Restoration Timeline: Philly Cricket's Wissahickon course (Tillinghast / Foster)

[Joe Bausch]

Joe - great photos, as always. And the comparison to Evan's is not appropriate. I am pretty sure he was not playing golf while snapping photos!

Some would say I wasn't playing golf either the other day.  ;-)

Except for birdies at 10 and 11.  Golf gods at work!

[Matthew Lloyd]

these are some of the best golf photos i've ever seen. my dad is a philly native and when visiting the drive into my grandparents' house always passed by this course so i've only seen fleeting glimpses from the road.  it's nice to see the whole set-up.  looks amazing.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Evan Schiller's photos are great!

Has this aerial been posted before?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUrCQ_0WrTo

[Powell Arms]

Evan Schiller's photos are great!

Has this aerial been posted before?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUrCQ_0WrTo

Steve, I don't believe that video of hole by hole aerials has been posted here. The photos and video were done by club member Duncan Pearson. The photos date from 2011, after much of the tree removal had occurred but before the restoration started (June 2013)


Here is a video of both Wissahickon and Militia Hill, taken by an aerial drone this past month, in July 2014, during the club's Ross & Smith Member Guest:

http://youtu.be/b9VvoGqyFJA
 

[John Burnes]

Another review by Klein:

http://www.bjtonline.com/business-jet-news/philadelphia-cricket-club

[Mark McKeever]

We just received word from Jim Smith that Golf Magazine named Wissahickon the best private restoration of 2014, pretty good stuff!!  Article below:

[John Burnes]

Nice article, bad photo caption.

[Mark McKeever]

Good call John.  I didnt piece that one together.  I wonder if they wanted a picture of 7 instead..

MM

[John Burnes]

That said, some of the best bunkering I've seen anywhere.  Foster nailed it.  I contend they were very much influenced by Fownes and Tilly wanted something like it on his course.  I also love how they appear green side front from 180+, but in reality a good 14 yards short of the green. 

Just a great hole and a lot of fun to play.

[Phil Young]

John,

The bunkers are extremely similar to those that Tilly did at 5 Farms and Fresh Meadow. Take a look at the Tillinghast Association website in the National Championship Programs section. There you'll find both programs from each club for the major championships they held in 1928 & 1932. In them you'll find both original design drawings showing the bunkers drawn by Tilly and photographs of holes showing them as well.

[Brian Colbert]

Over Thanksgiving, I had a chance to visit Cricket with our own Mark McKeever.

As has been the common theme surrounding reviews of the final product, I was blown away. Hats off to the club for undertaking such a project. Some of my favorite changes:

The new routing of the front nine sections off the holes in such a way that the player feels like he must start out well on the three relatively simple opening holes, hang on for the next three, and then press on the last three to come in with a solid score on the front. There will be many a round ruined early on the new stretch of 4-5-6.

The bunker work is beautiful to look at - The look of holes 7 (old 4) and 14 is particularly remarkable. If you put up a before and after picture starting the day before the tree removal program started and ending on opening day post restoration, you would never believe that you were looking at the same golf course.

Reclaimed green space - The most obvious one is hole 11, but there are many holes where the club has been able to reclaim green space that was lost to maintenance and restore the putting surfaces to their original intent.

Hole 15 - the new angle of the tee brings the much deeper bunker on the left side of the green into play. I watched a certain player in my group that day find himself unable to get out.

Hole 16 - I like the new back tee on this hole. The back tee on the old hole always felt like trying to make a full swing in the opened trunk of my sedan

Hole 17 - New angle makes this hole a true dogleg for even the longest hitters. Bonus is that when the pin is on the right side of the green it is a hole that requires a draw off the tee and a fade into the pin. I have always been a sucker for holes like that.

I had a great experience and cannot wait to return in better weather. Congratulations to Jim Smith and the greens staff at Cricket, truly an impressive project that should have the other GAP clubs jealous but envious. Cricket has always been in the upper echelon of clubs, but this restoration work seals the club's position in the upper echelon of quality of golf.

[John McCarthy]

Mark:  as a desperate hooker with the  game  management skills of Frankie Machine, I am flying those bunkers every time.  Or maybe fall in.  But really thrilling.

[Powell Arms]

These have been posted on another thread, but in the interest of comprehensiveness, I am also posting on this thread.

The 2020 USGA fourball is coming to Philly Cricket , with the Militia Hill and Wissahickon courses to host the opening rounds, and the finals to be contested on the restored Wissahickon course.


http://www.usga.org/ChampEventArticle2.aspx?id=21474878338
 
http://www.geoffshackelford.com/homepage/2015/1/13/philadelphia-cricket-club-lands-2020-four-ball.html

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/20150113_Philadelphia_Cricket_Club_to_host_Four-Ball_championship.html

[Powell Arms]

We can all debate the validity of lists here:

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60697.0.html

Regardless, it's awesome to see the Wissahickon course jump from 102 to 32 on GolfWeek's top classic course list on the back of Keith Foster's restoration

[Terry Lavin]

We can all debate the validity of lists here:

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60697.0.html

Regardless, it's awesome to see the Wissahickon course jump from 102 to 32 on GolfWeek's top classic course list on the back of Keith Foster's restoration

No shock here. It's an eye-popper of a re-do.

[Wayne Wiggins, Jr.]

Wow... that's quite a move!!!  I gotta get back and check it out when i'm in Phila. this summer.  To leap-frog Aronimink and Huntington Valley must mean it's REALLY good.

[Powell Arms]

Just announced today, Philly Cricket's Wissahickon course will host 2016 Constellation Senior Players Championship. After a 106 year hiatus, the club will host its third major.


PGA Tour press release  https://t.co/VNGP5s0RRU

As an aside, I find it interesting that the club's original course, St Martins, hosted two U.S. Opens, in 1907 and 1910. And yet, when the new Wissahickon / Tillinghast course opened in 1922, in the blink of an eye after 1910, the USGA never held an event there . I wonder who pissed off whom? Still researching this question.

[Phil Young]

Powell,

That is wonderful news indeed!

[Kris Shreiner]

Another coup for a club that really laid it down to elevate their presentatipn! Congrats to the  membership and  the super teamwork of all involved to land another "biggie" for the Philly region.
I think we can now say with confidence that the Philadelphia area is finally returning to it's former prominence in hosting  elite level golf events.
There had been a noticeable absence from consistent hosting by Philly clubs of  top  professional events, so it 's nice to see us back in the mix!
 Cheers,
Kris

[Sinclair Eaddy]

Powell, I was lucky enough to play with the Golfweek Raters last year on the tour of all three courses. The renovated Wissahickon was one of my favorite rounds of the year by far... it was stunning. The Constellation Players was also played for a few years at Five Farms another fine Tillinghast layout. They underwent a extensive renovation under Keith Foster similar to yours that will reopen in a few weeks. It will be very interesting to compare the two renovations. If Five Farms turns out as well as Wissahickon the Mid Atlantic will have two of finest Tillinghast layouts in the country. Please give my regards to Mr. Olsman and Greg Guyer who were also terrific hosts.

Sinclair

[Jeff Bergeron]

I'm a huge Foster fan and have no doubt Five Farms will be a home run.

[Matt Frey, PGA]

The 2015 PGA Professional National Championship (PNC) Media Day was held today at the Philadelphia Cricket Club (PCC). Golf Channel's "Morning Drive" was onsite to interview key figures and present short exposes on the course and Philadelphia region. A complete video listing is below; there are some great pictures of the course and nice profiles of other area courses and clubs, including Cobb's Creek.

I attended the event, but was unable to stay to play golf...I had to get back to the office! I hope to play the course for the first time sometime soon!

• PGA President Derek Sprague and PNC defending champion preview the 2015 PNC and the course
• Philadelphia PGA Section Historian Pete Trenham provides PCC history
• Sports Illustrated's Michael Bamberger discusses PCC
• Matt Ginella plays Cobb's Creek
• Matt Ginella on a few of the Philadelphia area's best public golf courses
• Former Pennsylvania Governor and Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell on the PNC
• PNC defending champion speaks about his win
• 1985 PNC champion Ed Dougherty speaks about his win
• Ed Dougherty reflects on the deadly Philadelphia train derailment
• 2013 PNC champion Rod Perry speaks about his win

[Terry Lavin]

This is the ultimate vampire thread on gca.

[Matt Frey, PGA]

Each year, PGA Magazine's June issue runs a series of articles about the PGA Professional National Championship, which is traditionally held in late June. This year, the championship will be contested at the Philadelphia Cricket Club on their Wissahickon and Militia Hill Courses, June 28-July 1.

Here is the series of articles, in order of GCA relevance:

• A Closer Look: A Major Challenge; The Wissahickon and Militia Hill courses will test competitors from tee to green
• Tradition, History at Every Turn; Field of 312 PGA Professionals to test to test the Philadelphia Cricket Club with National Championship title and 20 berths in 2015 PGA Championship at stake on June 28-July 1
• Behind the Scenes; Host staff ready for big event
• A Model for Organizing Your Own Tournaments; The details that promise to make the 2015 PGA Professional National Championship special can be implemented into tournaments conducted at your own facility
• PGA Professional National Championship Through the Years
• 2015 PGA Professional National Championship Complete Field; These 312 players are scheduled to compete in this year's championship
• Past National Champions; These previous winners of the PGA Professional National Championship are expected to tee it up at the Philadelphia Cricket Club
• Can Block Win Again? As is stamped on the 2014 PGA Professional National champion's golf balls:"Why Not?"

On a personal note, I was fortunate enough to play the Wissahickon for the first time yesterday afternoon and was blown away...I very much enjoyed my round and learning about the course and restoration project.

[Matt Frey, PGA]

Bump. My apologies as the links in the last post were broken. All fixed now!