Circling back to a sub-thread on the interconnections of Augusta National and Palmetto in Aiken. Here are a couple of excerpts from a recent Palmetto Golf Club history summary about MacKenzie's/Wendell Miller's work and MacKenzie reaction to the work that was completed at Palmetto.
For those that haven't played it. The bunkering now that a member of Doak's team was involved with definetely feels and plays very much MacKenzie.
here are the excerpts:
"In 1932, when Dr. Alister MacKenzie had completed the Augusta National Golf Club, he was asked to draw up plans for converting the Palmetto sand greens to grass and lengthening the course. Many of the original Augusta National investors were Winter Colonists from Aiken who also belonged to Palmetto. Wendell Miller of New York, who had just finished building Augusta National, was contracted to manage the project. The work at the Palmetto used some excess materials from the Augusta National project.
There were many minor changes, mostly involving tree and bunker work, throughout the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. Rees Jones suggested some bunker renovations, which began in the late 80’s and were completed when the course was re-grassed in 1995. In 2003, Tom Doak, a recognized authority on Dr. MacKenzie’s work, provided recommendations to restore some of the MacKenzie design characteristics on the golf course. This work was completed in 2005 and mainly involved reworking the bunkers and expanding the greens out towards the existing mounds and slopes. Noted golf course architect Gil Hanse is now serving as resident architect for the Club."
"Probably the highest compliment paid to Palmetto was made by Dr. Alister MacKenzie in the May 1933 edition of the American Golfer Magazine. MacKenzie said, “The alterations at Palmetto have been such a success that the Chairman of Bobby Jones’ executive committee at the Augusta National writes me saying, ‘We have only one serious complaint to make against you regarding the Augusta National. That layout you designed at Aiken is liked so well that the Aiken colony does not seem to be the least bit interested in coming over to the Augusta National’.” "
One other thing worth adding is that Gil Hanse and the golf committee recently re-added 6 or 7 original bunkers to the course. I played there last Friday and they are terrific. In addition, Gil Hanse and his team are getting ready to do some extensive work on the course this summer which will cause it to close for 4 months. The work is focused on regrassing the entire course and removing around 100 trees. The course is not tree choked now but some tree work will help.