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Mark Saltzman

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Twin Hills (Perry Maxwell) - A Photo Tour!!!
« on: September 23, 2012, 08:43:48 PM »


Twin Hills is routed over as wild terrain as I've ever seen on a golden era design.  Two men who are quite familiar with Maxwell's work believe Twin Hills to be Maxwell's very best routing; I, honestly, don't agree with that assessment.  I am certainly impressed that he was able to place a golf course on terrain this undulating, but I don't know that makes it a great routing.



What is difficult [impossible] to see from the routing (trees now block their view) is that the entire golf course is routed around two low spots / streams that run through the golf course.  Holes 5-9 are routed around a stream that runs between 6 and 8 and then crosses in front of 7 and 4 (amazing that he can get so much 'use' out of a small feature).   Holes 1 and then 13-18 are all routed around a low point / stream that runs parallel to the par-3 14th. 

Now, keep in mind the low spots and look at the routing of the holes.  Imagine how the each fairway would tilt toward that low area.  The routing guarantees that consecutive holes will always tilt in different directions and each shot from the fairway will play from a different lay.

OK, so maybe it's a pretty good routing.

My big issue is that Maxwell did not effectively have the streams impact play.  Now, this may just be the result of many years of tree growth and terrible mowing lines, but as the course sits today I see it as a missed opportunity.

As is a Maxwell trademark, the golf course returns often to the clubhouse, 5 times at Twin Hills.


Holes to Note

I believe that Maxwell must have found his par-3 green sites before any others.  As is the case at several of his other courses, the par-3s have the most natural and most dramatic green sites on the golf course.

Take, for example, the long 230 yard 7th.  The green sits perched in a small valley.  The tee shot requires a short carry over a stream which then winds its way next to the 7th green. Reminiscent of the 11th at Old Town, a very pretty and difficult golf hole.




Similarly, the difficult 11th has its green sit naturally atop a valley.  One of the most dramatic green sites on the golf course (and easily the most difficult green on the golf course -- one of the potato chip variety):




Lastly, the 180 yard 14th is located in another idyllic setting.  Once again sitting atop a small flat area above a steep drop-off to a stream on the left. 





As I mentioned, there is some seriously wild terrain at Twin Hills.  This led to both dramatic changes in elevation (in a few instances) and extremely tilted fairways (almost always). 

The sharply doglegged par-4 1st is a good example of both.  I suspect at one time the fairway lay much closer to the drop-off to the right -- what an amazing hole that would have been.




The par-5 5th has as much elevation change / fairway movement as anyone could ever want... if only we can get rid of those trees!

One of very few reverse-cambre holes I saw from Maxwell, he begs you to challenge the OB on the right to avoid the bunkering on the left (easy to find because of fairway tilt) and leave a preferred angle for your second shot.




Once in the fairway (or not) the golfer is faced with a completely blind second.. have I mentioned that Maxwell is not afraid of blindness?  Not much indication of ideal line.




OK, so now we've gone downhill with the tee shot and then uphill with the second so the third must be...

downhill.  With the right-to-left contour of the fairway it is difficult getting the lay-up far enough to the right to leave a clear shot into the 5th green:




Also note the scale of the bunkering here... much larger than most of what I saw from Maxwell.  This was the first course he was ever hired to build and I suppose he was still deciding on his 'style'




Similarly, a massive bunker guarding the back of the 11th green...




The 6th fairway has as much tilt as I've ever seen...




The 9th features another Maxwell trademark... a dogleg hole with the ideal line being from the outside of the dogleg.  I love this.  A trade-off: shorter approach or preferred angle of approach?  Nowhere is this done better than Prairie Dunes' 1st, but this is a good example:

Tee shot begs the golfer to challenge the inside of the dogleg..




But as is clear from this picture the preferred angle of approach is from the right (outside of dogleg):




The 10th is a bizarre hole that doglegs 90* and plays only 250 yards on a straight line, but of note is the clever deceptive bunkering short of the green...




and the very cool feeder slope (remember we saw this also at Oklahoma City on the 2nd and 5th and also at Bristow's 3rd)...




The trademark Maxwell blind tee ball over a raise at the 13th:




And again at the 15th:




And at the 17th:




The 18th is an example of perhaps my favourite Maxwell template... with the green clearly in view (it would be if not for those damned trees), the tee ball is played downhill to a fairway that cannot be seen from the tee and the approach played back uphill to the green. 






The 16th also should be mentioned as Maxwell embraced some very wild terrain that first moves severely downhill and then banks hard to the left.  No need to add hazards or bunkers here, what is on the ground is plenty of golf hole...





Full photo album available here: http://s1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc430/SaltyLaw/Twin%20Hills/

Dan Herrmann

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Twin Hills (Perry Maxwell) - A Photo Tour!!!
« Reply #1 on: October 20, 2012, 08:16:00 PM »
I did some Google searches and found this article from about 12 years ago?  Can anybody expand on the work done at that time by Mark Hayes?

Twin Hills Golf & Country Club in Oklahoma City has been closed over the winter for a $1.5-million renovation. The private course, designed by acclaimed architect Perry Maxwell, opened in 1923. The greens were rebuilt in 1971. However, the new project focuses on restoring all of Maxwell’s original putting surfaces. The traditional layout features rolling hills, tree-lined fairways, and several blind shots.

Architect Mark Hayes and superintendent Wendell Nealon teamed up on the remodel, which also involves a new irrigation system and rebuilt bunkers. The course, located in a section of Oklahoma City called Forest Grove, receives about 30 inches of rain a year. Drainage improvements are part of the work, as is enlarging tee boxes. Upgrades were also made to the practice area, where five target greens and practice bunkers were added.

Chris Clouser

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Twin Hills (Perry Maxwell) - A Photo Tour!!!
« Reply #2 on: October 22, 2012, 07:11:34 AM »
The work by Hayes did nothing near a restoration of the putting surfaces.  The bunker work that you see on the course is more along the lines of what Hayes left behind, mostly the circle pits that you see in many of the pictures.  I'll try to remember and post some of the original photos of the course tonight.

Chris Clouser

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Twin Hills (Perry Maxwell) - A Photo Tour!!!
« Reply #3 on: October 23, 2012, 08:21:18 PM »
As promised here are some photos from when Twin Hills opened.  I have hard copies of a few others as well.

The 4th hole from the tee.


View up to 4th tee from the green


The 7th green from the 8th tee


The 3rd hole from the tee


Unidentified bunker, perhaps the one fronting the 18th green


18th green from just short


Another unidentified bunker  with what appears to be the 4th hole in the background.  So it might be behind the 9th green.


Yeah, that Maxwell guy had boring bunkers... NOT! ;D

Ed Oden

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Twin Hills (Perry Maxwell) - A Photo Tour!!!
« Reply #4 on: October 23, 2012, 08:36:35 PM »
Chris, those are amazing photos.  Thanks for posting.  The bunkering is quite simply stunning, particularly those on the 3rd and 4th holes.  What a shame they were lost.  As you know, I am a big fan of Twin Hills.  I can only imagine what the course could be if those bunkers were restored.

PS - Has Dunlop seen these photos?  They look very similar to his old photos of the bunkers at Old Town to me.

Jason Hines

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Twin Hills (Perry Maxwell) - A Photo Tour!!!
« Reply #5 on: October 23, 2012, 08:48:41 PM »
Great photos Chris, I also enjoyed your book as well. 

I would love to see a close up of some of Maxwell’s original bermuda greens back in the day.  What an achievement.

Jason

Chris Buie

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Twin Hills (Perry Maxwell) - A Photo Tour!!!
« Reply #6 on: October 23, 2012, 09:09:14 PM »
Well, you've got to love Perry Maxwell. Really nice Mark and Chris.
I had to dabble a bit with one of the images.

The bunkers are far more appealing in the earlier version and that retaining wall has got to go - but still it appears to be yet more excellent work by Mr. Maxwell.

Tim_Weiman

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Twin Hills (Perry Maxwell) - A Photo Tour!!!
« Reply #7 on: October 24, 2012, 12:00:33 AM »
Mark,

I am not familiar with Twin Hills, but appreciate your post and am intrigued with your comments about the routing. So, two knowledgeable Maxwell fans consider Twin Hills his best routing, an assessment you do not share. Ok. What might be really interesting - just an idea for Ran - is for you and your friends to be jointly interviewed and discuss/debate the merits of what Maxwell did with the routing.

Just my opinion, but if I had to suggest one thing to improve GolfClubAtlas it would be better discussions of routing. Feels like we rarely do that, which both understandable and a shame. It is understandable because one really must be well familiar with a site to intelligently discuss the options for routing. It is a shame because the routing is such a critical part of the overall creative process of designing a course.

Tim Weiman

Ed Oden

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Twin Hills (Perry Maxwell) - A Photo Tour!!!
« Reply #8 on: November 12, 2012, 11:33:45 PM »
Unidentified bunker, perhaps the one fronting the 18th green


Another unidentified bunker  with what appears to be the 4th hole in the background.  So it might be behind the 9th green.


Chris, I'm pretty sure there is evidence of a large lost bunker complex on the right side of the 17th fairway.  I wonder if that could be what is shown in the first picture.  As for the second picture, do you think it could be the 11th green in the background rather than the 4th?   If so, maybe the bunker is one of those short of the 10th green.


BCrosby

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Twin Hills (Perry Maxwell) - A Photo Tour!!!
« Reply #9 on: November 13, 2012, 09:28:15 AM »
The domestication of Maxwell's bunkering is stunning. I can only think that he would be shocked.

Bob


Chris Clouser

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Re: Twin Hills (Perry Maxwell) - A Photo Tour!!!
« Reply #10 on: November 13, 2012, 10:17:55 AM »
Ed,

Not really sure on that first one.  It could be just about anywhere on the course.

On the second I'm pretty sure it isn't the tenth.  That tree line is way too pronounced for where the 11th green would be in the background.  I'll see if I can think in my head about where that type of view would have been possible.  Looking at it now, I don't think that is the 4th green in the distance.  The bunkers and green config don't really match the other photo I posted of that hole.  But I'm pretty sure it is up near the clubhouse as that is the only place such views would really have been possible.  Unless you can think of another spot on the course that is as elevated...

Bob,

It's ok if Maxwell's work falls to the wayside.  He really only learned it all from Mackenzie and is a pale imitation...
Yes, that was sarcasm!
« Last Edit: November 13, 2012, 03:02:37 PM by Chris Clouser »

BCrosby

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Twin Hills (Perry Maxwell) - A Photo Tour!!!
« Reply #11 on: November 13, 2012, 10:29:07 AM »
Chris -

Has the bunkering at Southern Hills been similarly domesticated?

Bob

corey miller

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Twin Hills (Perry Maxwell) - A Photo Tour!!!
« Reply #12 on: November 13, 2012, 10:33:39 AM »


I am commenting on the many pictures I have seen on this site as I have only played Prairie Dunes but IMO it seems Maxwell is the most under-rated of the golden age guys.

Perhaps a function of where most of his work is located but what is the best "restoration" of Maxwell?  Closest to the original? 

Chris Clouser

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Twin Hills (Perry Maxwell) - A Photo Tour!!!
« Reply #13 on: November 13, 2012, 12:20:40 PM »
Bob,

I would say that Southern Hills originally was not as bold as what I have posted for Twin Hills or Dornick Hills.  But it was nothing like what is there now.  I'll just leave it at that. 

Corey,

I think Prairie Dunes, Crystal Downs, and Old Town are the works that are closest to what Maxwell put in the ground.  Especially if you are looking at bunkers.  But I don't think they are exactly like they were back then.  I also don't know if I would say underrated.  Just because he isn't a flavor of the month on GCA or have certain very vocal supporters like some other ODGs have doesn't mean he isn't well regarded.  To me I think he is firmly in that second group of ODGs behind Mackenzie, Colt, Ross, and Macdonald.  To me they are the "Beatles".  One could argue Tillinghast could be in that group.  But after that I think he is right there with Raynor, Flynn, Thompson, and a few others and is seen in that group by a large percentage of people in the know.

Ed Oden

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Re: Twin Hills (Perry Maxwell) - A Photo Tour!!!
« Reply #14 on: March 24, 2013, 10:47:02 PM »

On the second I'm pretty sure it isn't the tenth.  That tree line is way too pronounced for where the 11th green would be in the background.  I'll see if I can think in my head about where that type of view would have been possible.  Looking at it now, I don't think that is the 4th green in the distance.  The bunkers and green config don't really match the other photo I posted of that hole.  But I'm pretty sure it is up near the clubhouse as that is the only place such views would really have been possible.  Unless you can think of another spot on the course that is as elevated...


Chris, I'm virtually certain now that you were correct when you originally pegged the second photo as the greenside bunkers on #9.  Here is a zoomed in crop of the hole in the distance...



The trees behind the green seem to match this photo of the 4th hole from the tee...




If so, then the photo of the bunker has to be #9.


Thomas Dai

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Twin Hills (Perry Maxwell) - A Photo Tour!!!
« Reply #15 on: March 25, 2013, 08:19:39 AM »
Another very nice photo tour. Thank you Mark. The older photos posted by Chris are great. Well done for finding them.

Out of curiosity, how many staff would be on the course maintenance crew at a course like this (I'm assuming it's only 18-holes plus practice facilities)?

All the best.

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