The original ocean holes at Olympic

[Kalen Braley]

I'm guessing there is a thread on this, but I couldn't find it....

...but for those who know (and if you have pictures its a bonus), how good were the old ocean holes at Olympic club in years gone by?  From what I've read there were few different iterations, before what is there presently, the par 3 holes for the cliffs course.  Overall I was curious if anyone has a good link/info to share in more detail about what was there before it eroded and become unmanageable/unsafe.

Thanks,

[David_Tepper]

Kalen -

Are you asking about the original (Willie Watson?) Ocean Course from the 1920's, the 3 holes west of Skyline Blvd. that were part of the Ocean Course up until 1983 or the 4 new holes built to be part of the Ocean Course in the 1990's?

DT

[Kalen Braley]

Kalen -

Are you asking about the original (Willie Watson?) Ocean Course from the 1920's, the 3 holes west of Skyline Blvd. that were part of the Ocean Course up until 1983 or the 4 new hole built to be part of the Ocean Course in the 1990's?

DT

David,

Its my understanding there were originally 12 holes that were west of Skyline Blvd, which then eroded.  Then they built 4 more which also eroded, which at that point they decided to abandon holes for the Ocean course on that side of Skyline.  Then in 2001 they reconfigured the Ocean course to what it is today.

That's what I've been able to find so far, and that may or may not be accurate.

Thanks,

[Tom_Doak]

Kalen:

One of the Olympic members here will tell you for sure.

I don't know if there were really 12 holes west of Skyline Blvd. originally; I would be surprised if it was that many.  However many there were, they were only open briefly before a landslide caused them to be abandoned.  They stayed abandoned for many years before the club and Tom Weiskopf saw fit to go back into the same area ... and those new holes were only open briefly before ANOTHER landslide caused THEM to be abandoned, sadly.

[David_Tepper]

Kalen -

I don't think your timeline is quite accurate and/or complete. Even in the past 30 years (since I started playing there), the Ocean Course has had more changes and alterations than I can keep track of.

There are photos in the clubhouse that show what the courses looked by going back to the 1920's, but I don't think they give a real good sense of what the original Ocean course looked like or its routing. At one point (in the 1950's-60's, I think), the Ocean Course actually had 20 holes  

As of 1980, there were 3 par-4 holes located west of Skyline, at the north end of the property. That is where the 9-hole, par-3 course is now located. There was also a par-4 (the 9th hole I think), running north to south at what is now the west end of the driving range.

Those holes were taken out of play due to a landslide in the winter of 1983(?) and 4 new holes were built in the interior of the property. The property west of Skyline sat fallow until the par-3 course was built in the 1990's.

Also in the 1990's, there were plans to build 6 new holes west Skyline (starting at the south end of the property) that would be integrated into the Ocean Course, which was again undergoing a significant renovation (by Weiskopf?). 4 of those 6 holes were built, but they only lasted a couple of years before giving way to another landslide and were abandoned. Several other changes have been made since and it was just announced even more changes to the course will be made next year.

The Ocean Course has had more cosmetic surgery than Joan Rivers!

P.S. PM me your address and I will mail you a postcard that depicts one of the holes (NLE) built west of Skyline in the 1990's.

DT  
        

[Kalen Braley]

Thanks Tom and David,

Thats certainly a more descriptive narrative that I could find from looking around.

When I was a teenager (in the mid 80s), I remember rambling around just north of that property checking out some old WWII bunkers and then also seeing what looked to be golf holes and skeletons of golf holes to the south.  Since then I had always wondered what it was like in its glory as its a fantastic piece of land there, but sadly not stable enough to build anything on it.

I'm guessing at this point after 3 attempts they've called it quits for good...although it'll be interesting to see how long the par 3 holes last.

[Tom_Doak]

Kalen:

I had assumed you've seen them before, but there are pictures of two of the 1920's Ocean holes in George Thomas' famous book.

[Kalen Braley]

Kalen:

I had assumed you've seen them before, but there are pictures of two of the 1920's Ocean holes in George Thomas' famous book.

Actually I haven't,

I have Daniel Wexlers Missing Links that has a few photos in it, but was wondering what else was out there.  Whats the title of that book?

P.S.  This is a good refresher, its been a few years since I read it, but Missing Links also shows 10 holes on the Ocean side of Skyline....I had remembered that figure as 12.

Kalen

P.S.  http://www.amazon.com/Golf-Course-Architecture-America-Thomas/dp/1886947147...  duh!! 

[Kevin_Reilly]

Kalen, here is a link to a picture of the OC property in 1932.  You can read the caption that describes the fact that there were only two holes west of the highway at that point.

Interesting to also look at the Lake course layout...there are fairway bunkers on several holes that are no longer there.

http://s11.photobucket.com/albums/a168/carrera993/?action=view&current=OC1932.jpg

[JWL]

I recall playing 3 holes near the cliff edge on the Ocean course in the 1980 US Amateur.   They played both courses in the 36 hole qualifying.   I remember teein off into f dense fog on the first hole and had no idea where my tee shot went.   Somehow I found it in the fairway.
My main recollection on the cliff edge holes was that one played right along the cliff on the left side.   The wind was so strong that is was imperative to start your tee shot at the very least on the top of the cliff edge and hope it didn't blow into the iceplant on the right side of the fairway.    The fog had cleared, of course, and hang gliders were everywhere.   Pretty colorful and interesting scene.
I don't remember much about the other 2 holes, although I thought one of them was a par three playing with the cliff edge on the left also before the par 4 I mentioned above.
I haven't been back to see the new holes now in that area since the landslides.   Most unfortunate.

[JWL]

Sorry, I meant 1981 Amateur.   1980 was at Pinehurst 2 and CCNC.

[David_Tepper]

JWL -

The 3 holes you played on the Ocean Course west of the highway in the US Am were all par-4's, as I mentioned above. I was in the gallery for both the US Am semis and the final that year.

DT

[Tags:]

Tags: