Orchard Lake CC (MI) Photos with fescue grown in (More to come)

[BCowan]

                                                                                                                            Photos by James Haefner
#2


#3


#6


#8


#13


#17 tee


#17 green/ #18 tee

[Will Lozier]

Lovely!

[Niall Hay]

Wow

[BHoover]

Very nice.  The combination of the colors of the fescue, the light and the sky makes for some great photos.

[Chris DeToro]

Great looking--was the fescue part of the changes made this past year to the course?

[BCowan]

Great looking--was the fescue part of the changes made this past year to the course?

yes, it takes 1.5-2 years for it to grow in properly.  Patience is required.  They are adding more fescue.  It helps being on sandy soil.

[Ryan Taylor]

Great pics. I love the contrast of colors. Early Oct pics may be even better! I'm curious to see if OLCC cracks the Golfweek Classic 101-200 rankings next March. Barton Hills CC (101) and Belvedere GC (142) are not better golf courses post renovation. This is coming from someone that gets Belvedere GC and has a tremendous fondness for the place.

[Niall Hay]

Another feather in the cap of Keith Foster et al.

Striking. Used to play that course a bunch back in the day and the improvements/changes are wonderful.

Well said, Keith did a great job.

[Niall Hay]

Great pics. I love the contrast of colors. Early Oct pics may be even better! I'm curious to see if OLCC cracks the Golfweek Classic 101-200 rankings next March. Barton Hills CC (101) and Belvedere GC (142) are not better golf courses post renovation. This is coming from someone that gets Belvedere GC and has a tremendous fondness for the place.

OLCC made Golfweek's Best: Next 100 Classic Courses in 2012.

http://golfweek.com/news/2012/may/09/golfweeks-best-next-100-classic-courses/

[Ryan Taylor]

Niall, Thanks. Hard to believe it dropped out of the rankings as the fescue and greens are now coming in to their own!

[Niall Hay]

Niall, Thanks. Hard to believe it dropped out of the rankings as the fescue and greens are now coming in to their own!

Agree completely. Don’t think that anyone would argue the improvements are impressive and significant.

[Terry Lavin]

Great parkland eye candy.  Here's hoping the members keep it.  Many clubs have eliminated attempts to grow native grasses on parkland courses here in the Midwest, arguing that they prefer the big, green carpet look.

[Chris DeToro]

Great parkland eye candy.  Here's hoping the members keep it.  Many clubs have eliminated attempts to grow native grasses on parkland courses here in the Midwest, arguing that they prefer the big, green carpet look.

Which is such a shame because I've loved it every time I've seen it on a Midwest course

[BCowan]

It really takes a confident keeper to get the ball rolling and lead, which OLCC has.  Also it is important that the soil is sandy or the organic layer is striped on a clay loam based soil before planting.  If the fescue process isn't done correctly you are going to get a lost ball paradise (then fescue gets a bad rap).  Once members see how much better a course is with tree removal they start suggesting more trees to be removed.  Then tree removal becomes contagious.  They have clearly benefited from patience and doing it right the first time.    

[Aaron McMaster]

It really takes a confident keeper to get the ball rolling and lead, which OLCC has.  Also it is important that the soil is sandy or the organic layer is striped on a clay loam based soil before planting.  If the fescue process isn't done correctly you are going to get a lost ball paradise (then fescue gets a bad rap).  Once members see how much better a course is with tree removal they start suggesting more trees to be removed.  Then tree removal becomes contagious.  They have clearly benefited from patience and doing it right the first time.    

Niall is correct, it was second 100 in 2012.  It's incomparable how much better it is now than before.  We have had a lot of raters out this summer so it will be interesting to see where it lands but as the sup I enjoy the hidden gem it is.
 

[Jerry Kluger]

The website explains the wonderful history of the course and I was wondering if any of the original drawings were available when the work was done on the course.  The rectangular tee boxes are very cool - do they go back to the original design of the course?

[Niall Hay]

Would be great to see an updated famous Saltzman tour of OLCC. A before and after would be epic.  Are you out there Mark?

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,51441.0.html

[Bradley Anderson]

Beautiful!

Kudos to the superintendent, Aaron McMaster!

[Jeff Bergeron]

Great parkland eye candy.  Here's hoping the members keep it.  Many clubs have eliminated attempts to grow native grasses on parkland courses here in the Midwest, arguing that they prefer the big, green carpet look.

I am obviously biased as a past president and the green chair when we decided to hire Keith. That being said the project has 99% member satisfaction and we are extending the native along with further tree removal. Aaron (aka Turf) has done a fantastic job. Come see OLCC. It is the best restoration I have ever seen. Why? Because the Board and Green Committee allowed Turf and Foster to do their job with little interference. What interference there was has been remediated in year two. The Clubs commitment to 'do great' is reflected in the finished product.

[Sean_A]

The course looks very fine. 

Out of curiosity, (using #s 2 & 18 as examples) did the club debate pushing fairway lines around the bunkering? 

Ciao

[Niall Hay]

The course looks very fine. 

Out of curiosity, (using #s 2 & 18 as examples) did the club debate pushing fairway lines around the bunkering? 

Ciao

That is a great question Sean. Aaron and Jeff?

[Adam Lawrence]

These are lovely images. I particularly like the top one - if that was not taken by a professional photographer then whoever took them should consider a change of career (if they were taken by a pro then do you have permission to share them here, Ben, and is a credit appropriate?)

[BCowan]

These are lovely images. I particularly like the top one - if that was not taken by a professional photographer then whoever took them should consider a change of career (if they were taken by a pro then do you have permission to share them here, Ben, and is a credit appropriate?)

They were taken by a professional.  Yes, I have permission.  James Haefner took the photos.

[Aaron McMaster]

These are lovely images. I particularly like the top one - if that was not taken by a professional photographer then whoever took them should consider a change of career (if they were taken by a pro then do you have permission to share them here, Ben, and is a credit appropriate?)

Adam,

Thanks for the compliments on the images it's been a long road but we are closing in on what we think is a pretty special place.  To clear up a couple of your questions...

A. The photos were taken by a member of the club and the club owns the images
B.  He really only does our course as his speciality and expertise is automotive images
C.  I know Ben and since I really don't have the time to figure out how to post images on the site yet, I asked if he would send a few of the newer pics with fescue grown in to give people a taste of the finished product since Ran's visit when the fescue was not up.

[Aaron McMaster]

Beautiful!

Kudos to the superintendent, Aaron McMaster!

Brad, Thanks!  Hope your doing well and had a great year this season.  If you made it out of winter, mother nature was pretty kind this summer.