The following is from Phil Young:
"I see that there is much misinformation running rampant in the two Colt/BHCC threads on gca.com. Here is a synopsis of what actually happen. With the exception of a single newspaper article, everything is found in the Club's Board minutes which is how I was able to prove the Colt design attribution:
1- Bendelow designed an 18-hole, 6,300 yard course in 1909 that opened its first 12 holes in 1911 and the rest in 1912.
2- Harry Colt is first mentioned as having made recommendations for a "new Course" for BHCC in May 1913. The Board meeting that month reviewed the recommendations he ahd made for a new course to take the place of the current Bendelow course. These recommendations included the puchasing of an adjacent 50-acre tract "for the purpose of the golf course."
3- June 1913 Board minutes mention the decision to try to purchase this land "in order to extend to its proper limits the golf course..."
4- July 1913 Board minutes record the "approval to purchase" the property for the course.
5- October 11, 1913 Board minutes record, "The report of the Chairman of the Greens Committee, Mr. M.T. Conklin, suggesting some changes from the plans as prepared by H.S. Colt, was accepted with instructions that work proceed immediately along the lines suggested by the Greens committee and a motion to this effect was carried."
6- From November onward a separate set of accounts are recorded in the Board minutes dealing with the monies paid for the construction of "the new course."
7- December 16, 1914, the Detroit Free Press reports that BHCC's clubhouse is to be expanded. At the end of the article it also states, "The new golf course, laid out by harry Colt, English expert, is completed and will rank with the finest in the Middle West."
8- April 15, 1922 - The first and ONLY mention of the Donald Ross designd rawings in the Board minutes state, "It was decided that the blue-prints made by Donald Ross, suggesting changes in the course, which were placed with the Secretary by Mr. Hutchings, the Chairman of the Greens Committee, be kept with the permanent records." No work was done to the course between that date and 1926 when the Greens Committee began working on the course. That year they removed some bunkers, put in others and redesigned some existing ones. None of these were done according to the Ross plans.
9- November 23, 1926 - in a letter written by BHCC's first President, Edwin S. George, he writes, "Having a high regard for the ability of Mr. Colt, who so efficiently enabled us to correct the difficulties which existed in the original congested Bloomfield Hills golf course..."
10- On October 1, 1930, the Board minutes report that the "Chairman of the Greens Committee was granted authority to proceed with a new tee on No.5 & a new green on No.7 and No.8, and they were empowered to employ a golf architect if they deemed necessary." They chose not to and did the design work themselves. They would make changes to the first 10 holes through the 1930s.
11- On May 27, 1936, the Board minutes report that the reconstruction on the first ten holes had been completed and that the "Green Committee will begin the remaining eight greens." This is followed up by, "Upon proper motion duly supported and carried, the Greens Committee was authorized to have Mr. Donald Ross, golf architect, come to the Club some time during the summer to lay out plans for remodeling the eight greens." There isn't another mention of Donald Ross in any minutes, documents, etc... The minutes do reflect that the "Greens Committee" finished the redesigning of the final eight holes on their own.
So, there was an original Bendelow 18-hole design followed by a new original Harry Colt design, followed by a new Greens Committee design followed later on by a Robert Trent Jones Sr. design...
To answer a few suppositions, neither Donald Ross, who travelled with Colt to Chicago, Alison or anyone else was with him on the return trip when he went to BHCC. With help from Paul Turner we have been able to date Colt's visit to the Club in April 1913 while on his way to Pine Valley. At the time he left written recommendations but no plans. In-between there was ongoing communications between the Club and Colt as the October board minutes refer to the "plans as prepared by H.S. Colt..." This means that of the few solo Colt designs in the United States, Bloomfield Hills CC is the only one left.
In addition to these authentications, we were also able to show that a series of early course photographs could be dated to ca.1925 meaning they show the course as designed by Colt and built to his plans. We were also able to conclude that a 1925 course drawing on which a sprinkler plan was overlaid is, in actuality, a copy of the original Colt design plan. Both of these conslusions are made because no significant changes were made to the course between 1913 & 1925.
Currently, Keith Foster has created a wonderful master plan that will enable much of the brilliant Harry Colt to be brought back to life. The Club firmly believes that they are now charged with "bringing Colt back to America." It will be wonderful when it happens.
Feel free to ask any questions you may have and I'll gladly answer them."