https://golfclubatlas.com/feature-interview-with-ed-brockner/ Ian Lagowitz put a bug in my ear about Hendricks Field Golf Course last August, a municipal course in Newark, NJ. Given that Ian has seen everything, you sit up and take note whenever he speaks. Ultimately, I started a conversation with Ed Brockner and one year later, here we are with this Feature Interview. As far as I am concerned, the resurrection of the Hendricks Field Golf Course is THE feel-good golf story of 2021.
I say that having toured it last Sunday with Ed with the coolest thing repeatedly happening. Every random player he spoke with as we walked (not playing) around the course was THRILLED that nine of the eighteen holes were back open and they loved what they saw. “This is great.” “This is awesome.” “I love the work.” That was the feedback.
This municipal course was shut last year as the eighteen holes were overhauled and a three hole Learning Center was created. When the Learning Center opens this winter, Hendricks Field will be a First Tee campus. The new back nine (originally the front) of the main course reopened in July and the second nine opens around Labor Day. Stephen Kay was the architect of record. Tim Christ is the Director of Golf for all the Essex County courses. Meanwhile, Ed served as the consultant for the County.
For historical perspective, Ed writes that Hendricks Field
“… opened in 1929 and included many of the classic holes from the Macdonald/Raynor/Banks repertoire including the Redan, Double Plateau and Eden. While an original plan showed more than 100 bunkers to be constructed, as-built drawings indicate that less than 20 were ultimately built. The slope and size of the greens and bunkers was also at a much gentler and smaller scale compared to their other courses; owing to its use as a municipal layout.” Raynor was hired to build this municipal course but passed away before work commenced. As so often happened, Charles Bank stepped in and saw the project through. As far as I know, it is the only municipal that provides a window into how Raynor/Banks would tackle a heavily trafficked course. The more I learned, the more intriguing the whole subject matter became.
Regarding our feature interviewee, Ed Brockner has made accessible golf his passion. One of his initial projects was for the First Tee of Metropolitan New York as construction manager for the redesign of Mosholu Golf Course in 2004. There, he learned that, “A guiding principle of the work was that for those just learning the game, it was even more important to create interesting strategies and incorporate classical principles to make it a course people wanted to come back to.” WELL! That is music to my ears. Whether a course is $30 or $430, golfers want interesting conundrums to solve – I deeply believe that. Afterwards, Ed worked for Essex County’s Weequahic Golf Course to create an area dedicated to youth golf. Essex County was so impressed by that outcome that they had him turn his eye on Hendricks Field. As he puts it, “All of this set the stage for us to work with the county and state to complete a plan for Hendricks Field in seeking to expand our municipal model of partnership with First Tee: investment of public funds to restore and enhance open space combining the spirit of Olmsted and design tradition of Macdonald, with First Tee and its philanthropic partners committing to fund programs over the long term to support community-based education initiatives.”Well, the County certainly hired the right man! A graduate of Yale, Ed has long been a fan of the Macdonald school of architecture, which helps explain how this Interview is a tutorial on Macdonald architecture. Quotes from Macdonald are laced throughout and they served as guiding principles for the Hendricks Field project.
Here is a favorite: “Putting-greens to a golf course are what a face is to a portrait. The clothes the subject wears, the background, whether scenery or draperies – are simply accessories; the face tells the story and determines the character and quality of the portrait – whether it is good or bad. So it is in golf; you can always build a putting-green. Teeing-grounds, hazards, the fairway, rough etc., are accessories.” Ed sums up the green work at Hendricks Field,
“The way I would describe it is that if Yale is at 100 decibels in terms of green design, Banks turned the volume down a little more than halfway at Hendricks Field.” The Double Plateau 9
th green and the 60 yard Biarritz green at the par 3 12
th are standouts. Ed succinctly states,
“We built these greens to hit the same notes in sampling from the Macdonald design canon, but created a new arrangement with a more muted tone - making them playable and maintainable under the stress of 50,000 rounds annually and suited to a unique urban park setting.”
The 11th green was pushed back nearly 100 yards and these rail tracks are now a genuine hazard for those that go long.
The very next hole is a Biarritz, with this back hole location playing around 170 yards.As we toured around, Ed and I came up midway down the 15th fairway and watched a golfer tee off. His ball was heading straight for the newly created central bunker. The golfer started flapping his arms, yelling at his ball to slow down. Mercifully, the ball listened and checked up a few yards short in the fairway. The golfer was clearly engaged in the proceedings – and delighted with the outcome. Here is what Ed wrote a few weeks prior: “The modified Principal’s Nose on #15 offers a fresh take on this classic design that is placed exactly where the golfer would want to play their drive. It will likely prove to be unpopular with some players, but it will certainly make everyone think in terms of how to navigate a hazard of this nature that is unusual for a municipal course. Its location also presents a fun challenge for shorter hitters in being on a direct line from tee to green for their second or third shots, and in making into one larger bunker as opposed to several small ones, allows for ease of maintenance and more formidable appearance.” Ed’s overall goal of the entire project was “…
to work with the county and state to complete a plan for Hendricks Field in seeking to expand our municipal model of partnership with First Tee: investment of public funds to restore and enhance open space combining the spirit of Olmsted and design tradition of Macdonald, with First Tee and its philanthropic partners committing to fund programs over the long term to support community-based education initiatives.” What could be more noble?! Bringing people to together from all walks of life is how you knit a tighter, better social fabric. Open spaces, including parks and golf courses, are instrumental in doing so. And the better the parks and courses, the better the experiences. This is
fascinating story on several levels, expertly told by Ed. Hope you enjoy it.