Tom,
If I remember correctly from Bill Coore's talk at HC a few years ago, he said it took a lot of arm twisting and persuasion by Roger Hansen to even get to the point of taking a tour of the property.
As Ran wrote:
Many factors go into the creation of a great course, with a ‘great’ defined as a course that one wishes to play numerous times year after year.
The site needs to be special. The driving force behind the project has to understand that golf is about enjoyment and variety. The architect has to deliver a strategic design thatisevery bit asinspiring to play the 100th time as it is the 1st. In addition, all three factorsmust cometogether at the same time.
Such is the case at Hidden Creek, though from the time that the owner first contacted the architects to when this dream course opened was 17 years!
To start with, the owner of Hidden Creek, Roger Hansen,grew upoutside of Atlantic City,New Jersey where he gainedan appreciation of classic architecture at Atlantic CityCountry Club, the two coursesat Seaview Country Club and then later at Pine Valley Golf Club.In 1985, having read an article in a golf magazine where Ben Crenshaw expressed an interest in designing courses, Hansen called Crenshaw. At the end of the lengthy telephone conversation, Crenshaw encouraged him to contact a man named Bill Coore. Having done so, Hansen eventually flewdown to tour Coore’s Rockport Country Club in Corpus Christi with Coore in December, 1986. The two men hit it off and Hansen knew who he would select should he ever get into the golf course business.
A few years passed but in 1991, Hansen decided to develop two public access courses in Galloway Township. He contacted the now existing architect firm of Coore & Crenshaw and had Coore come see the site. Ultimately, Coore & Crenshaw politely declined the project as they were tied up in Hawaii with the design of the Plantation Course at Kapalua.
Nonetheless, Hansen pursued his vision and the resulting Stephen Kay and Steve Smyers courses were an immediatesuccess with the Smyers course hosting the U.S. Public Links Championship in 2003.
A few more years pass and it is now the fall of 1998 when Hansen becomes aware of another large block of property within10 miles of Atlantic City.This time, hewas surprised/delighted to find that the site has up to 50 feet in elevation change with consistent movement thoughout the upland part of the property.Thus, he contacts Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw again. With a little arm twisting, he convinces Coore that this site does indeed hold promise and to return to south New Jersey to see for himself.
Once on site, Coore stays, walking and re-walking the property. The clubhouse needed to be located within 1000feet of the entrance drive to avoid seeking a state permit to improve the roadway, the timing of which would have delayed the project for at least one year. Apart from the location of the clubhouse, Hansen gave Coore carte blanche to go anywhere that he wanted on the expansive 750 acres. After three weeks, and on one occasion having wandered off the property and stumbled onto a shooting range (!), Coore had seen enough andflew back to Texas.
Coore and Crenshaw discussed the matter and replied to Hansen that they could build a course that would be reflective of the site’s charms. Hansen accepted their terms and work commenced in the summer of 2000.
Think about it- Coore spent three weeks on site before Coore & Crenshawhad a signed contract. That is more time than 90% of the big name architects spend on site after they get a signed contract!
With only a couple of modifications on the back side, thefinal routing was theone that Coore visualizedduring his three week stay with Hansen. He decided that none of the 300 acres of wetlands would feature into the design and thattheholeswould stay on the upland part of the property which possessed the natural movement and land forms. Coore’s routing standsout inexcellence becauseit perfectly exposedthe rolls of theproperty through one engaging hole after another while at the same time minimizing any green to tee walks. The end result is that only 50,000 cubic yards of dirt were movedduring the project and that the course is reflective of the ground upon which it sits.
As Coore says,
The Hidden Creek site required very little alteration to the landscape. The holes lay on the ground pretty much the way we found it. That’s consistent with the way Ben and I like to work…We look for projects in which the site lends itself to golf in its natural form. Hidden Creek looked like golf in its natural form in terms of rolling terrain and trees.Since the fairways required minimal movement of earth, it enabled us to emphasize details, such as bunkers and the contouring of greens.