I've been assigned to do a series on the golf course restoration at Paramount, and the first article, complete with pictures and interviews with everyone is up. We get great insights into the project from Steve Lapper and superintendent Brian Chapin. Two holes are complete with the halfway mark expected next spring. The completed work looks facinating - including a skyline green at 6 and a centerline bunker at 5. The plans are for 18 to be a Reef hole - a rare gem of Tilly's. on the way, we discuss roads bi-secting holes and the pros and cons of finishing sides or rounds on par-3s. Have fun.
http://jayflemma.thegolfspace.com/?p=3862From the article:
“We’re different from Tillinghast’s major venues in a few ways,” observes Brian Chapin. “We have wider fairways so there’s more room to play the game, and that’s good for the membership. They enjoy their day more. We’re an estate course, and that means play moves faster for the members. Also, we have some really interesting holes that are unique in the Tillinghast design legacy, such as the great uphill approach at one to start the day and, when it’s restored, the famous Reef Hole at 18. In fact, both nines here end on par-3s,” he finishes proudly.
I say proudly for a reason. While some might scoff at the idea of a course ending either nine with a par-3, let alone both, when 18 is restored it will be an important hole in Tillinghast’s legacy. Moreover, while at a lesser course with little architecture, ending both nines on par-3s might be Mickey-Mouse, at Paramount it works. It’s another example of how not only is the course’s history is colorful, but the course itself has some charmingly colorful moments as well, uniqueness that the player remembers long after he plays. The job was to preserve and protect those elements while also dealing with technology.
“When we listened to the various architects’ pitches, we were looking for preservation of the original architecture. We didn’t want to bastardize it or dilute it, and we weren’t just trying to add length or difficulty for the sake of adding length or difficulty,” Lapper asserted. “Jim Urbina is in that elite league of architects you can trust to exercise a creative hand over the land and achieve a natural looking result. But he also knows the value and virtues of restraint.”