Sculptures on the course

[Michael Goldstein]

I'm curious about what this group thinks about sculptures on a golf course.

At the Hills there is a rather significant sculpture park developing and it's really unique.  Yesterday 110 cast iron wolves were unveiled congregating around a Chinese Warrior.

Originally designated a space adjacent to the driveway, the artist decided that the most appropriate hime for the wolves was next to the 18th fairway so it would look like they were descending from the mountains.

It's a long way from minimalism but you have to be inspired by Michael's attitude...

http://www.3news.co.nz/100-wolves-for-Michael-Hills-golf-course/tabid/817/articleID/273250/Default.aspx   

[Tim Gavrich]

A course back in Connecticut that I've played a bunch, Gillette Ridge (very tough but fun--IMO--Arnold Palmer course) has a few sculptures between the 10th and 17th fairways and in a couple other spots. It's different--I like it.

The former (current?) AIG course in Brewster, NY called Morefar GC apparently has a buncc, even in the middles of bunkers and such.

[Mark McKeever]

Morefar was the one that came to mind for me as well.  Does anyone have pictures of the place?  I've only seen the aerial shots on google.

Mark

[Tim Martin]

A course back in Connecticut that I've played a bunch, Gillette Ridge (very tough but fun--IMO--Arnold Palmer course) has a few sculptures between the 10th and 17th fairways and in a couple other spots. It's different--I like it.

The former (current?) AIG course in Brewster, NY called Morefar GC apparently has a buncc, even in the middles of bunkers and such.

Tim- Not to change the subject but what is there to like about Gillette Ridge? A course full of forced carries and hero shots with almost nothing in the way of options on the majority of holes. I just got an email offering a 7 day a week unrestricted membership for 2013 for $375 as long as cart fees are paid. The only thing I like about the place is the unlimited amount of balls offered to me on my scouting trips

[V. Kmetz]

Hi All,

I don't have any pictures to offer of Morefar, but I've both visited it a few times (legitimately and illegitimately - I grew up less than 2 miles away) and most of the statuary (some sits directly in a bunker) is Asian/Japanese in nature.  C.V. Starr, founder of AIG was an ardent lover of Japanese culture and this aesthetic permeates the ornamental landscaping that fringes the course.

One of the statue groups isn't that at all, it's CV's grave marker...When he died, (ca. 1970?), they ripped up the 15th fairway, laid down blacktop for a funeral procession of vehicles, and after the ceremony which interred his ashes behind the 15th tee, tore up the macadam and reseeded the disturbed area.

The Wall Street Journal had  thorough article on the course and its history both in the 90s and then again during the AIG fiscal fallout in 2009.  so did the local paper...the Danbury News Times, but that was perhaps as much as 18-20 years ago.

A little bit of hunting can yield a lot of info about an ultra, ultra private place.  They have more than few sunny, summer days where not a single person plays the course.


cheers

vk

[John Ezekowitz]

This doesn't quite fit the sculpture category, but it does give me a chance to post one of my most eerie golf course experiences. I was playing Springdale on a beautiful spring afternoon, and it was a Monday, so the course was putatively closed. There was no one else on the back nine. I get to the 15th hole and am confronted with this sight:



There was something unsettling and beautiful about the lone chair sitting on an empty golf course in the late afternoon light. I guess you could call it a very temporary sculpture.

[Bill McKinley]

The place that comes to mind for me is Isleworth.  They have a giant cast iron sculpture of a bull that sites on the shared tee box of #1 and #10.  There are a bunch of other sculptures around the place but none really "on" the golf course.  My opinion, I think they were pretty cool at Isleworth and impressive to look at, but I wouldn't really want to see more courses with them.

[JR Potts]

Bill:

You beat me to it.

First Tee


I believe Christie's Auction scatters these around the course and all are for sale.  The first tee rotation is nice.  I've seen this guy on the first tee as well as the Bull.  I should be able to track down a picture of that as well.

I think it's a neat touch....but best not often replicated.

[Andy Stamm]

I'm not a huge fan. There are also trees that have been cut down that leave a tall stump into which is carved a sculpture. I'm not a big fan of those either. They definitely have them at Kearney Hill in Lexington, KY, and I think I've seen them elswhere.

[Guy Nicholson]

Stanley Thompson at Highlands Links -- I happened to be there the day it was installed in August. (This is not my photo, however.)
 
http://canadiangolfer.com/jefflancaster/2012/09/27/in-photos-highlands-links-and-stanley-thompson-memorial/stanley-thompson-statue-highlands-links/

[Howard Riefs]

This doesn't quite fit the sculpture category, but it does give me a chance to post one of my most eerie golf course experiences. I was playing Springdale on a beautiful spring afternoon, and it was a Monday, so the course was putatively closed. There was no one else on the back nine. I get to the 15th hole and am confronted with this sight:



There was something unsettling and beautiful about the lone chair sitting on an empty golf course in the late afternoon light. I guess you could call it a very temporary sculpture.

Clint Eastwood would be a fan.

[Jon Stein]

A course back in Connecticut that I've played a bunch, Gillette Ridge (very tough but fun--IMO--Arnold Palmer course) has a few sculptures between the 10th and 17th fairways and in a couple other spots. It's different--I like it.

The former (current?) AIG course in Brewster, NY called Morefar GC apparently has a buncc, even in the middles of bunkers and such.

Tim- Not to change the subject but what is there to like about Gillette Ridge? A course full of forced carries and hero shots with almost nothing in the way of options on the majority of holes. I just got an email offering a 7 day a week unrestricted membership for 2013 for $375 as long as cart fees are paid. The only thing I like about the place is the unlimited amount of balls offered to me on my scouting trips

The Brewster NY course (Morefar Back O'Beyond) has dozens of sculptures throughout the course - most of which are charming.  Almost all of them are out of play - near tee boxes or adjacent to hazards along the greens.  There is one bunker on the short par 4  downhill 5th hole which contains bronze scultures.  This is quirky, but it provides comedy instead of annoyance.  If you do find yourself in that bunker near a statue, ground rules state you can move your ball.  The remainder of the sculptures at Morefar add to the allure of the facility.  It is a gorgeous property on the NY/CT border that receives very limited play.  On a typical weekday, 30-40 golfers might play the course.  It is closed on the weekends.  

As for Gillette Ridge - I found this course unplayable the first few years after it opened.  But in recent years, the course has been improved dramatically.  Several bunkers were removed, landing areas have been expanded, trees have been taken down, etc.   I find the greens some of the best in central CT for a public facility.  That said, the bunkers are in dire need of repair.  Tim, I heard they have sold a TON of those unrestricted memberships.  The course received a lot of play in 2012.  If you haven't visited Gillette in 2-3 years, I suggest giving it another shot.
P.S.  The scultures between 10 and 17 were there before the course was built.

[Aidan Bradley]

Old Head #18

[Hugh Griffin]

I am currently in NZ touring around and playing some golf (so far Kidnappers, KC, Titirangi, Paraparaumu and Kinloch) and will play The Hills on friday. The sculpture side strikes me as being a bit of a gimic but this looks very different and interesting. I will endeavour to take a fee photos of the various art pieces around the course.