"What is this golf architecture?"

[Joe Bausch]

Tilly tries to explain this in his August 30, 1914 article on golf in the Philadelphia Record.  The first part that I got from microfilm is difficult to read, so I will type it out, then add the part that reproduced satisfactorily:

Sometimes we hear this question:  "What is this golf architecture?"  Possibly it may be answered in a few words.  In the old days, when a club desired a course, they would call in a professional player, who would have very little time to give to the work and expect him to know instinctively where the hole should be

[Mike_Cirba]

I find that this is one of those articles that says a tremendous amount in short space.

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Did Tilly make models himself?

[Phil_the_Author]

Mark,

Tilly made models quite often. He normaly made two or more for each hole; an entire hole and a green complex with the exact contours that should be followed in construction. He was extremely detailed with them.

One of my favorites with this was his having to delay going to 5 farms from new York for two weeks because he had sprained his wrist and couldn't make the plasticene models!

Unfortunately none of them have survived as far as we can tell... I do have photographs of several which he included in articles that he wrote...

[Jeff_Mingay]

Phil,

Am I correct to say, perhaps, that Tillinghast didn't always make EXACT contours in his models? Because above he states that "often there are eleventh hour changes to be made" 

[Phil_the_Author]

Jeff,

Note when Tilly makes that particular comment he refers to the architect who is also "the conscientious builder..." Yes, where the architect is also the builder, 11th hour changes could be expected that he would see as necessary from what his model portrayed. Tilly, though, really was anal about his models and tried to create ones that depicted what should be there and never deviated from.

Tilly actually sold plans for greens that also included actual models, including contours, as a separate form of design service. He did these by having having topos sent to him with the routing in place and then produced them. How many did he do? No one knows, nor is there even a single course that professes to have "Tillinghast-purhcased greens" that we know of. Still, some must have been sold and built because he advertised this service for several years...

Another thing to remember is following the above statement Tilly chided those who criticized the professional player who also designed courses for the quality of their work. He pointed out how they couldn't be reasonably expected to be on site for the long periods of time needed to do so to produce a championship-quality course. In this I believe he was more marketing his work than being kind to fellow members of his craft. He was basically saying, I'll be on site and you'll get a great course whereas those others won't and you won't get a good course...

To finally answer the question, tilly preferred making his models on site for the very reason mentioned above. In doing so he knew that fewer 11th hour changes would be necessary or happen. He also knew that by leaving these for the builders to refer to that what he envisioned would have the greatest chance to become a reality.

By the way, the large model of Bethpage State Park showing all four courses in place may very well have been done by Tilly... It was kept at Bethpage for the entire project and oft times referred to when questions arose in the building process. How long it remained on site and where it is today is a mystery...

[Jim Nugent]

As I read Tilly's article, I thought how much better it described Hugh Wilson than M&W at Merion. 

Also, Tilly says "I think it is not possible to lay out a golf course by theory alone.  The architect must be a player with a feel for the shots."

While this has almost always been true, Raynor is one exception.