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

[Mark McKeever]

Completed Green on 4

[Mark McKeever]

Completed views of 6 green

[Powell Arms]

Here's a view of 4 from a bit further away, showing the tie-in between the sodded green & approach and the fairway, to be seeded with bent.



And the first hand cutting of 11 fairway, taken from the right of the 11 tee. All of the back 9 fairways have already been seeded, prior to any earthwork there. They should grow in enough to provide sod for patching of holes currently under construction, if needed beyond the sod that has been growing in South Jersey for the past year.

[Powell Arms]

Working Saturday morning, laying fescue sod in the Great Hazard on 4

[Mark McKeever]

In process of laying fescue sod, an awesome looking update of the grand hazard.  

[Gib Carpenter]

Thanks for posting all of these great pictures & updates Powell. It's all incredibly exciting stuff. Great energy at the club & enthusiasm for the project continues to build as the work progesses. Very Best, Gibber

[Charlie Gallagher]

Powell,
    I'll tell you, though I played terribly the day I played the course, I would find 9 daunting on my best days. If its 500 uphill, even my best drive of around 260  will leave me with a fairway wood in, and I'm accounting for the drop to the fairway from the new tee. With OB right, that new configuration is going to take a hard hole and make it more daunting. If I recall properly, the current 7th hole is going to be reconfigured from a par 5 to a long par 4, so 7, 8, 9 are going to have considerable bite to them.
   I would guess that the front nine is going to be the tougher of the two nines, and by a considerable margin. I can't think of a breather hole on it. With the changes on the back, there aren't going to be too many easy holes there, either. An already stout test, transitioning to a more challenging one.
   By the way, Hell's half acre looks like its going to be visually quite appealing. Could you report on where it will start on the chord length of the hole and where it will end?

[Powell Arms]

Charlie - thank goodness those are only the back tees.

You're correct. We will be reverting to the original routing, which flips 4-6 and 7-9. So it goes 1.2.3.7.8.9.4.5.6

We were joking about how stout an opening. 1 is par 4 1/2. 2 is tricky on the approach off the locker room. 3 will be a 100 yard shot into a tiny green. 7 will be a 460 par four. 8 is a tough green. 9 - enough said. 4 has that Great Hazard. 5 is an elevated green with two tiers. 6 is ob left and a tricky green.

On 4, (to be 7) the great hazard will start at about 310 /320 off of the member tees, well beyond reach off the tee. It will be 80 yards of carry on the left side (preferred ) and maybe 20 yards of carry on the right. A lot of thought has gone in to new forward tee locations to make the course enjoyable to all. For example, 9 ( to be  6) has a new very forward tee that will go across the road & stream, basically at the start of the fairway on the left.   

[Mark McKeever]

Yeah, that front nine is going to be a beast.  And the back is not going to be getting any easier.  An updated HHA picture below.  Beautiful work by Keith and the crew so far. 

[Dan Herrmann]

Now you guys are just showing off!  

(Wow!!!) 

[Jim Sherma]

This work is looking great!

[Powell Arms]

View today of the Great Hazard from the member's tee



And from the forward tees.




It's a second shot hazard, and it will be very interesting to watch tee shots here as the player hears the hazard screaming at them to get their tee shot in play.

Closeup of the bunker fairway left on 4 before the Great Hazard.  Lay up or play 150+?



And it is far from over - Bunker reintroduced greenside left on 4



Finishing the bunker asphalt liners on the left side of the 7th fairway




And work has commenced on the back nine, with the coring of the 11th green, with the front 9 in the background beyond the railroad trestle.

[Mark McKeever]

Hole 8 from the new (wince) 230 yard tee...

[Powell Arms]

Work underway  on 10, 2 and 3.









Sod being delivered for the front 9 as it nears completion.

[Ed Brzezowski]

Are you folks going to leave any sand for the other 100 local Philly courses? It looks beautiful, my guess is it is better in person.
Tremendous effort by the club, well done.

[Powell Arms]

There's plenty of sand left for the rest of the Delaware Valley, although Cricket is sure using a bunch. I think we are making up for the lack of use since 1922, as the bunkers and greens were never rebuilt.



Work is nearing completion on 7 today.

Here's a view of the hole from the recent yardage book.



With the return to the original routing, this hole will by #4, and will play as a par 4 requiring a wood or hybrid approach. The greenside bunkers have been modified to allow for a slightly wider opening in the front allowing for shots to run up. That shot was available as a par 5, but the entrance was not as inviting.


Here's the completion of the right greenside bunker with the green being sodded in the background.



Here's a detailed view of the bunker fairway right from 90 to 40 yards from the green, with the restoration of the church pews clearly shown.

[Powell Arms]

Here is a photo of the rough grading at 3. It is taken from the 9th green.




The 3rd green has changed significantly over the years, growing deep and narrow. It will be restored to a 100 to 110 yard shot to a kidney shapes green placed hard left against the railroad bed drop off, with a depth of 12-15 yards.



Note the excavation on front of the green, removing about 4 feet of fill that has accumulated over decades. The green elevation relative to the tee is unchanged, but the excavation gives the appearance of a substantial push up.

The area from tee to green will be a spotty fescue and sand waste area, and tied into the same with the par 3 10th. Keith Foster has noted that these dueling par 3's create a unique sense of place for the Wissahickon course, and he wants the restoration work there to be particularly coordinated to reflect that sense.

[Mark McKeever]

A sodded look at the 4th (Old 7th) green and bunkering.  



MM

[Mark McKeever]

Now another look at the dueling par 3's (holes 3 and 10) after some initial grading.  Looks like missing short on either of these is not going to end well...

Hole 3


Hole 10-Note the green is not as close to the parking lot.

[Mark McKeever]

A fresh new look at the 8th green from early this morning.  Reintroduced back bunkers. Recaptured full size of green while maintaining strong undulations.

[Mark McKeever]

Looking up hole 7 (now a par 4) with its new irrigation working well!

[Mark McKeever]

New look at the first (back) tee with a relocated warm up putting green.  If you were nervous about people watching before, you're going to be close enough to hear their comments now!!

[Dan Herrmann]

Thanks to Powell for a tour this morning.  Trust me, the course looks even better in person!

[Mike_Trenham]

Thanks to Powell for a tour this morning.  Trust me, the course looks even better in person!

I concur 100% place looks great.

[Powell Arms]

Overall, the project continues to progress well and made it through Tuesday's deluge and flooding with minimal setback.

Phase 1 (holes 4-9)

This past week #9 green was sodded.  With the restoration of the green size, the bunker at the left, which had been approximately 40 yards from the green front edge is now approx 20 yards from the front.



#8 green will be sodded this weekend.  All bunkers on #8 and #9 have been sanded.

In the following days, PCC staff will begin seeding #9 fairway, along with any rough areas which were not graded around #7, #8, and #9.

This will complete our wide-spread seeding of the course, as Phases 2 and 3 were seeded early this summer.  Our staff will continue to re-seed thin areas, and areas affected by contractor traffic as the fall progresses.

Phase 2 (3, 10, 18, 1, 11, 17)

Bunker edging on holes #3 and #10 is nearing completion, and the greens mix has been installed on these holes as well.  Work on green #2 will be next.

Phase 3 (12-17 tees)

The greens on Phase 3 were previewed this past week, and the contractor will begin their rough-grading work next week.


Another view of the par 3 8th, with the reintroduced back bunkers and the championship tee for #9 behind.  The green had been approximately 10% back to front, it is now 8%, but the articulation of the bunkers make it look as if the slope has increased, not decreased.



This view gives some perspective on the depth of the bunkers behind.