The work done at Metairie was nothing short of a complete rebuilding of the entire golf course. The routing remained intact but everything from tee to green was rebuilt. The course was known to be a Raynor course with a very heavy involvement of Bartholomew. He spent a number of months with Raynor on Long Island studying and creating clay models of the holes to be built. It was determined through some rough documentation and an old aerial photo that holes were taken from many courses on the Island. Interestingly, the course had/has two "Road" holes (9th and 13th). It has been said that the Bartholomew family is still in possession of the clay models but because of Joe not being allowed to play the course, they will not share the models. Some of the holes were restored/renovated to what the photo revealed or if a newspaper article indicated which hole a Metairie hole was pattered after. Other holes were left to us for the redesign. The course opened 5-6 months prior to Katrina. During Katrina the course was under 7-9 feet of water. Absolute devastation (goes without saying). The past pro Greg Core and current Superintendent Andy Alexander immediately went into action in an attempt to save the greens. Did what they felt they had to do. The course did come back and is healing in nicely.
Longtime Pro/Members the Haas family spent many years making modifications to the course. The course had been neutered and made to play very flat. The biggest change during the restoration may have been the elevating of the greens. Some as much as 8 feet. The raising of the greens really did save the place during Katrina and very few were under sustained water.
The sand capping was spread out beyond the proposed area by the past Superintendent which had a negative effect on the trees. It was not only the sand but also the addition of chemicals to sterilize the sand prior to sprigging that killed many of the old Oaks. Since the trees have died, we have been back to develop a planting program for the course in addition to the development of "natural" areas. The course had to change out their greenside bunker sand but wanted to save money on hauling the material off-site. We worked with the club showing them photos of the 17th at The National and the use of sand mounds as well as the then recent changes to Pinehurst. The club decided to use the old sand for natural waste/grass areas. These areas seem to be doing well.
The course is tight with many parallel holes but when playing it does not feel as tight as one might think. Holes 2 and 8 and 4 and 5 see a lot of cross play.
We have always enjoyed betting back to Metairie and should be back in 2014 for some consulting.
Metairie Post Katrina
Metairie - 1998
Metairie - 2012
Metairie - 1949
