Manufacturers' Before and After

[Kyle Harris]

Manufacturers' Golf and Country Club (Flynn) in Oreland, PA has been undergoing a Forse/Nagle restoration. Thought I'd post some of the before and after pictures of the work done so far.

Manny's is perhaps best known for it's 1st tee and "upper" 18th green, which was a part of the original Flynn design before William Gordon built the lower 18th green near the tram that takes people back up the hill to the clubhouse. Unfortunately, the upper 18th had become neglected and little used over the years until Scott May and crew rebuilt the bunkering and green to Ron Forse's restoration specs.

Here's the 18th hole(s) in May 2005. Note the bushes behind the lower green obscuring the upper and the upper green's bunker.


Here's the 18th hole(s) today, with restored bunkering and tree removal. Also note the false front restoration on the upper green. Shots hitting this front are VERY likely to roll back down most of the hill. This is from about 200 yards.



The 10th green has also undergone some changes in the past year. Here it is in May 2005.



With the back right bunker removed, the front left bunker reshaped and the collar brought closer to the green, this green site can now drain much better.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Kyle

I played Manny's about 6 weeks ago. Has the fall weather improved the greens conditions? The greens at 5 Ponds were better then.

Steve

[Kyle Harris]

Yes, they stimped around 12 this morning.

You caught the greens at an awful time! They improved within the week.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Well, those greens then didn't stop my host from having 5 birdies!!!

[LBaker]

I made a visit to Manny's this past Tuesday.  It was awesome.  Obviously I don't have a before Scott May visit but never-the-less.  Flynn has become a favorite. I got to be honest, I like Manny's layout better than the Flynn I work at.  But I can tell Flynn had a great time designing this course and it's going to be better than he intended once May is done with the master plan.  

A little velvet and viola!  

[Michael Moore]

Looks like it's just Mannys bein' Mannys, man . . .

[Kyle Harris]

I made a visit to Manny's this past Tuesday.  It was awesome.  Obviously I don't have a before Scott May visit but never-the-less.  Flynn has become a favorite. I got to be honest, I like Manny's layout better than the Flynn I work at.  But I can tell Flynn had a great time designing this course and it's going to be better than he intended once May is done with the master plan.  

A little velvet and viola!  

Baker,

I'll get you the rest of the pictures sometime this weekend. Next week the bunkers on 7 we looked at come out!

[Chris Cupit]

It's amazing how a common chainsaw can make such a dramatic improvement.  When I hired my super a few years ago I gave him a copy of McDonald's, "Scotland's Gift, Golf" and flagged the page that described the ideal golf course as having no trees!

A few weeks later, we bought a Vermeer chipper

[Sean Remington (SBR)]

Kyle,

Thanks for sharing. Nice work by all involved. The new look on #18 starts to give glimpses of the Clubhouse. Any thoughts of taking more trees away to open the view from the both perspectives? All in all looks like fun stuff, well done.

Sean

[D_Malley]

just played there nov. 6, and really enjoyed the course.  loved the work on bunkers and clearing of trees.  i would love to see before and after photos of some of the other holes where trees were cleared.  kyle did you notice how the left of #14 in the approach area there were several trees removed, and the add on back tee on#12, adding about 20yards.  
this time of year the greens can get a little out of control at manny's, bordering on unfair.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Bump for TEPaul so we can look at some pictures. Remember, a picture is worth 1000 words.

[tlavin]

I played this Flynn gem about twenty years ago and found it to be a great test on a nice piece of land.  Looking at these photographs, it seems like the tree removal is fairly conservative.  Are there other photos that might show a more dramatic change?  Methinks they could lop another ten or so near the clubhouse...but then again, I'm a chopper from way back...

[PThomas]

I'd love to see the changes....was out there last summer and even I, one of the few GCA tree lovers, thought there were a few too many out there...

[peter_mcknight]

A few questions:

1.  What is the yardage of the hole for (a) the lower green and (b) the upper green?
2.  Does Manufacturer's allow member play to the upper green or is it there for show?
3.  From about 200 out, is that to the lower or upper green?
4.  If the upper green is a par 4, would it be the hardest 18th hole in Philadelphia, even harder than the 498 yarder at Merion?
5.  What is the elevation change from 2d shot landing zone to the upper green?  What is the negative elevation change to the lower green?

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Here's a picture of the tee shot on the elevated first hole:



I don't have the yardage for 18 but I understand the upper green is only used on rare occasions, probably the club championship, and it's a par 5 then.

[David Stamm]

Thanks for photo's Kyle and Steve. It's always a treat to see courses I've never seen, especially when they are by one of my fav. arch.'s, Flynn.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Bump again so both threads can be seen. What a great course!