Medinah Course #1 (Grow-In Photo Tour)

[JR Potts]

I took the opportunity this morning to take a walk around Course #1 as many have asked to see the photos.  As some may know, the day after the Ryder Cup, Renaissance Golf and their crew began work on renovating Course #1.  The first seed went in the ground in late June and we are hoping to have the course ready to open in June, 2014.  I couldn't be happier with what I see out there.  Enjoy.  If you have any questions, I'm sure Tom or I can answer.  The yardages are approximate and are from the back tees.  The course should play from approximately 7000 yards to as short as 5800.

1st Hole - Par 5 (520 Yards)

From Tee


From Fairway


3rd Shot


Green


2nd Hole - Par 4 (420 yards)

From Tee


From Fairway


Green


Back of Green


3rd Hole - Par 4 (300 yards)

From Tee


From Fairway


Greenside


4th Hole - Par 4 (480 yards)

From Tee


From Fairway


From short, right of green


From side of green


5th Hole - Par 3 (190 yards)

From Tee


6th Hole - Par 4 (430 yards)

From Tee (Hit it at cell tower)


From Fairway


7th Hole - Par 3 (200 yards)

From Tee


8th Hole - Par 4 (440 yards)

From Fairway


From Greenside


9th Hole - Par 5 (600 yards)

From short tee


From Fairway


10th Hole - Par 4 (370 yards)

From Tee


11th Hole - Par 4 (435 yards)

From Tee


From lower part of fairway


From upper part of fairway


12th Hole - Par 4 (465 yards)

From Tee


From Fairway


From fairway/short green


By Green


By Green


13th hole - Par 4 (300 yards)

From Tee


From Fairway


Green


14th Hole - Par 4 (390 yards)

From Tee


From Fairway


15th Hole - Par 3 (135 yards)

From Tee


16th Hole - Par 4 (440 yards)

From Tee




From Fairway


17th Hole - Par 5 (555 yards)

From Tee


From Fairway


18the Hole - Par 3 (190 yards)


Misc

View from 14th tee up 11.


View from 1st tee across back-nine.


View to back of 15th green from 16th fairway

[Jon Wiggett]

Course looks very good. Some of the modelling looks refreshingly Braidesk. Great job guys, keep it up.

Jon

[Joel_Stewart]

I know Tom told me the other day but how many of these holes are new and how many are existing? 

[John McCarthy]

Was there a lot of tree removal and was there any member resistance?

Were any of the water hazards changed and if so how was dealing withe local flood authorities/army corp?

[RJ_Daley]

I only got a cart tour of #1 and ladies course by an assist super back at '99, (or was it 2000 PGA?)   I remember seeing some of the ladies course greensites that had some of the characteristic, what I call snarly lipped, old Tom Bendelow style bunkers and mounds with snarly lips next to smallish greens.  The closest I've seen to that styling was at Quic Qui Oc in Elkhart Lake, WI (old Bendy original 9 holes).

My question for Tom or JR, is if what we see on that similar snarly lipped bunker and mound combination on 12 and 13, or remnants of Tom Bendelow, or Roger Packard features, or K&N remodels?  

Were there always 2 "driveable" par 4s, one a side, or was there a shortening of a longer hole by TD and Renaissance decision?  The only time I saw the course, I thought #9 was one of the most appealing holes.  

Wonderful photo tour.  Thanks.

[PCCraig]

Looks incredible. Congratulations Ryan and Tom. From the pictures it looks like a really fun golf course with a very distinct parkland look. Best of luck with the rest of the grow in!

[Tom_Doak]

I know Tom told me the other day but how many of these holes are new and how many are existing? 

The new holes are

#2 - cleared through trees from old #2 tee to old #3 green area, which was raised significantly
#4 - plays from old 5th tee over old #2 green to a green site in old #2 fairway
#5 - new par-3 cleared from trees
#15 - new par-3 from old 15th tee to start of 15th fairway
#16 - plays through old 15th green and 6th tee up the hill to a new green site
#17 - plays across old 5th and 16th holes to fairway near old 10th green, then across pond and up to old par-4 17th green

The sixth tee and tenth green were also moved substantially, although I believe Bendelow's 10th green was right where ours is.

[Tom_Doak]

Was there a lot of tree removal and was there any member resistance?

Were any of the water hazards changed and if so how was dealing withe local flood authorities/army corp?

There was a lot of tree removal, and not much resistance that made it back to me, anyway.  The fact that we redesigned several holes to play diagonally between the corridors of two holes on the original course meant that a bunch of really big trees had to come down in the middle of the course; after that, the other clearing work that we did didn't seem like a big deal, although I think it made a big difference.  Some examples of the changes are the great see-through backdrops at the 2nd, 8th and 14th holes, and of which were blocked by trees previously.

The water hazard was changed at the 17th, in concert with the county and township.  In fact, a lot of drainage detention work was done as part of this project, in order to make up for years of development in the area and changes on course #3 which had not been mitigated.  There are big detention basins between #3 and 4, between #1 and 17, between #11 and 14, and in front of #12 tee, but we managed to shape them in a way where they aren't too obvious, and we hope to do additional plantings to make them blend in better.

[Tom_Doak]

RJ:  The bunkering on #12 and 13 is all new.  We did retain locations of bunkers on some of the old holes ... #8 in particular is pretty similar to what was there before, but the style is deliberately different.  The bunkers on course #1 had become pretty non-descript over the years.

The 3rd hole (originally the 4th) and 13th holes were each 325-yard par-4 holes before our involvement.  The 13th is a complete redesign from a very small raised green closer to the road (right in front of the big silver maple).  The 4th hole is pretty similar, but we raised and narrowed the green so it would be more difficult if you drove it close to the green but wide to either side.

The stretch of 7-8-9 was the most appealing part of the old course, which we retained pretty much as they were, just with new green contours.  We strongly considered reversing the nines and having this be the closing stretch, but one factor for keeping the sequence the same was the fact that so many members are prone to making big numbers at the 9th, and we didn't want them to walk off the course after making an 8 on the last hole.

[Andrew Buck]

Looks great.  Thanks for sharing.

[Matthew Essig]

Spectacular!

[Terry Lavin]

A great alternative to getting your ass kicked on #3. Very fetching indeed.

[RJ_Daley]

TD, what greens construction method did you use, native soil?  If so, did you use the XDG drain system?  What are the turf species and cultivars on greens/surrounds and tee and FWs?  My home course did a very 'economical' 18 greens and surrounds remodel using XDG drain, and planted Rutgers Luminary, planting between about Aug 1 - 15.  The season has been spectacular growing temps up  here in GB.  Has Chicago been good and  is the turf growing even better than expected there?  

[JNC Lyon]

As members of Gen Y would say, "Dank."  The restoration looks awesome here.  I'm a big fan of that short carry bunker on number 1--some neat quirk right out of the box for a club not exactly known for its quirk.  I also like how Doak and company often use one or two bunkers to make a point and establish angles.  I'm going through the Oakland Hills thread right now, and it just looks like Rees barfed out bunkers on every hole.  One well-placed bunker is worth a thousand poorly-placed ones.

Having not played Medinah, Terry Lavin's comment about the course being "a great alternative to getting your ass kicked" seems pretty apt.  I know of another club in Upstate New York that has the good cop bad cop dynamic, and it makes for a nice complement day in and day out.

[JR Potts]

I've already spent a considerable amount of time walking Course #1 over the last year.  I'm not so sure that Course #1 will be any easier than Course #3 from the back tees.  However, it does provide some much needed flexibility in distance and challenge than #3.

[Tom_Doak]

TD, what greens construction method did you use, native soil?  If so, did you use the XDG drain system?  What are the turf species and cultivars on greens/surrounds and tee and FWs?  My home course did a very 'economical' 18 greens and surrounds remodel using XDG drain, and planted Rutgers Luminary, planting between about Aug 1 - 15.  The season has been spectacular growing temps up  here in GB.  Has Chicago been good and  is the turf growing even better than expected there?  

RJ:

We built USGA greens on #1, as the club had done successfully on course #3 a handful of years ago.  The old push-up greens on #1 were getting brutalized in the wetter summers, likely because the native soil is more silt than anything.

[Sean_A]

How big is the property for #1?

Ciao

[jeffwarne]

As members of Gen Y would say, "Dank."  The restoration looks awesome here.  I'm a big fan of that short carry bunker on number 1--some neat quirk right out of the box for a club not exactly known for its quirk.  

.

a two humped mascot bunker

[Jud_T]

Looks really good (particularly that bunkering on #12!).  Thanks for posting JR.  It really shows that the club leadership is on their game IMO.  Most clubs would be very happy to rest on their laurels with #3 essentially THE go-to tournament venue in the major metro area with a ton of history, rankings etc.

Tom,

If the only limitation was safety, how many more trees would you take down if you had your druthers?

[Mark McKeever]

Wow, that looks awesome!  Can't wait to see the final pictures next year when it's ready for play!

MM

[Andrew Buck]

I've already spent a considerable amount of time walking Course #1 over the last year.  I'm not so sure that Course #1 will be any easier than Course #3 from the back tees.  However, it does provide some much needed flexibility in distance and challenge than #3.

JR,

Is it safe to assume you think the back tees at #1 will be similar to the 7,000 yard tees on #3, and not the ungodly long lengths it can be stretched to?

At what length does the membership play #3 for the Club Championship or similar. 

[Andrew Buck]

After taking a little longer look this morning, it looks really fun, but still very challenging.  

I was surprised to see morning shade on several greens, especially the 2nd, 7th, 9th, 11th and 12th.  Was there ever consideration to remove some of those trees for morning sunlight?  

On 17, how far to the water?  Is there a chance for longer hitters to take it over water?  

[Tom_Doak]

Looks really good (particularly that bunkering on #12!).  Thanks for posting JR.  It really shows that the club leadership is on their game IMO.  Most clubs would be very happy to rest on their laurels with #3 essentially THE go-to tournament venue in the major metro area with a ton of history, rankings etc.

Tom,

If the only limitation was safety, how many more trees would you take down if you had your druthers?

Jud:

We took down all the trees I wanted to, except for a couple up around the clubhouse, so that you could see the dome better from out on the golf course.  There is also a bunch of cooling apparatus on the roof, and they are concerned you'd be looking at the works more than at the architecture of the building.

Andrew raises a good question about morning shade ... frankly, I didn't have too many sunny mornings there to notice it, it was always raining or threatening to rain.  But I have already told Curtis that he's welcome to take down any tree he wants to for shade reasons, so presumably he doesn't think it is an issue on those holes. 

[JR Potts]

I've already spent a considerable amount of time walking Course #1 over the last year.  I'm not so sure that Course #1 will be any easier than Course #3 from the back tees.  However, it does provide some much needed flexibility in distance and challenge than #3.

JR,

Is it safe to assume you think the back tees at #1 will be similar to the 7,000 yard tees on #3, and not the ungodly long lengths it can be stretched to?

At what length does the membership play #3 for the Club Championship or similar. 

No, I think that Course #1 can play as hard as Course #3 can play - even from the ungodly 7700 yards distance - as it's a totally different challenge.  But, that's my perspective as distance is not a issue for me.  

That said, I think for members, Course #3 traditionally plays at 7,000 yards or 6,700 yards - depending on the tees selected.

Regarding the trees on course #1, I suspect a few more may fall.  To reaffirm what Tom said, our Superintendent generally has full discretion to take down any tree he wants - insofar as the removal is blessed by the golf course architect.

Medinah has tried very hard and has generally succeeded in removing the membership and the board from all golf course design and maintenance decisions over the last few years.  I think Tom can attest to the fact that he received little to no "input" and/or "direction" from any member during the design and construction phase.

[RJ_Daley]

Medinah has tried very hard and has generally succeeded in removing the membership and the board from all golf course design and maintenance decisions over the last few years.  I think Tom can attest to the fact that he received little to no "input" and/or "direction" from any member during the design and construction phase.

Wow, that sounds like a bold and enlightened policy.  The policy has to originate in some quarter.  It seems there must be one or a few very convincing leaders among the board to overcome the sort of human nature natural way of power politics that so often characterize such a structure.  

JR, do you know if there are plans or talks underway to hold a prestigious national tournament on the newly remodeled #1 after a few years of grow-n maturity? (like a mid-am or other national amateur or web.com pro championship level of competition)

Are there tees set about 63-6500 for averagely skilled members?  

Any talk about work on the ladies course?  Is there an opportunity there for an exploration of a restoration effort of an actual Bendelow design- given the ability to still work within the distance limits for ladies that would be in line with original design concepts?  As I remember, the ladies course has some greensites and adjacent bunkering very similar to Bendelow design that I've seen at some of his work here in WI.  If my questions are out of tune, please keep in mind that I haven't seen the facility in a dozen years or so...