscript but my impression is it was completed manuscript, with a forward written by Bobby Jones. Based upon the content about ANGC it appears it was completed just prior to his death. After he died the family contacted people who they thought might help them get it published. RTJ had a copy of the manuscript.

MacKenzie was working on a book about camouflage at the time of his death. 

[Jed Peters]

OMG, enough with Merion.  We got it guys.  What's this guy's legitimate question got to do with your bickering?

AHAHAHAHHHAAHAHAHA

[Mike_Clayton]

Neil,

We never looked that hard but there was really no suggestion from anybody there that MacKenzie had done anything - perhaps other than see the course.
A significant part of our plan was to get the grassing lines right - and get away from long and often wet, green grass.
From what we saw when we began MacKenzie's comments on the game in NZ were still applicable in terms of the use of long grass.
Getting the cutting right both around the greens and alongside the fairways has been a real help.

[Neil_Crafter]

Clayts
Would appreciate if you can ask them to look into it a bit further if possible (assuming that this hasn't been done in the past and they turned up nothing) - not saying that there is anything to be found but Hawtree did include the course in his list in Colt & Co, so he must have got the information from somewhere I imagine.

Yes, surprising the improvements that can be achieved on a course with getting better mowing lines as you say. Some things never change!
Neil

[Tom_Doak]

Tom Mac:

I have seen part of the "manuscript" for The Spirit of St. Andrews.  A good bit of it is pages from his original Golf Architecture, with handwritten additions and examples written between the lines and in the margins.  MacKenzie wasn't big on typing long documents!

Mark B:

I can assure you, that book was 100% MacKenzie.

[Neil_Crafter]

This is from the Akarana GC's (Auckland) website:

"Akarana's beginnings were in the late 1920s when a group of enthusiasts founded the club on the Winstone farm in Mount Roskill. The course has remained on the same site since the club’s formal incorporation in 1927.
There are suggestions that the great course architect of the era Dr Alister McKenzie may have run an eye over the site when he visited New Zealand and Australia in 1927 after finishing his work at Royal Melbourne and playing a part in the layout of Titirangi."

This was a new one on me, but Mackenzie did say he looked over "one or two other courses" so Akarana could have been one of those I suppose.

Scott - something else for you to follow up next time you are home!