Better late than never for getting to this post. From our actual renovation report to Brunswick Country Club:
"An Early History of the Golf Course
Before we look toward the future for the golf course at Brunswick Country Club, we feel it is important to look back at its past. The following is a summary of numerous articles we researched in The Brunswick News:
The existing golf course at Brunswick Country Club began as a nine hole course that opened in 1936 on the site of the present-day front nine. It was considered an easy course, one that was short in length and featured no hazards other than rough. Within its first two years of operation, the club’s board of governors decided to add a “back nine” to the course and contracted with renowned golf course architect Donald Ross to provide the design. Mr. Ross came to Brunswick to visit the site and by March 19, 1938, he had drawn-up the required plans for constructing the nine additional holes for the club.
Actual construction on the new holes began the second week of June, 1938. The work was performed by WPA and was headed by R. H. Pittman, an engineer with WPA. More than 100 laborers were used to build the nine-hole course which was completed and grassed by the first of November, although it wouldn’t be ready for play until the spring of 1939. During construction, Donald Ross made one site visit to inspect the work in progress. He was on site for two days, September 15-16, 1938, and expressed himself as “delighted” with what he saw. He also said the construction was being carried out in “excellent style” and that the course “would compare favorably with the best courses in the south.” It was on this visit that Mr. Ross toured the original nine holes in order to make recommendations for its improvement. His recommendations included: adding length, adding bunkers, creating several new green sites, and designing all new greens. Mr. Ross then drew up these recommendations in a second set of design plans.
In November 1938, work began on rebuilding the original nine holes. This work continued throughout the winter and into the summer of 1939. On April 27, 1939 (Memorial Day), the club officially opened the back nine with a small tournament that consisted of 60 players. The front nine was also used, although it was closed again the following day to continue with repairs. The course received high praise from the membership and was described as an “unusually sporty course.”
Work on the front nine continued into the late summer and on Labor Day 1939, all eighteen holes of the new Donald Ross designed Brunswick Country Club were officially opened.
This brief history is important because it allows us to establish the role Donald Ross played in designing the golf course. It now becomes very clear that Mr. Ross designed all 18 holes, instead of just 9 holes as he is officially accredited. It proves that he made at least two visits to the site and was personally involved in reviewing the course while it was under construction. It reveals that he held the course in high regard. Finally, it validates as authentic the existing copies of Ross’ original design sketches of the course that we believe should serve as the cornerstone for any substantial renovation program."
The plans that Paul refers to are incredible. We (one of the club's members) have all of Ross' original hand sketches on graph paper (greens only), we also have another copy of these same sketches as re-drawn by one of Ross' draftsmen, and finally we have the original typed notes from Ross, on the old onion-skin paper, that detailed the changes he wanted to make on the original nine holes. The typed notes are really fascinating- they describe specific design details such as the angle of slopes, width of fairways and where they should start, the exact yardage at which to "elbow" the fairway, types of grassing, construction techniques, etc. They even denote areas where clumps of trees should be planted to provide separation between adjacent holes (I know that may surprise some on here).
I'll try to post updates from time to time if anyone is interested and we'd love to post some photos if someone can explain in simple terms how that is accomplished.
Thanks, John