Gulph Mills GC: a photo tour and more (broken links fixed now!)

[Joe Bausch]

#3. Par 4 (460 yards).



There is a drop of 75' from the tees to the base of the fairway.  Originally this hole was very open, the only trees nearby those at the quarry on the 4th hole.  Many trees were planted on the course in the 30's and 50's.  Two inline cross bunkers about 100 yards off the tee were removed by Stiles.  Ross added the right fw bunker in 1927, and McGovern the left greenside bunker in 1946.

From the DE book: 

     With a drop of 75 feet to the base of the fairway, the view from the tee down into the valley and beyond is one of the prettiest at GMGC. In the 1930s and 1950s, extensive tree planting was done throughout the course. Prior to this the 3rd hole had an extremely open look from tee to green with the grove of trees surrounding the quarry on the 4th hole, the only trees anywhere near the 3rd hole sightline. The original rear tee box was reconstructed and enlarged in 1996 on the recommendation of Tom Fazio. Two inline cross bunkers, in the rough, approximately 100 yards off the tee, were removed by Wayne Stiles in 1941. The right fairway bunker, to the right of the cross bunker, was added by Donald Ross in 1927 and the left greenside bunker added by J. B. McGovern in 1946. The right side of the fairway to the creek and from the cross bunker to the green has moved left. The green size has decreased and become rounder. The original was square.

     This beautiful hole has all the elements for a text book comparison of the design features of the "Golden Age Strategic" philosophy vs. the "Modern Age" philosophy and the dos and don'ts of design philosophy today.

     From tee to hole-out the 3rd is chock-full of strategic options and alternatives for every level of player. The strong player is wary on the tee of the diagonal creek crossing the fairway and the historic building and out-of bounds, close on the left side. For those who debate the acceptability of historic buildings, roads on or near a hole and O.B., one only needs to point to the elements of strategic intensity on what is considered to be one of the best long par 4's in the world: the 17th hole at St. Andrews (the Road Hole).

     To play the Road Hole properly one must drive blind over the G.B. railroad sheds on the right. The second shot into the green is intensified by the old road and the wall abutting it just off the Road Bunker to the right of the green. Thankfully, these old holes don't adhere to some modern formulaic concept of photogenics or "fairness". Their strength is they make you think, they can make you sweat and they energize you if you are successful.

     The strong player may decide on the tee to go for distance and proper angle to the green, down the left side of the fairway, risking the diagonal creek. The safer and shorter play down the right side creates a more difficult approach to the green, which cants away from the player from the right. For the higher handicapper, the creek, the road and the cross bunker comes into play on the second and third shots and requires thoughtful alternatives. These features do not come into play for the low handicapper and are examples of Ross' philosophy of designing features for different levels of play. For this reason certain design features are incorrectly criticized as being out of place or unnecessary. The cant of the fairway over the cross bunker into the green is an excellent feature in "running conditions". A side to side, two tier green completes the experience. The downhill tee shot to a subtly uphill green is also much of the theme of GMGC.

Elevated tee view:



A less aggressive drive may dictate a layup from this spot:



View from short of the green with the pin on this higher right tier:



From long and right of the green where you can sort of tell the green was originally quite square (the construction is the new maintenance facility being built in the background):

[David Amarnek]

Well, if I must suffer that rendition with Joe, my least favorite course in the world would have to be Pine Valley.  What hacks Crump and Colt were!  Please inform GM that it would be sheer hell for me to have to play there every day.
Thanks!
David

[Malcolm Mckinnon]

Joe,

Regarding the "cut and level" method of engineering the greens I would say that  the greens on eight and nine are the two other likely candidates.

When I played in October the course had been set up for a "tough" tournament. The pin on eight was way back middle and if memory serves I witnessed six strokes to get down after missing the green just long.

[Joe Bausch]

Regarding the "cut and level" method of engineering the greens I would say that  the greens on eight and nine are the two other likely candidates.

Dear Malcolm,

You are on an 0-2 count!

Bah-bah-buh-dum.

Sincerely,

B. Barker

P.S.  I said original greens.
-----------------------

[Malcolm Mckinnon]

Ouch!

I will commit to hole number five for my last swing with two strikes. I' m just basing this on the severe right to left slope present today and the deep bunkers  down left. Also it is sited along the same hill as two.

If I am right I go to 1 and 2.

I had not noticed how much the back nine routing had changed from 1916 to the present.

[Ed Oden]

Joe, for what it's worth, here is a May 20, 1948 aerial...

[Mike_Trenham]

Joe

The ross cut and level greens pads are

2
5
13

Survey says?

[Joe Bausch]

Joe

The ross cut and level greens pads are

2
5
13

Survey says?

Ding, ding, ding!  We have a winner.

Make sure to see Rusty on the way out, he has some papers for you to sign.

[Joe Bausch]

#4.  The quarry par 3 (117 yards).

Somehow this quarry hole falls a bit under the radar in the region.  This hole isn't that much different than the original design.



From the DE:

     This very short par 3 has undergone minor natural alterations, tee and bunkering changes, but is essentially unchanged from the original design. In 1940, Wayne Stiles recommended building a new tee box to the left of the original tee (present white and red tee markers), adding a larger right greenside bunker and additional front bunkering, to give the hole the look of an island green. The Board did not approve these recommendations but the suggestions appear to have been acted on by W.F. Gordon in the 1950s.

     Interestingly, the increased front bunkering done in the 1950s appears to have been reversed and the look of the bunkering returned to the original design. The alternate left tee box recommended by Stiles and built by Gordon, was eventually reconstructed and enlarged in 1995.

     Although the ground design of the 4th hole has changed little from the original plan, the shot values* certainly have due to the loss of the large trees guarding the hole on the right front, left greenside and particularly, the left rear. Shots played high to the left rear of the green were knocked down by the overhanging branches of the rear tree. These trees were lost due to natural causes or taken down on the recommendation of the USGA as their roots were damaging the green. The hole now has an extremely open look.

*Shot Values is an important yet somewhat mysterious term. Golf architects Ken Killian and Dick Nugent described it well as "a reflection of what the hole demands of the golfer and the relative reward or punishment it metes out for good and bad shots."

     This classic, topographical, short par 3 speaks for itself. The 4th hole is on Tom Doak's list as Donald Ross' best 4th hole.

     In "Modern Age" design, probably in an attempt to increase total yardage, the very short par 3 has gone out of fashion. A good course should have one, at least for variety.

Tee view:



From right of the green:



From left of the green:



I'll post the 5th hole after I visit another wonderful Ross course in the area this morning, LuLu.   

[Charlie Gallagher]

Joe,
   Thank's once again for this posting and your excellent photos and commentary.
 A comment about then 4th hole at Gulph Mills. It is a wonderful short par 3, I believe about 112 from the back tee. It often plays down wind in the warmer months. It yields few birdies as the green is dished and if the hole is anywhere along the greens perimeter putts tend to have significant break. It is an easy green to miss due to its 3/4 shot demand, and if you miss long getting it close is a real challenge. Just a great hole and it fits perfectly in the routing. The quarry you cross on the tee shot has been substantially cleaned up since I first played the hole in 1976. The left wall of the quarry serves as the left edge of the par 5 7th hole, you don't want to pull or over hook a long approach into 7 as you can wind up down in the quarry with an awkward pitch, turning your try at eagle into a potential bogey or worse.
The Wee one, a truly great short par 3, one of the best I have played anywhere. There's another great short hole coming up in the routing and when you get there Joe, I'll offer a comment about it. Enjoying your tour very much.

[Joe Bausch]

#5.  Par 4 (435 yards).



From the DE:

     While Hole # 3 has many strategic features, to this member, Hole # 5 is the most sublimely subtle, natural and valid hole on the course.  One of the fundamentals of "Strategic Design" is to stand  on the tee and detect the problems and the solutions of the hole.  Part of the beauty of the "Golden Age" courses and the drawback of the "Modern Age" design is that these problems and solutions should be subtle.  They should be uncovered through keen observation and experience.  The "Modern Age" presentation is often so overwhelming with bunkers and drama as the be frighteningly obvious.

     From the tee the player should look all the way to the green and then backwards.  The severe right to left cant of the green and the pin position should be observed.  They player should recognize that the tee shot should be played off the natural contour of the fairway to the flat left side for the best approach up into the cant of the green.  The flat left side is closely guarded by the marsh on the left.  This is good risk-reward in the style of some of the best par 4s are Merion (#5, #7 and #8) which require playing close to the danger (creek and O.B.) for the best shot in.

     Playing the drive right leaves a difficult shot down and across the cant of the green and it is not easy to hit a shot above your feet left to right.  The bunker on the left and the difficult grass swale on the right creates strategic intensity.  The bunker right and short of the green has the interesting dual purpose of reminding the player to stay left and demarcating the blind grass swale behind it.  The distance of the left bouncing approach shot must be precise or a three putt is likely when green speed is up on the severely slanting but straightforward green.

Tee view:



Approach view:



From short of the right bunker:



I tried to capture the depression to the right and rear of the green from this angle over the green:



It is not known whether these were designed as sand bunkers, swales, or for drainage.

[David Amarnek]

i don't remember reading previously that Tom Paul compared this hole to #5 at Merion East, but it sure seems to me that they have strategic and structural similarities from tee to green.
This is especially evident when you play them on consecutive days!

[Wayne Wiggins, Jr.]

ick... is that a willow tree on #5?  does it come into play?

[Joe Bausch]

ick... is that a willow tree on #5?  does it come into play?

I think there are a handful of willow trees at GMGC W2.  But none of them are directly in play.

[Malcolm Mckinnon]

Re: Fifth at GMGC,

You have to hit a duck hook to find the weeping willow and water beyond, (right handed) as I recall.

A bit more forgiving than the fifth at Merion, however, a very strong challenge with a similar, if less severe, right to left cant from tee to green and water to the left. Not sure why, but the green reminds me of the front nine Upper course at  Baltusrol running away from the mountain right to left.  Don't ask me which hole. It's an amalgamation in my mind.

One of my favorites at Gulph Mills.

Yet, who am I to review golf courses and who  is really taking my reviews to heart?  Go play it for yourselves.

[Joe Bausch]

#6.  Par 3 (173 yards).



From the ED:

     Standing on the tee it is difficult to see the extent of the angle and carry to the left side.  Because of the reeds on the left, the green appears straighter across the front than it is...  The pond originally had a small island, shots onto it could be reached by a rowboat... It is hard to believe that this undulating center spine green with separate cupping areas front, back left and back right is not a Perry Maxwell green.  Is it possible he recontoured this green without attribution when he reconstructed the 7th Hole in 1938?

Tee view:



Even the drop area shot is tough (but it does show the angle of the green on the left side):



From the back edge of the green:

[JESII]

Joe

The ross cut and level greens pads are

2
5
13

Survey says?

Ding, ding, ding!  We have a winner.

Make sure to see Rusty on the way out, he has some papers for you to sign.

We're going to have to check Tom's medication if he's suggesting 5 and 13 are cut and fill but 8 and 9 are not...

[Michael Moore]

Joe -

A friend of mine made the only ace of his life on the sixth hole in 1933, and he still talks about it.

Thanks for the tour, it brings back fond memories of an interesting day. Tom Paul offered me not one but two drinks for a par on the third hole and I collected.

[Joe Bausch]

Joe

The ross cut and level greens pads are

2
5
13

Survey says?

Ding, ding, ding!  We have a winner.

Make sure to see Rusty on the way out, he has some papers for you to sign.

We're going to have to check Tom's medication if he's suggesting 5 and 13 are cut and fill but 8 and 9 are not...

I think you also need to check your reading skills Jimbo!   

I'm confident Tom means the original greens.

[Malcolm Mckinnon]

Not so many comments so I will chime in again.

Agree that this must be a Maxwell green. It is a funhouse where even if you hit the green, if you are on the wrong side of the center spine you will fight real hard for a two putt.  Likely you will face a six to ten footer  for par.

[JESII]

Professor,

I'm confident my reading comprehension needs improvement but can anyone actually decipher that original routing map?

Sully

[Joe Bausch]

From the Lurker:
 
When I said in that 1999 Design Evolution booklet on GMGC that the 6th green's contours just looked to me so much like Perry Maxwell green contours it therefore must have been redone by Maxwell.
 
Since then I have learned so much more about how to be a competent architectural researcher and analyst. I definitely do not subscribe to the theory that if something "Looks like" a particular architect, it therefore must be that architect. The fact is Wayne and I have proven that theory from so many people, including golf architects, to be wrong. The way we proved it with Flynn was to provide those clubs with Flynn's original drawing plans when so many thought his holes were someone else's. This included some significant courses such as Concord, Kittanset and even the Country Club at Brookline.
 
GMGC's records are unusually complete and comprehensive for a course of its age (1916). There is nothing whatsoever in those records to indicate that Maxwell ever touched the 6th green. What he did redo and redesign we have comprehensive details and dates on. Therefore #6 is very likely original Ross although it is quite unusual compared to the rest of Ross's original greens on that golf course. There are at least two fairly unique looking Ross greens on that golf course. #6 is one, and #15 is another. I believe #15 green was a forerunner to the #10 green he did about ten years later at Aronimink (when Ross did for us a comprehensive master plan in 1927 he was in town to begin the Aronimink project and at that point he had an office in Wynnewood run by his primary foreman/partner, C.B. McGovern), although in somewhat mirror-image which was a basic template deception technique of a lot of architects including Ross and Maxwell.

[Mike_Trenham]

Yes it has both the stick routing and irrigation on the same plan.  Also holes 1-7, 10-11 and 13 approach though 18 are in the same basic corridors.  Does that help?

By the way this looks like a fairly intricate irrigation system for its time.  The connection points are more numerous than designed 11 years later for St Davids. 

St Davids first looked at this site and passed for economic timing reasons, thus opening the door for the creation of Gulph Mills.  A J Drexel Paul was a long time board member at St Davids before and after the formation of GMGC.  I have always thought he was the connection to Ross for both clubs.

[Joe Bausch]

#7.  Par 5 (496 yards).

Here is another par 4.5 hole, IMO.  But with the quarry in play again just left of the green, a hockey stick or a Frosty are easy to make too.   



From the ED:

     The 7th hole is the first hole in the routing whose original green no longer exists... In 1938, Perry Maxwell relocated the green to the left, behind the quarry.  Maxwell's green was small, severely contoured and difficult to hold, with four large bunkers sprinkled throughout the run-up landing area and four additional bunkers surrounding the green.... Although Maxwell's new green and location were controversial with the members, Wayne Stiles (1940) remarked that "it is interesting to have one short par 5 that negates the long hitter".... The controversy persisted and in 1946, J.B. McGovern rebuilt the present green, removed the bunkering along the quarry and one of the greenside bunkers... The following cannot be documented by it is possible, even likely, that Perry Maxwell, with his redesign in 1937-8, was attempting to recreate some of the high risk-reward "Heroic" features that exist on the 13th at Augusta National, considered by many to be the finest short par 5 in the world.


Tee view:



Second shot view (the golfers in the distance are on the green):



Many will bunt up their 2nd shot leaving a full short iron for the 3rd:



The quarry is very much in play:



View from just behind the green:

[Joe Bausch]

Professor,

I'm confident my reading comprehension needs improvement but can anyone actually decipher that original routing map?

Sully

See if this helps: