It never ceases to amaze me how many different resources you guys have for old photography and articles. I've seen pretty much every old aerial image of the property -- and I predominantly use a 1926 aerial for the work. But that is a good image that PCCraig linked from the UM website. Not sure I've seen it before.
Nice of Ran to include the photo of #13.
As for the feature behind the green, which we restored last year, it is not meant to be an actual "bunker" so to speak. It's a restoration of an old quarry that was originally behind the green. Donald Ross, Willie Watson, and Tom Bendelow utilized sand from the quarry for their course projects. Most of the property is very sandy and gravelly. Some sort of glacial/alluvial deposit I assume. Ross in particular mined sand from the quarry while making his changes to the course, which included creating the 6th and 8th holes down in a low peat bog area. So a lot of sand was mined during his projects just after the 1916 US Open. The attached black and white image shows how big and flashy the quarry was after Ross's work. Naturally, I didn't make it as tall and steep as the photos -- as I did not want it to be a maintenance issue in summertime thunderstorms. I just tried to make it look the part -- and perhaps like it had grown in a little over the decades.
Originally, there were a few other natural bunkers around the course mixed in with the grass-face bunkers, especially on holes around the quarry. If you look closely at PCCraigs aerial link, for example, there were some natural bunkers left of the 13th green. However, many of these bunkers had already been lost as a result of the Great Depression. There were also other unique and unusual features around the course. If you look closely at the aerial of the par-5 9th (the hole on the right closest to the driving range) it had an unusual key-hole shaped bunker in the first landing area. As I alluded to in my interview with Ran last year, I think Ross and his staff enjoyed the unique blend of their work combined with previous architects renditions. As final editors, they opted to keep some of Watson and Bendelow's most interesting and unusual features.
As for the quarry, it was mainly meant to be a unique backdrop feature and historical conversation point
Kyle,
Thank you very much for your thoughtful response.
If you are interested, the University of Minnesota has a pretty terrific archive of aerial photos covering almost the entire state at the following site. A very helpful tool if you are researching historical rural land use or golden age golf courses...
Here is the link:
https://www.lib.umn.edu/apps/mhapo/ I was completely unaware that Minikahda sits on a historically sandy site, let alone an old quarry. The surrounding neighborhood area is one that I am familiar with and it would not lead you to believe there is sand in the soil, as there are a number of woods, lakes, rivers, bogs, etc. Not to mention the 6th and 8th holes are usually pretty soft down in that SE corner/side of the property, as you note.
Despite having played the course a few times, I admit to not having seen the new quarry bunker in person. The historical ground picture you posted is very neat, and the current picture certainly gives a better perspective in that you realize it's pretty set back from play.
I would be curious to hear more about your plan or thoughts on how you would restore/renovate the bunkers going forward. For example, would you keep the more "traditional" grass faced bunkers in front of #13, or rework them to be more in line with the rougher/more natural quarry bunker behind the green? Would you renovate the bunkers on the higher/more sandy portions of the property to a style more typical of a sand based design, then have grass faced bunkers in lower lying areas?
It is also very interesting to hear your thoughts regarding Ross's renovation tactics. At White Bear YC, the exact history is hazy but Ross made alterations/consulted after William Watson "laid out" the original design. It's interesting as you would assume that Ross would of made wholesale changes to a design to either fit a design principal or to fit his eye, but perhaps he was more inclined to give advice almost on a "project basis?"
Minikahda then sounds very similar to Skokie outside Chicago where Ross reworked a few holes but there are still some holes that very much still feel like a Langford design with his very distinctive bunkering style.
Are there still plans to combine the 1st and 18th fairways, as you noted in your interview with Ran?