The Joys of Meadia Heights

[Jim Sherma]

Had the pleasure to play Meadia Heights (Lancaster, PA) this weekend and was thoroughly smitten with the place. I am in no way saying that this is a great course (I'm sure that many would question if it is even a good course), but it was one of the most fun courses I have played in a long time. I certainly think it is a course that ticks all of the boxes that a lot of the current GCA group-think claims to support.


> Fully blind shots: approach on 3 (or drive if you try to get over the hill), drive on 5, 2nd on 6, drive on 7, drive on 8, drive on 9, drive on 10, drive on 12 (or approach if you lay up), drive on 14, drive on 16


> Crazy quirky rollicking elevation change holes - approaches on 12 and 15


> Front to Back greens that need to be figured into your approaches - 5, 7, 8, 10 (really good green with back-right third of green setting meaningfully below rest of green)


> Under 6,200 yards from the tips and barely 6,000 from the whites - hit an awful lot of my bag even with the short total yardage


> Very reasonable club dues and seemingly sustainable maintenance practices while being in fine shape


The course claims no knowledge of architectural provenance. Having played Meehan's Brookside-Allentown last fall it certainly seems reasonable that the same hand might have touched both courses. Some of the greens definitely looked like they could sit on either course and the strange routing with cross-overs and the like is not dissimilar (although the routings certainly might not be original for either). Looking at Penn-Pilot historical aerials most of the routing looks pretty similar to what was on the ground in 1937.


The course could use a chain saw in spots but I did not find the corridors nearly as penal as the photos suggest - saying that, I have the bias of having had a very good ball-striking day. Also, I was playing with a former member who is a good player and could direct me around the place. In a lot of ways I am not sure how readily a 15-handicap is going to get around the place even with the short total yardage. My friend said that the club has always had a lot of better players as members and I don't doubt it. The course asks for a lot of good shotmaking in order to score decently.


I unfortunately have no pictures but here is a link to Joe Bausch's photo tour: http://myphillygolf.com/uploads/bausch/MeadiaHeights/index.html?

[Joe Bausch]

MH is a pretty neat place, Jim.


And I learned just the other day that it opened with 27 holes.  Then 9 holes went away I think in the 50s for houses.

[MCirba]

I have information about the architect somewhere. I'll dig it up.

[MCirba]

Here's what I have on Meadia Heights;


H.W. Brubaker and U. Grant Barr 1923
Chester Ruby 1960
Ferdinand Garbin 1985

[Joe Bausch]

Here's what I have on Meadia Heights;


H.W. Brubaker and U. Grant Barr 1923
Chester Ruby 1960
Ferdinand Garbin 1985

Fred Garvin?!  Oh, wait, Ferd Garbin.   

[Jim Sherma]

Joe - the Penn Pilot aerials from 1937 show the third nine - goes south along the main road where the houses are to the right of the current number 1 looking east and left of the range looking west.

MH is a pretty neat place, Jim.


And I learned just the other day that it opened with 27 holes.  Then 9 holes went away I think in the 50s for houses.

[MCirba]

I strongly suspect that Alex Findlay was the actual architect of Meadia Heights.


He spoke at a dinner for the new club shortly after they were formed.

[Sven Nilsen]

Mike:

I've seen no evidence Findlay was involved.  This looks purely like an in-house job.

Sven

July 2, 1923 Harrisburg Telegraph -



Aug. 1927 Golf Illustrated -

[MCirba]

Thanks Sven.. that second article is where I got my original info.  Just came across the info on Findlay speaking at their dinner yesterday and that was sometime before the course was opened


If you want a real challenge we're still trying to track down the architect of the first nine holes of Lancaster CC, planned in late 1911 and soft opened end of 1913.


All we know is that it was a professional who likely had experience with courses in the states and abroad.  Again, suspect Findlay but no real evidence.

[Sven Nilsen]

Mike:


I've read the article discussing Findlay speaking at the dinner for the members prior to the course opening.  Nothing in it suggests he had anything to do with the design, and the fact that it doesn't say he did should be reason enough to think this was just a speaking engagement.


As for Lancaster, I don't have anything on who did the original 9 hole course at the new property.  From the sounds of it, the club had designs for 18 holes, and the first 9 built may have been a short term fix.


Sven

[MCirba]

Sven,


The club's Centennial history book states that a professional was paid $100 but does not indicate the source of that information.  Is that amount consistent with your understanding of the going rate around that time frame?


My understanding is that five of the members chipped in and bought the entire property of which 60 Acres was turned over to the country club initially.


News reports at the time indicate that the club hoped to have an 18-hole course at some point but I don't believe that was part of the original architectural plan. I'll keep digging, thanks.

[Sven Nilsen]

Sven,


The club's Centennial history book states that a professional was paid $100 but does not indicate the source of that information.  Is that amount consistent with your understanding of the going rate around that time frame?

Depends on the architect.  But it seems about right for someone spending a day or two on site.

[Dave Maberry]

Sven,


The club's Centennial history book states that a professional was paid $100 but does not indicate the source of that information.  Is that amount consistent with your understanding of the going rate around that time frame?


My understanding is that five of the members chipped in and bought the entire property of which 60 Acres was turned over to the country club initially.


News reports at the time indicate that the club hoped to have an 18-hole course at some point but I don't believe that was part of the original architectural plan. I'll keep digging, thanks.

Mike,


Jim Finegan's book "A Centennial Tribute to Golf in Philadelphia" provides a similar story on the first 9 at LCC. 60 acres, 3034 yards designed by a golf professional whose name is not a matter of record whose fee was $100.


Dave

[MCirba]

Reports from late 1919 indicated that nine holes would be added to the existing nine on 64 adjoining acres that the club purchased at the time.  The 18 hole LCC course opened in 1921.


I'll keep digging.

[Rees Milikin]

MH is a pretty neat place, Jim.


And I learned just the other day that it opened with 27 holes.  Then 9 holes went away I think in the 50s for houses.

Pics?

[Joe Bausch]

MH is a pretty neat place, Jim.


And I learned just the other day that it opened with 27 holes.  Then 9 holes went away I think in the 50s for houses.

Pics?

At the bottom of the first post is a link to my photo album.

[Dan Herrmann]

Wasn't Alex Findlay a "Johnny Appleseed" type guy?    I'm betting most courses in the NE built in the 20's had some tie-ins to Findlay.   Prolific designer, he was...

[Sven Nilsen]

I'm betting most courses in the NE built in the 20's had some tie-ins to Findlay.   Prolific designer, he was...

Walter Travis, Devereux Emmet, Seth Raynor, Charles Banks, A. W. Tillinghast, Donald Ross, William Flynn, Herbert Stong, Willie Park, Emil Loeffler, Robert White, Tom Bendelow, Maurice McCarthy, Wayne Stiles, John Van Kleek, Arthur Tull and a slew of other architects would beg to differ.


There were a ton of courses built in the 1920's.  No one man could have had a hand in "most" of them.


Here's one of the articles discussing the members' dinner for Meadia Heights at which Findlay spoke.  Nothing in the article suggests he had anything to do with the design.  If he had, one would expect that he would have discussed the course itself (as Brubaker did) rather than giving a talk generally related to the game of golf.


March 17, 1923 The News-Journal -