I can make it that weekend as well.  And if Mark cannot, I can show you the old 12th and 17th tees.  I went out there today for a quick round in the afternoon and was able to find both, but each took some work.  I am so excited about a restoration.... Cobb's would immediately become one of the best public courses in the area if brought back to the 30's version, IMO.  Heck, I'll go on record right here and now and state that it could be the best in the area.

Mike, it was just awesome today.  Simply awesome.  I had the course pretty much to myself.  I teed off at 1 PM and the sunshine was just enough to keep it comfortable.  After teeing off on six I tried to find the stone steps that Mark mentioned for the old 12th, but I could not locate them.  So I trudged along thinking I'll get it figured out when arriving at the 14th tee.  But after teeing off the 14th I looked all friggin' over near that tee for a path down to a tee box to the current 6th green, but to no avail.  I started to feel like I had been given the wrong date to a party.  But after playing the 15th, I started to look again for the mysterious tee as I headed to the 16th.  I looked near the back of the 14th tee, but again did not see anything that looked promising.  So I started walking to the current 16th tee and decided, what the heck, let's dive back into the woods from the side.  And, BAM (!), I had to strike gold.  I was on a flat piece of land in the woods, a bit down the hill, and the green was obscured through the trees.  Gosh, the hole looks great from there.  It even made me wonder if upon restoration if the current blue tee for the 14th couldn't be the back tee.  From there it would be probably 170 yards.  As an aside, I'll post a pic of what is the view of the old 9th hole (par 4 to the current 7th green) which appears to have played about 360 yards according to my rangefinder.  

The hole that really looks like a showstopper would be the 17th.  I'm pretty sure I found the original tee here (not too far at all from the current 16th green) and gahd almighty this would be a healthy hole.  If a restoration is done, I would hope they keep the current tees in place, or build new ones down the hill from the 'old tee' so the hole for the bogey golfer is manageable.  

I'll admit it.  I'm getting goosebumps just reading Joe's description of the 17th.

Here is a pic that shows how old #9 at Cobb's might look like (if only Photoshop had a 'tree removal' button!), which is from current tee #14 to the 7th green:



My rangefinder suggests it would be about 360 yards long, maybe 390 from the back tees.

All,

The first weekend in Dec works well for me as well.  Let me know what time you guys are thinking.  We can take a look at the course and then play (weather permitting).  

And now, as promised, a story from the past.

According to several old time caddie's boxer Joe Lewis and Hall of Famer Charlie Sifford would play some big money matches here.  Joe Lewis was an excellent golfer and would never turn down a game.  He would also never loose except to Sifford.  When I asked why he could never beat Charlie the caddie's told me that he could have beat him no problem.  Seems he used to throw the match to help fund Siffords efforts to play professionaly.  Charlie had to much pride to just take money.  Lewis, who wanted to help Sifford, used golf to help Charlie make on the pro tour.

Mark

While standing between the current 7th and 8th fairways yesterday, it was obvious Cobb's looked pretty darn good on this late fall afternoon.  So I took out the old cam and fired off 11 shots and pasted them together for a 360° panorama that I converted to a Quicktime VR movie.   Your QuickTime (and web plugin) needs to be able to handle H264 compressed movies, and a broadband connection is strongly recommended as the file is large (~10 MB).  You can see some holes and many greens (10, 11, 12, and 13).  Enjoy!

http://darwin.chem.villanova.edu/~bausch/images/CC_panorama.mov

Joe,

That's really impressive.   Thanks for sharing.

The course looks to be in pretty fine condition...especially considering the situation they're operating under.   Or am I just impressed with your photography?  

Mike, I think w/o an irrigation system Cobb's is best in the spring and the fall.  We've had enough rain lately to really brighten it up.  The greens yesterday were wonderful.  They putted true, not super fast, but maybe a 9 or 10 on the meter.

I really hope others reading this thread have the same passion you and I have (and Wayne, Kyle, SteveS, GW, and others that perhaps haven't spoken up yet) about getting Cobb's into a first rate/world class (?) state.  This is starting to remind me of the chatter surrounding the restoration at Ross' Jeffersonville.  And I love Jeffersonville.  But Jeffersonville is no Cobb's.  The terrain at Cobb's is so much better.

Kyle and I have discussed a Public Course Death Match, hole by hole, of Cobb's after restoration versus Bethpage Black.  Stay tuned!  I think you might be surprised...

This might be a little over the top but I always dreamed that a museum or at least a section of the clubhouse could be dedicated to the Philadelphia school of architects.  It would be a place where kids could see what Wilson, Flynn, Tillinghast, Crump and Thomas (and others) did and be inspired themselves.  Philadelphia really should have a place that honors their accomplishments and what better place than at a public facility open to all.  Think of it like a First Tee for GCA.

Joe/Geoffrey,

I would mention that I've received a couple of private emails from folks wishing to be involved in helping however they can.  

Joe,

I'm not sure what a "restoration" should look like beyond trying to recapture the original routing.  I would also assume that a lot of larger specimen trees should be kept in place, but like most courses, I think you could remove every pine in sight and improve things, but that's just me.

Bunkering would be a stickier issue, because there weren't a lot of bunkers there in the first place.  

I think we're getting way ahead of ourselves, probably, but it is nice to dream.  

Also, I would never compare Cobbs with Bethpage Black and I think the intent would be something completely different...a piece of living Philadelphia & golf history as one of the small handful of designs Hugh Wilson was involved in.  

The course would have both charm and difficulty, but it seems to me the purpose of BB was always to be a "Championship Course", whatever that means.  

I guess, these days, it means making it 7500 yards, par 70, and adding bunkers and changing greens on Tillinghast's work.  

Wayne,

Thanks for touching base with Mark and letting us know that GAP potentially has interest in that idea.  As an aside, I have always thought that GAP and the city's public courses should have a closer relationship.  However, I do give credit to Mark for finally including the Philadelphia Publinks as an associate club so that the public players have an outlet to join GAP.

Mike/Mark/Joe,

Count me in for the first weekend in December.  Saturday would work best for me.

I have a dinner party to go to the evening of December 1, but will come at least for the golf course discussion if everyone is OK with that.  Thanks for arranging, Joe.  Maybe just one drink at R+O  

I'm available if Joe posts a picture of the famous R&O.

It's Saturday.  Please reserve a spot for me.