Hardelot (Les Pins) - Tom Simpson on France's Channel coast (PICS)

[Michael Whitaker]

Hardelot hole 7 as it was......

... and as it is.

 
You can imagine this is one par 3 hole our hands are itching to get started restoring..... if we do our job right should be one of Simpsons most spectacular par 3's.

Just bumping this amazing original green site with the old pics courtesy of Christoph Meister as included in Franks post of last year.

Only a wee 120 yd hole and what a travesty of change it has become in the period between 1931 and when the second photo was taken (2012 presumably).

And to think in its original form, players of all ability were expected to recover from the numerous deep bunkers using a bunker club that was the equivalent of a modern narrow sole blade style 9-iron (okay some back then may have used a club like the later banned Hagen concave faced sand wedge but I guess only a few had such a club in their bag back then).

I'm really looking forward to seeing some photos of this green site after it's been restored.

All the best.

PS - ref the tee on top of the castle wall. Can anyone think of any other tees that are in such an unusual positions on another courses?

Here is a look at the current version of #7

[Thomas Dai]

Michael,
Thank you for posting the extra photos thus correcting my misinterpretation of this 7th-hole. I hope my post didn't cause too much confusion. That original 1931 green does look terrific though.
All the best.

[Patrice Boissonnas]

Continuing from yesterday with holes 4, 5 and 6.

Hole 4:
Although only 355 meters long from the tips, this hole usually plays much longer in the prevailing wind. The small green being severely guarded by a deep front right bunker, the smart play from the tee is to aim at the left part of the fairway. We added a bunker just in the landing area to challenge the better players going for the ideal line.


View from the 4th tee prior to renovation. Note the trees on the left and the absence of fairway bunker.


Same place now.


New fairway bunker. One of our own additions to the original design.


The 4th green sits diagonally between 2 deep  bunkers. Depending on the Wind, this hole can rank from 3rd easiest to 3rd toughest on the course.


Same view before renovation.

Hole 5:
This hole was our trial hole 2 years ago.
What used to be an easy short par 3 has now much more fear factor from the tee.
Green extension has enabled to recover a lost sucker pin position on the right side, just behind the front hump.


Before renovation, any pin right of the green had to be played over the pine tree. The right green bunker was hardly visible.


Same hole now.


The 5th green seen from behind.

Hole 6:
The 6th green/7th tee complex has been dramatically redesigned in order to improve the agronomy of the 6 green and build a larger tee complex for the short 7.
To do that, we cut approximately 50 pine trees and bulldozed about 10 meters of dune left of the putting surface. The green can now breathe normally and is defended on the left by 2 new bunkers. This operation also enabled us to reroute the cart path left of the green, saving room to the right for a larger approach zone.




Long hitters may play their 2nd shot into the green from this spot. But driver is not a safe option from the narrow tees.


The green itself was left untouched but the surroundings were significantly modified.


Before work, note how close the trees came to the left an the unesthetic 7th tee platform in the background

To be continued...

[Joshua Pettit]

Hi Patrice,

The work you guys have done looks great!  I particularly like the way No. 2 and No. 5 turned out.

You mentioned the possibility of a turf conversion program.  What are the predominant species there now and what would you convert to?

[Patrice Boissonnas]

Hi Josh,
thanks for joining this thread.
Hardelot's turf is predominantly poa annua with bits of bent and ryegrass.
Poa annua needs a lot of irrigation and fertilization and results in a soft/thatchy ground with lush green color.
We would like to introduce fescue so we can cut on irrigation and get a firmer/faster/brownish soil.
Up to now the trees made this impossible as fescue only grows with a certain amount of light and air.
When we are done with our tree cutting program, we hope we can grow fescue in there.
We kexpect the transition to be stressful both for the turf and the maintenance team. We plan to move on steadily and safely and may hire an agronomist expert to assist us through this program.
Cheers!

[Patrice Boissonnas]

And finally, holes 7, 8, 9.

Hole 7:
A great fortress hole!
Not only were the bunkers restored but we also brought back about 50% of the green surface which had been lost over time.
With its new tee platform, the hole now plays 15 meters longer, bringing more variety into the course as holes 5 and 7 were often played with the same club.


hole 7 as it was back in the 1930's


This was before we started


and as it is now...

Hole 8:
Apart from renovated tees and fairway bunker, the main change on this hole consisted in building a cart path in the right dune down the green. All balls missing the green right can now feed into a swale from where player can show touch and creativity chipping back onto the green.


A look from the tees. Long hitters may go for the green in one, but trust me on this one, playing safe to the right of the bunker (there is plenty of room you can't see) is your best chance for a par or even a birdie.


Same shot as sketched by Mr Simpson himself !


This green complex is very unique on the course. Not a lot of slope but a tiny putting surface, hard to hold with slopes taking your ball away from the pin.

Hole 9:
No change here except bunker renovation.
A new back tee had already been added several years ago prior to our appointment and trees were cut in the dune right of the green making the 2nd shot slightly more open.
A very unusual yet charming hole. If you can’t shape shots right to left and left to right, you are facing a double dog-leg par 4!


Tee shots must carry these bunkers


Same spot before work


This is the 3rd fairway bunker with the green in the background

[John Mayhugh]

We would like to introduce fescue so we can cut on irrigation and get a firmer/faster/brownish soil.
Up to now the trees made this impossible as fescue only grows with a certain amount of light and air.
When we are done with our tree cutting program, we hope we can grow fescue in there.

The work you are doing looks incredible, and seems that a turf change would make it even better.  Are there many courses on the Continent grassed with fescue? 

[ward peyronnin]

John

I want to reiterate that Hardelot, especially the front nine , is magical .
The work done so far is superb and I didn't suffer for enjoyment from the existing turf but the fescue would add to the ground game that is now opening up... greens internal contours and connection to surroundings cannot be fully appreciated fm the photos

[Ulrich Mayring]

For me the course played plenty firm and fast. It is sandy soil and the turf browns out enough.

Ulrich

[Frank Pont]

Ulrich,

The problem is that the grass is not suited for browning out, they almost lost the fairways this summer when the let them brown out. To do that you do need fescue fairways, not poa.