Paul Rudovsky posted today that Bob O'Connor/Schenley Park is being rebuilt. The "Arnold Palmer Learning Center" (under construction) looks impressive, but I wish the old clubhouse could have been saved. Anybody have info about changes to the course?
The place has a new website: http://thebobgc.com
Recent newsletters were no help.
I was a little sad (since I played there a lot as a kid and had a lot of good times there) to see that they seem to be turning it into a 9 holer. GCA's Ryan Farrow maybe getting a redesign credit. I'm sure it'll be much better that way, but it won't be a nostalgic museum piece for me anymore.
https://clubandresortbusiness.com/transformation-plans-for-pittsburghs-the-bob-revealed/
They did look into restoring the old clubhouse but it was in too bad of shape, it had about 3 additions over the years and the foundation was starting to sink, pipes were leaking, and most of the space was unusable. It was the correct decision although I would have liked to see something a little less modern. The stately Pittsburgh Golf Club clubhouse is still standing, so at least a piece of the golf course's history will still be there to admire.
I first tried to get involved with some kind of course renovation about 6 or 7 years ago. I presented a 9 hole plan to councilman Corey O'Connor, the son of late Pittsburgh Mayor Bob O'connor after seeing a few articles in the local paper about the need to create a safer, more playable, walkable golf course. They were also looking for some kind of driving range or practice facility on the property but to do a 9 hole course and full driving range was not feasible without surrounding it with nets. The idea simmered for a number of years and was revitalised when The First Tee raised a bunch of money to rebuild the clubhouse.
A recent push to improve the course happened about 2 years ago and I worked with the organization to help develop some more options that would better suited to their mission as a learning facility. We worked toward a 9 hole option on the southern end of the property, a challenging 35 acres surrounded by roads to the North, South, and East. The northern section of about 15 acres would be used as par 3 course / practice area and putting course for The First Tee.
I'm still not entirely sure what happened over the past 10 months, but I have officially resigned from the project and not sure of the latest developments, I volunteered all of my time during the 7 year stretch trying to reach a consensus on a design, but we just couldn't get to any kind of agreement. It was made more challenging when another architect was introduced.
I grew up in Pittsburgh, went to high school down the street (this was our golf team's home course) and worked on the maintenance crew at Chartiers and Oakmont (returning about 10 years later to Oakmont and restoring the 6th hole with Bill and Ben and Dave). This project meant a lot to me and it was hard to walk away, my only hope is that something special can be built here.