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Ran Morrissett

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Updated Beverly CC profile New
« on: August 05, 2019, 10:33:42 AM »
 https://golfclubatlas.com/courses-by-country/usa/beverly-country-club/

My technological ineptness knows no bounds. When Ben unveiled the Cabot website years ago, I suavely noted that something had gone wrong because the word 'like' appeared so often: Like us on Facebook, etc. I could 'hear’ Ben’s eyes roll over the phone. Similarly, Sean Arble makes fun of me for not knowing how to use/check WhatsApp. Vaughn Halyard does the same for FaceTime. Every day though, I am thankful that two friends bullied me to get GolfClubAtlas set up on their internet platform SiteSuite.

GolfClubAtlas transitioned to Word Press over a decade ago but the fact is, if you want to chronicle change and trends in architecture, the ability to update things is crucial. Last fall, for instance, we overhauled two old profiles, Somerset Hills and Sleepy Hollow, and are now amending the Beverly CC profile for the third time. And guess what? This version will have the shortest shelf life of any that we have ever done! That's right; the course just closed for the final leg of a restoration project that began some two decades ago.  Next fall, we will update the Beverly profile for a fourth and (maybe!) final time.

Beverly’s transformation was kicked off in the early 2000s by people like Rick Holland, Terry Lavin and Paul Richards who agitated for the club to restore original features and remove trees to reveal its exceptional Donald Ross course. But despite the steadfast progress, work remained -- the membership at that time simply wasn't ready to remove additional trees, further expand fairways and restore green surfaces and bunkers to their original scale. As the Golf I.Q. grew within the club, so did the desire to forge ahead and realize that ultimate vision. Now with people like Andrew Lewis picking up the baton, Beverly is poised to reach the last - and highest - step in architecture. 

Beverly represents one of Ron Prichard's farewell songs to the game. It has been a labor of love for him and his time there will technically extend into four separate decades. Tyler Rae (March's Feature Interview) will be carrying out the work. As we know from places like Cedar Rapids and Portland CC, that bodes well indeed for Beverly.

No point in repeating things covered in the profile, but I will make one additional observation. For twenty years, we have written about what we think is important, namely the golf holes and how they connect and interact with one another. Don't care about the clubhouse or if a place is private or public or whatever: the golf is what matters. Beverly's collection of holes appears bullet proof, at least to me. Yet, in a break from the past, I feel compelled to mention its membership. The club's demographics have changed since the original profile was published. The membership has become younger and somewhat more likely to live in the city -- a product of both the Great Recession and the club's proximity to downtown -- but the focus on the course remains the same -- a good sign that the positive effects of this restoration will endure.

Read the profile for more but in this macho city, it is amazing to see how the mindset of the club has evolved to where nothing is too minute to escape scrutiny. The end result is a club that is a magnet for good players and golf course architecture aficionados and anyone who appreciates high quality golf. All I can say is, stay tuned!

Best,
« Last Edit: August 23, 2019, 06:22:56 PM by Ran Morrissett »

PCCraig

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Re: updated Beverly CC profile
« Reply #1 on: August 05, 2019, 10:56:26 AM »
Wow - those pictures of the 6th hole are incredible.

Sounds like the current work planned for this year will be primarily bunker related?

How about mowing lines?

Beverly is in good hands and it shows!!
H.P.S.

Joel Pear

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Re: updated Beverly CC profile
« Reply #2 on: August 05, 2019, 11:31:34 AM »
Ran, thanks for the terrific profile of Beverly CC!  I have lived in the Chicago area for 34 years, and have been fortunate enough to play some of its top courses.  Beverly has been, and is, my favorite course in the area!  While a stern test of golf at any level, it remains a fun place to play.


 

Andrew Lewis

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Re: updated Beverly CC profile
« Reply #3 on: August 06, 2019, 11:13:49 AM »
Sounds like the current work planned for this year will be primarily bunker related?

How about mowing lines?


Hi Pat -


I'll do a thread on the project with detailed descriptions and photo updates from before, during and after the work.  But as a quick summary:
  • Green pads -- As you can see from the photos in the updated profile, we completed green expansion/recapture earlier this year, adding around 15% of overall green surface.  This was done for it to be ready for re-grassing immediately upon project start, thereby maximizing the summer/fall grow-in.
  • Bunkers -- Relocate/enlarge to accommodate equipment advances and widened playing corridors; generally refurbish to address structural issues due to age.
  • Tees -- Repair/renovate/enlarge to enhance turf health; "squish down" to regain more lay-of-land feel.  For those who have played Beverly this year, we did work of this type last winter on holes 6 and 12.
  • Fairways -- Further widen playing corridors to match original scale and restore playing options and strategy.
  • Length -- Add new tees to add length where possible.  Examples include new back tees on 8 and 11.
  • 7 green -- Rebuild to match push-up composition/style of other greens on course.  This green was changed to USGA specification composition/style in the 70's and has played differently since I joined.  Interestingly, we found the original green pad while stripping the surface and Tyler is using that as a guide while reshaping.
  • 12 green -- Rebuild to add a front-left lobe visible in photos from the 1931 US Amateur, and generally realign the style to be consistent with Ross.  We expect to gain several pin positions, which has been an issue on this green.
Best, Andrew

Thomas Dai

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Re: Updated Beverly CC profile
« Reply #4 on: August 06, 2019, 01:20:53 PM »
Thanks for the update. Most interesting comparisons.
atb

Sven Nilsen

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Re: Updated Beverly CC profile
« Reply #5 on: August 07, 2019, 10:37:48 AM »
Great description of a great course.


Not to get too pedantic, but Ran sings the praises of the routing done by Ross.  Most of that work was done by George O'Neil in the original layout, and to not mention his name in the profile is a miss.


http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60113.msg1421612.html#msg1421612


Sven



"As much as we have learned about the history of golf architecture in the last ten plus years, I'm convinced we have only scratched the surface."  A GCA Poster

"There's the golf hole; play it any way you please." Donald Ross

Peter Pallotta

Re: Updated Beverly CC profile
« Reply #6 on: August 07, 2019, 10:51:50 AM »
Had drinks years ago with a fellow from Chicago, who had this theory about why that town was the best:
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, any immigrant who made the journey across the sea to the new land must’ve been brave. The ones who were just brave enough landed in New York and stayed there. The ones who were braver continued on to Chicago. And the ones who were crazy went all the way to California!
Beverly strikes me as the perfect & definitive *Chicago* golf course — ie none of the preciousness of Long Island, and none of the Behr-ian dandyism of LA.


Terry Lavin

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Re: Updated Beverly CC profile
« Reply #7 on: August 07, 2019, 02:18:09 PM »
It’s not precious or dandy, to be sure, but it’s probably among a handful of great clubs that could be dubbed “definitive” Chicagoland venues. When the winners of a club’s championships include Chick Evans, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Luke Donald and the great amateur Vinny Giles, you know it’s special.
Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.  H.L. Mencken

Tim Martin

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Re: Updated Beverly CC profile
« Reply #8 on: August 07, 2019, 06:27:57 PM »
I’ve gotten the impression over the years while participating on GCA that Beverly is one of the great member clubs in Chicago or anywhere else. Best of luck in finishing the project and thanks to Andrew Lewis for all the detailed information.

corey miller

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Re: Updated Beverly CC profile
« Reply #9 on: August 09, 2019, 06:14:23 PM »



Fantastic accomplishment....congrats to all, it looks wonderful.


One question concerning the bunkering...and Andrew's comments:


Bunkering-"relocate and enlarge to accommodate equipment advances and enlarged playing corridors"


I understand how the bunkers can "shrink" over the years with the growth of trees and more narrow corridors but to what extent are the bunkers that were relocated built into natural landforms? Or were these changes generally on flatter parts of the property?



Ken Fry

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Re: Updated Beverly CC profile
« Reply #10 on: August 11, 2019, 11:21:06 AM »
Great description of a great course.


Not to get too pedantic, but Ran sings the praises of the routing done by Ross.  Most of that work was done by George O'Neil in the original layout, and to not mention his name in the profile is a miss.


http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60113.msg1421612.html#msg1421612


Sven
Sven,
To my understanding, the only remaining hole corridor from the O'Neil layout is the ninth hole.  Otherwise, the rest of the course routing is all Ross.
I played Beverly earlier this summer.  The first hole tee shot shocked me with the level of tree removal that had taken place since my last trip to Beverly, but the 2nd hole tee shot blew me away.  The course looks and plays magnificently!!
As Andrew mentioned, the recapture of green size is another significant improvement.  A great course that keeps getting better!
Ken

Sven Nilsen

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Re: Updated Beverly CC profile
« Reply #11 on: August 11, 2019, 04:56:51 PM »
Ken:


Take a look at the 1915 map in the thread I linked to (which predates Ross).  Focus on today’s back nine.  Other than the 17th, the corridors are the same.  The front nine does have a few changes, but the same general routing was there.


Ross didn’t do as much work at Beverly as most people think.  The Donald Ross Society recently changed their listing from a new course to a renovation.


Sven
"As much as we have learned about the history of golf architecture in the last ten plus years, I'm convinced we have only scratched the surface."  A GCA Poster

"There's the golf hole; play it any way you please." Donald Ross

Ken Fry

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Re: Updated Beverly CC profile
« Reply #12 on: August 12, 2019, 03:32:06 PM »
Ken:


Take a look at the 1915 map in the thread I linked to (which predates Ross).  Focus on today’s back nine.  Other than the 17th, the corridors are the same.  The front nine does have a few changes, but the same general routing was there.


Ross didn’t do as much work at Beverly as most people think.  The Donald Ross Society recently changed their listing from a new course to a renovation.


Sven
The description provided to me would be accurate if they were strictly talking about what's now the front nine!
Ken

Sven Nilsen

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Re: Updated Beverly CC profile
« Reply #13 on: August 12, 2019, 04:03:11 PM »
Ken:


On the front 9, there have been changes, but a bunch of the original corridors still remain.


The 1st was pretty much the same hole.


The old par 3 2nd was done away with, but today's 3rd is pretty close to the same path as what was first built, although I think both the tees and green respectively were located further north from their current locations.


The 3rd and 4th are new, but there was a hole where today's 5th runs.  Today's 6th was an addition, with the original 5th and 6th holes being combined to make up what we know as the par 5 7th. 


The 8th and 9th follow pretty much the same routing as the original holes that closed out the front 9, although originally there were three holes that comprised this stretch.


You can piece this all together from the 1915 map noted in the other thread.  Ignore the 1908 map for purposes of studying the front 9.  As noted in that thread and in a subsequent followup article, the map did not reflect what was being built.


Sven



"As much as we have learned about the history of golf architecture in the last ten plus years, I'm convinced we have only scratched the surface."  A GCA Poster

"There's the golf hole; play it any way you please." Donald Ross

JWinick

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Re: Updated Beverly CC profile
« Reply #14 on: August 14, 2019, 02:00:38 PM »
I joined Bev last year as a second club and everything the club is doing makes sense to me.  The membership overwhelmingly supports the clubs direction.    The fact that the club has made some fairly radical changes with only a modest increase in dues and debt is remarkable.     

Tim_Cronin

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Re: Updated Beverly CC profile
« Reply #15 on: August 17, 2019, 02:30:36 PM »
What the Bev has done to upgrade playing quality and restore conditions to the days of yore on their O'Neil-Ross gem is remarkable, and could only be accomplished by the considerable prodding of a dedicated few – Messrs. Lewis and Lavin, to name two of our own, can take a bow – convincing a great majority of the membership that momentary disruption would be followed by an excess of delight.


Kudos to all!
The website: www.illinoisgolfer.net
On Twitter: @illinoisgolfer

John Mayhugh

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Re: Updated Beverly CC profile
« Reply #16 on: August 21, 2019, 07:20:43 AM »
What a transformation. It speaks well of the membership that they have been willing to spend the money and lose their access to the course in order to make these improvements. Can't wait to see the finished product.

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