I want to say there’s a nice watercolor painting of the 11th hole on one of the walls in the dining room in the clubhouse: the mound is there ( painted ), but the trees are not ( ? ). And there’s a smaller bunker painted in at the front of the mound ( ? )…trying to remember what this painting depicted ! And not sure when the painting was done - my guess would be the 80’s.
I think the old version of the 11th never tied in with the rest of the “Colt Corner”, or the rest of the course in general - not sure if added tees and length over the years added to that - for a long par 3, it appeared to my eye to be a small and perhaps cluttered green site.
I think the changes made there at the 11th have now opened up the scene a bit, along with opening up the options for how to play the hole - obviously the goal is to hit the green in one, but the right side now provides an interesting miss, with creative recoveries - whereas before your ball may have just been buried in the mound of thicker grasses ( because of the trees above, the heather and finer grasses never materialized on the mound ).
The Keeper at Hankley ( Jon White ) is top notch, and should have the 11th and its surrounds playing form and bouncy in no time. All of the rebuilt bunkers will need time as well - one of those places that will undoubtedly get better as it matures and weathers and ages. There’s no denying that the Hankley Common is an absolutely beautiful setting for a game o’ g’alf - I’ll stand on any 19th hole bar and say that with conviction.