Wm. Flynn changes to 14th at Cascades

[wsmorrison]

William Flynn designed the Cascades Course at the Homestead Resort on land previously deemed too severe for a proper golf course by Albert Tillinghast and Peter Lees.  The course opened to great acclaim in 1923.  Over the years, Flynn visited the spectacular resort and tinkered with the golf course.  The latest drawings we have are dated 1935.  As can be seen by the original drawing and a later revision, the design became far more sophisticated, reminiscent of Pine Valley and Shinnecock Hills.  On this flat section of the golf course, Flynn added many man-made hazards such as sandy waste areas, bunkers, and mounds.  On the land with more dynamic topography Flynn was restrained in the use of man-made features.

Original design of the 14th hole, The Mews, at the Cascades Course



Revised design



My thanks to Craig Disher for patiently walking me through the steps required to upload, resize, and post these drawings.  I think I wore him out as my computer skills are weak.  Thankfully, he perservered.

[Adam_Messix]

Wayne--

My memory is a bit foggy on this one, but isn't 14 the hole that Trent Jones redid the green.  If so, can the hole be returned to it's original design or using the same corridor, using the 1935 redeisgn?  

In ways, I find it tough to believe that Tilly thought the Cascades land too severe.  There were only two spots on the entire property where I thought they might have had a hard time getting a hole in.  I think it's either hole 7 or 8 with that dramatic left to right sloping fairway that comes to mind.  

[wsmorrison]

Adam,

You are correct.  The current version of the hole, sad to say, is a far cry from the revisions that Flynn implemented.  When RTJ came in during the 1950s he moved the green 20-30 yards further down.  The dominoes started to fall as he had to move the 15th tee as well and, in my opinion,  messed up both holes.  I took a quick walk behind the 14th tee and couldn't understand why he didn't lengthen the hole from that end if that was the mandate by the resort.  Take a look at that second drawing, wouldn't it be great if they could get back to that design somehow?  It would allow them to return the proper tee on 15 as well and restore that great par 3 (that and a bunch of evergreens coming down).

As far as Tillie and Lees considering the land being too severe, read Ran's excellent write up of the course and you'll know how much vision and then engineering was involved in making the land suitable for a great course.  The source for much of the understanding of the engineering involved comes from a March 1927 Green Section article on the construction of the Cascades Golf Course.  It helps us understand Flynn's genius for using nature where he could and imitating nature where he could not.

I owe you a phone call.

[T_MacWood]

Wayne
Very interesting. I wasn't aware the current 14th was RTJ. Is the 15th green Flynn? I don't get it, what was the rational for RTJ altering these holes.

Flynn realy appears to have favored the grouping of bunkers, often at an angle, a la Shinnecock, in that '35 plan. Was that a design phase late in his career or something he did occasionally through out it.

[wsmorrison]

Tom,

This was something Flynn did on occasion throughout his career.  Early on he did this at Atlantic City CC and Denver CC (planned but not implemented) later on at Boca Raton North and South, Indian Creek, Shinnecock, and finally the design revisions at the Cascades.

The current 14th green is RTJ as is the 15th tee.  The 15th green is Flynn but approached from a different angle.

[TEPaul]

"Flynn realy appears to have favored the grouping of bunkers, often at an angle, a la Shinnecock, in that '35 plan. Was that a design phase late in his career or something he did occasionally through out it."

Tom MacWood:

That's a good question and probably one not all that easy to answer. We think that "interrrupted" fairway scheme seen on the first drawing is something Flynn did a lot of in the early 1920s. We tend to call that concept "Flynn's PVGC influence". On some of his earlier designs he even advertized that concept ("interrupted fairways"). Later he may have evolved more into the continuous fairway style using the "bunkered diagonal" as his basic means of creating strategies.

Why did that happen or why might he have evolved like that? It's pretty simple really, in my opinion. The earlier (or PVGC influence of interrupted fairway areas) is much harder for certain types of players to play successfully. He had Kittansett more that way than it eventually came to be and even Shinnecock was more that way in early drawn iterations than it ended up being built. For instance, #5 did have a real alternate fairway separated and defined by bunkers than it has today as well as #6. But the real key was #16. In one of his earlier "design iteration" drawings Flynn had an enormous "Hell's Half Acre" complex in the middle of that hole of about 100 yards long separating the first half and second half of the fairway like PVGC's #7. That concept was removed on #16 before the hole was built and he shortened the carry from the first to the second fairway significantly and turned the bunker scheme in a diagonal on the next drawn iteration. Eventually he did another drawn iteration with sort of an inline bunker scheme tucked into an elbow effect in the middle of that hole with fairway skirting around to the right and that's how the hole was built.

[Jeff_Mingay]

I enjoyed studying Flynn's original design at Manor CC near Washington, DC, which included several unusual "interrupted fairway" schemes.

[wsmorrison]

As much as BillV doesn't get it, you can see Flynn's use of tree lines to enhance the perception of the angles on the left side of the fairway in the mid-body and green end of the second drawing.  

[Craig Disher]

Wayne,
I'm struck by the similarity between the 1923 drawing and the collection of drawings Flynn did for Manor at about the same time. The rough mound at the green (used on Manor's #12 and #14), the interrupted fairways (most of Manor's holes), the undramatic bunkering, and even the drawing style would make the hole look like it's part of the overall Manor plan.

The 1935 drawing is obviously from someone who has become far more adventuresome and sophisticated in his art.

Did the 1935 plans come with the instructions for bunker depth, etc?

[TEPaul]

"The 1935 drawing is obviously from someone who has become far more adventuresome and sophisticated in his art."

Craig:

Unless Wayne has figured out something in the last couple of days he didn't tell me about, both of us have always felt that all the Flynn drawings from any stage of his career were done by William Flynn. Flynn didn't have anyone in his career who drew for him like Ross's Walter Erving Johnson---Flynn did all that himself. We asked his daughter about that one time and that's what she seemed to imply. Like anybody else obviously as he went along in his career he got more sophisticated with it.

[wsmorrison]

I think Craig was intimating that Flynn's drawing ability improved over time and his design ideas in some cases such as the 14th at Cascades became more so as well.  The earliest drawings we have are Lancaster CC (1920) and aren't as detailed nor as well drawn as the first Cascades drawing I posted.

Flynn did draw the design plans but he had a draftsman put the final touch on presentation drawings that were india ink on linen.  The Flynn pencil drawings were inked by W.S. Nicholls of Philadelphia with a great deal of detail such as vegetation and topographic features as well.  

I'll post some linen drawings now that Craig cracked my coconut and got the message through on how to post images here.  These drawings are quite artistic and obviously took a great deal of time to complete thus flynn used a draftsman.

By the way, Craig, as you can see the later hole drawing does not have construction instructions.  These drawings were more than likely used in the field and discarded.  The initial drawing is not nearly as detailed as many other drawings we have.  I'll post one of the more detailed drawings (Huntingdon Valley) to show how precise the instructions could be.

[Mike Hendren]

Wayne,  Excellent post.  Ironically, I found the bunkering at Cascades to be among the most pedestrian I've seen on a "top 100" course.  More in keeping with the first drawing than the second.  

Has the bunkering devolved over the years or was Flynn's drawing more flamboyant than his final product?  

I was unaware of RTJ's work at 14 and 15 but it makes sense in hindsight.  Those holes are of a different style.  Was the 15th played at an angle instead of straight on?

Mike

[Mark_Fine]

Mike,
In my opinion, Flynn's bunkering in most cases was very functional but not all that stylistic.  Flynn was not an artist when it came to creative bunker design like a Mackenzie or a Thomas.  I remember talking with the architect that did the "restoration" of Glen View and he thought Flynn's original bunkers were so boring in appearance that he decided to implement something more creative.  Personally, I wouldn't have done that but evidently the club bought into the idea.  

One thing that helps, and I'm sure Wayne and Craig would surely agree is the use of old aerials to attempt to confirm what was built.  What these guys designed and what ended up being built was sometimes not one in the same.  

By the way, in addition to too much slope, drainage problems are one of the commom reasons old greens are sometimes rebuilt.  As we all know, "pockets" can form on these old push-up greens.  Sometimes they are still functional, sometimes they make the architect look like a genius and sometimes they just cause problems with standing water.
I'm not sure why #14 was changed at The Cascades but this could be part of it.
Mark

By the way, Gordon carried on with a similar style bunkering to Flynn (though not as well placed at least in my opinion).  I guess that shouldn't be a surprise since he worked many years for Flynn.  

[ian]

Mark,

Thought you would find this interesting: At Elm Ridge (Montreal), Gordon used much more elaborate bunker shapes than Flynn, including noses and capes and bays.

[wsmorrison]

I think we've discussed this before, but to generalize about Flynns bunkers as being functional and not stylistic is simply wrong.  What happens to bunkers over the years often may cloud the understanding of the aesthetics of bunkers on a given course.  

Mark, how would you characterize the bunkers at Atlantic City CC, Shinnecock Hills, Indian Creek, Boca Raton North, Boca Raton South, Merion, and Norfolk CC, and others?  Over time, the maintenance practices may have formalized and simplified some of the work (14 at Cascades is a very good example) but the designs as built are anything but boring and stylistically as good as any bunkering anywhere.  

Granted, Glen View's bunker outlines were fairly simple, but so are the bunkers at Philadelphia CC.  They may not look like Mackenzie or Thomas but they are placed particularly well and are functionally very good.

The 14th at Cascades was changed for one reason, lengthening.  According to the resort historian, there was nothing wrong with the green, it was only about 20 years old when it was changed and the construction was sound.  In my opinion this one step compromised 2 holes (14 and 15).

Mike,
Yes, the 15th was played at an angle, the original tee was significantly left of the current tee.

[Mark_Fine]

Wayne,
There are always exceptions and you make some good points as does Ian about that Gordon course.  It is always cool to see those courses where the architect stepped out of their normal style.  But even at Shinnecock; they are great bunkers, but I'm not sure I'd call them stylish or artistic.  Compare them to the bunkers at Sand Hills for example.  Also, look at what Flynn did at courses like The Country Club where we just played the Flynn Invitational.  Do you consider those bunkers that were just restored stylish or artistic?   There is nothing at all wrong with that type look so don't get me wrong.  I believe the bunkers next door at Pepper Pike were designed in a similar fashion.  

I still contend that most all architects have preferences and styles when it comes to course and hazard design.  This has become even more apparent to me in my interviews with many (over a dozen) of the top architects in the country for our book on Hazards.  Almost without exception, when you really drill down, nearly every architect I have spoken to has talked about their preferences when it comes to design and placement of hazards.  There styles may evolve (Ross is a good example) but they have them.  I don't believe Flynn was any different.

Mark

[wsmorrison]

BillV,

I'll try to use small words so you have a chance at understanding the use of the trees/tree lines by Flynn in this case.    The trees were not meant to be in play.  The trees used in this fashion were meant to create a greater perception of the movement of the fairway angles and thus the shot to be hit.  

Mark,

I see what you're trying to say.  Rather than considering the bunkers as they are today, if you look at the construction era photographs of Shinnecock, Indian Creek, and the other courses, the bunkers do not look anything like they do today.  They were very sophisticated and natural looking. Flynn used this style on flat ground usually near the sea.  He upped the use of complex bunkers and mounds where there wasn't much ground movement.

As you say, Flynn's parkland style was pretty consistant and we see this at The Country Club in Pepper Pike and the Philly area courses.  He did demonstrate the preferences you speak of.  However, Merion was a notable exception as were the bunkering on seaside courses.  

[Mark_Fine]

Wayne,
I think we are in pretty close agreement on this!  
Mark

[wsmorrison]

Mark,

That makes one Lehigh member I can agree with.  The other, well, I feel there's no hope  

[TEPaul]

"Rather than considering the bunkers as they are today, if you look at the construction era photographs of Shinnecock, Indian Creek, and the other courses, the bunkers do not look anything like they do today."

Wayne:

That's true that many Flynn bunkers look today nothing like they did during the 'construction era', as you say. In many or most cases, they look today very little like they did when they probably looked their best either which was generally at least a few years or more after the "construction era".

Flynn, perhaps as much or more than any architect seems to have been content to allow the "look" of his bunkering to evolve over time and this was really nothing more than gradual, and perhaps even experimental "growing in" over sometimes extended periods of time (a few years to a good number of years as in the case of Merion East and a number of his other famous courses such as shinnecock).

As we know Flynn was probably the most sophisticated and knowlegeable architect of his time as a functional agronomist (being the Merion greenkeeper for a number of years as well as the virtual "in the field go-to guy" for the incipient American green sections, including his roll in the formation of the USGA green section as a resource for agronomic knowledge with Piper and Oakley, the Wilsons and others on those early committees.

Flynn's modus operandi regarding the "look" of his bunkering (a form of naturalism through "growing in" where the grass lines found their own gradual shapes and looks) was as different from an architect such as Mackenzie (whose construction crews at CPC actually formed those stylistic bunker shapes and grassed them from the git-go---eg for the course's opening) as night and day, it seems to me.

It seems to me that the very best time to identify as the type of "look" in bunkering that an architect like Flynn was after is anywhere from 5-10 years after a course came into play. Before that period his bunkering was generally "growing in" to maturity (and generally could look somewhat generic and bland) of the type and "look" he seemed to be after and then perhaps some years after that time (10-20 years after that ideal gradually mature look) the "look" of his bunkering began to evolve or sometimes devolve in various ways due to maintenance practices (mowing and later too much edging) of one type or another.

Perhaps 50 or so years after opening much of Shinnecock's massive waste area bunkering designed by Flynn had "vegetated" away while on the other hand perhaps 50-60 years after that time when Merion East's bunkering looked its very best (1930s) much of it had been mowed and edged away to much of the generic look it originally started out with after construction and throughout the teens and into the early 1920s when they were still in the process of both altering and perfecting the course!

It's hard to put your finger on an exact style or look of Flynn bunkering for these reasons, it seems to me, the whole idea of it seemed to be both so gradual and almost supplementarily functional to other things in his architecture. If Flynn was anything it seems he definitely was not a sort of "signature style" architect when it came to his bunkering as many of his contemporaries were.

It seems he was unusual that way---perhaps unique. To actually restore Flynn bunkering to the best it can be it seems it takes some real thought and understanding. The best restoration of Flynn bunkering we've seen, I think you'll agree, is at Brookline. The bunkering at Shinnecock today looks pretty good too regarding what he might have wanted for it and for it to ideally look like. All Shinnecock needs to consider and do now is take a serious look at those magnificent fairly informal waste areas (probably from photos and aerials from the late 1930s) he created that they let vegetate over perhaps because they never fully realized he created them on purpose and for a purpose!

[T_MacWood]

Flynn's method of allowing the grass edges to gradually  encroach here and there (resulting a naturalized look) is similar to the method some Heathland architects used--planting little tuffs of heather around the perimeters of bunkers. Did Flynn ever visit the UK?

[wsmorrison]

Tom,

I asked Flynn's daughter if he'd ever travelled to the UK and she said that he never did travel much outside the United States.  The only place she could recall him travelling ovewrseas to was Cuba.

I got a small taste of some parkland and heathland courses outside of London this year.  I really like the naturalized look of bunker edges and native plant areas.  It is likely that Flynn's friends, especially Hugh Wilson, informed him of the architectural styles of the region and combined with his sense of naturalism, he readily adopted such practices seen at Shinnecock Hills, Boca Raton, Indian Creek, etc.

[wsmorrison]

Here's Flynn's pencil sketch of the changes to 14 along with the modified 15th hole.  Those familiar with the present layout will notice the change of the 14th green and the tee on 15.  The current 15th green is in the new location indicated on this drawing along with the previous green as drawn short of the new one.  The hole was lengthened to 240 yards.  The green on 16 was not yet moved to the far side of the stream on this drawing.

[wsmorrison]

You'll notice the 1931 date on this sketch.  This was the same year Flynn was finishing his work at Shinnecock Hills.  I think the 16th green was moved in 1935 as I recall.