What are the top 5 restorations in golf

[Wayne Wiggins, Jr.]

To date I'd vote for:

Aronimink
Omaha CC
Meadow Club
Pasatiempo
Valley Club of Montecito

Definitely awaiting the unveiling of LACC North.

[Robert Mercer Deruntz]

Though well under the radar, the best restorations that I've seen so far are:
        Huntington CC
        Essex County
        Creek
        Inwood
        Salem
I have had the great fortune to have played these courses before and after, and the results are noothing short of remarkable!

[Carl Rogers]

As I have learned on this web site, the creation of a golf course is a combination of designing, shaping, clearing, building, modifying etc and the act of cutting, raking, watering & fertilizing over let's say the grow in period, with little formal effort to document, then the entire "restoration" definition in the world fo GCA is either problematic or extremely subjective.

I have no issue with that.

How do you evaluate the quality or accuracy of a "restoration" of course you are a bit cool to?

There are clearly a lot of courses that have a few pretty good holes, but need a real "do-over" on a bunch of other holes.  Why should these courses be "restored"?  They should be "improved".

[Melvyn Morrow]

A little Lateral Thinking might be helpful at times  or another take upon your question which is closer to my heart would be

1).   Restoration of Walking
2).   Restoration of Thinking for Oneself
3).   Restoration of Commitment to the Game
4).   Restoration of Actually Playing The Game of Golf
5).   Restoration of Non-performance Enhancing Equipment

Alas, I fear I am still well in the minority.

Melvyn

[Bob_Huntley]

My dear Melvyn,

I do hope that you have given up the cilice.

Bob

[Pat Burke]

Victoria in Melbourne.
Actually, a lot of Mike's work

[Greg Ohlendorf]

Phil,

True, the 8th and 13 th at Flossmoor are new holes. The 4th and 14th have been greatly improved but still play in the same corridors as the originals.  Actually, 13 of the original corridors are still in play from  Tweedie's original design and 15 are in play from the work Collis did in the very early 1900's. That's pretty good from over 100 years ago. Not many courses that old still play in the same places they did back then.

Greg

[Melvyn Morrow]

I feel a little bit of Shakespeare coming on,
from Macbeth between the two murders and Macbeth

The Second Murderer says:
 
     I am one, my liege,
Whom the vile blows and
     buffets of the world
Hath so incensed that I am
     reckless what I do
To spite the world.

The First Murderer then adds:
     And I another
So weary with disasters,
     tugged with fortune,
That I would set my life on
     any chance
To mend it or be rid on’t.
      ---   ---   ---   ---
Bob

I suppose it’s the cause that matters and not for the vanity of man, so I feel the modern game of golf has in a greater part embraced the Devil and his temptations, So each man has to decide his own path, it’s just that some decide to ride for their own ends not the good of the game.

Best regards
Melvyn.

[Jeff Dawson]

Lynn,

Yes. I was there twice in the past 2+ months and toured the place with Rick Wolffe and Bob Trebus and on one memorable day, with Pat Mucci as well. Rick pointed out the old Tilly features that have been restored as well as others that will be taken care of in the future.

If you're in the area get in touch with him and take a tour.

The Upper course has always been one I wanted to play.  The Lower Course is just difficult and hard work.

One of the greatest  architectural crimes is the work Rees did to the 9th hole on the Upper.  I am amazed they let him do what he does to those courses.

[Ronald Montesano]

Notion:  restored as what (originally) from what (presumedly deteriorated/violated state) to what (absolute original, interpretation, hybrid)

[Paul Jones]

Lookout Mountain

[Gary Daughters]

Second Lookout Mountain.

Also Augusta County Club.

Go Brian Silva.

[Noel Freeman]

Tis a pity here that Keith Foster gets no love for his work that is superlative at Eastward Ho!..

[Ben Sims]

Tis a pity here that Keith Foster gets no love for his work that is superlative at Eastward Ho!..

Tuco,

I would've guessed it had been mentioned already.  Surprised to see that it took 37 posts to get it named.  I've never seen it, but it has been raved about by everyone from Ran to Tom D. 

[Ian Andrew]

I'm stunned at many of the answers.

It makes me realize that everyone has a completely different view of what the word restoration implies. In fact it even goes on to suggest to me that the term is so overused that it actually has no legitimate use any longer.

Without enough facts, I know I’m incapable of picking five because I don’t know enough about what was once there to decide whether a work was an excellent “restoration” or simply a really great “renovation” that kept the style and spirit of the original work.

[Ben Sims]

I'm stunned at many of the answers.

It makes me realize that everyone has a completely different view of what the word restoration implies. In fact it even goes on to suggest to me that the term is so overused that it actually has no legitimate use any longer.

Without enough facts, I know I’m incapable of picking five because I don’t know enough about what was once there to decide whether a work was an excellent “restoration” or simply a really great “renovation” that kept the style and spirit of the original work.

Ian,

Can you and some other architects please delineate between restoration and renovation?  You can be stunned if you like.  My commander is fond of saying that it isn't the student's fault if he sucks, it's because I didn't teach him very well. 

[Ian Andrew]

Can you and some other architects please delineate between restoration and renovation? 

I think many people on this thread see the word “restoration” to only mean improvement or the role of bringing a course back up to its former glory.

I feel the word restoration has greater meaning in golf design. I believe it describes when something that was previously altered has been brought back to its original form.

I conceed the exact definition is very personal, but re-routing holes or relocating bunkers, no matter how well done is not restoration.

[Robert Emmons]

Huntington CC, a 1910 Devereux Emmet with a renovation by Dev in 1929...I am biased....RHE

[Joel_Stewart]

So an unofficial tally with courses receiving more than one vote is,

Pasatiempo 5
California Golf Club 3
Meadow Club 3
LACC 2
San Francisco 2
Omaha Golf Club 2
Eastwood Ho 2
Lookout Mountain 2
Flossmore 2
Aronimink 2
Plainfield 2
OFCC 2
Sleepy Hollow 2

Interesting that the top 5 are all in California?

Also I wonder why NGLA doesn't get any love.  The work Karl did (I don't think they used an official architect) was one of the first classic courses to restore it back to it's original intent and really opened a lot of eyes.  Maybe Camargo predated it but NGLA is a much more visable golf course.

[A.G._Crockett]

Three that I'm very fond of:

Hope Valley CC in Durham, NC.  Ross, restored by Brian Silva
Cape Fear CC in Wilmington, NC.  Ross, restored (as much as possible) by Kris Spence
Chattanooga CC.  Ross, restored by Bill Bergin

[Adam Russell]

The Cal Club is excellent work but it is really NOT a restoration ... It includes several redesigned holes.  If it was just one or two you might overlook that and call it a restoration, but it was more than that.

We have done some good ones in California, which are well documented here.  I will throw in a vote for Camargo.  When Mr. Dye first sent me there, the bunkering was hideous.

Tom,

What about Oyster Harbors Club? From the old pictures I've seen that had enormous potential, and I know either you or Don spoke about how it had transformed from scubby sand to wall-to-wall grass. But not sure if you would call that a restoration or if it is still on-going.

[John Shimp]

Charlotte cc is a successful restoration. A late 30's aerial was used to undo extensive RTJ work and some Silva work.  Hole 17 is new although the original ross 17th was removed decades ago to make practice space. Ron Prichard did a great job putting the character back to what Ross left vs Ross/rtj/silva.

[Scott Warren]

Tom Doak (or Jim Urbina if you are looking in):

We have done some good ones in California, which are well documented here.

How closely are the "new" greens at The Valley Club indicative of what was originally built?

[Jon Spaulding]

LA North x 5 for me.......

[mike_beene]

probably wouldn't make most of your lists,and somewhere between restoration and redesign,but Coore and Crenshaw being interested in Brook Hollow and Lakewood  left Dallas golf much better than it could have been.