County Sligo, the world will lose another 8 original Colt greens

[Frank Pont]

See article:   http://www.golfcoursearchitecture.net/Article/Ruddy-aims-to-%e2%80%98revitalise%e2%80%99-Colt%e2%80%99s-classic-Rosses-Point-at-County-Sligo/3189/Default.aspx

The planned works encompass new championship tees and some alterations to a number of greens, as well as building an entirely new green for the par five third hole. “The third was variously a bogey four or five in the old days and is a par five today, but it is vulnerable to power hitters,” said Ruddy. “My proposal is to create a new green about 40 yards behind and slightly to left of the existing one, in delightful mild dunes ground. This will introduce more yardage and more risk for the second shot and is likely to do a fine job for a few generations to come.”

Colt’s putting surfaces will mostly not be altered, said Ruddy, though a number of greens will be extended to add more pin locations and additional difficulty where appropriate. “On the first, second, seventh and eighteenth holes, the plan is to extend the greens to the side,” said Ruddy. “On the fifth, tenth and eighteenth they are to be extended to the back. The idea is to preserve Mr Colt’s work while adding more green surface with traditionally devious contouring, pertinent bunkering and runoffs to add interest to the existing pin positions while raising the championship tempo considerably with the new sections.”


Just hope the club has the sense and historical decency to do detailed surveys of all the greens before the work starts.
If not, it would be close to gross neglect in my book.....

[Jud_T]

Frank,

This is really getting depressing.  Not sure why we bother spending so much time waxing poetic about golden age GCA as apparently it's all going to get cocked up eventually.

[Thomas Dai]

This was also threaded here a short while ago - see - http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,59084.0.html - with various comments arising.
atb

[Dan Moore]

Are we sure the greens are Colt originals?  Played there 2 years ago and while thought the routing was great the greens were pretty flat and boring, really lacking any flair.   

[Frank Pont]

Are we sure the greens are Colt originals?  Played there 2 years ago and while thought the routing was great the greens were pretty flat and boring, really lacking any flair.   

I am not, but I would hope the club would know.

No mention in Adam's interview with Ruddy that the greens are not original, so I would assume they are.

When we renovated the greens at Royal Hague, we knew exactly which greens were original and which had been changed by Pennink and Philips.

[Paul Gray]

Frank,

This is really getting depressing.  Not sure why we bother spending so much time waxing poetic about golden age GCA as apparently it's all going to get cocked up eventually.

+1

Time for a Golf Course Preservation Society? Said only half tongue in cheek.

[Paul_Turner]

Colt's original work has been mauled in the past decade or so...every few months I read how some genius modern architect wants to improve one of his old courses.

Ireland in particular...all started at Royal Dublin for Colt's courses.

Too many architects scraping around for a job.

[Thomas Dai]

Are we sure the greens are Colt originals?  Played there 2 years ago and while thought the routing was great the greens were pretty flat and boring, really lacking any flair.   

An interesting comment for after we'd finished 18-holes at County Sligo/Rosses Point a playing partner of mine, an experienced travelling golfing and former +hcppers with some architectural knowledge, said to me "Are you sure this is a Harry Colt course?".
atb

[Jeff Bergeron]

The changes described do not particularly trouble me. Green expansions that restore putting surfaces and hole locations lost to many years of mowing make sense to me. Ruddy has a great brand and seems to be very respectful of Colt. He does not appear to be trying to put his 'personal stamp' on the restoration, just adjusting for the modern game. I would hope he would 'restore' the new third green in a manner consistent with the original, just 40 yards further back.

I've seen both sides of this equation, at Orchard Lake Foster's green expansions were consistent with the original Allison greens and have given us numerous terrific new hole locations. At Desert Forest, Zinkand was less respectful of Red Lawrence's original surfaces and green surrounds and the result is a divided membership and greens that are simply too difficult for daily member play.

[Paul_Turner]

Sligo's greens are a decent enough set,  everything has to be "tarted up" these days.   If every course has wild humpy bumpy greens do we have more variety or less?

There is  reference in the Sligo club history that some of the greens may have been softened fairly soon after Colt's original work.  But there were subsequent visits by the firm...Alison definitely did some bunker work there.

[Jay Mickle]

I played here last week and the Pat Ruddy recasting was in progress. A couple of the greens were being added to, one looked to be doubling in size, a large mound well off to the side of a green was being created and plans were to relocate a waterway on one hole. I wish I could be more specific but after 16 courses in 11 days the mind goes fuzzy.

[Thomas Dai]

I came across this on the progress of work at County Sligo -


http://www.irishgolfdesk.com/news-files/2016/1/1/rosses-point-changes-taking-shape


Atb