Mike Hendren - Mike thank you for the kind words - yes, it will be available and with a lot more detail - it's
a part of the project still in the works
Originally the my course drawing of NGLA was to be placed in the book somewhat like the map in
Scotland's Gift and was to be somewhere in the National portion of the text.
The publisher was "scrambling" a bit about the publishing date (we were 2-3 months late) and pushing
me for final editing - also the there was a change in ownership - next thing I knew it was the inside cover
plates - and there is a piece of the drawing missing as well. I was not happy - that was to be a feature
piece - a double gate-fold, I think the original concept was called.
I may end up publishing that and some of the other courses drawings myself as a group or as single
pieces suitable for framing.
There are a lot more course drawings for the book that will review all the (Macdonald) Raynor and Banks
courses. I tried to make my renditions of the "original intent" of their architecture. I have a large collection
of that material..
What has "happened" to these courses over the years is another story (wow - in many cases do we really
want to know) ...... however, there were quite a few courses that were “improved” by clubs - hah! ............
well I guess not :-)
But thankfully lately there have been a number of excellent restorations and many of the courses have
headed back to embrace what once was, after so many years of near destruction.
As most of you who know me are aware, my goal in all this, and in all I continue to do, is to honor their
original work. Their work and the work of most of the original work of the architects from the Golden Age
do not need very much "help" from others. If most of these courses were put back to the way they were
originally built and with their original greens and undulations (most have been lost) as well as the severity
of their original bunkering, you'd have one a heck of time scoring.
"We" had a phrase come out of Yale not long ago ...... saying "the original Raynor course was unplayable
- too tough." hah - I guess that means NGLA, Fishers Island and some of the other "originals" are
too tough to play also .....
And by the way the coninuing destruction of the Yale course continues as I'm typing this. I'm sure Geoff
Childs will fill us in on another thread soon.
I’m sure a lot of you are tired of hearing about Yale and what has been done to the great design. In my
not too humble opinion, in its original form that was the finest of all the Seth Raynor courses. “We” who
love that course keep bring the subject up to serve as a sad lesson on what can be done to a great piece
of art (in the name of “repair/restoration/ ease of maintenance” - the phrase changes as they get
whacked about what they do). That course was textbook.
None of us has played the course as originally built and we all still think it is a super course even though it
is a shell of itself. I doubt if I’ll ever play it again - I’ll go there to show others what once was, and like
some old girlfriend, try to remember her as she was in her “glory days”
Sorry for rambling.
George Bahto
ggb313@aol.com