Mark,

Mike Stachowicz is the super and a contributer here.  I'm sure he'll chime in.

Best,
Steve

Dedham's 1915 nine hole course was designed by Ross.  In 1920 Herbert Fowler was hired to construct an additional nine holes on newly acquired land.  Financial set backs, we think, led to this relationship to be dissolved and Raynor was hired.  Raynor was to include Fowler's holes, with Ross', and his own to make an 18 hole golf course.  He pulled it all together, saving many Ross greens, but changing the routing and bunkering, and including 2 or 3 green sites that Fowler hadn't finished.  This, coupled with the placement of his holes with regard to the terrain, has led me to really appreciate his routing skills.

In the past 10 years there was a bunker renovation with no regard for the history of the course, thankfully the green surfaces were not touched and the bunker locations were not changed (that much).  Since then, the history of the club has been uncovered and an appreciation for the Raynor design is building within the membership.

With this new regard for tradition Brian Silva was hired and a new master plan has been designed.  The timeline for the plan remains uncertain though.

We have some really cool standards here including a reverse redan similar but not a severe as Charleston's, a Knoll and a Valley holes similar to Yale's, a really neat but short Alps, a punchbowl green like Yeaman's, the best Maiden green I have seen, a road hole, and a single level Biarritz.  With the restoration we will end up with a prized dogleg, strategy hole, and a great bottle hole.

The terrain is very similar to the other Boston clubs with rock outcroppings and varying terrain.  We are in the process of removing trees to expose these outcroppings and various other land features.  We have also been able to expose some great specimen trees.  I would say that Dedham is less parkland than Winchester, and it has been years since I have played Brae Burn so I would not make a comparison.

That officially make this my longest post and probably most coherent.  I do love talking about this course and its history.

Michael S: so Fowler's work was done at the same time as he worked on Eastward Ho?

Here is a great old article Mike sent me.  "Record Golf Features Opening of New Links"

http://foothillgreens.com/DCPCMay301915.pdf


Cheers,
Steve

Dedham's 1915 nine hole course was designed by Ross.  In 1920 Herbert Fowler was hired to construct an additional nine holes on newly acquired land.  Financial set backs, we think, led to this relationship to be dissolved and Raynor was hired.  Raynor was to include Fowler's holes, with Ross', and his own to make an 18 hole golf course.  He pulled it all together, saving many Ross greens, but changing the routing and bunkering, and including 2 or 3 green sites that Fowler hadn't finished.  This, coupled with the placement of his holes with regard to the terrain, has led me to really appreciate his routing skills.

In the past 10 years there was a bunker renovation with no regard for the history of the course, thankfully the green surfaces were not touched and the bunker locations were not changed (that much).  Since then, the history of the club has been uncovered and an appreciation for the Raynor design is building within the membership.

With this new regard for tradition Brian Silva was hired and a new master plan has been designed.  The timeline for the plan remains uncertain though.

We have some really cool standards here including a reverse redan similar but not a severe as Charleston's, a Knoll and a Valley holes similar to Yale's, a really neat but short Alps, a punchbowl green like Yeaman's, the best Maiden green I have seen, a road hole, and a single level Biarritz.  With the restoration we will end up with a prized dogleg, strategy hole, and a great bottle hole.

The terrain is very similar to the other Boston clubs with rock outcroppings and varying terrain.  We are in the process of removing trees to expose these outcroppings and various other land features.  We have also been able to expose some great specimen trees.  I would say that Dedham is less parkland than Winchester, and it has been years since I have played Brae Burn so I would not make a comparison.

That officially make this my longest post and probably most coherent.  I do love talking about this course and its history.

Some people in this area talk of Charles River of being a better course... I could never u'stand why apart from the very fast and challenging greens. I've only played at Charles River once + taken some lessons out there, but it feels cramped to me. I wonder what the acreage is for the CRCC. It must be small.  I'll have to weasel my way onto Dedham this summer... it sure looks nice when I drive around it!

Ed   :   Colorado GC is superb, great expansive land with both subtle and dramtic ground features. splendid par 3s and par 4s.    #7 is a brilliant par 5. highly original design. THe routing is full of beutiful sceneryd csenery galore. jim Craig  was very gracious to me when i vited

Mike:  It looks to me that the original nine might have played as #1,#2,#3,#4,#16,#17 then from the eighteenth tee up into the  polo grounds.  Would this be a correct read ?

#1 started by the old clubhouse across the street and played to the current 3 green area, 2 played where 4 currrently is, and 3 was where number 5 is now.  4 played down 16 I believe, from there I am fuzzy.  When you go through it, it seems Raynor did alot of rerouting, while keeping Ross' greens.  Raynor reused the current 1st green, the old 2nd green, and the current 18th. Raynor's charge was to eliminate much of the hill climbing in the exisiting 9.  One more thing #17 was a Raynor original on the Ross side of the road - so not part of the original 9.

Quote from: RandyVS on March 11, 2006, 01:03:14 PM

FWIW, Fowler first roamed the land on which Eastward Ho! now resides in early 1920 (riding on a polo pony borrowed from Myopia) and began designing the layout at that time.   From The Story of Eastward Ho! Country Club: "While it opened for play in 1922, the course was not considered close to completion and work on its development was continued for a number of years."

From start to finish, it certainly would have been in the same time frame as his input at Dedham.

I changed my post to reflect this after looking up the facts, then I saw yours.  We must've posted closely together or I am just blind.  Sorry.

No problem - I think it was a cross post

Steve -

That letter is classic!  Particularly to someone like me who is an overseas member of Dornoch, loves most Ross designs and my home course is a Fowler design.

Is it real, or did Dan Rather dig that up from some guy in Texas?

It is interesting to note that Fowler got very little respect from contemporary architects at the time, Ross, Travis, and Robert Hunter. I have a number of articles from the early '20s from the SF Chronicle that has him working in the Bay area, and some work at Olympic that I have not been able to verify. I found references to his having to go back to or stop in the Boston area for some work on some courses there. If you are trying to form a timeline for his whereabouts I might be able to add some info.

Tully  

Fowler went directly to Dedham after working in Chatham in 1920.

I can see Fowler on horseback roaming the bluffs of Eastward Ho! like it was yesterday.