GCA Lollapalooza @ Paramount

[Brian Chapin]

By now most of you have probably heard that the restoration work at Paramount is complete.  Those of us involved with the project are very proud of Jim’s work and we are anxious to show it off!  Paramount has a lot of really great architectural qualities that I think this group will appreciate and enjoy!

We would like to extend an open invitation to all GCA.com members to attend a get together on July 2nd as we unveil the completed golf course.  We have a few really interesting speakers lined up including Brad Klein, Phil Young and Jim Urbina.  The club has put together a great menu for the day in addition to the golf.  I hope you will join us!

If you are interested in attending please PM Steve Scott, Steve Lapper or me.

#5


#18

[Lenny Polakoff]

You can obviously count me in!

[Barry Cohen]

I would love to be included!

Barry

[Mike Sweeney]

The family schedule is not set for July 4th, but please put me on the hopefully list. Thanks

mws13@me.com

[Dan Byrnes]

The family schedule is not set for July 4th, but please put me on the hopefully list. Thanks

mws13@me.com

Same with me.  Will know for sure in a couple weeks when summer plans are finalized.

Dan

[Tom Dunne]

This sounds like it's shaping up to be a great event. Brian, you posted photos of a couple of the more dramatically transformed holes in the restoration. What are some of the smaller/subtler details that you and Jim and the team worked on that architecture heads should keep an eye out for?

Not to distract from the topic at hand, but I'm looking forward to playing the course with the Metropolitan Hickory Society on May 30. Thought I'd mention that we have one slot left in the outing, so if anyone wants to take on Paramount old school style, just send me a PM. It's a very good venue for the hickory game.

[Geoffrey_Walsh]

I'm in.

[John Kirk]

Thanks for the invitation.  It's probably too far for this Oregon boy to travel in mid-summer.  One if the best invitations ever offered.  Have a great time.

[Steve Lapper]

Thanks for the invitation.  It's probably too far for this Oregon boy to travel in mid-summer.  One if the best invitations ever offered.  Have a great time.

John,

  While I certainly understand the the difficulty of distance and season, please do find your way up to see the place sometime. I think you'd be impressed!!

S

[Joey Chase]

I wish I wasn't quite so far away.  When I came by a few times during the process, the work looked fantastic.  It was great to see some of the unfinished holes alongside the completed work.  What an amazing transformation a restoration can be when in the hands of talented shapers/architects.  It looked to me like Brian was doing a great job as a young superintendent.  Congratulations to all and I hope to see it again sometime.

[Brian Chapin]

Tom -  The subtle changes are what really make the biggest difference in tying the golf course together.  We spent a lot of time on the greens expansions.  The greens now consistently fill the entire “pad”.  We eliminated the collar (fringe) cut around the greens so that the edges “ride the crest” of the land form and on almost every green we were able to eliminate the horizon of rough in the background.  Tillinghast was great at bringing contours from the edges of the greens through the putting surface and the new expansions really highlight that trait.
We widened many of the fairways, taking our total acreage from 22 acres to 30 acres, and eliminated all of the intermediate cuts of rough around the greens and fairways.  Jim and I spent a lot of time adjusting and readjusting mowing lines and I think it really shows well.  Almost every fairway bunker is now actually in the fairway!  In many cases the fairway cut is right to the sand.  You can see that especially well in the picture of #5.
I could go on and on about so many improvements we made, but at the end of it all I am most proud of the consistent look the golf course has.  The first bunker we built was the front left green side bunker on #6.  I remember telling Jim how cool I thought it was and he responded… “That was easy.  The tricky part is getting the rest of them to match”.   I think we accomplished that.  

[mark chalfant]

Lots of thouhgtful  TLC went into this exemplary restoration.   

Congrats to Steve Lapper, Jim Urbina, and Brian. I think Jeff Stein may have also contributed recently.  With Phil Young working on the book and Steve S. minding the shop/ teaching  Paramount has promising future !

[Jay Flemma]

See everyone there! Woo hoo hoo!

[Patrick_Mucci]

The family schedule is not set for July 4th, but please put me on the hopefully list. Thanks

Mike,

You meant "hopeless" list, didn't you ?

Mark,

If Steve Lapper shows up, I'll show up.

mws13@me.com

[corey miller]

I was witness to Jim's passion as he spoke to our group at the Macdonald cup.  Any club that gives a person like this some autonomy in his work will surely succeed.  It also appears the club has people in place highly willing and capable of maintaining the much improved finished product. 

[Steve Lapper]

I was just asked a good question:

"Are non-GCA'ers welcome to come along?" Of course, the more, the merrier and we encourage anyone thinking of attending to bring along friends.

Hope many of you who've responded with interest can join us! I know the date is very near to the Independence Day holiday, but it was the only time we could get Jim Urbina, Brad Klein and Phil Young together.

Pat & Mike,

  I'll be there and challenge each of you to anything but a drinking contest!!

[Mike Sweeney]

Pat & Mike,

  I'll be there and challenge each of you to anything but a drinking contest!!

Let's clarify things. Mucci can smoke me on the golf course, but ND guys can't touch BC guys at the tailgate and they spend winters in South Bend, Indiana !

[Steve Scott]

Tom -  The subtle changes are what really make the biggest difference in tying the golf course together.  We spent a lot of time on the greens expansions.  The greens now consistently fill the entire “pad”.  We eliminated the collar (fringe) cut around the greens so that the edges “ride the crest” of the land form and on almost every green we were able to eliminate the horizon of rough in the background.  Tillinghast was great at bringing contours from the edges of the greens through the putting surface and the new expansions really highlight that trait.
We widened many of the fairways, taking our total acreage from 22 acres to 30 acres, and eliminated all of the intermediate cuts of rough around the greens and fairways.  Jim and I spent a lot of time adjusting and readjusting mowing lines and I think it really shows well.  Almost every fairway bunker is now actually in the fairway!  In many cases the fairway cut is right to the sand.  You can see that especially well in the picture of #5.
I could go on and on about so many improvements we made, but at the end of it all I am most proud of the consistent look the golf course has.  The first bunker we built was the front left green side bunker on #6.  I remember telling Jim how cool I thought it was and he responded… “That was easy.  The tricky part is getting the rest of them to match”.   I think we accomplished that.  

Thanks for the architectural side, Brian.  I would say that from a playability and strategic side of things, Paramount has really come alive.  Jim and Brian taught me a lot about how some of the greens expansions, such as number 15, draw the eye to the back right part of the green.  This was put back there as the left side of the fairway is the spot to land the tee shot so a player has the best angle to attack.  The only problem is that Jim put two fairway bunkers back in on that left side of the fairway to defend that best angle you are looking for.

To sum it up, they increased the strategy of the course immensely with great bunkering and opened up so many views with tree removal.  Our course is playable for the hickory game as Tom Dunne noted, it is playable for ladies, seniors, and even challenging enough for professional players.  Our changes have even caught the eye of the Met Golf Association as well, and they have awarded us a US Open Qualifying site in May 2014.  Lots of exciting things going on and it is very cool to be a part of this transformation.

[Brian Chapin]

For the many people who have asked...

If you have emailed expressing interest you are on the list.  I will post here when I need to get firm commitments and we will do everything we can to include everyone that wants to participate.

[Tom Dunne]

I was going through iPhoto yesterday and came across this rare cave painting sketch. Jim Urbina, "Reef". Krylon on mud.

[Steve Scott]

For the many people who have asked...

If you have emailed expressing interest you are on the list.  I will post here when I need to get firm commitments and we will do everything we can to include everyone that wants to participate.

I hope many of you decide to visit this special day at Paramount.  To add an extra feature for the day, I will be performaing a short clinic prior to play on that day discussing a few stories and a few great tips to help you play better golf!  Please PM me, Steve Lapper or Brian Chapin if you are interested.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Steve,

My son Ryan and I will be there.

[Mike Sweeney]

Mike Sweeney and Scott Wood are in.

[Bill Brightly]

I am in

[Jason Walker]

I am in