I finally got around to setting up the Illinois Golf Club for a digital build. I did the 18th hole as a proof of concept since it was the least disturbed of all the Tillinghast holes. I have a bunch of other projects ahead of this one, but I plan on knocking out a hole here and there over the winter.
There is an aerial from 1940-41 that was taken midway through some major alterations to the course. Here is the aerial from 1938 before the changes. This is the one that I'm working off of.
Notice that there was only one pond (to the left of 10, in the middle of the par 3 11th, and to the right on the par 5 12th). Other notable differences between the original design and Green Acres:
- this doesn't contain the holes that GA later tacked on as #4 and #5. They did that to build a driving range where the original #5 and #6 were in the lower right corner.
- #10 was longer here and must have been a par 5.
- The back nine wasn't yet rearranged and was MUCH better this way. Everything that was awkward about GA was due to changes away from the Tilly routing.
This clipping makes it very clear that Tillinghast designed the course and that Joe Roseman was in charge of the construction.
(That irrigation system inflation adjusts to $914K in 2020 dollars).
Based on what I know now, I contend that the Tillinghast version of this course was really strong. Here is a pic of the par 3 that morphed into 16 at Green Acres. In its original orientation, this was more on a diagonal and the shaping was very bold. I would guess that most of the erasing of the Tilly/ Roseman shaping over the years was to make the course easier. This hole has great illusions with the bunker depths from the golfer's perspective and I'm seeing that in other places too.
Here is my first pass at the closing hole:
Tons of room between this bunker and the green even though it looks like it borders it from the approach.
