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Dan Herrmann

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I know it's a problem grammatically, but the redesign is simply delicious!

John Shimony

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I'm really enjoying the show fellas, thanks.  What will be the length from the new back tee on #9?  I have no intention to every tee off from that location.  That hole will be a beast.
John Shimony
Philadelphia, PA

Mark McKeever

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It has to be 490 back there..

Mark
Best MGA showers - Bayonne

"Dude, he's a total d***"

Powell Arms

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Re: Renovation of Philly Cricket's Wissahickon: Phase 2 of 3 complete by Aug 31!
« Reply #178 on: September 03, 2013, 12:19:05 PM »
Phase 2 is buttoning up. The third and final phase is well underway and on schedule for completion in mid October. Then we can sit and watch grass grow until May 2014. Phase 1 greens are already being double cut!

Here's the completion of 18



Work is wrapping up today on the 1st tee and warm up putting green. The road will be demolished and the clubhouse patio extended to cover the old road bed. The 18th green is in the background.






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Powell Arms

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Re: Renovation of Philly Cricket's Wissahickon: Phase 2 of 3 complete by Aug 31!
« Reply #179 on: September 05, 2013, 10:33:13 AM »
Here's a great re-introduction of a Tillie feature. Probably top three along with the Hells Half Acre on 4 and redan line on 15.

It is the re-introduction of the line of play on the par 5 12 to make it a dogleg right.

Here is the hole as it was for the past 50 years.



The restored back tee is to the right. Way to the right, requiring a cape drive across the quarry wall (and the third green of Militia Hill). The carry is from 200 yards to about 280, depending on line.

Keith Foster was out with the team yesterday to laser distances to various points in the landing area to determine the final location of this championship tee box.



The new tee sits at the bottom left corner of the maintenance shed in this photo. The two trees have been removed.



The restoration of this tee on 12 completes the change of the par 5's on the course, taking them from what had been somewhat of a weakness. (all 3 ran the same direction, 4&7 had very similar lines). The two that remain now are vastly improved, with 4 with a restored HHA and 12 as described above. 7 is now a long par 4.
« Last Edit: September 05, 2013, 10:52:18 AM by Powell Arms »
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Jim Sherma

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Re: Renovation of Philly Cricket's Wissahickon: Phase 2 of 3 complete by Aug 31!
« Reply #180 on: September 05, 2013, 11:19:42 AM »
Powell, when you pointed out the new tee to me we both discussed that the line might actually play a little easier than the current/previous back tee. The uncertainty of the current tee given that the quarry edge/right side drop off and the fairway are both blind, this made for one of the more uncomfortable tee shots in my opinion. The new tee should be much more fun and make for a visual that offers some added variety compared to the more standard parkland look off of many of the tees. Will the new tee box be the primary one? Also, will it be used for both the white and blue tees?

Powell Arms

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Re: Renovation of Philly Cricket's Wissahickon: Phase 2 of 3 complete by Aug 31!
« Reply #181 on: September 05, 2013, 11:27:00 AM »
Jim, the new tee to the right will only be the back tee. And that will likely be used only part of the time, with a second back tee also in use near the location we played.  The member tees will remain near the location we played. So, you and I will still have that uncomfortable shot that skirts the rim of the quarry.
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Mark McKeever

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Re: Renovation of Philly Cricket's Wissahickon: Phase 2 of 3 complete by Aug 31!
« Reply #182 on: September 06, 2013, 01:52:06 PM »
A couple of new looks below.  

Hole 1 getting final touch ups before sod.  Note how much more of the back and front sections of the green has been reclaimed.





Hole 11 Green after being sodded.  Another hole where there was LOTS of putting surface recaptured at the rear of the green.





Finally, a look at 17 green post sod.  

Best MGA showers - Bayonne

"Dude, he's a total d***"

Mark McKeever

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Re: Renovation of Philly Cricket's Wissahickon: Phase 2 of 3 complete by Aug 31!
« Reply #183 on: September 11, 2013, 01:41:21 PM »
Some action on hole 14 and 15

Best MGA showers - Bayonne

"Dude, he's a total d***"

Dan Herrmann

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Re: Renovation of Philly Cricket's Wissahickon: Phase 2 of 3 complete by Aug 31!
« Reply #184 on: September 11, 2013, 02:41:07 PM »
Mark/Powell - how excited is the membership?  They must be drooling by now!

Mark McKeever

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Re: Renovation of Philly Cricket's Wissahickon: Phase 2 of 3 complete by Aug 31!
« Reply #185 on: September 11, 2013, 03:51:17 PM »
I try to avoid going to the property because its simply cruel and unusual punishment to see it, but not be able to play it.


Mark
Best MGA showers - Bayonne

"Dude, he's a total d***"

Powell Arms

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Re: Renovation of Philly Cricket's Wissahickon: Phase 2 of 3 complete by Aug 31!
« Reply #186 on: September 16, 2013, 09:16:27 PM »
The last of the greens will be sodded by this Saturday, Sept 21!! A few fairway bunkers remain to be completed, and are expected to be done on schedule, so that all of the work is completed by October 15.  Then we watch it grow until Memorial Day weekend 2014.  It will be a long 8 months!

8 (now 5) was completed in phase 1, and all of those greens look great.  They are being double cut regularly.

Here it is from the member's tee, at about 170 yards.  



Slightly closer



9 (now 6) from the member's tee.  Yes, there really is room to land a drive on this 450 yard uphill par 4.



10 has shifted about 10 yards to the right, away from the parking lot and OB.  Without the decades of sand buildup at the front, the green surface is largely visible from the tee of this 150 yard par 3.



Finishing touches on the restoration of Hell's Quarter Acre in front of 14 green.  It took some substantial underground work to accomdate drainage and route it around this area.  14, 15 and 16 are the greens to be completed this week.



15, the 200 yard par 3, with the tee moved left to restore the redan.  The photo shows the clearing work on the hillside right, formerly OB.  This area will be cleared to the crest of the hill and planted with native fescue.



15 from a bit closer along the line of play, with greens mix being placed prior to sodding.



16 from the member's tee.  With the left fairway bunker restored back into the fairway and moved to today's landing zone, this hole will play as much more of a dogleg left.



18 from the landing area for the drive on this 450+ yard finishing par 4.  The green has moved about 5 yards left and been raised approximately 3 feet to move it out of the typical flooding of the Wissahickon Creek.  At the top left of the photo you can see the new tee for 1 and the warmup putting green.  The road behind is being demolished and the patio extended to the existing grass/driveway edge.

« Last Edit: September 17, 2013, 01:06:03 PM by Powell Arms »
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@PWArms

John Shimony

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Re: Renovation of Philly Cricket's Wissahickon: Phase 2 of 3 complete by Aug 31!
« Reply #187 on: September 17, 2013, 10:31:23 AM »
I'm jonesing to play the 15th, the redan.  The hole will probably look and play very different from its previous version.  It'll be a beast because of its length but there will be more room to the right of the green and the green itself will feed the ball from right to left.  Bring your low draw.  Awesome.
John Shimony
Philadelphia, PA

Powell Arms

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Re: Renovation of Philly Cricket's Wissahickon: Phase 2 of 3 complete by Aug 31!
« Reply #188 on: September 17, 2013, 12:32:21 PM »
I'm jonesing to play the 15th, the redan.  The hole will probably look and play very different from its previous version.  It'll be a beast because of its length but there will be more room to the right of the green and the green itself will feed the ball from right to left.  Bring your low draw.  Awesome.

John,

Sorry for the cluttered photo, but here's an idea of 15 from the new back tee box, at about 240 yards. There is now a ton of room right. And work will soon be underway to firm up the approach. Low draw, high fade. Just don't get in that bunker front left. It's 9 feet deep.



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Powell Arms

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Re: Renovation of Philly Cricket's Wissahickon: Phase 2 of 3 complete by Aug 31!
« Reply #189 on: September 17, 2013, 12:51:00 PM »
Here is a current view of the Hell's Quarter Acre on 14 with the matrix bunker liners installed. 15 green is in the background ready for sod




And straight on

« Last Edit: September 17, 2013, 01:33:53 PM by Powell Arms »
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Mark McKeever

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A couple of new looks to post up.  First is an updated look of 14 from the fairway with sand going into the bunkers.




Second is the new look from12 tee.  Up against the far side of the quarry, they are digging a bunker into the edge to make the player a bit more nervous about making the carry.

Best MGA showers - Bayonne

"Dude, he's a total d***"

Powell Arms

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Here are a couple more views of the new quarry wall bunker on 12. As discussed earlier in the thread, this line  to the right is the original Tillinghast line that was lost over the years. It is only being restored for the championship tee. I think the quarry bunker above the 3rd green of Militia Hill does a nice job of tying the two courses together.

2012 view



From MH 3 fairway, if you click the photos below, there are workers in the bunker completing the shaping which give perspective.



From MH 3 green. This is just right of the restored line.



From MH 4 tee, again just right of the restored line. This is also taken from an elevation that is similar to the elevation of the restored teebox.



Keith Foster reviewing the final bunker boundaries.



Time to dig, with MH 3 fairway in the background.

« Last Edit: September 20, 2013, 04:09:27 PM by Powell Arms »
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Powell Arms

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Sept. 20, 4:57pm...last of green sod laid at Philly Cricket - awesome three months of construction restoring Tillie's home course!!! (construction commenced June 19)


« Last Edit: September 20, 2013, 05:23:53 PM by Powell Arms »
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Dan Herrmann

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Re: Renovation of Philly Cricket's Wissahickon: All greens completed Sept 20 !!!
« Reply #193 on: September 20, 2013, 09:22:20 PM »
Need a volunteer to take a chainsaw to the willow trees to the left of 18?

Lose those and it's like putting a ribbon on an awesome gift :)

Powell Arms

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Re: Renovation of Philly Cricket's Wissahickon: All greens completed Sept 20 !!!
« Reply #194 on: September 21, 2013, 11:46:04 AM »
Great job by Dan Meersman and the entire team:  ALL Wissahickon greens have been sodded!  Given the full-scale nature of our project, achieving this within three months is a major accomplishment!  We are very appreciative of the team we have in place that made it all happen.    

Medalist Golf-  each green requires about twenty, 23-ton truckloads of greensmix and gravel.  In addition, Medalist has to excavate twenty truckloads of material from each green cavity prior to construction.  Balancing the management of all of this activity around the weather, and all the other course-wide activities is quite a chore.

Tanto Irrigation- The sodding of any feature following fine-grading triggers the passing of responsibility from Medalist to PCC Staff.  With irrigation needing to be installed between this transition, there is a tremendous amount of pressure applied daily to our irrigation contractor to quickly finish their work so sodding can proceed.  Tanto employees have worked feverishly, in sync of the contractor, to ensure we transition smoothly from construction mode to course-conditioning mode.

East Coast Sod- Initial communications with East Coast Sod began when Dan first started at Philly Cricket, nearly five years ago.  Last August, almost a year before our project began, East Coast seeded our greens at their farm in New Jersey and has nurtured them carefully ever since.  Their specialized staff is the best at laying greens sod, and they have installed all our greens, tee, and approach sod.  

Keith Foster- Keith spends much more time on-site than most golf course architects, and the club benefits from that in numerous ways.  Regarding greens, there were many days where Keith stayed much later in the evening than originally planned to help us achieve approvals on final grading.  This allowed us to sod the very next day.

PCC Staff- It is often difficult for individuals to execute cautiously, yet relentlessly, but this is exactly what our staff is doing in executing our intense greens grooming program.

In particular, Drew Barnett, our Wissahickon Superintendent has done an outstanding job.  Between sand, gravel, and sod, this project is requiring over 1,000 truckloads of material; and all material invoices are being purchased through the club, not the contractor.  Drew and our Administrative Assistant, Patricia Tobon, have done an outstanding job tracking everything accurately.  Their skill and discipline allow Dan to forecast spending ahead of billing, and manage the project with confidence.  Drew is also accomplishing this while overseeing all our employees' daily tasks, and performing tasks himself.
PowellArms@gmail.com
@PWArms

Powell Arms

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Re: Renovation of Philly Cricket's Wissahickon: All greens completed Sept 20 !!!
« Reply #195 on: September 21, 2013, 06:17:33 PM »
Below are photos of many of the completed greensites.  The perspective for each is from the fairway approximately 50 yards out.  One of the big maintenance tasks in the upcoming weeks is to firm up the sodded approaches. All yardages are approximate from the restored member tees, which will still play about 6400 yards. From the new & restored championship tees, the course will play about 7200 yards.  From the forward tees, it will play about 200 yards shorter - a few days were spent in the field with ladies hitting in to landing areas to get those tee locations finalized.

#1, 410 yard par 4



#2, 390 yard par 4, this greensite has been pushed left about 10 yards, away from the locker room



#3, 105 yard par 3



new #5, old #8; 170 yard par 3



new #6, old#9; 420 yard par 4




new #9, old 6; 350 yard par 4



#10, 150 yard par 3 (this greensite has moved about 5 paces right away from the parking lot hazard)

« Last Edit: September 21, 2013, 06:50:17 PM by Powell Arms »
PowellArms@gmail.com
@PWArms

Powell Arms

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Re: Renovation of Philly Cricket's Wissahickon: All greens completed Sept 20 !!!
« Reply #196 on: September 21, 2013, 06:44:37 PM »
#11, 390 yard par 4



#12, 500 yard par 5



#14, 380 yard par 4



#15, 200 yard par 3



#16, 390 yard par 4



#17, 410 yard par 4



#18, 460 yard par 4

PowellArms@gmail.com
@PWArms

Powell Arms

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Re: Renovation of Philly Cricket's Wissahickon: All greens completed Sept 20 !!!
« Reply #197 on: September 21, 2013, 07:00:41 PM »
Hell's Half Acre on #4 (old 7), 500 yard par 5




Hell's Quarter Acre on 14, 380 yard par 4

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Tim Martin

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Re: Renovation of Philly Cricket's Wissahickon: All greens completed Sept 20 !!!
« Reply #198 on: September 21, 2013, 07:01:20 PM »
Powell-Everything looks fantastic . 18 is such a great finisher. :)

D_Malley

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Re: Renovation of Philly Cricket's Wissahickon: All greens completed Sept 20 !!!
« Reply #199 on: September 22, 2013, 12:17:08 PM »
The golf course looks much improved!
love the new tee on #12, and the tree removal was long overdue.
The restored bunkers on #4, 14, & 16 are awesome.

I am having a hard time with the new look to the bunkers, grass faces as opposed to the sand flashing.
It is a very different look, but i am sure it will be much easier to maintain.