Jeff Mingay's American Invasion

[Scott Stambaugh]

Late last summer, after a year and half of site visits and meetings, the Overlake Golf and Country Club in Seattle formally approved a Golf Course Improvement Plan created by Jeff Mingay. 

Overlake’s course was designed by A.V Macan and opened for play in 1953.  Through the years, there have been many changes to the course that have undone some of its classic appeal.  All the usual suspects- shrinking greens, shrinking fairways, tree management gone astray, changes to tees and bunkers, etc…  Deterioration of an aging drainage system has led to winter playability problems as well.  Jeff’s course improvement plan aims to restore a traditional look and feel to the course in a fashion reflective of A.V. Macan’s strategic style of architecture.

Because the plan was approved so late in the season, there was little time to prepare for a large project.  The club decided on funding a small project that basically served as a demonstration project, a “what’s-this-gonna-look-like” project, if you will.  It was decided that the par 3 hole #12 would be the project.

#12 was basically a mini-version of everything Jeff’s plan addressed for the entire course- rebuild and simplify the tee arrangements; rebuild bunkers; install fairway drainage; improve the tree situation on the course through selective removal; and re-establish grass lines on fairways and greens.  #12 is also one of the only greens on the course that was rebuilt, in the mid 1980's.  Jeff was not too fond of the green, but the club was not interested in rebuilding the green again; he felt that, through work performed to the surrounding landscape (and changes to the mow lines of the green itself,) the green could be made to look less "modern."

Work began on October 4th and finished up in mid-November.  Since most Overlake members head to warmer climates for the winter, the club decided to leave the hole closed until April 1st, as few even venture out to the back nine during the winter anyway.  Those who have come out to see the work are definitely excited about the character this will ultimately re-inject into the course.  Working with Jeff during the infancy of this plan has been a great experience.  His passion for and knowledge of his craft is quite evident.  Here are some photos of the work. 



Before photo.  Trees, trees, everywhere.  Trees behind green were 5 steps from the edge.  Sequoia short right of green was only 20 years old- a 'short' bunker takes its place.  Right greenside bunker (invisible from the tee) replaced by short grass right of tee.



After photo taken last week. 



The first pass at the 'short' bunker.  This bunker is about 40 steps from the front of the green.



George Waters doing his thing.  The staff at Overlake pride themselves on being quite particular about their work; I can honestly say that Waters takes detail work to another level...



Finished product, taken last week.



One of the old left greenside bunkers. 









Finished product



Rumpled short grass area right of green, in place of a former bunker.  The irregular, rockpile-like mounding back right of the green was dubbed "The Fircrest Mounds."  Jeff spotted a similar feature on #18 at Macan's Fircrest design in Tacoma, Washington and did a great job replicating this feature.


The hole doesn't officially open until April 1, but the feedback even before opening it has been very positive, usually followed by "What's next?"

Hope you enjoy.

[David_Tepper]

Looks like a very positive first step. I hope Jeff M. gets the green light to proceed to work on the 17 other holes. Good luck with the project.

[Dale Jackson]

Jeff and Scott,

really nice looking work.  Jeff, you know I will love the look of the bunkers, just like Macan would have liked them.   For those of you in the Pacific Northwest, check out Jeff's work at Victoria Golf Club as well.  His bunker work there is bringing back an old classic.

And for those Macan fans out there (and you all should be fans!) look forward to an announcement about a long awaited publication in the next few days.

[Neil_Crafter]

Well done Jeff.

[Scott Stambaugh]

Jeff and Scott,

really nice looking work.  Jeff, you know I will love the look of the bunkers, just like Macan would have liked them.   For those of you in the Pacific Northwest, check out Jeff's work at Victoria Golf Club as well.  His bunker work there is bringing back an old classic.

And for those Macan fans out there (and you all should be fans!) look forward to an announcement about a long awaited publication in the next few days.

Thanks a lot Dale. 

The 'field trip' I took our club directors on last year to Colwood and Victoria, to see firsthand two clubs embracing Macan's legacy, was a real eyeopener for everyone.  I think it was an instrumental piece in the ultimate approval of Jeff's plan for Overlake.

Scott

[Bill_McBride]

Jeff and Dale, I spent the first nine months of 1968 working in Seattle, and played Lake Spanaway in Tacoma.  I've since heard that it's a Macan built about the same time as Overlake, or even a bit later.  I remember absolutely nothing about it but wonder if there's any Macan left and any restoration plans.

[Sean Leary]

Good lord that looks so much better. Great work Jeff.....

Its amazing how much better some of our courses up here look and play with some tree removal. They have been doing a bunch at my modern course and it has been received wonderfully, despite many who love trees up here.

[Dale Jackson]

Bill, Lake Spanaway is originally a Macan design, one of the last he did before he died in 1964.  The course was actually built after his death so how closely the course adhered to his original design is an open question.  It is owned and operated by Pierce County so change is not likely to have come quickly, nor is it likely there has been great sensitivity to Macan's design.

John Harbottle III was commissioned to do a Long Term plan a couple of years ago.  The plan talks of honouring the classic design etc.  but also calls for rebuilding some of the greens to USGA specifications.  Given his greens were perhaps Macan's greatest strength this raises some alarm bells for me but the original greens may have already been lost.

Jeff, Scott or others may be able to add more detail.

[Gary Slatter]

Scott, thanks for the good post! 
Looks good, good job Jeff, hope the other 17 holes get the go-ahead.

[Neal_Meagher]

Superb work and I would expect nothing less from Jeff.  Really top notch, top notch!

But what I am curious about is how the dramatic grass slopes leading from the green down to the bunker will be maintained.  Is it the intent to leave it very shaggy so as not to require much maintenance or if not then what kind of mowing regime will be needed? 

[Bill_McBride]

Superb work and I would expect nothing less from Jeff.  Really top notch, top notch!

But what I am curious about is how the dramatic grass slopes leading from the green down to the bunker will be maintained.  Is it the intent to leave it very shaggy so as not to require much maintenance or if not then what kind of mowing regime will be needed? 

Neal, my club also has those grass-faced bunkers. Our crew seems to keep them a bit shaggy and fly mow several every day as they need it.

[Scott Stambaugh]

Superb work and I would expect nothing less from Jeff.  Really top notch, top notch!

But what I am curious about is how the dramatic grass slopes leading from the green down to the bunker will be maintained.  Is it the intent to leave it very shaggy so as not to require much maintenance or if not then what kind of mowing regime will be needed? 

Thanks for the kind words, Neal.

We have already cut the bunker slopes a few times.  It just takes a staff member with a steady hand.  We plan to keep it at about 3", just short enough to allow a ball to find its way into the bunker and not get hung up.  The sod we laid is predominantly fescue (with some rye,) so it should brown out a bit during the season.  Assuming it EVER stops raining here....


Scott

[Neal_Meagher]

Scott,

Thanks for the response.  But, how exactly do you maintain this?  Do you use weed eaters?  Fly-mo's?  Scissors?  And how often do you anticipate having to mow it?  I know it is new and you are sort of feeling it out so maybe you can't fully answer this for me right now. 

My real aim is to figure out how to convince other superintendents and GM's to adopt such classical principals.  Almost without fail I get the guys who are chained to their tri-plexes and "have" to have a certain width between green and bunker and "have" to have a certain gradient between green and bunker.

[Jeff_Mingay]

Neal,

Thanks for your compliment (and all others). It's very much appreciated.

Thanks for asking the question about maintenance of these bunkers, too. I'll leave that to Scott to answer. But, your question brings up an important point I want to make.

It's a dream working with Scott Stambaugh, at Overlake. Scott is very much in to, and understands golf course architecture. He has a ton of experience maintaining different architectural styles, and shares my desire to restore a dramatic distinctiveness at Overlake. Throughout the process of developing an improvement plan for the course, and remodeling the 12th hole last fall, Scott never questioned proposed features relative to perceived maintenance issues. Scott's attitude is "do what's right for the course, and I'll figure out how to maintain it". It's a nice situation to be in, and bodes well for implementation of the improvement plan moving forward.

Some people claim that money - or lack of - is the reason so-called "maintanence friendly" features and situations must be created. In my experience though, a willingness to make things work and passion to put in the required effort go a long way without adding another hundred thousand to the maintenance budget because grass-face bunkers have been restored. It's about being innovative, and really working because you love what you do in many cases. Scott - along with his assistant, Cory Brown, and their entire staff at Overlake - have a great attitude and passion for what we're doing. There's an impressive team in place at Overlake.

P.S. Despite the title of Scott's threat, I come to Overlake in peace... just as Mr. Macan did, from Canada as well, nearly 60 years ago

[Jeff_Mingay]

Thanks for your post, Kelly. And your compliments.

The (dirt) nose - where Waters is painting a yellow line - and the (grass) nose in your next photo are indeed the same feature.

Neat story: Inglewood Golf Club in Seattle, just up the road from Overlake, was also designed by Vernon Macan (during the 1920s). Whereas there are only a few historic photos of the Overlake course (that don't really show much), Inglewood has a number of excellent historic images of its course hanging in the clubhouse, there. I studied the Inglewood photos (and others featuring original Macan bunkers) while putting together my plan for Overlake.

There's a historic photo of the tee shot at Inglewood's (old) 1st hole where you can see the coolest looking bunker off the tee, sitting at a 90-angle to the fairway and featuring a nose similar to the one we've built in this bunker - which also sits at a 90-degree angle to the fairway - at Overlake's 12th hole. That "dent", where the nose dips down at left, and the turf ends up near the same level of the sand is directly inspired by that old Macan fairway bunker at Inglewood (NLE).

While it was my idea to remove the bunker right of the green and create a short grass area at Overlake's 12th, I give full props to George Waters - who's been working with me at Overlake and Victoria Golf Club, and on other projects, since January 2009 - for the contouring you've complimented, there. Instead of personally over-thinking the contouring for this area, I simply told Waters to run with it. My only instructions were relative to surface drainage, and keeping the contour low-profile while still creating some interest and challenge for recovery play. (This will be a popular "bail out" spot, at a 200 yards + hole.)

I'm glad you like the bench through the green. I'm not a big fan  In general, the existing greens at Overlake are really good. They're interesting and varied. This one, which was rebuilt during the 1980s, is the least interesting and least attractive. The work we did to change the surrounds and the shape of the putting surface was very successful though, in terms of making this green look more like the others. This work, around the green, actually exceeded expectation after my original pitch to rebuild the putting green was understandably unpopular. 

[Bob Jenkins]

Scott, thanks for posting this and to Jeff, great work!

I trust you will be spending a lot of time on the west coast this summer, what with Overlake and Victoria? What I have seen so far of your work at Victoria is also great work. For a course as old and unique as Victoria, your bunkers and surrounds complement the rest of the course so well! Hope we can get together again this year.

[Ian Andrew]

What's George chasing with the paint gun?

Work looks great Jeff, I like the short grass on the right a lot.

When are you moving to the left coast? 

Ian

[Jeff_Mingay]

Thanks Ian and Bob. Your compliments are much appreciated.

Victoria and Seattle are two of my favourite places in the world. I'm fortunate to be able to spend so much time there. I've been dropping the "Victoria option" in my wife's and daughter's ears, and have dragged them both out there with me recently!

Who knows. Maybe someday 

Re the short grass area right of the 12th green, one of the most interesting things I've learned studying Mr. Macan is how much respect and admiration he had for the concept behind the creation of Augusta National. Along with expanding/restoring ALL of the greens at Overlake already, we've also introduced LARGE short grass areas in the greens surrounds at holes 6, 9 (!), 13, 14 (!), 17 and 18 (!). More's to come as we move on with this work, too.   

[Dick Kirkpatrick]

Nice work Jeff.

I like the nose in that bunker also, but I was thinking that the changes you made to it was to make it easier for the golfer to walk down into the bunker. Something we should all think about.

I want to be jovial, so I will put this in: If you come from Windsor, Seattle and Victoria are Shangri La   LOL

[Jeff_Mingay]

Hey... easy on Windsor, Dick 

Funny, one of my concerns with the nose in that bunker is that too many golfers will try to enter and exit it there. I dont want to see traffic wear on that important feature. Frankly, there's really no reason to walk in or out of the bunker using that nose. There's plenty of room to get in and out on the tee side. (I guess we'll see what happens.)

Thanks to you as well for your compliment.

[Richard Choi]

Very cool stuff.

I was lucky enough to play Overlake late summer last year and I enjoyed it. "Selective" tree removal at that course will improve it immensely. That par 3 looks great. Hopefully, I will get a chance to check out the "after" picture in person...

[Scott Stambaugh]

Scott,

Thanks for the response.  But, how exactly do you maintain this?  Do you use weed eaters?  Fly-mo's?  Scissors?  And how often do you anticipate having to mow it?  I know it is new and you are sort of feeling it out so maybe you can't fully answer this for me right now. 

My real aim is to figure out how to convince other superintendents and GM's to adopt such classical principals.  Almost without fail I get the guys who are chained to their tri-plexes and "have" to have a certain width between green and bunker and "have" to have a certain gradient between green and bunker.

Neal-

Yes, we are still feeling it out, but we've pretty much determined that it will be done with a weedeater only- we have a few staff members who are surgical with them...  As for trying to convince your clients, good luck.  Seems like those who are 'into it' will find ways to make it happen and those who aren't will find excuses to not make it happen.  Just my simple take on it.  I've been pretty fortunate in my career to work for people/clubs who make things happen.

Scott

   

[Scott Stambaugh]

I like the bench stretching across the green.

Kelly-

Funny story about the green-

A few months ago, a member wandered out to see the work for the first time.  He was marveling about the before/after and how dramatic the improvements were, and then he said "I really love what he (Jeff) did with the green.  It sure fits in so much better now."

I had to tell him that we actually didn't do anything to the green, just everything around it was rebuilt.  He couldn't believe just how good the surround work was, how seamless the tie-in work was, with the existing green. 

Scott

[Jeff_Mingay]

Adjusting the shape of the putting surface, by simply changing the height of cut, made a big difference as well.

[Pat Howard]

Having been an employee of Overlake for the last 5 years, I can say that the improvements Scott and his crew have made to the course are amazing!

From a playability stand point, mowing the greens and fairways back to their original sizes has opened up so many more options/angles. I play regularly with members, and when the green sizes started to increase I heard a lot of comments about how it was going to make the course easier. But with all the new bumps and swales that have been regained, it has become anything but easy!

I would have thought that after the work Scott and crew did on our 3rd hole the members would have been jumping at the chance to make improvements to the rest of the course. But maybe it's better that they didn't, and instead took a very careful approach and did their homework, because the results have been impressive.
 
As for hole 12, I think the pictures speak for themselves!

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