Golf Course Archaeology

[Jeff_Brauer]

The Elie Bunkers thread is interesting to me as I love looking at now defunct greens and tees, sometimes not even on an current golf course. One example here in DFW is the old Goat Hill of Dan Jenkins fame....you can still see an old tee near the TCU tennis facility, for example.

I have seen remnants at Pinehurst and Shinny that are no longer part of the golf course, in addition to hundreds of now grass bunkers that were once presumably sand.

What other remnants are out there, either in a subdivision or other land use, or on a currently unused portion of a course, or lastly, just bunker vestiges on current holes. I suspect there are literally thousandns of the last category.....maybe just in golden age courses alone.

[John Foley]

Jeff,

Leatherstocking in Cooperstown has some great remnants. The old par 4 3rd hole, the orignal green on the 18th are very evident.

There is also what looks like a green 20 yards left of the currnet 15th green.

Oak Hill still maintaines part of the old Ross holes on the East course as practice areas.

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

Jeff:

I also find this fascinating; I'm not sure why, but I just do.

At the golf course where I first learned to play, Gweedore GC in Donegal, there are at least 4 old tees on the present course. It looks very strange when you see a small 10x8 feet box slightly raised about 4 inches above the rest of the fairway. They're not so noticable, and have blended in with time, which probably explains why they were never removed. There are also some areas on the fairways - that are greener and have a different texture of turf - that were once green sites.

I believe there are some parts of the old (pre-1967) Portsalon layout still visible just south of the present course.

Another example, but of an abandonded course, is the old Carrigart course next to Rosapenna. As you drive from Creeslough and take a left turn at the church just before Carrigart, you'll see to your right - as you head towards Rosapenna - some grass bunkers and green sites on flattish land.

[Mike Cirba]

Jeff,

The remnants of two Tillinghast greens and a tee area are off in the woods to the right of the 10th green of Essex County CC in NJ.

Rick Wolffe, Mark Chalfant, and I spend some time rooting around at a GCA event a few years back.

And...don't even get me started on Cobb's Creek archeological artifacts! 

Hell, we've already played most of them! 

[Bruce Katona]

Middlesex County College is constructed on top of what was part of the local militery base in Edison, NJ.  The college's grand entrance bisects what used to be several holes running parallel to County Route 514 (I think).  I ponder the possibilites every time I drive by, but the college was built before I ever played the course.  My uncle (who had since passed), who taught my brother and I the love of the game, played there frequently in the 1960's and until it cloded.

[Niall C]

At Glasgow Gailes 18th, about 100 yards from the tee there is a dune ridge whioch has an old green and tee attached. The green dates back to either the first or second routing of the course as it is fairly level and 20 yards square. In addition there are old bunkers used in previous routings which have either been grassed over or covered in heather.

Like Gailes there a number of old green sites half way up the fairway on holes at Silloth. With a lot of those old courses holes were joined up as the course evolved and became longer, the old greens basically kleft where they were.

Niall

[Phil_the_Author]

The remnants of the original 1st green of the Lenox Hills Golf Club can be found at then top of the hill in the trees left of the 2nd fairway of Bethpage Black...

[Norbert P]

  A while back a feller told me that they built old bunkers on a new course.  By old bunkers, I mean that they built cavities where grass would be planted but gave the image of an old overgrown and neglected sand bunker. Thus, giving the course some history, even if it wasn't true history.
 I have to admire the innocent whimsey of that effort.

[Jason Topp]

I would encourage anyone who plays on a course that is over 50 years old to spend a few hours at the appropriate local library looking for aerials of their course over time.  I did so when I worked on my "My Home Course" several years ago and discovered a cool hole that had been removed when the course was eliminated and some giant bunkers that originally existed.  The remnants of those features are visible if you look for them but without the aerial photos I would have had no idea.

http://golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,21451.0/

[Mike Cirba]

Across the driveway from what is the "front" of the clubhouse (the first tee would be adjacent to the back), the original #13 green is still sort of there, with the creek wrapping around much of it.

Here is is from the clubhouse during it's heyday;

[George_Bahto]

there are  about 3 abandoned Raynor greens at Maidstone

[Mark Hissey]

When we were clearing the easternmost portion of Bayberryland for Sebonack, we came across something very interesting.

I can remember being up on the highest point of the property (which at the time was a gravelled bus car park) and looking east towards the windmill at national. The area of land in between was incredibly packed with scrub oaks and invasive species. It was impossible to enter.

When we cleared the area for the first time, we noticed very large pits which had been dug along the property line. I suspect that Mr. Sabin had given CB Mac permission to mine sand in that area for the bunkers next door. In fact, on the spot of the park park that I mentioned, we mined mostl of our bunker sand when we built Sebonack.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Mark,

There was a pit like that to the west of the 5th fairway, about 80 yards from the green, near where your dorms/maint buildings are.

Jeff Brauer,

I think it's a fascinating question.

I've noticed abandoned features at many of the older clubs I've played.
I've always been curious about their creation and abandonment.
In many cases I wished that I had had more time to examine them and the surrounding area.
Some seem to be abandoned footpads.
Usually, if there's one, there's more

The answer to uncovering the mystery may lie with old aerials.

Jamie Slonis tipped us off to "Historicalaerials.com.

Viewing the old aerials may provide some, or complete insight into what these abandoned features were used for.
In some cases, I see the footpads may have been abandoned practice tees, set randomly about the course.

In other instances, I've noticed that a "fairway" edge was denoted by an abandoned footpad, indicating a much wider and often repositioned fairway.

It's an interesting subject

[Sean_A]

Yes

I have found abandoned greens at Burnham.  But the most interesting thing I found was a tee in current use for the 17th.  This tee sits below Majuba where the back tee is located.  I was taking pix of the 2nd green one day and noticed that this tee would be smashing for the 3rd hole rather than going to the top of Majuba (this hill has the 3rd and 17th tees on it).  I mentioned it to someone and they said it used to be used not all that long ago, but that health & safety issues (there is a public footpath crossing the 3rd) made it prudent to to put the tee on top of Majuba where the footpath is visible.  This is a great shame because the a blind drive followed by the blind second would be quite sporting and I still think it should be used for the big boys such as the English Amateur and the Brabazon when the footpath can be controlled a bit.

Ciao

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

Gordon Irvine recently posted a picture of some old grassed bunkers on the 5th at Deal.

Here the link,

http://golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,42090.0/

[Tom MacWood]

A few years ago I was in Detroit on business and went on a mission to find Colony CC, the little known gem designed by the late great CH Alison. The club was in the summer colony of Algonon near the Canadian border and was part of real estate/vaction development. The course was laid out in an inhospitable wetlands - one of Alison's specialties - and had gone back completely to its natural state when I saw it. However you could still make put some of the elevated greens/tees among the reeds.

Here is an aerial link to the site. The creek running through the wetlands was a major design element. The course was featured in Daniel Wexler's second book on lost courses.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Detroit,+MI&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=48.909425,71.367188&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Detroit,+Wayne,+Michigan&ll=42.649711,-82.60839&spn=0.022348,0.034847&t=h&z=15

[Mike Cirba]

Tom,

That's very cool.

It's great to see you out beating the bushes for lost golf.

You need to come east and Joe Bausch and I will take you on some architectural archeological digs that I think you'd enjoy.

[Sean_A]

A few years ago I was in Detroit on business and went on a mission to find Colony CC, the little known gem designed by the late great CH Alison. The club was in the summer colony of Algonon near the Canadian border and was part of real estate/vaction development. The course was laid out in an inhospitable wetlands - one of Alison's specialties - and had gone back completely to its natural state when I saw it. However you could still make put some of the elevated greens/tees among the reeds.

Here is an aerial link to the site. The creek running through the wetlands was a major design element. The course was featured in Daniel Wexler's second book on lost courses.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Detroit,+MI&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=48.909425,71.367188&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Detroit,+Wayne,+Michigan&ll=42.649711,-82.60839&spn=0.022348,0.034847&t=h&z=15

Tommy Mac

Jeepers!  That must have been some under-taking back in the day because that area is essentially a massive wetlands area off Lake St Clair. 

I did a fair bit of duck hunting that way many moons ago near Wallaceburg (named after William Wallace) on the Canadian side of the border.  I also did a bit of archeology as well.  Tecumseh's grave is said to be on Walpole Island.  Some of us went over and for a laugh had a "look around" for half a day with no luck - wouldn't ya know.

Ciao

[Trey Kemp]

The remnants of the original 12th green and 13th tee at Brackenridge in San Antonio are still there across hwy 281.