Can you Name that Course?? ROYAL COLWOOD

[DMoriarty]

Par 3 from the tee.   Maybe a bit obscure, but should it be?  Looks interesting to me.



Any guesses?

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Gulph Mills?

[DMoriarty]

Gulph Mills?

Funny. But No. This one is totally above the line.  The course, opened in 1913, was designed by a recent immigrant from the British Isles, but not the usual one.  According to my source (to be identified with the course) this course may have been the first to introduce strategic design to the Pacific Northwest, and was the first of over 70 courses this man would design or remodel.   One of his courses hosted the first USGA Championship ever held in the Pacific Northwest.  The course in the photo shares reciprocal playing privileges with many of the greatest courses in the World.

Anyone care to makean educated guess?   

[Bob Jenkins]

I do not recognize the course but was the architect Macan?

I think the first USGA event in this part of the world was at Salem so that is my guess.

Bob J

[John Kavanaugh]

The course in the photo shares reciprocal playing privileges with many of the greatest courses in the World.

What the hell does that mean?  Is that due to a connected membership, pro or super?

[John Mayhugh]

The architect description sounds like A.V. Macan.  If I'm right, based on the timing the course would be Royal Colwood.  

[Bob Jenkins]

John M,

I know you just spent a weekend in BC but I do not think we were annexed by the US during your visit. Royal Colwood is a Macan and does have some reciprocals with some fine courses but it is in Victoria.

There are Pacific Northwest Golf Association events in BC, Alberta and the northwest states.

 

[John Kavanaugh]

Knowing David it sounds like Butte Country Club except for its opening being 1909.

[Pete_Pittock]

The first USGA Championship held in the Pacific NW was the Publinx at Eastmoreland, designed by H Chandler Egan and John Junor.
The picture is on the Royal Colwood website.

[John Mayhugh]

John M,

I know you just spent a weekend in BC but I do not think we were annexed by the US during your visit. Royal Colwood is a Macan and does have some reciprocals with some fine courses but it is in Victoria.

There are Pacific Northwest Golf Association events in BC, Alberta and the northwest states.

I am probably wrong about the course, but I didn't think David said it was in the US, just the Pacific NW.  He said that one of the architect's courses hosted the first USGA championship in the Pacific NW, but didn't say it was the one in the picture.

[Scott Stambaugh]

Looks like #7 at Royal Colwood

[DMoriarty]

Barney,

The reciprocity is a product of the course being designated a "Royal" which apparently allows for reciprocal and fee free play at all the other "Royal" courses.  Perhaps you guys should come up with something similar for your redneck tour or whatever it is called. 

If that was Butte, the sand would be black slag.

John Mayhugh,  You are correct.  It is a Macan and it is Royal Colwood.

Bob,  I don't believe I said it was in the United States.  If I did I was mistaken.  Macan's Alderwood Country Club (NLE) in Portland hosted the 1937 United States Amateur.

Pete,   What year was the Publinx?   

Steve, thanks for posting the photo.  What a difference!

I've never played this course, but in some of the earlier courses it looks very interesting, with large rolling greens, and wide fairways some of which are also rolling. 

My source was entirely Jeff Mingay who did a terrific write-up of Macan here: http://www.mingaygolf.com/vernon_macan.html

There are some old photos on the current website, here:   

Check out this hole, the 13th . . . I believe the low-lying area on the right may be wetlands.




Does anyone know anything about this course?   The website says it is mostly the same as when designed, but from the photos, I have my doubts.

[Pete_Pittock]

David,
From the PNGA website:
1933
The U.S. Amateur Public Links at Portland's Eastmoreland Golf Course is the first USGA championship played in the Northwest.

[DMoriarty]

Pete, thanks for the correction, I'll send a note to Jeff in case he wants to fix it on his website.

[Bob Jenkins]

David and John,

My apologies. Misread the USGA reference.

B

[Scott Stambaugh]

Knowing David it sounds like Butte Country Club except for its opening being 1909.

Coincidentally, Butte CC is where Macan won his only PNGA Men's Amateur in 1913.

I played Royal Colwood a few months ago, one of the members of my foursome was the Mens Captain/Club Historian.  Very well educated on all things Macan.  As I recall, other than a green being moved and a few added fairway bunkers, the course hasn't changed all that much OTHER THAN THE TREES BEING 100 YEARS OLDER AND BIGGER.  They have some of the biggest Douglas Fir trees you will see anywhere.  They look like the parents of Sahalee's trees.  The club has just approved and is in the beginning stages of a Tree Management Program.  They are going to be removing most of the non-native and exotic species on the course, but I'm not sure that includes some of the old-growth.

The golf course itself is solid.  A great collection of par 3's and par 4's of varying length/difficulty.  And, some classic Macan greens that, rolling at 10' are flat-out treacherous.  In my opinion, a bunker renovation plan would put this place on the front page.

It was great to see a club embracing Macan's contribution to golf in the PNW.  Those of you familiar with Macan's work are well aware that most clubs continue to ignore his relevance.  As I have said before, if clubs back East were destroying work by the likes of Tillinghast, Travis, Ross, etc..., at the rate Macan's work continues to be disregarded, GolfClubAtlas would be chock full of angry threads similar to the Merion chronicles...

A plaque on the 7th tee-



Scott

[Paul_Daley]

Hi Scott: when you get a moment, could you email me your email address.
Rgds,
Paul Daley
fswing@bigpond.net.au

[Bill_McBride]

I just read Jeff's fine article on Vernon Macan and think the target golf, pro-range finder crowd should read his quote about front to back sloping greens:

"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'm a non-resident member of one of AVM's Portland courses, Columbia-Edgewater, and wish I was out there more frequently.  It's beautifully routed and has a fine set of greens with interesting contours.  Of course I have little idea how much Macan is still there, I know Bob Cupp did one green, #17, that is much different from all of the others with its potato chip edges.

[Kalen Braley]

Bill,

Excellent find on the quote!  Can I borrow it for another thread?  If not fine, I'm taking it anyways!! 

[Bill_McBride]

Bill,

Excellent find on the quote!  Can I borrow it for another thread?  If not fine, I'm taking it anyways!! 

No problemo, just don't stir up any sh*@&t on that range finder thread.   

I do hope Melvyn Morrow sees it though, it's pretty much right down his alley.  I think I would like to have met the good Mr. Macan.

[TEPaul]

I'm afraid that plaque and the club history is completely inaccurate and a lie. I have evidence that course was designed by either C.B. Macdonald/Whigam or Willie Campbell. I can even show proof but I refuse to do that because I don't feel like helping anyone on here. Everyone should do their own "independent" expert research or else be considered inferior to me.

[Mark Chaplin]

It is incorrect to assume that Royal status gives reciprocal arrangements with other Royal clubs. Each club enters into as many or as few arrangements with other clubs as they choose, there is usually a bond between the two clubs not just Royal status.

The links can be full reciprocity allowing visitors to bring and sign in guests, play in non-trophy competitions etc or an agreement to welcome members of a fellow club, this would usually allow you to pay a guest green fee.

Playing a reciprocal course is a great honour and I make every effort to make reciprocal visitors welcome when they visit.

[DMoriarty]

Scott, 

Thanks for posting.  I was hoping that someone with some familiarity with the course would chime in.  As for the changes, or lack thereof, it looks from the photographs like they must have done some formalization of their water/wetlands as well.   Plus the fairway lines look to have been narrowed, wouldn't you say?   In the old photos the greens look very interesting.

 

It was great to see a club embracing Macan's contribution to golf in the PNW.  Those of you familiar with Macan's work are well aware that most clubs continue to ignore his relevance.  As I have said before, if clubs back East were destroying work by the likes of Tillinghast, Travis, Ross, etc..., at the rate Macan's work continues to be disregarded, GolfClubAtlas would be chock full of angry threads similar to the Merion chronicles...

I agree that this is a real shame.  But do you think that part of the problem might be the overwhelming focus on the East coast designers?   With all the attention on the East coast guys, most people have no idea that quality golf courses existed in the West at least outside of California and so quality guys like Macan and Egan go completely unnoticed.

Meanwhile, even the USGA wastes its resources glorifying men who designed one great course, or not even that.
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Bill,   I enjoyed that quote as well.  Many thanks to Jeff for writing and posting the article. 

Too bad we don't get more of that kind of quality work here in the IM section, but I certainly have an insight into why that is, and can't blame people like Jeff from steering well clear of here.
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Mark Chaplin, 

Thanks for the clarification on the reciprocal arrangement issue.   Royal Colwood has a long list of reciprocals on their website and all but one of them are Royals.  I assume this means that they are well respected and have a good relationship with many different clubs.

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I'm afraid that plaque and the club history is completely inaccurate and a lie. I have evidence that course was designed by either C.B. Macdonald/Whigam or Willie Campbell. I can even show proof but I refuse to do that because I don't feel like helping anyone on here. Everyone should do their own "independent" expert research or else be considered inferior to me.

Thanks for your contribution Tom, but perhaps the website might benefit if you stopped following me around polluting every thread where I post?

[Jeff_Mingay]

This is great, David. I absolutely love seeing Macan get this attention, which he deserves.

As for Royal Colwood... take some trees down, change some mowing lines, redo the bunkers and, viola! We have one of Canada's great golf courses. Amazing considering it was Macan's first course, c. 1913.

Colwood is an excellent course, and a wonderful place. So is Victoria Golf Club, where I understand Macan hung-out most often while in Victoria.

Shame about the 7th at Colwood. It seems they built the forward teeing area over that beautiful foreground seen in the historic photo David's posted above. Not only is this foreground lost, but the view from the back tee is compromised as well.

[Bill_McBride]

Jeff, thanks for writing that article for your blog.  That's the most detailed information on the great architect I've seen. I guess I need to check out that blog more frequently!