Charles Banks on Choosing an Architect

[Craig_Rokke]

I checked a site I haven't viewed in a few months, and they actually have made some progress in cataloging old issues of
The American Golfer. 2 issues from the spring of 1930 are
now available, and in particular, Mr Banks offers up some
good advise on hiring a professional architect to work on your course.

Note the picture of the great looking eden hole at #11
Essex Country Club.

www.golfspast.com/pdf/march_1930/Selecting_A

[George Bahto]

Craig: he wrote a number of articles about various phases of architecture in the old publications

[Craig_Rokke]

The other issue has an article he penned on choosing a site for a course, but I was unable to download it.

[Jesper]

Craig - First, your link is missing a few parts.  The full address is:

http://www.golfspast.com/pdf/march_1930/Selecting_A_Golf_Architect.pdf

Second, I got all excited thinking I was going to see a very old picture of #11 at Essex County Club, which has been called Donald Ross' best par 3.  I love the hole, but when I play it, the idea that it is "eden" in any way is pretty funny.  

The picture is at Essex County Country Club in New Jersey, which I think you knew.  

[Craig_Rokke]

Ahh..thanks for the additional info, Jesper.

I have yet to play any of "Steamshovel's" courses. Is the huge vertical drop to the right of the hole something you'd typically see in his work? I know his bunkering has a reputation as being deep and rather bold. Do most Banks
courses maintain the bunkers as he originally built them?

[Jeff_Lewis]

Thanks, guys, for posting the piece. Does anybody have any comments on the Essex County club that is pictured in the article? I have heard good things, but not played the course.

[George Bahto]

Jeff Lewis: I am in the middle of a complete bunker restoration and green expansion on this very fine private golf course.

The club originally hired Raynor and Banks to do a 36-hole complex. Raynor died the winter not long after they broke ground. Banks completed the East course according to their dual plans and went on to design and built the West course which the private club sold off a number of years ago and is now a muni (now also a shadow of it's self).

I played over the that West course for over 17-years before "moving" to The Knoll (also soon undergoing bunker restoration).

The 11th on the East at ECCC, although a bit off the normal Macdonald/Raynor/Banks Eden style is, and has always been, one of the great par-3s in NJ - better now since we have cleared about 30-feet of trees off the right side of the hole.

Incidently, the 11th is not a Ross hole - it is a joint design of Raynor/Banks - a great ravine feature between tee and green - much pulicized and photographed over the years, especially early on.

Banks had to "live with" seven existing (early) Tillinghast greens on the East course (#2 thru #6, plus #9) and there a few on the West course that were "left-over" Tillie greens.

The course is very good and should be much higher in the rankings of classic courses.

[Jeff_Lewis]

Very interesting...I had heard that this was attributed to tillinghast, but you are saying the credit really belongs to banks, primarily?

[George Bahto]

Jeff: there was an early Ross course at a different location. Tillie built a course on the present site. Raynor and Banks were hired to do the whole thing over and Banks completed the course, the East course, after Raynor died, according to the plans he and Raynor drew up together. As I said, the club insisted Banks use some of the old Tillie greens (it was a financial issue) and the green complexes came out fine. Banks added the Raynor style bunkering on those greens. When I did those Tillie areas, I tried to tweak it a bit so it "blended" better with the rest of the course (all with the blessing of the club, of course).

The club has the best of a couple worlds: Tillie / Raynor and Banks.

[Jesper]

George and others - My comment about #11 being a Ross hole was misunderstood.  Let me try to explain:

I THOUGHT that I was being led to an early picture of #11 at Essex County Club (Manchester, MA), which is my course.   More than one writer has called our #11 the best three that Ross ever built.

The link actually takes you to #11 at ECCC, which is in New Jersey.

Confused enough???