Nine-holers that became eighteen holes and should have stayed at nine...

[Garland Bayley]

The point I should perhaps have expanded in the original post was that 'diminution' in this context was of two kinds

1) the simple addition of a mediocre second nine holes, often on ground of less good quality than the original nine
2) the (malign) reworking of the original nine as part of an expansion to eighteen, often when there really isn't room for eighteen proper...

At least with (1) the sensitive soul can simply play the original nine twice.

Also, some of holes from the original 9 are used on the front, and the others used on the back, thereby reducing the quality of both 9s.

That is what Mason did at Pendleton CC.

[Marty Bonnar]

Did Pacific Grove begin as a nine-holer? If so, which nine?
Cheers
F.

[Howard Riefs]

Did Pacific Grove begin as a nine-holer? If so, which nine?
Cheers
F.

Yes. Front nine opened in 1932. Back nine (near the coast) opened in 1960. 


https://www.playpacificgrove.com/about/history

[Marty Bonnar]

I've just checked to find out that the seaside holes were added later. A case of later improvement, I'd say.
Cheers,
F.

[Marty Bonnar]

Crossing Posts, Howard!
Cheers,
M.

[Tom_Doak]

How about the Broadmoor (Ross) being split into two lesser (but still pretty good) courses by 18 RTJ holes in the 50s/60s?  Not sure if this fits, as it's a resort that no doubt wanted more golf without there being a clear favorite course that everyone wanted to play.

It's off topic, but Boyne Highlands did the same thing in the 1970's, splitting the original RTJ course in two, and splicing nine holes by Bill Newcomb into each of the two.  Mr. Jones and company were pissed off about it for years.  I never made the connection that they had done the same thing to Ross's Broadmoor a few years before 

[Brad Tufts]

How about the Broadmoor (Ross) being split into two lesser (but still pretty good) courses by 18 RTJ holes in the 50s/60s?  Not sure if this fits, as it's a resort that no doubt wanted more golf without there being a clear favorite course that everyone wanted to play.

It's off topic, but Boyne Highlands did the same thing in the 1970's, splitting the original RTJ course in two, and splicing nine holes by Bill Newcomb into each of the two.  Mr. Jones and company were pissed off about it for years.  I never made the connection that they had done the same thing to Ross's Broadmoor a few years before 

Helps when the previous architect is no longer living!


I would assume the real reason for splitting them was logistics.  The Broadmoor hotel has never moved, and the RTJ 18 was on the other side of a road 4 or 5 holes uphill from the hotel and adjacent pro shop.  To save building another clubhouse, it had to make sense to link them together by splitting the courses.  Apparently late season one can ask and play the Ross 18 if it isn't crowded...or just do so sneakily at any time!  I think there is a rating for the Ross layout on the GHIN system.

[Tim Martin]

I was going to say Dorset but Tim beat me to it.  I was honestly a bit disappointed by the old 9 at DFC, after I had long wanted to give the course a try.  It's not bad by any stretch, just not hugely memorable.

New England has a bunch of courses like this, with a good old nine and a new nine that is less than amazing.  Biddeford -Saco (Ross + Cornish & Silva), Brunswick (Stiles + Cornish), Cape Neddick (Ross + Silva), and Waterville (Orrin Smith + Cornish)  in Maine, CC of NH (Stiles + Mitchell) and Kingswood in NH (Ross + Tom Clark), CC of Barre (Stiles + Hurdzan) and St. Johnsbury (Willie Park + Cornish) in VT.  Crumpin-Fox in Central Mass. would be another, but the two nines were within 10 years of each other, under the same design flag, with RTJ doing the first nine and Rulewich doing the other.

All of these are worth a play, with expectation of a less-than-spectacular compilation or tie-in of two nines.

How about the Broadmoor (Ross) being split into two lesser (but still pretty good) courses by 18 RTJ holes in the 50s/60s?  Not sure if this fits, as it's a resort that no doubt wanted more golf without there being a clear favorite course that everyone wanted to play.

Brad-Brattleboro CC is another with a really fun and distinctive original nine. I think they were blessed with more good new holes than Dorset but well short of the original holes.

[Joe Andriole]

Thendara, Old Forge, New York. Original nine by Ross and some of his quirkiest greens. Forgettable back nine.

[Matt Elliot]

Regarding Prairie Dunes.  There is some discussion that Press simply finished what Perry had originally designed in 1937 when the club started as a nine hole course.  The overall routing and 18 hole layout leaves you walking away saying there is not one bad hole on the course IMO. Are the original nine talked about more and slightly better than the second nine,  maybe but Press deserves some credit for developing some great greens himself.

[Jon Wiggett]

Up here in the Highlands Alness was better in my opinion before it built a second nine. The biggest one for me though is Middleton Park in Leeds which was a great 9 holer ( Mackenzie I believe) which added a horrible 9 holes just to be 18 holes. Tragic.


Jon