Feature Interview with Andrew Lewis re : Beverly CC restoration

[Ran Morrissett]

https://golfclubatlas.com/feature-interview/feature-interview-with-andrew-lewis/

The joy of GolfClubAtlas has been in learning about courses and making friends along the way. And it just so happens that when my web site pals in Australia were talking me into starting GCA.com, that Beverly was reaching out to Ron Prichard.

Back in 1999, I hadn’t even heard of Beverly CC. That soon changed – and I had a ringside seat thanks to members like Rick Holland, Terry Lavin, and Paul Richards, all of whom were among the early participants on GCA. A couple of years later, Rick invited me to Beverly, a day that my liver will never forget based on subsequent escapades both here and aboard. Ross expert Chris Buie points out that - bizarrely - Ross worked on Beverly during the 1918 pandemic and here was the club again this past winter making great strides during another widespread health crisis. 

Grounds Chair Andrew Lewis walks us through Beverly’s transformation. In so doing, his Feature Interview is in the vein of those done with Al Jamieson (Cal Club – Jan 2012)  and Vaughn Halyard (Cedar Rapids – Oct. 2016). I doubt there is more beneficial work that GCA can publish than to share the narrative of how a Golden Age course reclaimed its former design glory. If such an interview just helps one or two other clubs, then GCA has made a difference.

Andrew neatly lays out the 20 year process and three stages that were required. Other clubs go ‘all at once’ but the staged approach is what worked well for Beverly. The end result is what matters and in that regard, Beverly crushed it. Importantly, Andrew shares what he and the club learned during the process. Hopefully, you can glean things from his account that might help you at your club. Regardless, its restoration has unmasked one of Ross’s top set of greens. These fierce, sloping putting surfaces defy stereotype and highlight how audacious Ross could be. The 2020 picture of the 12^th green in question #13 is a case in point.

I was with Andrew late last summer and saw what was intended in the third and final phase this past winter. Friends who have played it this summer are suggesting it might be Chicago’s third best course now. High praise indeed (!) and there is no doubt that the course has gone from a tree-lined affair that required the “Beverly punch” to something much more thought-provoking. Angles galore exist now, thanks to fairways that are 15 paces wider and greens fully blown out to the very edges of their green pads. 

The bar just got raised in Chicago and guess who wins? All of golf. Half measures no longer work at elite clubs – there are too many top draw restorations and clubs from coast to coast are getting their ‘house’ together. Thank you, Andrew, for sharing the Beverly story of not stopping until the job was complete. 

Best,

[Peter Pallotta]

Thanks much -
a very informative read, by an excellent communicator. [For an outsider, patience & perseverance seem key; absent the benevolent dictator, and given that most every member probably considers himself the smartest guy in the room, you have to wait it out until the naysayers retire, resign or pass away!] My only wish is that Mr. Lewis wasn't *so* good a communicator; being one, he knows to avoid getting into the weeds and to side-step complexities -- which means that the knottiest and potentially most interesting topics for me (eg 'not surprisingly, the Committee had great difficulty in gaining consensus'; 'club politics remain club politics') get just passing mentions.
That aside: congratulations to all; it looks finally to be the Ross 'members course' that Chicago deserves.

[John Mayhugh]

Really enjoyable interview. I especially appreciate the member's comments about making the course more "interesting, challenging, & enjoyable" for all levels of player. That is a great way to describe success.

Congratulations to Andrew and his fellow Bev members. I am really looking forward to checking out the work sometime.

[Jeff Schley]

Wonderful commentary from Andrew. He not only wrote about present changes, but to superimpose it upon the previous restorations from 20 plus years ago gave us all a glimpse into the club's DNA. The politics of any restoration is unique to each club and they navigated this well by doing it in phases. They have gone from a CC of sorts with pool / social etc. to a premium golf club focused on the golf. With changing demographics on the south side their membership has continually welcomed new members while keeping the core living locally or communing in from downtown. Well done.

[PCCraig]

Congrats to Andrew and everyone involved. The work looks great and the interview serves as yet another guidebook to accomplishing a renovation at your home club.

[Paul Richards]

Ran, as always, great interview.  Andrew, thanks for a great explanation of the history of Beverly.

Previously shared this, but because it is so good, for those who missed it before:

 The (newly restored) Beverly Country Club @ The Fried Egg video (worth the 2 1/2 minute watch for sure!):
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CDzoWx-BY1R/?igshid=qk7j5xqvgj3bhttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Ftv%2FCDzoWx-BY1R%2F%3Figshid%3Dqk7j5xqvgj3b&fbclid=IwAR2lamzO4z-VuHjnOc9e0ANIu0IzV3EsLbtapi56io0drH8vK6sxrljObTc

[Terry Lavin]

It only took two decades to get it done!  The current iteration of Beverly has removed all of the trees and alterations that had diminished the way the course looked and played when Bobby Jones handed the Havemeyer trophy to Francis Ouimet at the 1931 US Amateur.


You can now see the bones of the golf course and the defense on the ground that comes in the form of fairway shaping, bunker placement and turf height. Gone are the days when the hazards grew vertically out of the ground.


Many thanks to Andrew and the new generation of leadership at the Bev, but even more so, to Ron Prichard and his rock star architect partner, Tyler Rae. Talking with him through this process helped sell the project to a membership that trusted the process.

[JReese]

Beverly is the sort of place you could play every day and be quite content....even thought this to be true while playing there well before this most recent restoration.  Also really enjoyed Andrew's non photo tour of BCC from a few years back, and now hopefully he will have more time to continue his most recent Beverly discussion.  Well Done!


https://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,58438.0.html


https://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,58438.0.html

[V_Halyard]

Andrew and Ran. Excellent piece. Thanks for sharing the background of this epic success!

[Tim_Cronin]

Restoration of the Bev is an excellent example for other clubs on how to do it correctly - and to persevere when told no to start with. A great course to match a great club!

[JWinick]

Incredible job by the club and Tyler / Ron!   I think Beverly will start to creep into the top-100 lists.   I played with a raider recently and he was blown away by the renovation.   

[Brian Finn]

...

[Michael Pelliccione]

Outstanding piece by Ran and Andrew Lewis.   I was fortunate to play BCC last week and let me tell you this place is SPECIAL!  Hats off to everyone involved and please make an effort to play here if you can.