Old Town (Pictures)

[Dunlop_White]

Tall stalks of broom sedge and other native grasses encase Maxwell's original bunkers on Hole 14 at Old Town Club in 1939. Maxwell had a penchant for rugged looking bunkers with jagged edges and unkempt surroundings. Their sprawling shapes and weathered facade transform them into visually imposing obstacles that demand a golfer's full attention. See also the islands of turf which he usually incorporated in the center of his bunkers.

Today, our bunkers look too small, too round, too taylored and upholstered with cleanly cut edges.

[Scott_Burroughs]

Dunlop,

I know you've done a tremendous amount of work getting Old Town to cut trees and underbrush down, but I'm guessing a suggestion to 'restore' the bunkering was met with resistance?   Or is it one small step at a time?

[Dunlop_White]

Scott,

It's a matter of "when", not "if".

Bill Coore grew up playing Old Town, while at WFU, and still loves the course like his own. While he doesn't typically mess with restoration work anymore, he may help us reclaim our Maxwell bunker style, when the time comes.

Again, a matter of "timing".

[Scott_Burroughs]

Scott,

It's a matter of "when", not "if".

Bill Coore grew up playing Old Town, while at WFU, and still loves the course like his own. While he doesn't typically mess with restoration work anymore, he may help us reclaim our Maxwell bunker style, when the time comes.

Again, a matter of "timing".

Sweet!  After he finishes what could be one of the top 2 courses in the state, maybe he could help improve #3.....

[Mark Studer]

WOW those pictures are fantastic!!! Just think how truly great Old Town will be when they are able to open up some of the views of that great undulating property with some more tree management.  It took us 15 years at Oakmont to clean-up some of our spectacular views and to firm up the approaches with topdressing and aggresssive aerification of the putting greens AND THE  APPROACHES .  Good luck . It looks like the fun is just beginning to playing some bouncing ball golf at Old Town.  Keep up the good work. 

[Ed Oden]

Dunlop, I love the photos of the old Maxwell bunkers.  Good luck in restoring that look!  By the way, are the greens their original sizes?

Ed

[Sean_A]

Ed

I suspect some green size has been lost.  Some of the greens have this distinctive lip at the front of the green.  I think these were lifted (and they really make bouncing ball sin difficult) and as is often the case when fronts are lifted green area is lost.  But I don't know any of this for sure.  The differences in the fronts of the greens was a one of the major differences I saw when comparing Michigan to Old Town. 

Ciao

[Dunlop_White]

Ed,

Green sizes have been compromised on Holes 13 and 15 for sure. Whether the rest have lost their sizes would be an assumption since I don't have historical evidence. Contours, however, have been "softened" throughout.

Sean Arble and David Madison....thanks for the many compliments. I'm glad you enjoyed your visits.

[michael j fay]

Old Town is as already said a way underrated course in a State where politics plays a lot of part in most course ratings.

Old Town is pure golf and has improved annually with Dunlop White's strategic plans. The bunkers are a product of a number of Archies who followed after Maxwell and when they are redone they will further enhance the movement of the ground and the overall hazard idea of the bunkers.

Old Town probably does not see as many raters, local or national, than many of the other golf courses in the State. After paling 200 or so courses in NC in the past 20 years I can tell you that Old Town is certainly in the top 5.

[David_Madison]

Michael Fay,

Old Town proves the point that fine old courses can re-emerge and appear in the ratings if they do the right things with their courses. I first played there maybe five years ago, when the course was off everyone's radar screen, not even in Golf Digest's top 25 in NC. It's my understanding that the club's policy regarding having panelists out was pretty restrictive, but I happened to catch it right after they decided to relax things a bit. Anyway, I fell in love with the course the first time I saw it, rated it accordingly, and told a few fellow panelists to get out there and see it. They must have liked what they saw because they spread the word as well. The next set of ratings came out and Old Town was positioned at #7 in the state.

Dunlop deserves tremendous credit for the wonderful work being done there and tastefully making it known to the right people in the right way, and the chips are falling in line as they should.

[Ed Oden]

I can understand how a course can fall out of favor in terms of the various rankings through neglect, ill advised changes, etc.  But that assumes a course was ever "in favor" to begin with.  Is that really true of Old Town?  It seems to have all the makings of a course that would have received immediate and lasting acclaim: a golden age pedigree, a terrificly unique design, a wealthy and prominent membership at tobacco's cultural peak, and a connection to Augusta.  Add that to the number of WF alums in the golf industry, including architecture, and its hard for me to see how Old Town could have flown under the radar for so long.  They certainly aren't the only private club that hasn't particularly catered to raters over the years.  Gems like this have a hard time avoiding attention.  So why has Old Town only recently been discovered?  And I use that term loosely because I believe it is only ranked in Golfweek's top 100 classic and in GD's NC state list. 

[Dunlop_White]

Good question!

In 1939, the Winston-Salem Journal described Old Town as one of the best three (3) courses in the Southeast. Perry Maxwell went a step further saying that it will soon be "regarded as one of the nation's seven (7) best". That's quite a remark considering that Maxwell had already worked at many classics himself, including Augusta and Pine Valley, and helped a number of Northeastern gems recover from hurricane damage, including Maidstone, and he had visited many others during his travels to metro-Philly. (Don't forget Crystal Downs, Southern Hills and Prairie Dunes )

By the 1950's, Old Town hosted The Atlantic Coast Conference Championships (the old Southern Conference). Arnold Palmer won one a Conference championship at Old Town in 1954. The W-S paper further reveals that many professionals, like Nelson, Snead, Gudahl, would practice at Old Town before the GGO and The Big Sky Classic in Asheville. Then, in 1956, Old Town officially became the home of Wake Forest golf.

So throughout the first couple of decades, Old Town was highly regarded.

So what happened, you ask? It appears that Old Town kept much to themselves in the 70's and 80's. Very private and sleepy, perhaps? Even Tom Doak was reportedly turned away when he inquired about walking the property. Like all other courses, the architecture evolved. Trees were planted everywhere. Fairways, bunkers, and greens gradually shrunk and deteriorated.

By the mid-1990's, club officials started paying more attention to our golf course.....the way it looked, the way it played. A few of us started asking good questions. What was intended originally?  In short, there was a greater sense of pride and appreciation for our architectural heritage, our roots, and Perry Maxwell. Today, a 1940 aerial and black-and-white photos serve as our templates. Then, panelists from the leading magazines, architects, and others in the golf industry have been allowed to see what we have. Plus, classic architecture is more revered nowadays than ever. So the interest in restoring the classics is at an all-time high!

"Undulation" throughout the property -- on both the fairways and the greens -- is the linchpin of Maxwell's design. Old Town is a place that should celebrate short grass, space, and width - not the opposite. Because these are the elements that accentuate "undulation". Golfer just don't see anything like it around here in the Carolinas. I think its an attraction and speaks for itself.

Maybe Brad Klein, Ron Whitten, or Tom Doak can answer your question more precisely. There are many others courses in the Top-100's today that have been re-discovered. Perhaps they just received some tender loving care also.

[Ronald Montesano]

You can cut through the back end of Wake Forest's campus and be on Old Town in a matter of minutes.  Along with not taking a course from Maya Angelou (whether you agree with her politics or not), not caddying at Old Town during my four years at Wake is my big regret.

[Jay Kirkpatrick]

I attended Wake in the mid-90s and the pro from my nearby club called to get me on one midweek afternoon.  I played by myself and a twosome let me through on the second hole.  As I went through them, the gentlemen asked me who I was since he didn't recognize me. I told him I was from a local club, went to Wake, and had heard many great things about the course so I had my pro get me on.  He got really mad that I had been allowed to play, and rambled on about how only the Wake golf team should be allowed on the course.

I understand things have changed a bunch since then, but I got a big kick out of Doak's comments after having experienced a similar icy interaction with a member.

That being said, it is a true gem... one of the best golf courses I have played.

[Ronald Montesano]

It was probably Dunlop White!

[Scott_Burroughs]

Good question!
Undulation throughout the property is the linchpin of our design. You just don't see anything like it around here in the Carolinas. I think its an attraction and speaks for itself.

That's for sure.  Old Town provides more sidehill lies of any course I can recall playing.

[Sean_A]

Every once in a while I like to go back and peruse pix of Old Town - its such a great course.  Its just incredible to me how the rolling fairways are very evident in the pix, but the undulations of the greens aren't.  Sometimes, even the general flow of the greens doesn't show up.  I looked real hard at the side photo of #6 taken from the 5th fairway.  To my eye it looks like the green is slightly tilted from back to front, but I know the opposite is true.  Mind you, when I was there I saw my partner Remy get taken in by what can only be described as witchcraft. 



I am also taken by how so many of the greens seem plateauish, even those not on the higher ground.  Its almost freaky because I didn't get this sense at all when I played there.  What I did sense was the deception of the greens and how so often dead ground short of greens helped to create the deception.

Anyway, I thought you lot should have another look because Old Town is really one heck of a golf course. 

Ciao

[Dean Stokes]

Now this looks like a course I could play every day. Very easy on the eyes, rolling faiways and greens that do not have tractors parked under them. Thank you.

[Ed Oden]

Sean, sorry I missed your bump of this thread a few days ago.  My pics were taken under a very bright midday sun.  Hardly ideal photographic conditions, particularly if you are looking for green contours.  The back half of the 6th green definitely slopes front to back, especially the part that is beyond the pin (i.e., left of the flag) in that picture.  That being said, I very likely wasn't holding the camera level when I snapped that shot, thereby accentuating any illusion to the contrary.  

Here are a few additional photos that show some of the greens a little better than those I originally posted:

#2


#7


#8/#17 double green


One thing I absolutely love about the double green at Old Town is its location.  Its literally the epicentre of the entire course.  I have never seen a course with so many branches converging in one spot.  Within a very small area (perhaps an acre?) you have 3 greens (8, 11 and 17) and 3 tees (9, 12 and 18).  The best analogy I can make is to the traffic circle in Pinehurst.  Its a lawsuit waiting to happen.  I seriously doubt this routing would be done in today's world, which is sad because not only does it work, it is perfect!

I am on record here about my feelings for Old Town.  Its just a terrific course.  I can't imagine how good it will be when the bunker restoration and tree removal described by Dunlop come to fruition.

Ed

[David Stamm]

Along with Prairie Dunes, Old Town is the Maxwell course I'd most like to see. As Dean pointed out, it's a course that looks like one could play everyday and not grow tired of.

[Bruce Wellmon]

I have had the good fortune to play OT twice, although not during my Wake Forest days. #2 green is a prime example of the Maxwell waves that can not be visualized on photos. I think it is a truly special course that is one of the best. And, two or three years ago, one of the few courses I have played that did not require a tee time. They have such a small membership that you just show up and play. There's golf and there's real golf. OT is real golf. 

[Ed Oden]

Dunlop, you reiterated on another thread your wish for a bunker restoration at Old Town.  It just seemed more appropriate to reply here than on the other thread.  Is the envisioned bunker restoration primarily a matter of aesthetics or would it change the playing characteristics of the course?  Are the current bunkers largely in the same locations as the originals?  Thanks in advance!

Ed

[Dunlop_White]

At Old Town, Maxwell’s original bunkers were grand and sprawling in size -- very bold -- with charismatic, irregular shapes -- a style he likely became associated with following his collaborations and partnership with Alister MacKenzie.

The sizes and the dimensions of these bunkers have dramatically changed over the years. We currently have simple bunker shapes, which are circular or oval, much like those he used at SH's and Colonial. There are also some geometric odd-ball shapes -- "paisleys" and "clovers" -- far different than the style originally intended for Old Town.

Today's renditions do not resemble the originals. Zoysia bermudagrass has been sodded into the faces of today's bunkers. Consequently, Old Town’s bunkers appear puffy and upholstered with sharply manicured edges.

At Old Town, Maxwell's original bunkers looked rugged with jagged edges. They manifested a natural, unkempt look, which were highlighted by tall stalks of native fescue grasses, such as little blue stems and broom sedge. (see below!). Their sprawling shapes and weathered facade transform them into visually imposing obstacles that demand a golfer's full attention. See also the islands of turf -- called scabs -- which he occasionally incorporated in the center of his bunkers.

Today, our bunkers look too small, too round, too convex, and too taylored and upholstered with cleanly cut edges.

Following a visit from Bill Coore, we were of the opinion that a bunker restoration would make a huge impact in recapturing the original look and feel of the golf course.

As for bunker positioning, most are located where they were intended; however, there are a handful that have been abandoned or covered-up, which may need to be rectified.

[JC Urbina]

Got a chance to see Old Town early 90's before they did the work you see in this post.  What a place, really enjoyed the greens.  Started to understand the Maxwell rolls after walking the course.  Would go back in a flash if I was in the area.  Saw some old pictures of the place and thought, how cool was this place.   I remember one of the assistants in the pro shop telling me they were going to restore the golf course.  First time I saw# 5 and# 9 green I thought Hmmm.  Had to go back and see these greens a few more times

[Dunlop_White]

Here's a good example of Maxwell's original bunker style at Old Town. Far more interesting than what we have today.