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SBendelow

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Re: Champion Hill GC and Pinecroft GC in Beulah,MI
« Reply #25 on: March 18, 2014, 12:01:55 PM »
 :) Thank you for that reference.  Finding and documenting another of grandfather's courses always makes my day.

Bret Lawrence

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Champion Hill GC and Pinecroft GC in Beulah,MI
« Reply #26 on: July 02, 2014, 11:37:24 AM »
Chris,
No, I do not have Nyack CC on Tom Bendelow's listing.  I have been able to document some 550 original designs by Tom Bendelow to date.  I have a couple of dozen other courses or locations that I think he may have had a hand in, especially layouts that he may have done in the late 1890s and early 1900s.  Records on who designed many of there early layouts is unfortunately very scare.  I believe he was responsible for many early courses in the NY & NJ area during his early days with A.G.Spalding & Bros.

I would appreciate any information you come across on Tom Bendelow's work.

Best regards.
Stuart

Stuart,

I have just completed reading your book about Tom Bendelow and I really enjoyed it.  I noticed that only 4 golf courses in Connecticut were associated with your grandfather.  Unfortunately, one of those four courses was not laid out by Tom Bendelow.  Stonybrook Golf Course, in Litchfield, CT was not built until 1965, when Al Zikorus designed 9 holes.  I grew up in Litchfield and always heard it was built in the 60's.  I verified this by checking courses designed by Al Zikorus and by looking at the 1934, 1951 and 1965 CT Aerial photos.  There is no golf course in 1934 or 1951, but there is in 1965.  I think Whitten and Cornish made a mistake on this one.

I figured if I was going to to take a course away from your list, I would do my best to try and replace it.  So, in my research on CT golf courses, I came across "The Official Golf Guide of 1899".  If you look under Connecticut in this golf guide, you will find Tom Bendelow was at The Litchfield Club in March of 1898.  This is one listed in your book, but it is under the date of 1893.  My understanding of the Litchfield Country Club is that they incorporated as a tennis club back in 1893.  According to the 1899 Golf Guide, The Litchfield Golf Club was organized and incorporated in 1897, when they broke from the tennis club in order to pursue golf.  The tennis club followed a year later, when in March of 1898, Tom Bendelow designed a 9 hole course for the Litchfield Club.  In 1916, both clubs merged together and abandoned their respective golf courses for a new one.  The new one was built in 1917 by Robert D. Pryde.  This is the course that still exists today.

"The Official Golf Guide of 1899" also mentions:
In 1898-Tom Bendelow laid out 9 holes for South Wilton Golf Course in Wilton, CT
In 1898-Tom Bendelow redesigned The Washington Club (Washington, CT), which was originally a short course laid out by F.E. Heath in 1896.
In 1898-Tom Bendelow laid out 9 holes for Stonehenge Golf Course in Norwalk, CT
In 1898 or 1899-Tom Bendelow laid out 9 holes at Eastern Point Golf Course, which would become Shennecossett Golf Course.  This course still exists, but it was later redesigned by Donald Ross.
In 1899-Norwalk Golf Club had 9 holes laid out by A.G. Spalding Company.

In cross referencing golf guides from other years other possible courses include: 
Danbury Golf Club had a hole named "Sporty", just like its neighbor Ridgefield Golf Club, which was designed by Bendelow

Norfolk Downs Golf Club, which is now Norfolk Country Club was described as a "sporty", little 2,100 yard course in a 1900 "Connecticut Magazine" reporting on The Golf Clubs of Connecticut.

Orford Golf Club in South Manchester, CT was also described as "sporty" in the same "Connecticut Magazine" article.  Orford Golf Club was located where Manchester High School currently exists.  The Cheneys of Manchester abandoned this course around 1915 or 1916 and started the Manchester Country Club in 1917.  Talking to members of Manchester Country Club, they say your grandfather was responsible for the long nine at Manchester.  When he built the course in 1917, it measured 3,266 yards, Par 37.  Many of these holes are still intact.  Under the current routing of the course, his holes would be 1, 2, 3, 4, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18.  Today his 9 holes would measure 3, 777 and a Par of 39.  The first four holes have not been altered much.  14 and 15 were made into Par 5's.  I believe 16 was moved to the west, when they built a driving range.  17 and 18 I am not sure how much the holes have been reworked, but they have many similarities to the 1934 CT aerial photo of the course.  I might add, its always been a really fun golf course to play.

I'm not sure if you have located any of these courses since your book has been published several years ago, but I thought I would throw them out there, in case you hadn't.

SBendelow

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Champion Hill GC and Pinecroft GC in Beulah,MI
« Reply #27 on: July 17, 2014, 10:49:45 PM »
Bret,
Thank you for your investigation of Bendelow golf courses in CT.  Since I published Tom's biography in 2006 I have continued to search for additional documentation on Bendelow courses.  My listing currently includes 550 courses.  I have attempted to refine the original (published) listing, adding new courses, correcting names, locations, dates, documentations, etc and removing courses that have clear documentation that they were NOT Bendelow designs.

My current list of Tom Bendelow designs in CT include:

       Eastern Point Golf Club       Groton          1898
       Litchfield CC                      Litchfield       1898
       Liiilefield Golf Club               Littlefield       1898
       Manchester CC                  Manchester    1917 
       Ridgefield CC                     Ridgefield       NA         This is the one course I do not have supplemental documentation on.??
       South Wilton Golf Club        Wilton            1898
       Stonehenge Golf Club         Norwalk          1898
       Washington Golf Club          Washington    1898

I have removed Stonybrook and Shenecossett from the listing based upon your information.  Your input is appreciated as I DO NOT what any appearance that I am attempting to pad Tom Bendelow's numbers,  He doesn't need  it.  I DO want to make his listing as accurate and complete as possible.

Again, thank you for undertaking and sharing your research.
Stuart

Sven Nilsen

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Champion Hill GC and Pinecroft GC in Beulah,MI
« Reply #28 on: July 17, 2014, 11:30:11 PM »
Stuart:

A couple of follow up citations/notes on the courses you and Bret discussed (most of which I am sure you are already aware of):

Liiilefield Golf Club               Littlefield       1898
     -I have no record of this course from any of the early guides or any other sources.  As far as I can tell, there is no town in Connecticut named Littlefield.  Is it possible that this is a mistaken reference to Litchfield?
Manchester CC                  Manchester    1917
     -My information comes from the ASGCA listing.
Ridgefield CC                     Ridgefield       NA         This is the one course I do not have supplemental documentation on.??
     -I have seen this listed for Bendelow, but like you I have not seen any corroborating articles.
South Wilton Golf Club        Wilton            1898
     - Noted in a Mar. 19, 1898 Boston Evening Transcript article as 9 holes laid out by Bendelow.
Stonehenge Golf Club         Norwalk          1898
     -Noted in the 1900 Harper's Guide as laid out by Bendelow in 1898.

In addition to the one's you noted, I have seen citations for the following (if you have any clarifying information on these courses, please let me know):

Hartford GC - 1898
Litchfield GC - In addition to the citation noted above, the ASGCA list notes an 1893 date.
Shennecosett GC - The Harpers Guide from 1900 notes the course was laid out by T. Bendelow in September, 1898.

To corroborate Bret's information on Stonybrook, the course does not appear in any of the Annual Guides through 1931 or other early sources, so I'd suspect he is spot on with his analysis that the course did not come into existence until much later.

All the best,

Sven
"As much as we have learned about the history of golf architecture in the last ten plus years, I'm convinced we have only scratched the surface."  A GCA Poster

"There's the golf hole; play it any way you please." Donald Ross

BCowan

Re: Champion Hill GC (Beulah,MI) Photo tour and thoughts
« Reply #29 on: July 17, 2016, 10:11:20 AM »
Had the great pleasure of playing CH earlier this summer and loved it.  I posted a photo tour at the top with comments.  I highly recommend CH to accompany a CD, KC, or Arcadia round.   

Really excited to play Pinecroft, Champion Hills, Bear lake,  Leelanlau Bahle Farms, and Northpointe next summer!

Richard Hetzel

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Champion Hill GC (Beulah,MI) Photo tour and thoughts
« Reply #30 on: July 19, 2016, 08:37:55 AM »
Ben,

I need to post up my pics of Pinecroft. Here is one I found on my phone! I also have pics of Leelanau Bahle Farms.

Best Played So Far This Season:
Crystal Downs CC (MI), The Bridge (NY), Canterbury GC (OH), Lakota Links (CO), Montauk Downs (NY), Sedge Valley (WI)

Sean_A

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Champion Hill GC (Beulah,MI) Photo tour and thoughts New
« Reply #31 on: July 22, 2016, 05:13:58 AM »
From memory Champion Hills is quite a good course. It must be overt 15 years ago when I saw it.

Ciao
« Last Edit: November 15, 2022, 09:28:05 PM by Sean_A »
New plays planned for 2024: Nothing

Richard Hetzel

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Champion Hill GC (Beulah,MI) Photo tour and thoughts
« Reply #32 on: July 22, 2016, 03:10:22 PM »
It's a fun round!

Best Played So Far This Season:
Crystal Downs CC (MI), The Bridge (NY), Canterbury GC (OH), Lakota Links (CO), Montauk Downs (NY), Sedge Valley (WI)

Mark Johnson

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Champion Hill GC (Beulah,MI) Photo tour and thoughts
« Reply #33 on: July 22, 2016, 03:44:49 PM »
Had the great pleasure of playing CH earlier this summer and loved it.  I posted a photo tour at the top with comments.  I highly recommend CH to accompany a CD, KC, or Arcadia round.   

Really excited to play Pinecroft, Champion Hills, Bear lake,  Leelanlau Bahle Farms, and Northpointe next summer!




I played it about 7 or 8 years ago if memory serves.   Remember it was a very interesting piece of land but a course in horrid condition.   Judging by pictures it looks like there has at least been some investment

Jason Way

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Champion Hill GC (Beulah,MI) Photo tour and thoughts
« Reply #34 on: August 04, 2017, 11:17:29 PM »
Count me among Champion Hill's fans, thanks to nudging from Ben to get out and see it.  My son and I went out this morning and cruised around - absolute blast.  The topography is wonderful and the course is very well routed.  The greens are in great shape, and I love the single height of cut throughout.  The color contrast of the golden fescue and purple prairie flowers is off the charts right now. 

For me, it had the same kind of joyful feel as Highland Links.  Simple, beautiful, fun - exactly what it needs to be.

« Last Edit: August 04, 2017, 11:19:50 PM by Jason Way »
"Golf is a science, the study of a lifetime, in which you can exhaust yourself but never your subject." - David Forgan

BCowan

Re: Champion Hill GC (Beulah,MI) Photo tour and thoughts
« Reply #35 on: August 20, 2017, 02:25:56 PM »
Jason,

  Glad you liked it.  Will have to align our schedules next summer for CH and a post round bite at the Cherry Hut

Jason Thurman

  • Karma: +1/-0
Re: Champion Hill GC (Beulah,MI) Photo tour and thoughts
« Reply #36 on: September 10, 2021, 02:27:17 PM »
I spent the last few days in Northern Michigan. After a huge storm blew through Tuesday morning, I headed out that afternoon to explore. I checked out Sleeping Bear for a bit, and when I looked up and saw I was 15 minutes from Champion Hill, I decided to head over.


It's hard to overstate what an excellent surprise this place is. Walking up to the clubhouse, the little glimpses of holes rumbling through the hills beyond look every bit as special as the views from the clubhouse at Kinsley or the pro shop at Crystal Downs. The single-cut maintained turf offers plenty of width as it rumbles over hills and mounds before giving way to perfectly playable and beautifully unmaintained fescue. Greens featured thrilling slopes. They rolled true and at a nice medium speed, although they really would have come to life with another foot or two of pace.


The course's finest holes would fit right in on the area's most heralded courses, and its lesser holes have nothing to be ashamed of. While playing conditions weren't exactly "manicured," they were undeniably solid. The walk isn't the easiest, but not too strenuous either and the setting makes it well worth it. The views across rolling hills in the distance and out to Lake Michigan are breathtaking. At a peak walking rate of $45, the only courses under $50 that I rank above it are Rustic Canyon (which really is disqualified by its $60+ weekend rate), The Fort outside of Indianapolis, and Harrison Hills. Really, I'd consider it comparable in quality to all of those - not quite as good perhaps, but respectably close.


I'll also mention that I stopped in to Bahle Farms and played the front nine the day prior. Mentioned earlier in this thread, it's another fine value in Northern MI golf (although more expensive and not quite in the same league as Champion Hill in my mind). I only played the front nine, and it should probably be considered a cartball layout (I walked, but was glad to stop at the turn as it's hilly with long transitions). But it featured some really cool holes. I particularly enjoyed the first with its uphill approach to a benched green, the drive-and-pitch third with a rumbling fairway and tabletop green, and the positively Sitwellian 7th where I was very happy to find the proper level of the putting surface on the steeply uphill approach.


It's incredible that places like these fly under the radar in the area.
"There will always be haters. That’s just the way it is. Hating dudes marry hating women and have hating ass kids." - Evan Turner

Some of y'all have never been called out in bold green font and it really shows.

Tom Bacsanyi

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Champion Hill GC (Beulah,MI) Photo tour and thoughts
« Reply #37 on: September 10, 2021, 05:37:16 PM »
Fried Egg just did a pod on Champion Hill/Pinecroft. Really good stuff with the Owner and Superintendent. A caveat is that they spent the first 20 minutes or so riffing on the Solheim Cup, which is fine but not why I tuned in.


Anyway: https://thefriedegg.com/fried-egg-podcast/affordable-golf-as-a-family-business-4/
Don't play too much golf. Two rounds a day are plenty.

--Harry Vardon

Steve Lang

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Champion Hill GC (Beulah,MI) Photo tour and thoughts
« Reply #38 on: September 10, 2021, 11:56:11 PM »
 8)  SHHHHISSSH!  Kept it quiet!  Were you hangin in TC or Sutton's Bay??  Bad enough with all the big money Chicago folks along the west coast, over to Torch Lake and further up to the big bridge!  There are plenty of resort & non-resort plays near the 45th parallel in Mich.. Most visiting folks go to the resorts and top privates but the "week-day league play type" courses all seem to have some merit beyond their low prices... can you get your ball into the hole or not?


CH is a fun hillside links, I first learned about it and Pinecroft talking to some guys at the TC Golf Center on Secor Rd, killing time one afternoon before Boone's Long Lake Inn opened for dinner...  We enjoyed it on many levels, gets the job done and stayed out of the water on 18!
Inverness (Toledo, OH) cathedral clock inscription: "God measures men by what they are. Not what they in wealth possess.  That vibrant message chimes afar.
The voice of Inverness"

Jason Thurman

  • Karma: +1/-0
Re: Champion Hill GC (Beulah,MI) Photo tour and thoughts
« Reply #39 on: September 11, 2021, 12:46:44 AM »
Hey, how did you guess I was in Suttons Bay?!? I can think of far worse places for a golfer to hang than 8 minutes from Bahle Farms.


I wish I'd had your same fortune on 18. I started a little lukewarm, but hit 8/10 greens from 8-17. Just couldn't get a birdie to drop and played that stretch +1. And 18 is such an awkward hole for a first-timer. I slap-sliced one into the fairway off the tee, and then chickened out on the second (I had spotted the pond several times by that point and knew to avoid it) and flared it out to the right into the fescue. I struck my third well from a tough lie, but the face closed on me and the ripples were still visible when I crested the hill. Then I double-hit the pitch after my drop. I might have at least kept it on dry land if I'd only hit it once. So much for breaking 80 that day...


If there are 81 holes at a place like Treetops, I have to believe that Champion Hill's worst hole is better than 40 of them. What is Champion Hill's worst hole anyways? 4? 18? Those are good holes! My guys at the club keep talking about a Northern MI trip and they're gonna think I'm insane when I say "Hey, why don't we just budget about $50 a round?"
"There will always be haters. That’s just the way it is. Hating dudes marry hating women and have hating ass kids." - Evan Turner

Some of y'all have never been called out in bold green font and it really shows.

Steve Lang

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Champion Hill GC (Beulah,MI) Photo tour and thoughts
« Reply #40 on: September 12, 2021, 09:37:26 AM »
Hey, how did you guess I was in Suttons Bay?!?


If there are 81 holes at a place like Treetops, I have to believe that Champion Hill's worst hole is better than 40 of them. What is Champion Hill's worst hole anyways? 4? 18? Those are good holes! My guys at the club keep talking about a Northern MI trip and they're gonna think I'm insane when I say "Hey, why don't we just budget about $50 a round?"


Jason,


Just spent summertime up here in the territory for the last 40 years or so... at our summer camp about 35 miles east of TC, didn't figure you'd be in Northport  ::)


I wouldn't ever compare CH with Treetops, but some might agree on your fraction... I'd pick one of the one-shooters at CH as too much of a good thing for one course...


Realistic working man's budget would be $100 per, then you could enjoy and cover the TC food and lodging premium costs, if you didn't get sucked into the resort vortexes
Inverness (Toledo, OH) cathedral clock inscription: "God measures men by what they are. Not what they in wealth possess.  That vibrant message chimes afar.
The voice of Inverness"