Restoration Timeline: Philly Cricket's Wissahickon course (Tillinghast / Foster)

[Josh Stevens]

Certainly very green.

Doesnt seem to be a lot of variety in terms of ground cover. Long grass wall to wall.

[Ed Brzezowski]

Powell, looks fantastic. Thanks for all the photos you have posted during the process, well done.

[Wayne Wiggins, Jr.]

Wow!  Just wow!

[David Stamm]

To say this looks terrific is an incredible understatement.

Congratulations to the club and all those involved.  Wonderful to see.

+1. Fantastic looking!

[Mark McKeever]

Wow....just wow.

My expectations were completely blown away today.  The transformation is incredible and these pictures don't do it justice despite Powell's photography skills. 

The course from the second set of tees has plenty of teeth and the new greens are massive and already plenty fast.  One interesting bit is that despite the "no first cut" there were no awkward lies in my entire foursome today on the edges of the fairways or greens.  Maybe when the course gets firmer we will see more of the runout to the corners. 

One very noticeable difference is the brutally difficult stretch we now have in holes 4-6 and 14-18.  My handicap is absolutely going to rise as I keep playing the course.  I can't even imagine playing from the tips.  My back would be shot.

Mark

[Joe Bausch]

Wow....just wow.

My expectations were completely blown away today.  The transformation is incredible and these pictures don't do it justice despite Powell's photography skills. 

The course from the second set of tees has plenty of teeth and the new greens are massive and already plenty fast.  One interesting bit is that despite the "no first cut" there were no awkward lies in my entire foursome today on the edges of the fairways or greens.  Maybe when the course gets firmer we will see more of the runout to the corners. 

One very noticeable difference is the brutally difficult stretch we now have in holes 4-6 and 14-18.  My handicap is absolutely going to rise as I keep playing the course.  I can't even imagine playing from the tips.  My back would be shot.

Mark

Thanks for the invite.

:-)

[John Mayhugh]

Glad you guys are finally getting to enjoy the course.  In a massive understatement, the results seem to justify the inconvenience.

[John Burnes]

Powell-

There was a conversation today about the top three favorite improvements of the effort.  Just three.  What are your favorite improvements?

[Powell Arms]

Powell-

There was a conversation today about the top three favorite improvements of the effort.  Just three.  What are your favorite improvements?

Just three:

The acquisition of land right of 15, to open up 12-16

Hells half acre on 7

Sodding of the rough throughout

[Dan Herrmann]

This may be the golf course architecture event of the year.  The resurrection of Tilly's home course!

[Mark McKeever]

Top 3 improvements:

1. Hell's Half Acre on 7
2. The transition from 15 green to the all new and incredible 16 tee shot.  (basically the photo I posted above)
3. The expansion of the green and reclaiming of the backstop on 15. 

Mark

[Dan Herrmann]

I'm just psyched that those willow trees are gone from the left of 18 down by the creek

[Philip Caccamise]

If this isn't a top 100 course after this restoration, I don't know what is.

Already one of my all-time favorites and it looks AMAZING. Bravo.

[Mark McKeever]

Today we had a large event for guests who played important roles in the restoration. 

I ran into a few GCA people there this morning, so hopefully we have a few reviews posted up soon!

Mark

[Tim Gavrich]

I got to play Wissahickon in April 2011 in UPenn's home tournament and loved it back then. I'm blown away by how much #15 has been opened up. That was the only thing I didn't love about the course and now it's gone.

Nothing happened to the clubhouse ginger snaps, I hope! 

Congrats on what appears to be a remarkable upgrade to an already splendid golf course.

[Mike_Trenham]

I was fortunate to be among the guests to play the course today.  I would say the three changes that stood out for me are

1) The change in the order of play of holes, giving you 7-10 to make up some ground and improves the rhythm of the round.
2) The tree removal on the back nine combined with the features being renewed and the ability to survey large swaths of the course and the impact of wind on these holes
3)  Changes to 15.

I must say I was surprised to learn the greens were going to be completely rebuilt and although I did not know the that well I felt the new greens were close to what was there 12 months ago.  The course prior to the restoration looked worn out and in need of more than just maintenance.

The rough is very thick.

Greens were very firm but playable and true, I would not guess about green speed but it was not easy or over the top.

The lack of a collar around the greens make recovery shots very challenging.

I am not a long hitter, but don't just look at the card there are many uphill approach shots.

[Mark McKeever]

I got to play Wissahickon in April 2011 in UPenn's home tournament and loved it back then. I'm blown away by how much #15 has been opened up. That was the only thing I didn't love about the course and now it's gone.

Nothing happened to the clubhouse ginger snaps, I hope! 

Congrats on what appears to be a remarkable upgrade to an already splendid golf course.

Tim, the ginger snaps are still there! Don't worry.

MM

[Mark McKeever]

I was fortunate to be among the guests to play the course today.  I would say the three changes that stood out for me are

1) The change in the order of play of holes, giving you 7-10 to make up some ground and improves the rhythm of the round.
2) The tree removal on the back nine combined with the features being renewed and the ability to survey large swaths of the course and the impact of wind on these holes
3)  Changes to 15.

I must say I was surprised to learn the greens were going to be completely rebuilt and although I did not know the that well I felt the new greens were close to what was there 12 months ago.  The course prior to the restoration looked worn out and in need of more than just maintenance.
 
The rough is very thick.

Greens were very firm but playable and true, I would not guess about green speed but it was not easy or over the top.

The lack of a collar around the greens make recovery shots very challenging.

I am not a long hitter, but don't just look at the card there are many uphill approach shots.

Mike, how many times did you see someone in your group needing to improvise from the edge cut of the green or fairway?  Interesting enough, it didn't happen to anyone when I was out there Saturday....though its just a matter of time... 

Mark

[Mike_Trenham]

I was fortunate to be among the guests to play the course today.  I would say the three changes that stood out for me are

1) The change in the order of play of holes, giving you 7-10 to make up some ground and improves the rhythm of the round.
2) The tree removal on the back nine combined with the features being renewed and the ability to survey large swaths of the course and the impact of wind on these holes
3)  Changes to 15.

I must say I was surprised to learn the greens were going to be completely rebuilt and although I did not know the that well I felt the new greens were close to what was there 12 months ago.  The course prior to the restoration looked worn out and in need of more than just maintenance.
 
The rough is very thick.

Greens were very firm but playable and true, I would not guess about green speed but it was not easy or over the top.

The lack of a collar around the greens make recovery shots very challenging.

I am not a long hitter, but don't just look at the card there are many uphill approach shots.

Mike, how many times did you see someone in your group needing to improvise from the edge cut of the green or fairway?  Interesting enough, it didn't happen to anyone when I was out there Saturday....though its just a matter of time... 

Mark

Today the fairways had what i would call a modest 12-18" first cut ~1/2" shorter than the primary rough, I did not see any impact. Will the fairways always have that collar?  I prefer the Pine Valley presentation it looks less formal and saves labor.

 At the greens it is completely another issue and much more difficult on recovery shots.  My ball was two feet over on 15 near the pin and a soft landing on the apron was not an option.  I did get it to a foot but it took a much better shot.

[Mike Policano]

Just got home from a wonderful day at Philly Cricket. I was fortunate enough to play today and it was a perfect day in every respect.

The course is awesome!  I really enjoyed playing the course. I could have easily stepped off 18 green and teed off from 1 again. I really liked the routing. The holes flowed very well and created some areas on the first ten holes. where greens and tees provided opportunities to needle one's friends as you walked from green to tee.

The fairways had excellent width and provided great angles to greens. The presentation was very old school with small first cut.  It looked great and played great.

The bunkers were all restored to grass faces and pretty flat bottoms. The bunker faces appeared to be sodded with grasses that blended in perfectly with the course giving the impression that they had been there quite a while. The sand was excellent; firm and fun. The bunkers were in play and beautifully constructed. The 7th's Hell's Half Acre and the 14th's Hell's Quarter Acre were wicked cool.

The greens, without collars, were very interesting, varied and fun to hit shots into and to putt. Some greens you can run the ball up, some require aerial shots and some require approaches from the correct angle. Great fun all around.

All in all, great job! Congratulations to Philly Cricket and all involved.  I am sure members and guests will greatly enjoy the course for years to come.

[John Shimony]

The 15th hole looks great.  There's now plenty of room to swing freely.  All the hole needs is a pump house long and right.

[Mark McKeever]

Mike and Mike,

Glad you both enjoyed it.  Hopefully the skies didn't open up on you while you were playing!

Shi$, We do have an outhouse behind 15 tee.  I'll have to ask what the ruling is on it before Tim plays!

Mark

[John Shimony]

Mark, good idea.  We know what happens when Tim and Joe make pump houses rulings.

[Tim Martin]

Mark, good idea.  We know what happens when Tim and Joe make pump houses rulings.

 

[Mark McKeever]

I was fortunate to be among the guests to play the course today.  I would say the three changes that stood out for me are

1) The change in the order of play of holes, giving you 7-10 to make up some ground and improves the rhythm of the round.
2) The tree removal on the back nine combined with the features being renewed and the ability to survey large swaths of the course and the impact of wind on these holes
3)  Changes to 15.

I must say I was surprised to learn the greens were going to be completely rebuilt and although I did not know the that well I felt the new greens were close to what was there 12 months ago.  The course prior to the restoration looked worn out and in need of more than just maintenance.
 
The rough is very thick.

Greens were very firm but playable and true, I would not guess about green speed but it was not easy or over the top.

The lack of a collar around the greens make recovery shots very challenging.

I am not a long hitter, but don't just look at the card there are many uphill approach shots.

Mike, how many times did you see someone in your group needing to improvise from the edge cut of the green or fairway?  Interesting enough, it didn't happen to anyone when I was out there Saturday....though its just a matter of time... 

Mark

Today the fairways had what i would call a modest 12-18" first cut ~1/2" shorter than the primary rough, I did not see any impact. Will the fairways always have that collar?  I prefer the Pine Valley presentation it looks less formal and saves labor.

 At the greens it is completely another issue and much more difficult on recovery shots.  My ball was two feet over on 15 near the pin and a soft landing on the apron was not an option.  I did get it to a foot but it took a much better shot.

Mike, I asked Dan Meersman about the single pass you mentioned and received the following response. 


We're simply doing a narrow, one-pass cut around fairways and greens.  It's our normal rough, just slightly lower; and not to be confused with a collar, or courtesy cuts which lead back to tee boxes.  We are planning to keep it.  Keith Foster recommended it to assist playability around greens and fairways.