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A Tillinghast Reef Hole?
Phil Young:
Ron,
I believe he's referring to the top of the photo where isn't shown. The two halves of the fairway come down in a heart-shape with the two center bunkers and mounds on their back side making up the Reef structure. At least that was how I interpreted it in my comments to him...
Jeff Bergeron:
Phil, is the 7th at Orchard Lake Alison's version of a Reef Hole?
Kevin_Reilly:
--- Quote from: Ronald Montesano on July 31, 2015, 04:10:39 PM ---Joel,
Along the left of what? I can't find it in the image you provided. Any help from anyone is appreciated.
--- End quote ---
The 4th hole is outlined, running "north-south" in the photo. The tee is where the "X" is.
Phil Young:
Jeff,
I don't believe so for several reasons. The Reef hole concept, in a sense, back on November 19th, 1645, the day that Tilly’s forebear, Pardon Tillinghast, stepped off the Boat from England and settled in Providence, Rhode Island. The Tillinghast family would grow quickly and mostly wealthy due to two businesses they became involved in. Tilly’s father would excel in both. B.C. Tillinghast established the Tillinghast Rubber Goods Co. in Philadelphia in 1871. This, though, was his second calling. His first was the sea. In 1862 at the age of 12 he joined the Merchant Marines. Promising young men of this age were able to do that. On July 3rd, 1866 he entered the U.S. Naval Academy at 16 years of age. Held back a year because of technical reasons most likely due to his age, he was scheduled to graduate in the class of 1874. Unfortunately, he came down with tuberculosis and was never able to graduate. Two years later he met Lavinia and they got married and opened up the Rubber Goods store. Yet the sea always called to him
The young Tilly became used to ocean voyages with his father on commercial sailing ships and so he, too, loved the sea. It is no surprise then that Tilly would one day design a type of hole that was inspired by his sea-going experiences.
The “REEF” hole concept is Tilly’s imagining a golf hole built from one a ship at sea (the tee) to the island (green) that sits in the ocean. It is only reachable by traversing the reef which surrounds it. Tilly’s concept is based upon how different ship captains would attempt the reef and thus gain entrance to the safe harbor and the island particularly during storms or when the sea was rough. For only the most experienced captains would attempt the challenge of the narrow passage through the reef, while the inexperienced one would lay up safely outside it until it was safe to make the passage through the opening. Hence, just as would happen on the ocean in real life, he imagined four distinct outcomes for playing this hole. That is why Tilly wrote that he, “named the type “The Reef” because of the diagonal spine which suggested treacherous reef water outside the harbor.’”
If you take a look at the 1933 painting of the course that hang's on the wall outside of the pro shop of Orchard Lake (& this painting is a direct copy of the original Alison design drawing) you'll see that its is a straightforward par-3 with a fairway entrance into the green and no hazard of any type between tee and green creating two distinct fairway areas. In other words, there isn't any "reef" to challenge the player. Secondly the hole was only 135 yards in length. All of Tilly's Reef hole par-3s were long one-shotters. They needed to be as his concept purposely allowed for a planned play off the mounds just short of the green to slingshot the ball onto the green for someone who might not be able to quite reach it normally. The mounding is also missing in the design drawing.
Ronald Montesano:
Kevin,
Thank you.
If that is so, how is that a reef hole? There is no obstacle between tee and green. There seem to be parallel bunkers, not the kind that Tillinghast would have reefed.
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