I have a lot of fond memories of the old Jans having grown up just north of there. I used to caddy for my old boss in the Pro tournament they used to hold there every year. They used to be able to make the course pretty tough by using all of the back tees...it wasn't easy hitting a 3-iron at a tiny green the size of a car hood with a Tour Prestige 90!
That is classic. I love hearing all of the memories that people have of Peter Jans over the years.
With regard to the bunker work we are doing on the existing course, I would break it down like this:
* Our immediate goal is to remove every bunker that doesn't add high value to the existing layout. We are adding a small number of new bunkers, but the total number on the course is still going to net down by quite a bit.
* The bunkers we keep are generally being made smaller, and easier to maintain.
* The general style of the bunkers is already rugged, so we are keeping that look for the most part for now. Around the course, many of the bunkers have edges that are caving in in cool ways, and we are leaving those edges as is. It is hard to tell from the last picture I posted, but much of the top lip of that bunker was already like that. I just cleared away a little debris and extended it outward at each end.
* The course currently has a handful of bunkers that are more geomteric/ditch style. They are quirky, and we kind of like them, so even though there is a bit of a style clash, we are keeping them.
Specifically regarding the Eden bunker, we decided to do that one for a few reasons:
1. The roots of the tree behind the green needed to be cut, so our Super was going to be trenching back there anyway.
2. We needed the grass to sod over another greenside bunker that we filled in.
3. It's just fun to play around and try stuff.
That bunker spans the entire width of the green. I am not exactly sure what the dimensions are. It will not be terribly deep (less than 3 feet) from the sand to the green above. We are caving in a berm and 2 ugly-ass bunkers behind the green and turning that into a tall grass area that gently falls right into the back of the Eden bunker. Again, a melding of styles, but we think it might work. I will post photos when we are done, and next spring when it all grows in.
The bunker style of the new Jans Course will ultimately be up to Dave Zinkand. He is still collecting sources of inspiration, so feel free to share your thoughts and pictures here, especially from Golden Era Chicago sources.
More to come on that subject soon...