Michael,
That is a very good observation. Tilly definitely never approached a project with the idea that there were certain hole types or templates that he wanted to use.
Did Tilly liking using specific hole types? Yes. For example, he loved double-doglegs, great hazards and always tried to find ways to use the oblique angle in his hole designs.
There are two very distinct trademarks that he employed and can be seen in most of his designs. The first involves the green entrances. He believed that the ground game was important and that good tee shots and fairway play should reward the player with the best angle into the green, including the use of the entrance by ground to get as close to the hole as possible. He considered this as the single most important aspect in the design process and always designed this before anything else after determining routing and tee and green locations.
Jeff mentioned growing up playing a small and unknown Tilly course that had "greens that were elevated." I'd bet dollars to donuts that they typically rose naturally out of the fairway fronting them and that the mid to back portions were where the drop-offs and elevations could be clearly seen.
Next week at Bethpage Black you will see some striking examples of this. Holes 2, 5, 6, 9, 10, 15 & 18 all have greens that don't rise out of the fairway. Of these, only 9 had the ability to do so, and there is a small entrance to it on the left side, but this is the esception. All those holes either have gullies in front of the green such as 6 & 10 or have putting surfaces located on ground much higher than the surrounding fairways
Now cocnsider 1, 4, 7, 11, 12, 13 & 16. Each of these holes have greens that rise out of the fairway and on which the choice of a ground game can be employed. This option may actually help the astute golfer next week if the wind is blowing, and even the 3rd, the par-3 can be reached by a low drawn tee shot that bounces in from the front right entrance.
The second one is how Tilly designed the faciers of his sand bunkers. I've been asked often, actually more than any other type of Tilly question, as to whether Tilly employed a fully flashed face or one with grass donw to the surface of play. In fact I have even seen and heard architects who swear that Tilly employed either of these and that DEFINITELY was his signature bunker style.
Frankly, anyone who states that doesn't understand tilly's designing philosophy regarding bunkers and/or how he put them into practice.
Tilly employed every conceivable type of bunker facier; fully flashed with sand, various amounts of angle and partial or not at all. What is almost always missed is his reason for the decision. For him it was defining the type of shot that he expected the good or accomplished player to hit into the green. Let me illustrate this with the 18th green at Winged Foot West.
The front left greenside bunker is both deep and had grass on 90% of the facier. Why? Because he expected the accomplished player to be hitting a shot into the green with a middle iron at best and a long or even wood much of the time. As a result, the shot would typically strike into the facier at a much lower angle than if hit with a short iron. If theer were sand on the face, many of these shots would be hopelessly buried and Tilly believed in fairness. Pubish the poor play yes, but only to the extent deserved.
Now the back bunker on the left side of the green was very different. It had depth, but in comparison to the front bunkers is much more shallow and open. The sand on the facier goes all the way to the very top. Why the difference? Because shots that would find their way into this would typically be coming across the putting surface after landing firmly on the green and either bouncing or rolling into it. Those that would fly long and directly into it would bury, but because the bunker surface is relatively shallow, it would be a fair burial...