Aerial of the Day #79 - 22 Apr 2002

[Scott_Burroughs]

I'm waiting to hear more stories about Barona!  

This somewhat lesser-known course has a connection with someone on the board.  This is yet another new state that hasn't had an AOTD prior to this.

Notice that there's a schoool right across the street from the course.  If I went to that school, I'd have a hard time concentrating on work with views of golf across the street.:

[Dan Kelly]

Scott --

Is "schoool" a clue, rather than a tyop?

If so: That's a beauty!

I can't see the barn down there.

[Scott_Burroughs]

"Schoool" is a tyop and you stumped me about what you're referring to.  That's the one thing I don't get to do, and that is to guess the courses.  

[Scott_Burroughs]

This course played a vital role in insuring the modern history of this golden age architect.  

Off to a meeting I go.

[Scott_Burroughs]

Note the fairly compact routing, with a few more doglegs than normal.

I'm guessing this is another club named after a Native American tribe.

The previous set of clues lets in on a certain HQ based here.

[SPDB]

Oh my god. I cannot believe I didn't get this one right away, seeing as I've played it tons of times, and went to college 5 miles away.

Hopefully this will spur some good discussion about what disappointing modifications to a course can lead to.

[ChipOat]

Is this a par 69 in Rhode Island?  I thought we had an RI
AOTD already.

Need more clues - with a Native American name from a Golden Age architect, it's got to be a "duh" once you know it.

[SPDB]

For students of history, the name of this club has specific relation to the name of another club already featured in AOTD, and designed by the same Arch.

[Scott_Burroughs]

This course is not in RI, and yes, there have been 2 RI courses done already (Metacomet and Newport).

I did mention that this course is somewhat lesser known, and if it didn't have the "fame" of the certain HQ here, it would otherwise be "just another so-and-so design".

[SPDB]

A certain architect who is generally praised here is persona non grata at this place.

[Dan Kelly]

Scott said that this course was vital to insuring the
modern history of a Golden Age architect.

"Schoool" may have been a tyop -- but my guess
is that "insure" was chosen deliberately, rather than
"ensure."

Nutmeg State, Scott? Home of the Charter Oak? (That's
my two bits' worth.)

GCAers: Please note the easy-to-read narrow lines --
easily accomplished by hitting Enter at the end of
each line in the handy-dandy box in which you
write your remarks. Thanks.

[Scott_Burroughs]

Upon further review, the HQ is not based at the course, but just a few miles away, I'm guessing at the founding member's home.

Sean,

You have me stumped there also.

Dan,

Correct on the purposeful "insure".

[Scott_Burroughs]

Didn't surprise me that few knew this course.  The course is
Wampanoag CC, a Donald Ross course, in West Hartford, CT.  
Wampanoag went through a renovation in 1988 to put back
the orginal Ross design features, and was the impetus for
forming the Donald Ross Society, which essentially started
here partly by founding member Brad Klein, who is a
member at Wampanoag.  Thus this is what I meant
by "insuring" the modern history of a Golden Age architect.

"Insuring" referred to the suburb of Hartford, CT, the
Insurance Capital of the U.S.

Wampanoag is a Native American term of which SPDB knows
more about the history, which he explained in the Metacomet
AOTD thread.


Here is the Ross Society's web site:

http://www.donaldrosssociety.org

[SPDB]

Scott - let me explain my last post.

The 1988 restoration of Wampanoag was in response
to the work (damage) that Brian Silva did there, which
they felt totally altered the course. Moreover, it led
Michael Fay (among others) to found the Donald
Ross Society, so that other clubs wouldn't suffer
similar heartaches.

Maybe Silva learned from that experience, or maybe it
wasn't his fault at all, and was just following directions.
But his recent restoration work has been usually lauded,
e.g. Mtn Lake, Augusta CC, etc.

[SPDB]

The Wamp is a great spot, and a true hidden gem. The
routing:
1. Par 4 - Moves east from the clubhouse, parallel to the range and the road.
2. Par 4 - moves back west, and doglegs across the creek which is about 40 yds short of the creek
3. Par 3 - goes NE
4. Par 5 - doglegs w/nw. This is one of the toughest greens
i have ever seen on a par 5. It is is hardly visible from the
fairway, and it dangerously narrow.
5. par 4 - moves west is blind off of the tee.
6. par 5 - doglegs e/se, drive to the top off the hill and then
hit a longish iron downhill into the green, easily home in 2
7. par 4 - moves NW. One of the most dangerous greens on
the course, heavily sloped from B-to-F
8. Par 4 - goes SE
9. Par 3 - short and back toward the clubhouse

10. Par 4 - moves W away from the clubhouse, requiring carry
(not long) of creek off of the tee
11. Par 5 - goes N (to the left of 17), and is easily reachable
in 2
12. Par 5 - goes S and plays narrow as you get to the green.
13. Par 3 - goes back N - long par 3 (220+) and easily
run-uppable.
14. par 4 - goes W, downhill off of the tee, and all the way
uphill into the green (blind)
15. par 4 - doglegs hard S. A tough driving hole into the throat
, you will have a long iron into the green.
16. Par 3 - goes W.
17. par 4 - goes N (next to 11),
18. goes SE crosses the pond in front of the clubhouse. All
the way uphill, this is a demanding finisher.

more later.

[John Foley]

I recall reading a great article about the whole Silva redesign mess. I think it was in the Golf World article a year or so back on Silva being the Archiw of the Year? Anyone else recall seeing it? It clearly retold the story of what happened and the repercussions of the mebership.

[SPDB]

http://www.outlookgolf.com/article.htm

[Scott_Burroughs]

Interesting article.  I didn't realize Silva was "blacklisted"
like he was.  It would be interesting to hear Brad's
input/version on this.

[Ben Cowan-Dewar]

Thanks for the article, I had heard about it, but never read it.

[SPDB]

I know Michael Fay has in the past posted to this site, so
maybe he can offer comments as well.

I would also really like to know what at Wampanoag is Silva's.

I'd also think this would be a great course to profile, as far
as hidden gems are concerned. I think it has all of the quality
of Monroe, but not as much pub. (not that monroe gets a ton
either).

There are some real stunner holes at this place. The par 5 4th
(which occupies the upper right of the picture) is one of
the truly great Donald Ross 3 shotters that I have seen. It is
every bit the equal of Ross' famous pair at Plainfield (by far
his best, in my mind). It is not long at 475, but it's tiny green
that is so-well protected makes you think twice about taking
long irons into it.

[SPDB]

by the way, the last time i was there I think I noticed that Mike Tirico was playing off of a 15 marker.

[Brad Klein]

If Tirico was playing here as a 15-marker he was cheating himself of a few more shots his handicap would allow. But it was great having him as member until he left two years ago. We also have about 15 other members from ESPN-HQ down the road.

A clarification on Silva. He is not at all personan non grata. In fact, the golf committee (of which I'm co-chair this year) invited him back last year to review the course and to ask him to do a Master Plan for us. For reasons that I will review, he walked the course with us but declined to participate further owing to the emotional difficulty of returning to a course where some had tried to destroy him professionally.

I don't blame him, and as I made clear in my Ross book, I apologized to him for contributing to an overly harsh atmosphere about his early restoration work. No, what little he did at Wampanoag in 1986 or so wasn't very good, but it was no better and no worse than what dozens of other architects were doing at the time. And in fact he did at Wampanoag pretty much what the green committee asked - though amazingly, behind his back, the mounds and other features that were put in were altered by others over whom Silva had little oversight. But when the project was completed the committee was pleased. To blame Silva for that is totally disingenuous.

The changes didn't fit in, and led to the founding of the Donald Ross Society, based at Wampanoag. Unfortunately, the admirable goals of the DRS got sidetracked by a vicious campaign of back-stabbing, innuendo, late-night phone calls undermining Silva throughout the region, leading to his virtually black-balling from the area - though he has gone on to do fine restoration work at many courses - Seminole, Charlotte CC, Augusta CC, and Biltmore Forest, and I fully recommend him to clubs as such when they ask.

I'm embarrasesd as to what happened here, he didn't deserve it, and those who drove him out should be ashamed of themselves because. They (he) has never repented. But the truth was that Silva was bullied out. Some of us are still waiting for DRS executive director Mike Fay to own up to what happened under his tutelage.

[SPDB]

Thanks for the clarification, Brad.

Now to the course, what work of Silva's is still extant?

I love the course

[Brad Klein]

Some of what was Silva's were the green complexes at 4,5,7,14 as well as the fairway bunker on 10, but again remember that it's hard to know what he designed and what someone else decided to shape.

We're now doing a Master Plan with help of Steve Smyers. Interestingly, the bigest problems we have at Wampanoag are not "design" related (those are easily fixed) but agronomic and structural: massive tree clutter, shrunken greens, drainage backups, creek beds breaking down, bunker walls collapsing.  

[SPDB]

See that's interesting. 4 Green complex is my favorite on the course. I'd be interested to see what it looked like before. On a short par 5, it is a perfect complex, which requires a very well executed shot to access the green.