[Brad Klein]

Anybody have a good photo of him? Or of any of his Vancouver-area or Portland-area courses? I've got Jeff Mingay's Links article on him, which is helpful, and where there is a group photo of Macan.

[peter_p]

Brad,
You might check with the PNGA (Pacific NW Golf Assoc).
Their magazine had an article on him a few months ago.
www.pnga.org

[Tyler Kearns]

Brad,

www.thepnga.org/AwardsAndHonors/halloffame_people/hall1989_2.asp

www.mingaygolf.com/vernon_macan.html

TK

[peter_p]

I love this quote on Jeff's wwwebsite:

Today, the uninformed believe a green should be constructed with the slope from back to front, so that it will retain the ball," he said. "In brief, this suggests the shot should be a mechanical operation and the result a mathematical certainty. This is not the game of golf. Golf was not conceived as a mechanical operation but rather full of fun and adventure. Many things could happen to the ball after it pitched on the green. The ill-happenings were not regarded as ill-fortune or ill-luck, but part of the adventure, and the more skilled found methods to overcome the risks of ill-fortune.

"I personally could ask for no better compliment than for a course I have designed to be criticized as calling for a maximum of golfing brain power," he vehemently added.

[Gerry B]

Brad:

I am an out of town member of a Macan course in Vancouver - Richmond. The green complexes are fantastic -tough to score. I will check if the club has some archival photos.

gerry

[W.H. Cosgrove]

His Tacoma design at Fircrest Golf Club, still sports tremendous green complexes.  Unfortunately some road expansion and the ever increasing distance of todays drives threaten to make Fircrest nothing more than a long pitch and putt.  Well worth a stop if you happen to be in the Pacific Northwest.

[Jeff_Mingay]

I've been in touch with Brad, and sent a few images.

The real problem is, very little exists. Vernon Macan had a wonderful career, spanning six decades (!), but there's very little photographic documentation of his original works. And, sadly, his architecture has not been very well preserved.

I visited Macan's first golf course design, at Royal Colwood in Victoria, BC, a few weeks ago and was very impressed. Although it's apparent the golf course is overgrown, a tad worn out, and many obvious design changes have been made, there are some remarkable original features and design strategies there, at Colwood. Polished off, Colwood could be very, very good.  

I also cruised by Victoria GC for a quick tour. There are some remarkable Macan features at Victoria as well, including some excellent green contour - which was Macan's claim to fame in his heyday.  

[Jonathan Cummings]

I played Fircrest in Tacoma earlier this year.  It's a quiet old Macan layout that's waaaaay under the radar screen.  I found a thoroughly pleasant club and parkland course routed through an arboretum-like park.  Unfortunately, the "park" has severely constricted the golf course.  

If the trees are allowed to grow anymore here they should change the fairways to trails and call the place Fircrest nature walk.  It's chokes to the point that light no longer reaches any point of the surface (ok, so I exagerate a little...)!

Bradley - Fircrest's clubhouse is new but there are a ton of old pictures on the walls including one at the door of Macan - circa 1923.  The pro is a nice guy and if you call him he could probably help you out.

Coz-man, what do you think of Fircrest?  You probably know it much better than I do.

Jaycee

[W.H. Cosgrove]

Jaycee, I'm wondering why the phone didn't ring!  In my present position at a crosstown rival, I am doing my best to be kind to Fircrest.  Large maintenance budget and talented superintendent cannot completely make up for a routing that provides little variety in strategic choice and encroaching side streets.

John Harbottle has provided the club long range plan. Putting surfaces are often very quick. Often too quick to provide variety in pin placements. Course drains poorly in winter and as stated earlier the club is short of length, making it a place where technology may pass it by.

I love the volcano green on 17.  Par threes are all up hill shots.  Par 5's are reachable.  

[Tony Ristola]

Played Colwood a few times, along with Victoria, Point Grey, and Fircrest...some 20 years ago.  Remember enjoying all the courses.

(some of the hole numbers could be off)
I remember Colwood being a lot of fun. .  What stuck out was the rolling first fairway, the bird bath pond before the green on the par-3, 4th, the 11th green, tee shot up the hill on 12, tunnel on 16 (the entire hole), the two weak holes (13 & 14?).

Oak Bay aka Victoria..I remember the short 2nd with the wind beaten trees, the 3rd along the road (nice 4-tier...stair case green), its parallel hole towards the ocean...the 7th; its tee shot, appraoch and green...the back to back par-3's...after that the course was forgettable.

Strangely...I can't remember much of the other courses...except they were fun.

[W.H. Cosgrove]

After a conversation I had yesterday, I had to dig up the thread on Macan.  

Lake Spanaway in Tacoma was completed in 1967.  A representative of the PNGA told me that Spanaway was a Macan design.  I had always thought it was done by Jack Reimer.  Macan died in 1964.  

Does anyone know who Macan influenced during his 50 years of design?  Although he is a bit of an enigma, his influence must have carried forward.

[Sean Leary]

Mike Hendren played Fircrest last week.  I would be interested to hear his thoughts on the course.

Bill,

I've always thought that Lake Spanaway was underrated, particularly for the Seattle Tacoma area.  Your thoughts?

If he died in 64, then what NW archtects could he have influenced?  Muir Graves perhaps? Harbottle?  

[Jeff_Mingay]

I've done a lot of research on Macan.

Some of his work and writings has influenced me. In fact, we're in the planning stages of a new course on Vancouver Island where I'd like to resurrect some Macan philosophies.

Hopefully we can pull it off to some degree, because sadly, much of Macan's work throughout the Pacific Northwest has been erased.

Take Vancouver's Shaughnessy for example, host of this week's Canadian Open. Macan heralded it as his best work when the course opened for play in 1960. Reports indicate that fallaway greens with massive interior contour and centre fairway bunkers perplexed the PGA Tour pros during the 1966 Canadian Open. But Shaughnessy has been changed significantly since then.

Throughout his career, Macan was consistently assisted by a few notable construction-types. But I don't think he ever
had anyone under his wing per se.    

[peter_p]

Looking through the pedigrees of the NW, most courses were done by club professionals or golf course superintendents branching out - Johnstone, Junor, Federspiel for example. The Tucker organization had an office in Portland run by Francis James. Al Smith in Seattle built courses for others before designing himself. They could have worked on Macan courses. H Chandler Egan set up in Medford Oregon, although in competition with Macan he would certainly be aware of what Macan was producing.

[Mike Hendren]

Mike Hendren played Fircrest last week.  I would be interested to hear his thoughts on the course.

If limited to Fircrest for the rest of my days, I'd be a contented man.  Some of the most undulating fairways of any course I've played this side of the pond - think no. 15th at Beverly,  for example.   Way cool.  Canted green complexes fit nicely into the hilly terrain.  Neat low-profile greens on flat ground at the 9th and 11th with unoffensive chocolate drops.   Only drop-shot punchbowl I've seen at the 2nd.  Didn't even realize it was such until I looked back on my way to the 3rd tee.  Hit 3,5,7,9 irons into the short holes.  Nice perched saddle green at the 17th.  Several two-tiered putting surfaces, though those at the 7th and 10th look a little modern.  No flat putt anywhere on the 15th.  Intimate routing with the most beautiful squared tees, including the occasional runway (likely recently extended backward in places).

Only the sharp dogleg left at the 11th begs for a bended tee shot.

Trees give a claustrophoebic appearance from the tee only, with generally enough room to skirt/work around them.  Better players will make hay on the par fives which lack distance and are solely defended on the putting surfaces.  

Cos is correct in that better players will hit a bag full of wedges, but I probably used every club in the bag - the one blessing of being a short-knocker.    

Fabulous 18th green approached from less than 150 yards by everybody.  Canted from 8 to 2 around a front right bunker and heavily pushed up in the back with a devlished small back-left plateau that is pinable.  Getting up and down from long left (only option was to drive a mid-iron into the bank) was the highlight of the day.

Fairly shallow pedestrian bunkering.  In summary, the golf course really shows off the land and the greens are challenging without being tricky.  

Mike

[Jeff_Mingay]

Wow, Mike. I haven't been to Fircrest yet, but look forward to it. Thanks for your recap.

Macan deserves a lot more credit than he's given. I think a lot could be gained by clubs looking back and restoring some of his original concepts and features.

Peter,

Macan and Egan squared off at least a few times in PNGA Amateur competition. If my memory serves me correctly, Egan came out on top... which shouldn't surprise any of us!

[Mike Hendren]

Photo of Fircrest's 18th green from the left-hand rough.  Approach is uphill from the right with only the back left corner of the green visible.

[Bill Satterfield]

I played Fircrest with my step-father-in-law last year before heading over to Suncadia and Tumble Creek.  I was very impressed with the layout, greens, etc.  The contours in the fairway were done quite well.  I really enjoyed hole #2.  A few weeks later I played another Macan layout at Hillcrest Country Club in Boise, ID.  The Nationwide Tour plays there each year and reverse the nines for that week.  Hillcrest has several holes that work right to left (which worked great for my draw that day) but featured much tamer undulations in both the fairways and greens than Fircrest.  Both were a treat though.

[Jeff Doerr]

Was Alderwood (Portland) the course that ran through the canyon that Hwy 84 occupies now?

[Jeff_Mingay]

Jeff,

If I'm not mistaken, Portland Int'l Airport is at least partially build over top Macan's old Alderwood course, which I understand was pretty good. Alderwood was the first course west of the Mississippi River to host a USGA national championship. It was the US Am, some time in the early 1930s I think.

[David Stamm]

Jeff,

If I'm not mistaken, Portland Int'l Airport is at least partially build over top Macan's old Alderwood course, which I understand was pretty good. Alderwood was the first course west of the Mississippi River to host a USGA national championship. It was the US Am, some time in the early 1930s I think.

What about the Am at Pebble in '29?

[Jeff_Mingay]

Whoops... I think I meant the first USGA national championship in the Pacific Northwest! Does that make more sense?!

I think so.

[Bob Jenkins]

Jeff, David,

What are you talking about?

[JohnV]

John Goodman won the 1937 US Amateur at Alderwood.

It was plowed up to build the airport.

Once I get done with my move and can find my copy of the PNGA Centennial book I'll see if there anything more about it.  The book is great and has a lot of good information on golf in the northwest US and southwest of Canada.

[David Stamm]

Jeff, David,

What are you talking about?

Bob, Jeff thought Alderwood was the first course to host a USGA event west of the Mississippi. I merely pointed out that Pebble Beach hosted the Amateur in 1929, which was, I believe, the first.

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