...under Courses by Country and Architecture Timeline.
When performed by the best restorers at the best courses, the quality of a restoration arches toward perfection these days.
At Mid Pines here in Southern Pines, Old Town up the road in Winston Salem, Winged Foot East, Hollywood near the Jersey shore, and at Orchard Lake in Michigan the works of five Golden Age master architects are being transformed into the best that any of these courses has ever been. While there is a dearth of new construction, these are
exciting times for restorations. Private clubs keenly feel the pressure to lift their game or be left behind.
Until recently Orchard Lake was not a name on the tip of many people’s tongues. One exception is Mark Saltzman, who was pleasantly surprised by it when he swept through Detroit a couple of years ago. So, the question is: how does a course of this quality fly under the radar? Pretty simple answer: shroud it in trees and undermine its rugged Alison bunkering. Fortunately, the essence of the course remained and a fortuitous concord of club leadership, green keeper and course architect enabled a terrific reincarnation.
Before the work, the course was still fine, particularly appealing to the good player. See the photo below of the second hole taken in 2010 after much of tree work was finished so that the hole could, at least ‘breathe.’ Yet, to my eye, the hole lacked majesty. The bunkers are two dimensional and small without the grandeur of ‘Alisons’.
The second hole at Orchard Lake in 2010 Now, look at my photo below from last month. Beauty abounds. To say that a lot has changed would be a gross understatement. Doesn’t the scene remind you of one of the free flowing courses in San Fran (Cal Club or SFGC)? In 2000, this was a densely lined, narrow fairway that resembled a bowling alley.
The second hole at Orchard Lake in 2013 Now all golfers find a delightful challenge on the club grounds. Good players have more to think about and the rest of us have more to enjoy. EVERYONE WINS.
Is there any doubt that Alison would love Orchard Lake if he was kicking about today? Though his famous works like Sea Island, Hirono and Milwaukee feature water, Alison grumbled about its use in writing. In some ways, Orchard Lake (ironically devoid of water) may well be the purest expression of Alison. Situated on only 140 acres, I am still trying to figure out why the course feels so big. Alison, as a designer, was no “shrinking violet” and his large bunkers and green pads clearly endow the course scale. That and how every inch of the modest-sized property was put to maximum use remind me of Merion. Both feature epic bunkers cut into landforms that provide a sense of grandeur to eighteen holes spread over a small parcel. Like Merion, it’s hard to imagine a better collection of holes emerging from the land.
Give Keith Foster tons of credit. Wherever he goes – Eastward Ho!, Southern Hills, Philly Cricket, Sands Point, Five Farms, here – he delivers big time. The passion and support of Green Keeper Aaron McMaster and his crew helped put this at the top of transformations.
On Halloween 2003, Matt Burrows, then at Myopia Hunt, told me about Orchard Lake. Having grown up in Detroit, Matt knew the region and he has as sharp an eye for architecture as anyone. His words were to the effect that the bones were excellent and the course just needed to be exposed. I filed the name away; Ron Whitten 'tweeted' compliments about it earlier this year and re-kindled my interest. Ten years after first learning of Orchard Lake, coincidentally near Halloween, I made it there. Though these gentlemen spoke about wildly different courses (the ‘before’ and ‘after’ versions), they were both spot on.
Members, their guests and the game of golf all win when clubs make smart decisions and hire smart people. This is that story for Orchard Lake, a discrete club in the northern suburbs with a newly fabulous Golden Age design.
Best,