Plainfield and Ross

[Jim_Kennedy]

A short 1925 article mentioned the official opening of the new course: The Plainfield Country Club officially opened its new eighteen-hole course today with a sweepstakes event..... and a part of Ran's review of Plainfield states: ..... "While Donald Ross afficionados always applaud Donald Ross for his routings, the one here is a particular standout. For instance, as Gil Hanse points out, Donald Ross‘s varied use of the same ridge in the creation of the first green, sixth hole, seventh tee, ninth tee, and eighth hole is nothing short of brilliant. The course itself is built on a 21,000 year old glacial terminal moriane with the clubhouse occupying the highest point in Middlesex County. Donald Ross‘s routing over the property’s rolling hillocks yielded many singularly distinctive holes to the point where Plainfield doesn’t remind the golfer of any other Donald Ross course".

I have read a 1913 article about the course which says:  Incidentally, the school boys will find in the Plainfield course a stlffer scoring proposition than formerly. The new holes are now in excellent turf and later on more traps will be placed. Not long since Donald Ross, the well known professional, went over the links and made a number of suggestions which are likely to be carried out.

And in a 1914 article this was said:  Evidently one of the watch words of the Plainfield Country Club is progress"...... and to keep their course up to date they believed something needed to be done with the trapping.....Accordingly, the services of Donald Ross, the golf course architect, were obtained and under his direction nearly a hundred additional traps were put in.

I've played there a couple of times (pre-Hanse) and thoroughly enjoyed the course (and who wouldn't?), but I do have a couple of questions.

First, whose course did Ross re-bunker in the 'teens, and second; Ran mentions that Ross' routing and singularly distinctive holes do not remind the golfer of any other Ross course. When Ross built the new course in the '20s did he use much of the already existing routing?

Thanks

[Patrick_Mucci]

Jim,

I don't know the answer to your questions, but, about the routing and the use of the ridge at Plainfield, those comments remind me of Seminole.

One has to wonder, was that one of his talents, routing a course with pronounced ridges running through them ?

[Mark Saltzman]

Jim,

I don't know the answer to your questions, but, about the routing and the use of the ridge at Plainfield, those comments remind me of Seminole.

One has to wonder, was that one of his talents, routing a course with pronounced ridges running through them ?

And I believe Oakland Hills was built with a glacial ridge running through it... most notable on the 10th and 11th holes and several holes on the North Course.

[Dan Boerger]

Pat, that's a very good question and insight. If you want to play a great Ross course with great routing and with a couple significant ridges, check out Gulph Mills in suburban Philadelphia.

[Jim_Kennedy]

I've found several references to Tom Bendelow as having done the original 9 hole course for the Hillside Golf and Tennis Club, along with creating another nine for them later on. He also did the North Plainfield GC.

From the responses by Pat, Mark, and Dan, it seems that the use of the ridge was not that unique for Ross.

[Mike Policano]

Could some of the early references apply to the nine hole course across the street from Plainfield? It was used as the range for this year's Barclays.

[Jim_Kennedy]

Mike,
Yes, I think they might, but they also mention that Bendelow built another nine, making for 18 holes at Hillside G&TC (AKA Plainfield). When Ross re-did the bunkering in the teens he was doing that on an 18 hole course.

 

[Patrick_Mucci]

Pat, that's a very good question and insight. If you want to play a great Ross course with great routing and with a couple significant ridges, check out Gulph Mills in suburban Philadelphia.

Dan,

I'd love to, but TEPaul has stopped calling me at /11:00 pm, so I'll have to use other sources next spring

[Alex Lagowitz]

The routing that Ross did for Plainfield CC reads "THE NEW EIGHTEEN HOLE GOLF COURSE" suggesting that Plainfield may have had a track before Donald Ross came in

[Tom MacWood]

In his pamphlet from the late 20s Ross listed Plainfield as a new design as opposed to a remodel or redesign.

[John_Lovito]

Ross was originally hired to re do the bunkering of the Bendelow course.  He later convinnced the club to completely re do the course, not renovate the Bendelow course. 

[Jim_Kennedy]

John,
I have never thought otherwise. The question I asked was if Ross used any of the existing routing (perhaps I should have said hole corridors) in his plan for the course that's there today.

[Sven Nilsen]

Wasn't sure where to add this article, so I dragged up this old thread.  The article is from a 1908 (month unknown) edition of Golfers Magazine.

Two things stood out:

1.  First, the course had 18 holes as early as 1908.

2.  Second, the use of template holes.  This corresponds pretty nicely with CBM's work at NGLA and his thoughts on the ideal golf course, and may be one example of his influence on the committee's of other clubs.