Orchard Lake CC (Colt/Alison) - A Photo Tour - Hole 18 Posted, now w/1940 aerial

[Mark Saltzman]

Course History [http://www.orchardlakecountryclub.com/Default.aspx?p=DynamicModule&pageid=221015&ssid=66856&vnf=1]

Building a first class golf course was one of the earliest and most important projects undertaken at Orchard Lake. Construction of the golf course began in the spring of 1926, under the direction of Captain C.H. Alison, of the British firm of Colt and Alison, an internationally known firm of golf course architects. To help cover the cost, the land was mortgaged, which raised $85,000 of the $136,000 total that it took to complete the project. William Conellan, consulting greens keeper of the Detroit District Golf Association carried out the work. Captain Alison said the course was built for the average player but it could be transformed, within two or three months, into a professional championship course. The course opened for play on August 3, 1927.



Routing




Scorecard






Hole 1: Par 4, 405 Yards

So much for a gentle handshake, the 1st at Orchard Lake is among the most difficult.  There is plenty of width on the first hole, but like most of the golf course, deep rough and a line of trees will catch wayward tee balls.

Though much of the first hole is over flat terrain, the significantly elevated first green and the hills on which the trees on the left are perched give the golfer a clue that more interesting land may lay ahead (and it does!).






The approach gives the appearance of a fortress green, with no room to miss anywhere.  Well, that's not quite true, you can't miss left, long, or right, but you can miss short-left.  




There is very significant tilt on the first green from back-to-front making any pin-high or long misses very difficult.  The bunker short of the green, which appeared as though it was the worst spot to miss the approach, is likely the best spot to miss.




Hole 2: Par 5, 511 Yards

The 2nd is a very strong hole and easily the best par-5 on the golf course.  A ridge peaks 100 yards from the tee, blocking the golfer's view of the fairway.  Only the green in the distance and the grouping of trees to the right give an indication that a tee shot up the right is ideal.  It is impossible to know where the left boundary of the fairway is located.




Upon cresting the hill, the golfer is presented with a fairway that slopes significantly to the left.  Golfers that did not follow the visual clues and play down the right side of the fairway will find themselves in deep rough down the left.  The second shot decision is dictated by a single fairway that narrows the fairway by half 100 yards short of the green.




Laying-up short of the bunker leaves the golfer with a slightly uphill approach to a green that is partially visible.  Judging pin location is nearly impossible.




Approaching the green from passed the fairway bunker is even more intimidating.  The entirety of the green's surface is now hidden and all one can see is the outline of menacing bunkers and a scary false-front.






Upon reaching the green surface I was surprised by both its significant size and the amount of undulation.  This picture taken from the right of the green shows the rolling nature of the 2nd green.




This picture from behind does not show the green undulation well, though it does show the fairway movement quite well.





Hole 3: Par 3, 208 Yards

The third is a very difficult par-3, especially if playing into the wind.  The fairway short of the green has a very interesting hog's back feature.  Balls that land short of the green and are even slightly off the centreline will carom significantly either left or right, leaving a difficult uphill and blind pitch to the green.

The bunkering on the third did not appeal to me.  The scale of the bunker seemed off -- too small -- at least as it looked from the tee (but what do I know!).




The left side of the hog's back and green side bunker




The right side of the hog's back




Golfers that succeed in judging the distance correctly will find a green and fairway cut that appear much larger than from the tee.  There is very little movement on the 3rd green, with the green tilting from right-to-left.  The back-left pin position would be very difficult, giving the appearance of a pin floating in rough/bunker, not even on the green.

[Niall Hay]

Mark, great pictures.  Thanks!  Couple of things: how long ago were these pictures taken? Certainly doesn't appear over-bunkered from the aerial shot.  How does this course compare to the others in the Detroit area? Oakland Hills, Franklin Hills, CC of Detroit and Indianwood (Old).

[Mark Saltzman]

Niall,

Pictures are from mid-October, 2011, so I presume nothing has changed since then.

Over-bunkered? Did I say that? I certainly don't think the course is over-bunkered.  In fact, there are many holes with only a single bunker and I think the minimal use of bunkers was very effective -- bunkers all have a purpose.

I'll leave my personal preference of course rankings in Detroit out of this for now  . 

I will say that all of the courses you listed (haven't played CCD) are very good.

[Ronald Montesano]

What "visual clues" did you reference on tee ball on #2? Many is the time I've played a hole where the blind line is the proper one. On this hole, the "visual clues" seem to suggest this, as the hole is treed with rough  up the right.

[Niall Hay]

Are there more pictures coming? These are great. 

[Mark Saltzman]

Are there more pictures coming? These are great. 

Shooting for 3 holes a day.

[Mark Saltzman]

What "visual clues" did you reference on tee ball on #2? Many is the time I've played a hole where the blind line is the proper one. On this hole, the "visual clues" seem to suggest this, as the hole is treed with rough  up the right.

Ron, as this golf course was built in the golden era of strategic design, I presumed that the trees on the right were there to guard the ideal line. 

I recall playing the tee shot and believing that hitting it over the peak of the hill would not be ideal.

[Tim Nugent]

Mark, the furthest back I could find and aerial for Orhard Lake was 1964. http://www.historicaerials.com/aerials.php?code=404
It's rather cumbersome to find locations (hint and peck)  The quarry to the west was a good landmark from which to find Straits Lake to the east. Use the Compare feature between the 64 and latest aerials to see the changes.

 Alot of the bunkering is different, which leads me to believe that this course has had a makeover and judging form the style of the bunkers maybe by Arthur Hills? They sure don't look like Colt bunkers but then it was probably Alison who was over here.

[Niall Hay]

Tim, can't get the link to work.

[Niall Hay]

Tim, can't get the link to work.

Sorry, working now.

[Tim Nugent]

Hmmm. Maybe try just Historicaerials.com  It is a NETR Online site.  Great for comparing older aerials with current.
As I said, there is no search on it, you have to know where you are looking, you can only zoom out a little bit.  Click on the portion of the map to get close.  I usually find a course or area using Google Earth and have it side by side in another window and then look for lakes, roads or other landmarks.

[Ken Fry]

I officated a tournament here a number of years ago.  What struck me about the course was the way the holes rode many of the spines in hillsides.  It's actually quite an interesting property.  I thought the routing took wonderful advantage of the hills running throughout the property.  Can't wait to see more photos!

Ken

[Niall Hay]

Agree with you Ken.

The 3rd hole in the pictures almost looks like a Redan that evolved over the years away from its original intent.

[Mark Saltzman]

Agree with you Ken.

The 3rd hole in the pictures almost looks like a Redan that evolved over the years away from its original intent.

Niall, I had a similar thought. In the current iteration, given the severity of penalty if offline and short, I don't think I would ever try to run a shot in even though the hole looks like it should be played with a running shot.

[Niall Hay]

Exactly.  When are holes 4-6 coming?

[Mark Saltzman]

Exactly.  When are holes 4-6 coming?

When I'm not at work! 

[Mark Saltzman]

Here are a couple of aerials...

First, a 1964 aerial




And, an 1964 aerial with a 2005 aerial overlaid:




Not too much has changed.
- There are way more trees now.  There were only a smattering of trees dotting the property.  There are now tree lines between each hole.
- Bunkering is largely unchanged (though this is 1964, so it is very possible it changed from 1926-1964)
-- Bunker short-right of 3 removed
-- Bunker short-left of 6 green removed
-- Top-shot bunker on 7 removed
-- Fairway bunker on 8 added
-- Bunker on inside of dogleg on 9 removed
-- 3 bunkers along left side of 10 removed
-- Bunker on inside of dogleg on 12 removed

- Fairways appear to have been narrowed

[Niall Hay]

The green shapes have evolved as well. 12 is a good example. 

[Mark Saltzman]

Hole 4: Par 4, 383 Yards

An interesting tee shot at the 4th.  There is a very large gully in the fairway that cannot be seen from the tee.  The appearance of a flat fairway serves to distort visual perception and make the bunkers on the right appear much closer than they are.




Ideal tee shots will challenge the right side fairway bunkering.  Tee shots played too close to the inside of the dogleg, will be semi-blocked out by overhanging tree limbs.  As is clear from the 1964 aerial, these trees were not part of the original design (actually, neither were the bunkers), but they nonetheless work well.




Tee shots up the right have a clear look at the green.






Like the 2nd green, this green is absolutely phenomenal.  Shaped something like a 4-leaf clover, with a plateau in the centre and 4 wings, each of which falls off into the corner of the green.  Almost like a reverse punchbowl.

A few looks at the green:













Hole 5: Par 4, 424 Yards

Something of a simple tee shot, played along the boundary line to the right.  A single bunker guards the left side of the fairway (though not the ideal line) and is a very long way from the tee if the hole is playing into the wind.




The approach is played over a bunker some 50 yards short of the green to a green sloping left-to-right and guarded by one of the deepest bunkers on the course.




Shots that miss right will find this run-off.  Though recoveries from here may seem difficult, they are played into the slope of the green.  Further, the rough cut begins only a few yards from the green, limiting the distance a ball may run from the green.










Hole 6: Par 4, 376 Yards

Another good par-4, though perhaps a bit similar in appearance (and playing in the same direction) as the 4th.  The tee shot is again played over some wonderfully rolling terrain.  Even from the tee, the focal point is the extremely deep and menacing bunker guarding the green.  One knows he must find the fairway to leave a more straightforward approach over the bunker.




A great 'three-tiered' fairway.  Approaches from the first tier leave a long approach, though the shot is played from the same level as the green...




As the golfer gets nearer the green, the approach must be played more and more uphill and the green's surface becomes more and more hidden...




To the point that all the golfer can see is the deep bunker.  A long tee shot leaves a delicate/scary pitch, though the green is deeper than it appears from the fairway.




A look back at the rolling 6th fairway:

[Niall Hay]

Great pictures. The sky/lighting appears perfect for capturing the course and the subtle (or not so) contours. The contrast between sky and green grass. The greens themselves look in good shape. As do the fairways for the fall (Oct leaves in MI). 

[Bill Hyde]

These are beautiful photos and highlight what a great piece of ground they have and what a nice job their super has done. Foster must be licking his chops! This course feels a lot like Kirtland's upper holes. Like its Cleveland cousin, amazing greens. OLCC is on a small piece of property and Alison did a great job with this routing.

[Niall Hay]

It really does remind of those previous pictures of Kirtland post renovation. What do you mean by "upper holes" at Kirtland? Of course it's an C&A design of the same era as well.

You mention small piece of property at OLCC, any estimation on the approximate acreage? Agreed on strong Alison routing. Great use of the land. 

[Mark Saltzman]

You mention small piece of property at OLCC, any estimation on the approximate acreage?

130 acres

[Bill Hyde]

The front 9 and #18 and Kirtland are on a piece of ground about 75' above holes 10-17. Really, the big similarity to me is the greens which are very much like Orchard Lake's. I have played both (OLCC multiple times in our "Colt Cup"), but didn't think about it until I saw these pictures (I have an opaque memory of golf courses.) These are big, bold, fun greens.

[Niall Hay]

You mention small piece of property at OLCC, any estimation on the approximate acreage?

130 acres

Is the 130 acres a guess or do you know that?  That does seem small, though the routing does not feel forced. Then again Hugh Wilson had less than that at Merion (East) with 126 and Donald Ross had between 100 and 105 at Wannamoisett. Those 2 are obviously great courses, but Alison did a nice job with Orchard Lake.