Beverly CC Restoration -- 2019/2020 Edition

[Andrew Lewis]

Prologue

As previously described, Beverly CC shut down last summer to undertake a substantial restoration project at the hands of Ron Prichard and Tyler Rae.  I’m pleased to report that we re-opened on schedule last weekend and couldn’t be more enthused by the result.

Because it seems the current pandemic may forestall a return visit by Golf’s Most Beloved Figure for the foreseeable future – thereby delaying a full update to the GCA profile – I thought I’d start a thread to share commentary and photos from the project.  Hopefully Ran can return later this year to see and opine on the final product, but for now this will have to do.

First, a brief reminder on the context for this most recent round of work.

The project began late July 2019 and effectively completed the journey that Ron and the Membership began during the early 2000’s.

(I would be remiss at this point not to point out the major achievement by people well known to GCA in securing approval for that early 2000’s work – people such as Rick Holland, Terry Lavin and Paul Richards, to name a few, as well as the Grounds Chairman and other Board members at the time.  This was not a slam-dunk “sell” to the Membership, and it required an exceptional blend of patience, persistence and threats of bodily harm that I have been assured were “mostly” made in jest.  Without their commitment and passion, none of the rest of this would have been possible.)

At that time, the Club began restoring Ross characteristics that had been lost over time and removing trees to widen playing corridors and thereby restore angles of play and strategic interest.  The work was compelling and underscored the full potential of the course.  Yet work remained.  Although many trees were felled – the figure ranges from the high-triple-digits to the low-quadruple-digits depending on who you ask – you can see in old threads focused on that work that a veritable arboretum still remained.

Subsequent to that initial effort, the Club had intended to continue executing against the master plan to restore additional features and further optimize the playing corridors.  However, that work was stalled by a number of factors, including perhaps initially the scars and fatigue that accompany completing such a major effort in the face of staunch opposition to tree removal from some Members, and most definitely by the global recession of in the late 2000’s.

As the economy recovered and Membership interest in the potential of the course came back to the fore, the Club in around 2016 began in earnest to contemplate when and how to revisit the master plan.  This ultimately resulted in a multi-phased approach.

The first phase involved performing needed deforestation due to a lapse in regular tree management since the early 2000’s work, updating maintenance infrastructure and irrigation and selectively expanding tee boxes.  The second phase focused on letting the turf heal, assessing the new sightlines and scale of the land and making recommendations on how to restore and enhance the course’s playability and strategic intent to present a fun yet challenging experience for all levels of golfers – based on the space opened up by the tree removal, as well as advanced in equipment technology over the preceding years.

These two phases were followed by a healthy process to engage and educate the Membership on the proposed update to the Club’s Master Plan.  Suffice to say, there was no shortage of spirited debate on a full range of topics.  But in the end, the Membership convincingly approved proceeding with the work with a focus on:

• Bunker quality– Refurbish to address structural issues
• Bunker placement -- Relocate/enlarge to accommodate equipment advances and widened playing corridors, while keeping with Ross style and strategy
• Teeing areas – Repair/renovate/enlarge to enhance turf health
• Green pads – Reclaim surface area to restore pin locations
• Hole 7 green – Rebuild for consistency with other greens on the course in push-up style, versus current USGA spec, and gain additional pin positions; note that the Hole 7 green had long since lost its original Ross contours
• Hole 12 green – Rebuild to scale and size consistent with ca. 1931 US Amateur timeframe and gain additional pin positions; note that the Hole 12 green had been extended decades after Ross’s work
• Green surfaces – Reseed with newer turf strains to promote consistently high-quality playability across a wider range of weather conditions
• Fairways – Adjust mowing lines to further restore width and angles throughout playing corridors
• Fescue – Introduce in select areas
• Length – Add where possible and appropriate
• Practice facility – Expand/enhance to accommodate increased use
• Trees - Continued removal / maintenance

Work progressed as planned through the late summer and early autumn and, despite several inches of snow on Halloween, the relatively mild autumn and winter offered generally good weather.

In addition to some hole-by-hole detail, I’ll try to provide detailed discussion points on some of the key aspects of the work from both an architectural as well as Club engagement standpoint.  Definite topics will include the Hole 7 and Hole 12 greens noted above, what the new sightlines meant when it comes to required scale for features such as bunkers, the Great Debate over whether to regrass the green surfaces, the ongoing debate over introducing fescue, etc.  And if there are any specific topics/questions that the group would like to cover, please do let me know.

In the meantime, let me close by sharing a quick preview/tease as relates to Hole 12 green.  A front-left lobe of green visible in the 1931 US Amateur photos was reclaimed (amongst many other improvements) and it is now pinnable – which was the obvious request for opening day.  Diabolical to say the least!

I look forward to reliving the good, bad and ugly of the process and trust that the various other Beverly CC members on GCA also will chime in.

Cheers, Andrew

Hole 12 from 1931 US Amateur



Hole 12 from 1931 US Amateur



Hole 12 from 30 May 2020

[Tim Martin]

Andrew-Thanks for the update as it sounds fantastic. Any way you can post one of the current 12th green/surrounds? Congratulations!!!!

[Andrew Lewis]

Andrew-Thanks for the update as it sounds fantastic. Any way you can post one of the current 12th green/surrounds? Congratulations!!!!

Tim -- For some reason the photo of 12 that I posted is only working for me on desktop, and not mobile.  I'm trying again below -- both the first file I posted and an alternate.  Best, Andrew

[Tim Martin]

Andrew-Thanks for the update as it sounds fantastic. Any way you can post one of the current 12th green/surrounds? Congratulations!!!!

Tim -- For some reason the photo of 12 that I posted is only working for me on desktop, and not mobile.  I'm trying again below -- both the first file I posted and an alternate.  Best, Andrew

Andrew-WOW!!!! Thank you.

[Jeff Shelman]

If you want to see a variety of before/after photos, Beverly pro John Varner has been posting them on Instagram. He’s at @bccpro there.


The photos look fantastic. Beverly has always been a great club with a wonderful membership that is about golf. Now a very fine golf course has become even better. I’m excited to see it again in person.

[Matt Bosela]

Congratulations to you and all the members at Beverly. Can't wait to see this thread unfold and hope to one day return to see these changes firsthand.

[Peter Flory]

More and more courses are getting back to their glory.  Very faithful looking restoration based on these pics.

[J_ Crisham]

Andrew, 
     Nice post! I look forward to seeing the pics you show. I have several as well if you need any. It is refreshing to see Bev restored to its former glory. Years of aggressive tree plantings, green pad constrictions and the subsequent loss of the "Ross" look has finally been rectified. My memories of the course back back to the mid 1970's . We had 2 seasons where #12 green wasn't used - a temporary green was front left in the grass just over the pond. Willow trees encroached on the green and there was no grass. The green was saucer shaped. We are now historically accurate on #12 consistent with the 1931 pictures.

   

[PCCraig]

Really happy for you Andrew as well as your fellow members.


Congratulations on what looks to be a terrific restoration.


Tyler Rae does fantastic work and this looks par for the course!

[John Mayhugh]

Terrific overview of the work. Thanks for sharing it. And congrats on what you're getting to play!


Looking forward to seeing it.

[Andrew Lewis]

Hole 1

On the first tee, one immediately notices the restoration of a dramatic Ross forebunker that had been lost over time.  In addition to visual appeal, the forebunker sets the tone for the rest of the course in two important ways.

First, it firmly establishes a set of photographs (including aerials) from the 1931 timeframe as a guide for the restoration.  Ron and Tyler drew on them heavily while revising our master plan on paper and while moving dirt on the ground – more on that when we get to the story of hole 12.

And second, it previews how the size of many other features on the course were expanded as a result of the work done to open up the landscape and widen playing corridors over the preceding few years.  Put another way, more open land requires bigger and bolder features to maintain an appropriate sense of scale.

Other than the forebunker, work on hole 1 during the past year was relatively modest.  The right and left fairway bunkers were repositioned further down the fairway to regain relevance based on modern driving distances.  The fairway was widened, the green pad was expanded and greenside bunkers were rebuilt/restored – both of which are common themes throughout the course.

But returning to the tree removal performed in the few years prior to this work, the effect cannot be overstated.  The pictures below document the change from a narrow chute closed off from the rest of the course prior to the early 2000’s work, to one that is more open but still heavily treed (including around the green) after Ron’s first effort, to its present state.

Now, the seventh fairway is clearly visible to the left, the second tee peeks through the treeline on the right and the skyline nature of the green is felt to great effect – it sits at the edge of the ridge that serves as the dominant landform on the front nine.  Many great pin positions on the right-hand side of the green are back in use thanks to the removal of a large tree that formerly hung over most of the front-right corner of the green, visible in the pre-2020 photos below.  And the added presence of wind and healthy rough create additional decisions and challenge when considering an approach shot with a short iron – a sudden gust or a flier or a knuckleball all bring a 50-foot uphill recovery into play if one goes long while taking on a back pin.

Make no mistake, this hole remains one of a handful of truly consistent birdie chances on the course.  But it is not without teeth such that double-bogey is equally in play.


Tee Shot Pre-2004 -- tight and narrow


Approach Pre-2004 -- Ringed by trees


Approach Post-2004 -- Improved but still too penned in


Tee shot 2020 -- A return to scale and purpose


Approach 2020 -- A lovely skyline green



Close Approach 2020 -- All pin positions usable; compare with the earlier approach shots to see the front-right tree

[Mark Mammel]

I played at Beverly perhaps 25 years ago. The restoration looks really great. I can't wait to find my way back!

[Paul OConnor]

Not convinced that 1st hole is really a "skyline" green.  Seems to be a lot of trees in the background. 
  I hope that hole looks better in person and with the trees grown in a bit. 

[Ken Fry]

Andrew,
I got a round in before the course shut down and was so impressed with the changes from the round we played together many years prior.
Can't wait to see the final edition.  The expanded greens at #1 and especially #12 look beautiful!!
Ken

[Andrew Lewis]

Hole 2

After perhaps the sixth hole, the second hole offers the clearest case for removing trees to open playing angles and views.
 
Major work included enlarging and repositioning the first left and right fairway bunkers to match the new scale of the hole and provide challenge to modern hitting distances, expanding fairways, refurbishing and enlarging other fairway bunkers, reworking greenside bunkers, adding green surface area, and installing a tightly mown area to the left and behind the green.
 
 
These photos from the construction phase last summer show work on the first fairway bunker in progress.  The former left bunker was not much larger than the pool of water – about 10 paces wide and 10 paces deep -- and located in around the same place, but after the expansion that same bunker now measures 35 paces wide and 35 paces deep.  You can also see the fairway expansion in process as represented by the browned-out grass.








After completion, the left bunker now challenges most players at the club, the right bunker has regained relevance for the longer hitters, and the entire hole and its angles and features are in full view for the player.  The photos that follow detail the dramatic changes over time.


Tee Shot Prior to 2004





Tee Shot After 2004





Tee Shot 2020



The approach after a layup requires threading through the bunkers while trying to favor the left side of the fairway for a better angle down the spine of the green.  And on the putting surface, the green reclamation has resulted in a fun new position front-left and rounded edges on the left and back of the green which drop off to the aforementioned tightly mown area, pictured below.


Approach from around 150 yards





Closely mown area left and long

[Zack Molnar]

Over the green on 2 looks like a tough recovery, Andrew. How does it play, say, around 8 in the morning?

[J_ Crisham]

Over the green on 2 looks like a tough recovery, Andrew. How does it play, say, around 8 in the morning?

At 8:40 I managed to save double after 3 cracks at it from back there.... hopefully Andrew had better luck ? Over the back on 2 and 6 is a whole new ballgame

[MCirba]

This is awesome...thanks for sharing!

[Zack Molnar]

Over the green on 2 looks like a tough recovery, Andrew. How does it play, say, around 8 in the morning?

At 8:40 I managed to save double after 3 cracks at it from back there.... hopefully Andrew had better luck ? Over the back on 2 and 6 is a whole new ballgame

@Jack, you arent kidding about new ballgame back there. I went over both greens opening day and quickly learned that is not the place to miss. However, my education has not been absorbed enough to have learned from my mistake as I have since returned to both locales. Maybe one day...


Andrew, thanks for the thread. As a newcomer to the Bev family, its really interesting to hear the insights from someone so intimately involved with the process. Looking forward to the rest of the tour!

[Andrew Lewis]

The new closely mown areas long of 2, 6 and 18 greens already are seeing a lot of action due to our uniformly thick rough, which is causing a lot more jumpers/fliers.  This adds another element of thought to the experience, which wouldn't have been possible without the tree work over the past few years.

[Mark McKeever]

The before and after pictures are staggering.  Love the open corridors.


MM