Rich did the master plan for Erie in 2003. When they hired him the city had issues with a number of holes that would require both changes to some and eliminations of others requiring new ones to replace them.
Under "General Renovation Notes" on the master plan, it states: "Erie Golf Club will undergo a complete renovation of its existing golf course to update the layout to modern standards, be more environmentally sensitive, and be more strategic and player friendly. This will require that all tees, greens and sand bunkers be rebuilt. In addition, five brand new golf holes will be built, three existing holes will be eliminated from the final layout, and original holes 15 and 16 will be combined into a new par five #14. As a result of the new layout many blind and unsafe situations will be eliminated."
The paragraph that follows this shows that Rich was caught between a rock and a hard place and that he made every effort to save as much of the original Tillinghast design as he could while also following specific Tilly's design philosophies on a number of holes.
He wrote, "The golf course will be redesigned adopting the design style and philosophy of the original golf architect, Albert Warren Tillinghast. The length of the golf course will be increased from 5,682 yards to 6,614 yards. The new fifth hole will more closely resemble Tillinghast's design intent which was never originally incorporated. Tillinghast declared this hole to be 'one of the finest three shot holes in country.' The new Erie layout will incorporate many Tillinghast standards, such as Elbow and Cape holes, an Alps feature and trademark fairway twists. More important than an overall increase in distance will be a greatly strengthened set of finishing holes."
I do know that the course was greatly enjoyed by those who played it during the last two decades and how hard they fought to keep it from being closed.