Miracle on Breeze Hill

[Patrick_Mucci]

If you are interested in how a golf course begins as a lark,
as an isolated dream, and becomes a reality, read,
"Miracle on Breeze Hill" by Lowell Schulman.

It is a fascinating study in "The Process"

[SGD]

Patrick

I presume this is the same gentleman who developed Atlantic Golf Club on Long Island.  Is it a hardback or softback book?  How do I go about getting a copy?  From the club?

Thanks in advance.

[Patrick_Mucci]

SGD,

It is written by Lowell Schulman who conceived the idea, built and initially ran the club.  It is a neat, insiders view, on nearly every aspect of the project.  In reading the book, you realize how substantial a part LUCK can play with every phase of the project, and the potential pitfalls that can sidetrack or sink a project.

I received a copy from Lowell yesterday, started reading last night, and was done by 2:00 am this morning.  I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and I think most on this site would too.
It is enjoyable and educational.

I am looking into getting more copies to give as gifts, and will fill you in on the results of my inquiry.


It is in hardback, published by:

The American Golfer
200 Railroad Avenue
Greenwich, CT  06830
Phone 203-862-9720
Fax     203-862-9724

[Patrick_Mucci]

I berlieve the book can be obtained through either the Metropolitan Golf Association, or the Westchester Golf Association, with all proceeds going to the caddy scholarship fund, hence, I believe the purchase may be tax deductible in whole or in part.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Go to: www.mgagolf.org to read a very brief summary and order the book.

[Ran Morrissett]

Pat,

My copy arrived yesterday afternoon and though I haven't read it yet, it is as you promised - a story about the real world - how having 200 acres may not be enough when you consider that 60 acres was off limit due to wetland restrictions, how the spotting of a Northern Harrier Hawk can influence a $20 million project, etc.

The story is told from the owner's perspective, the Green Keeper's perspective, the architect's perspective, the head professional's perspective, the budget is discussed and all in all, it looks like all the pros and cons of the entire process are openly reviewed.

It is the story of Atlantic GC (which I haven't played) but being familiar with the course would only be a benefit - not a requirement - to enjoying this book, it looks to me.

Proceeds from the book go to the Caddie Scholarship Funds of the  Westchester and Long Island Golf Associations.  Each book costs $24.95 including shipping and can be ordered via mail at:

Westchester Golf Association
Attm:Book Sales
49 Knollwood Road
Elmsford, NY 10523

I look forward to reading and then discussing this entire process of starting a club/course from scratch.

Even before reading it, congratulations seem due to Lowell Schulman for taking the time to do this as what he learned is bound to help others who pursue a similar undertaking.

Cheers,

[Patrick_Mucci]

Ran,

Of all the books I have read, or heard described to me,
I think this one, above all, provides in depth insight into what really goes on in creating, designing and building a golf course in today's world, especially, in what might be considered, a less then friendly environment.

I strongly recommend this book.

It may be highly enlightening.

[GeoffreyC]

Pat

I received my copy a couple of days ago and I'm about 1/4 of the way through it.  It is exactly as you and Ran describe it. Its certainly enlightening to see all the problems and barriers placed in the path of the developers and architect (13 different routing plans before approval; nixing the first two holes planned for the property, etc). Its surprising that any quality courses actually get built near towns with environmental restrictions and certainly it is more difficult then it was when our favorite old courses were built.

I'm looking forward to finishing the book.  Thanks!

[Patrick_Mucci]

GeoffreyC,

I'm glad you like the book, it provides information and a perspective that few get to see, or understand.

Let's discuss some of the issues when everyone is done reading.

Wouldn't it be neat if Ken Bakst, Mike Keiser and other driving forces behind the building of unique golf courses wrote books on their experiences, from concept to opening day.

[George Pazin]

Thanks for the tip, Patrick - I just ordered my book today.

Maybe Messrs. Schulman, Bakst or Keiser would make good feature interviews?

[Patrick_Mucci]

Just checking to see if you fellows have finished your reading assignment ?

Can I see a show of hands ?

[Tommy_Naccarato]

Pat, I got a 1 1/2 chapters in. A full report will be forthcoming.

[Mike_Cirba]

Patrick,

I've read stretches, skipping between chapters.  I intend to finish it all on the plane next week.  

As others have mentioned, it's certainly an education in the often unknown difficulties that are encountered when building a course.  

[brad_miller]

Almost done, have enjoyed the book, time line is hard to follow as book sure does skip around.

[GeoffreyC]

Pat

I finished it on Thursday night.  I must say it was an education.  A developer/architect/owner can be as idealistic as he/she wants to be but if you want to build a golf course in some communities you must first learn to jump through hoops and then if you are lucky compromise.

[Ran Morrissett]

A very educational read about building a course in the real world.

Reading about flushing $100,000 down the drain because of unfounded concerns by an environmentalist freak is very depressing - seems like if these guys want to thwart a project, they should foot both parties' bills if the case they bring is found to be without merit.

The triple row irrigation system was interesting to read about, as it provides for a tighter dispersion pattern to combat the windy conditions.

The color photographs are very well done and highlight the wonderful texture that Ranum has given the course via the different grasses.

I still can't picture what the property looked like at the start. On the one hand, everyone seemed thrilled with the nicely rolling land. On the other, 400,000 cubic yards was moved.

Lowell says that figure  isn't much for a modern course where between 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 cu. yds. can be typical. Of course, just having played Rustic Canyon where 17,000 cu. yds was moved, 400,000 sounds like a lot if the property already had character.

Pat, do you have a good sense as to what it looked like before construction started? Would you say it was a natural for a golf course?

Thanks again for a great read.

Cheers,

[brad_miller]

Have also finished book, a good read. The irrigation system comment is interesting (sounds expensive $1.5mm plus?) is such a system needed on windy sites, what did Sand Hills use? Interview with Bob Ranum and the other fellows from Shinny and NGLA might be very interesting.

Agree with Ran, don't understand about the earth moving, must be those contaniment mounds

[Patrick_Mucci]

Ran,

Many have said that the site was a good one.

I never felt that way because of the environmental constraints

Absent environmental constraints I liked the property.

The scuttle holes on the property were protected areas which couldn't be touched, and had to be worked around.

The pond, a natural, wonderful feature, couldn't be incorporated into the design, and had to be avoided and removed from play.

Large areas that could have been used in interesting ways were off limits as well.

The extensive bridge work that was forced upon the club in traversing one of these areas lends to the awkwardness forced on the design by environmental regulations.

Tree removal was restricted which also adversely affected the design and play of holes.

When you reflect on all of the problems associated with the design and construction of Atlantic, you begin to appreciate the title, "Miracle on Breeze Hill"

[Patrick_Mucci]

Redanman,

Here is the info you requested.

Who amongst you have finished reading the book.

Did you find anything enlightening ?
Did you change you mind on any facet of golf course design and construction ?

[George Pazin]

My copy arrived yesterday, but I've been too busy to pick it up until after finishing work earlier this evening.

[Disclaimer: I have not played or walked or really even seen Atlantic, other than the pictures in the book. I have also never met any of the people in the book, at least not as of page 35. These comments are purely based on the text read thus far, after reading distractedly for maybe an hour following a long boring day at work.]

Only a few chapters in, but I do have a few observations:

1) "What really got me though, was that there were no trees. None that I could see, excepting some cedars scattered here and there. How can you have a golf course with no trees?" Miracle on Breeze Hill, p. 7 - As Mr. Schulman described his first visit to the site which would become Atlantic, I couldn't help but chuckle & think how opposite this view would be to many of the members of this site, yours truly included.  

2) "I knew, too, or I assumed, the town would prefer a golf course to a 79-home subdivision, or at least I hoped so." Miracle on Breeze Hill, p. 11  - For a developer, Mr. Schulman doesn't seem to understand enviros very well. He's giving them way too much credit for rational thought.

3) Anyone who questions why some prominent architects do renovations free or very cheap, need only read Chapter 6, entitled "Rees." I don't know Mr. Jones & I am not saying that he chose to do the renovation work at The Country Club for this reason, but Mr. Schulman pretty much states verbatim that Rees was no. 1 on his list because of his work at TCC & the attitude that he showed toward his work there, as presented by press coverage. I'm curious as to who Mr. Schulman's backup was, because it is hard to believe that any practicing architect, if presented with the opportunity to work on LI, would not drop everything & get on the next flight to Laguardia (I wouldn't fly into Kennedy - that giant airport freaks me out ).

4) How good could the two holes immediately designed by Rees & immediately overruled by the enviro police have been if they absolutely required water to make them great? This should probably be a thread of its own - name prominent holes that feature water - take away the water - would they still be great? It is brutal to read about forced changes - heck, this attitude is one of the reasons I moved away from the Big Apple - but don't all archies have to deal with this in today's environment?

5) I can't comment on the pictures , but I do wish there were more, particularly pre-construction. I will do my level best to sneak onto The Carthage Club, when it is someday built, before construction so we have photographic documentation of all major landforms.

Only 35 pages in, but plenty of questions. At this rate, I will finish the book Friday (not likely, though - brutal work week planned:() & should have another 20 or so questions/comments/observations.

[Patrick_Mucci]

George Pazin,

1  Are you sure Lowell Schulman wasn't talking, tongue in
    cheek ?

2  For a guy who was in the textile business, and became a
    successful builder and developer, I think he understood
    reasonable environmental regulations and  
    environmentalists, unfortunately, extremists and people
    with agendas exist everywhere, even on this site.
    Do you think Ken Bakst was naive like you allege Lowell was
    The same guy caused/is causing most of Lowell's and Ken's
    problems, and Atlantic was built before Friar's Head, so
    shouldn't Ken have learned more ?  What you seem to miss
    is that no matter how smart or experienced or well
    intended you are, certain people with power are going to  
    cost you: heartache, time, money and perhaps your dream

3   I think Lowell had Rees in his sights from the begining  
    with no backup considered.  If Rees had rejected the
    project, the selection process would have restarted from
    scratch.

4   Just to name a few:
   # 11, 12, 13, 15 and 16 at ANGC come to mind immediately
    # 14 at NGLA in its original and altered form.
     # 7,8,9,10,17, and 18 at Pebble.
     # 15, 16, 17 at Cypress
     # 5, 14, 15, 16, and 18 at Pine Valley
     # 15,16,17 and 18 at Seminole
     # 17 TPC

5   You can comment on "The Pictures"  just not the play of
     the golf course.

As Tom Paul says, you're FIXATED on Rees, and have shown, dare I say it, a negative bias after only 35 pages.

Read the entire book absent the knowledge of the identity of the cast of characters, then tell us what you think.

[George Pazin]

Interesting response, if somewhat expected.

Got a little further last night before calling it a night. I have a TREMENDOUS amount of respect for Mr. Schulman, as he did everything a stand-up businessman with initiative would do - actually, he went quite a bit beyond what I think most would do with regard to the financing of the project. He seems like the quintessential "just do it" leader, which, to me, is just about the best quality a person can have.

As far as being fixated on Rees, I believe I stated that I have no idea why he chose to do TCC, I simply said that anyone taking such work for nothing or next to it is actually receiving quite a bit, regardless of motivation.

My comment regarding the two initial holes was an honest, straightforward & simple question. I think that many people are fixated on water and that many great holes would be great regardless of the water.

I'll try to read a bit more later on this evening.

I'd be surprised if anyone outside of this group were to read my initial comments & infer that I was fixated on Rees. They were simple & direct comments & questions, nothing more, nothing less.

Judging by Mr. Schulman's initial comments about his golf background, I don't think the tree comment was tongue-in-cheek, but I certainly could be wrong about that.

I actually thought the photos looked pretty good, for the most part. Don't see anything wrong or sinister with being curious what Rees had to work with...

[Patrick_Mucci]

George,

Regardless of the cast of characters, the book is an interesting, informative and enlightening recount of an actual project, just the sort of thing people on this site would enjoy being involved in.

I don't know that it's fair to be critical about two holes that were never built.  How do you make that evaluation ?

Let us know your thoughts when you finish.

[George Pazin]

Intent on following Patrick's Rules of Posting, I sat down & finished the book last night. Incidentally, if you could post a full set of the rules, it would help me avoid further transgressions...

I enjoyed the book - found it very entertaining, though I found Tom Julius' chapter somewhat nauseating. Not Tom's writing, & certainly not his awesome accomplishments, but rather that s@#$ like this goes on in the US. He's the unsung hero of the project, IMHO.

I would like to hear from anyone who read the book & is familiar with golf course construction. What really is common in terms of ground moved? Is there such a thing as common, or is the range so great & varied that it's kind of a meaningless stat?

The pictures looked pretty good to me (aside from maybe that one circular bunker) - the course looked fairly natural & it certainly wasn't overly green.

The one element regarding the course that I found somewhat perplexing was the description that the course was kind of confusing to get around for new visitors & that the holes could be played in many different orders (paraphrasing here - don't have the book in front of me). Do most members walk? Seems like to play holes in many different orders, you'd almost have to be riding. Please note, I'm asking this question genuinely, not because I have some sort of agenda about the course or the club.

Saw a bunch of names I recognized on the list of members, but only one semi regular poster from this site.

P.S. Didn't really mean to be critical when I asked, "How good could the two holes immediately designed by Rees & immediately overruled by the enviro police have been if they absolutely required water to make them great? I thought it was a valid question. Heck, maybe the answer was simply, "Damn good..."

[Patrick_Mucci]

George Pazin,

Fairness and openmindedness are reasonable requests.

Walking is encouraged and they do have a rather good caddy program/corps.  There is only one order of play so I don't understand the confusion on your part.  Members tee off on
# 1 and play consecutive holes until they finish on # 18.

I'm not sure I understand the circular bunker comment, since I've seen so many of them on Scott and Mike's aerial posts of classic golf courses by Ross, Tillinghast, Raynor, et., al..

I understand that a number of Golfweek panelists will be visiting the course in the near future and I'm sure they can offer their views based on their play and study of the course.

I agree with you, if it weren't for Tom Julius I don't think there would have been a golf course on that site.  His performance and the results he achieved appear to be monumental.

One wonders, if the parties involved knew everything they would have to go through, would they do it all over again ?