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Jim Colton

Medinah No. 1 Redo/Reno
« on: October 22, 2011, 12:59:30 PM »
Caught this on twitter this morning

@LotsOfPotts:
"Tom Doak approved to redo Medinah Course #1 starting in 2012!"

Congrats to Tom and the Renaissance team.

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

JR Potts

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Re: Medinah No. 1 Redo/Reno
« Reply #2 on: October 22, 2011, 02:04:45 PM »
Who is that LotsofPotts guy?

Yes, it's true.  By a vote of 10-1, the membership voted to begin construction on course #1 immediately after the Ryder Cup.  The course, assuming all goes well, will open in spring of 2014.

LotsOfPotts and I will be keeping this board updated throughout the project if it wishes.

Joel_Stewart

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Re: Medinah No. 1 Redo/Reno
« Reply #3 on: October 22, 2011, 05:38:30 PM »
To me, this is monumental for a variety of reasons.  I'll look forward to hearing the details.

Congratulations to the club and Doak & team.

Mark Johnson

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Medinah No. 1 Redo/Reno
« Reply #4 on: October 22, 2011, 05:45:01 PM »
great.   I was always a big fan of the #1.   

Are there any particular goals around the redo?  IIRC, there isn't much space to lengthen it.

Are you guys looking to just clean up some existing elements or look to totally reroute/ eliminate existing holes/ create new ones?

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Medinah No. 1 Redo/Reno
« Reply #5 on: October 22, 2011, 06:54:26 PM »
Very exciting for the club and the Chicago area in general.  Look forward to hearing more...
Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

JR Potts

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Re: Medinah No. 1 Redo/Reno
« Reply #6 on: October 22, 2011, 08:30:40 PM »
great.   I was always a big fan of the #1.  

Are there any particular goals around the redo?  IIRC, there isn't much space to lengthen it.

Are you guys looking to just clean up some existing elements or look to totally reroute/ eliminate existing holes/ create new ones?

I intend on writing in more detail when time permits but  the goal certainly isn't to add more length to #1.  First, 80 percent of the project is infrastructure related.  As development around the club has dramatically increased over the last 20 years, the club was just not able to hold the water coming onto the property.  As such, the courses are prone to floodng.  The hope is this project takes care of a lot of the water issues for the #1 and #2 golf courses.

Second, with #3 being lengthened over and over again in an effort to stay "major" relevant, the course has become too difficult, too long and too overplayed by members and guests...the club wanted and needed a "members course".

Third, the course has been largely ignored since the 20s.  Two decades ago it was a top 15 course in Illinois....what's there today is not top 50.  The asset was ignored in favor of #3.

The "new" course with have 6 rerouted holes and 18 new green complexes.  It will get a iittle longer (7000 yardish par 71).  The project  proposed to the membership spared little expense and it was overwhelmingly passed.  It should be an interesting next few years around Medinah.  And Joel, I agree, this is monumental for a lot of reasons.

More to come....
« Last Edit: October 22, 2011, 09:40:17 PM by JR Potts »

Mark Johnson

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Medinah No. 1 Redo/Reno
« Reply #7 on: October 22, 2011, 10:09:46 PM »
Hopefully the pretty much keep hole 10 as is.  Probably my favorite hole at your club across all courses.

Does this mean that when big tourneys come in the future course 1 won't be used for any corporate tents merchandising, ecL

Dave Givnish

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Medinah No. 1 Redo/Reno
« Reply #8 on: October 24, 2011, 01:29:59 PM »
Is building an area for merchandise tents and parking under a few of the holes on #1?  There was an article that I saw earlier this summer that talked a plan to put an asphalt surface under the holes, stripping them away for each major event, and then rebuilding those holes when the event was done.

Terry Lavin

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Re: Medinah No. 1 Redo/Reno
« Reply #9 on: October 24, 2011, 02:49:04 PM »
This is great news on several levels.  First, for decades a mischievious series of Boards at the club has wrought all sorts of change on the #3 course, all in an effort to keep the course tour worthy.  It's been a messy and largely unsatisfying exercise and almost exclusively for the supposed "benefit" of getting pros to play the course every five or six years, while the members and their guests get their heads caved in everytime they play the darned thing.  That's the type of re-do work Doak won't do.  Doesn't have any interest in doing it.  The Number 1 course, on the other hand, is always played by the members, so the work will redound to their benefit.  There's no question that the bones are there, but the course needs substantial reworking and I personally am very excited that Tom agreed to throw his hat in the ring.  I'm guessing that the experience will be similar to that at Olympia Fields, where the guests used to basically insist on playing the North, the Open course and the South was the forgotten stepchild.  After Smyers thoughtful and playful renovation, the South is getting almost as much guest play as the North, because if you play it from the proper tees, it's a heck of a lot more fun than the more difficult North.
Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.  H.L. Mencken

Dan Boerger

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Medinah No. 1 Redo/Reno
« Reply #10 on: October 24, 2011, 02:59:55 PM »
John - That is great news. Good luck with the redo. BTW, did you happen to play in a member/guest this past September in the Philly area? If so, I think we played each other! Best
"Man should practice moderation in all things, including moderation."  Mark Twain

PCCraig

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Medinah No. 1 Redo/Reno
« Reply #11 on: October 24, 2011, 03:13:31 PM »
Great news for Medinah's membership, Mr. Potts included. I had played in a 36 hole junior state tournament on the course years ago and really enjoyed it. It doesn't get talked about much here or elsewhere because most guests are more interested in playing #3. I'll be interested to see what Tom Doak does there.

I'm hoping there will be some photo update threads throughout construction?
H.P.S.

JR Potts

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Medinah No. 1 Redo/Reno
« Reply #12 on: October 24, 2011, 03:38:50 PM »
John - That is great news. Good luck with the redo. BTW, did you happen to play in a member/guest this past September in the Philly area? If so, I think we played each other! Best

That was my Dad.

Dan Boerger

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Medinah No. 1 Redo/Reno
« Reply #13 on: October 24, 2011, 04:16:30 PM »
John - Thanks ... he hits a long (and nice) ball!
"Man should practice moderation in all things, including moderation."  Mark Twain

Michael Wharton-Palmer

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Medinah No. 1 Redo/Reno
« Reply #14 on: October 25, 2011, 02:40:45 PM »
Now this is going to be very interesting..#1 is a good golf course, I will be very interested to hear what Tom and his team have in store for the changes...
I have never thought of Rennaisance golf as a"modern" style group, so to see what they do to the course will be fascinating...One thing I fel very sure about...it will not be a clone of it's more famous brother, but may resemble holes like number 12 and 16 on said brother.

JR Potts

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Medinah No. 1 Redo/Reno
« Reply #15 on: October 25, 2011, 03:52:22 PM »
Mr. Potts: was any thought given to re-doing #2 also, or to using all that land to create two new courses, or perhaps one 18, a men's 9 and a ladies/kids 9 or something along those lines?

Why am I now Mr. Potts?  Way too much respect is being given.

Yes, the long term plan is to restore #2 back to the original Bendelow green pads.  The #2 project would likely be done over numerous years in an effort to restore the course to it's original layout (not much is needed to do that as nothing has changed since 1926 but for trees, bunkers and reduced green pads).
« Last Edit: October 25, 2011, 08:56:29 PM by JR Potts »

SL_Solow

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Medinah No. 1 Redo/Reno
« Reply #16 on: October 25, 2011, 04:57:52 PM »
Ryan;  Do I detect the smell of sawdust?  I love the smell of sawdust in the morning.

JR Potts

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Medinah No. 1 Redo/Reno
« Reply #17 on: October 25, 2011, 06:07:28 PM »
Which course?

500ish will come down on #1.....more than that may be coming down on #3 very shortly and #2......we'll just have to see.  :)

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Medinah No. 1 Redo/Reno
« Reply #18 on: October 25, 2011, 06:09:29 PM »
Ryan,

Who's overseeing the Master Plan for #2?
Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

SL_Solow

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Medinah No. 1 Redo/Reno
« Reply #19 on: October 25, 2011, 06:12:16 PM »
Maybe you will get some of the light and airflow we talked about this summer.  Greenkeeper should be very happy.  Also more opportunities for recovery shots.

JR Potts

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Medinah No. 1 Redo/Reno
« Reply #20 on: October 25, 2011, 06:48:16 PM »
Ryan,

Who's overseeing the Master Plan for #2?

We haven't gotten that far yet. 

Mark Johnson

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Medinah No. 1 Redo/Reno
« Reply #21 on: October 25, 2011, 07:14:47 PM »
How much pay does number two get now days? 

JR Potts

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Medinah No. 1 Redo/Reno
« Reply #22 on: October 25, 2011, 08:57:58 PM »
Probably as much as the busiest club you've been to.  It's packed every day with kids, women, couples and seniors.

It's actually my favorite course to play.

Howard Riefs

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Medinah No. 1 Redo/Reno
« Reply #23 on: September 12, 2013, 11:17:18 PM »
Thursday was the media day at Medinah to unveil Tom Doak/Renaissance's renovation of Course No. 1. Tom was there and I heard that the event and course was very well received.  Following are a few related comments from Rob Whitten via Twitter:


*  "Guy asks Tom Doak, 'Is this your signature hole?' Doak says, 'Signature hole makes it sound like the rest of them didn't work out.' "

*  "Iconic Camel bunker on Medinah No 1 now looks like a camel again. For a time, looked like Golden Bear logo." http://t.co/eh9Joxr8ZO

*  "Course is finished and now growing in. I just finished walking it. Fun stuff including punchbowl green. Opens next summer."

*  "Medinah No 1 may best most improved remodel I saw this year. Doral is great, but was very good before. No 1 went from ho hum to Shazam!"

*  "Doak... (is a) modern day MacKenzie!"

"Golf combines two favorite American pastimes: Taking long walks and hitting things with a stick."  ~P.J. O'Rourke

Andrew Buck

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Medinah No. 1 Redo/Reno
« Reply #24 on: September 13, 2013, 10:00:27 AM »
Thursday was the media day at Medinah to unveil Tom Doak/Renaissance's renovation of Course No. 1. Tom was there and I heard that the event and course was very well received.  Following are a few related comments from Rob Whitten via Twitter:


*  "Guy asks Tom Doak, 'Is this your signature hole?' Doak says, 'Signature hole makes it sound like the rest of them didn't work out.' "

*  "Iconic Camel bunker on Medinah No 1 now looks like a camel again. For a time, looked like Golden Bear logo." http://t.co/eh9Joxr8ZO

*  "Course is finished and now growing in. I just finished walking it. Fun stuff including punchbowl green. Opens next summer."

*  "Medinah No 1 may best most improved remodel I saw this year. Doral is great, but was very good before. No 1 went from ho hum to Shazam!"

*  "Doak... (is a) modern day MacKenzie!"



Great to hear, I'm very excited to see this work and I'm sure the members will be happy to have another course to share with guests.

When I was told the press conference was yesterday, I expected to see some press today, but couldn't find anything on google this morning.  Oh well.   
« Last Edit: September 13, 2013, 10:04:19 AM by Andrew Buck »

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