Dornick Hills - Maxwell/Doak, photos

[Jackson C]

I'd like to share some photos I took on Friday of the restoration. 
(If someone can point me to directions on how to include photos in a post, please do.  I have photos of all holes in jpg and tried to attach one but it didn't work for me.  Thanks  )


I walked the course as it is still in grow in and the greens were unpinned.  It will be opened soon to limited member play.  I played the course prior to the restoration so I have a frame of comparison.


Simply put, the changes are astounding.  Brilliant work by Tom, his team, and eveyone else involved.  I believe Blake deserves a special shout out as well, but I think we will withhold it until we roll some putts!  The greens lay beautifully on the land, however.


The question I left with is how much is Maxwell and how much of the course is Tom.  I believe the intention was a restoration.  But the course now is so good, and so strategic, it barely resembles the course I played.  If it is Maxwell, then his seminal work is worthy of his great reputation.  Perhaps it will even enlarge his legacy.  It does for me. 
 

[Michael Chadwick]

Jackson,


Setting up a flickr and following the directions towards end of this thread works for me.


https://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,40551.msg1642230.html#msg1642230

[Tom_Doak]

The question I left with is how much is Maxwell and how much of the course is Tom.  I believe the intention was a restoration.  But the course now is so good, and so strategic, it barely resembles the course I played.  If it is Maxwell, then his seminal work is worthy of his great reputation.  Perhaps it will even enlarge his legacy.  It does for me. 
 

Our information on the course was less than perfect, but the intent was restoration.  I had advice from Chris Clouser, from Bruzzy Westheimer (Dean Woods’s grandson) who grew up playing there, and from Mike Holder who played it every day in high school.


Most of Maxwell’s greens had been destroyed, so it wasn’t so much a question of softening some slopes, as of not building them back as steep as they may have once been.  Also, Maxwell went through several iterations of bunkering as the course developed, so there were some judgment calls about which of them to restore.  But I believe the only non-Maxwell bunkers are the two I added on the 18th fairway.


Dornick Hills was Maxwell’s home - I had no desire to redesign it.

[Jackson C]

Hopefully this works.  Thanks Michael.


Here is Tom's restoration plan for reference.

[Jackson C]

I will post a few photos to start. 
If there is an interest in a specific hole, let me know.  I have photos of all the holes and greens.


This is the new #2 par 3 hole.

[Jackson C]

This is #3 from right side where the hill has been revealed.  There is some sandy soil in OK!

[Jackson C]

#5 par 4. From the preferred right side upper tier unless you can swing it all the way down on your drive or take the chance cutting the corner.  Creek behind is in play.
 Incredible job bringing this hole back to life.

[Jackson C]

7th par 4 crest hill on right side of fairway.  Looking down on the approach, with 17th and 10th greens in view.

[Jackson C]

#14 par 4.  Shorter par 4 potentially driveable.

[Jackson C]

#16 par 5.  Middle of fairway.  Cross bunkers are about a 300 yard poke from tee.  Prevailing wind is left to right.  Was gusting at 10mph.  Cliff moving away from you at a diagonal.  Fairway also sloping away from green as you get closer in.

[Marty Bonnar]

Was Dornick Hills named after Dornoch? Or just coincidental?
Cheers,
F.

[Jackson C]

Was Dornick Hills named after Dornoch? Or just coincidental?
Cheers,
F.

I understand "Dornick" is rock in Scottish.  So Dornick Hills is aptly named as the property had many rocks, including the big rock cliff.

[Jackson C]

The "new' drop shot par 3, #17th.  Old pond around it removed.

[Jackson C]

A couple more of the 16th, par 5.
About 300 off the tee.  Decision time for big hitters.





Green is medium to small size.  Trouble over the green as well.  Slope will be closely mown and ball can roll through and OB.

[Dan_Callahan]

The "new' drop shot par 3, #17th.  Old pond around it removed.

With environmental restrictions being what they are, how does one remove a pond without setting off all sorts of alarms? Are manmade ponds not protected in the same way wetlands are? (Assuming the previous pond was manmade…)

[Jackson C]

#1, par 4.  This is "new".
Green moved away from pond and up the hill.  Club gave back part of the driving range to restore the original hole as close as possible.

[Jackson C]

The "new' drop shot par 3, #17th.  Old pond around it removed.

With environmental restrictions being what they are, how does one remove a pond without setting off all sorts of alarms? Are manmade ponds not protected in the same way wetlands are? (Assuming the previous pond was manmade…)

Its Oklahoma. 
Seriously though, Tom and team did great work here.  The area between 7th and 17th is now one of the best parts of the property.
Here is 7 and 17 with view up the new joint fairway for 10 and 11.

[Ryan Hillenbrand]

Can't wait to play this as I'm a big Maxwell fan.


Is the strategy on #16 a bit like #6 at Pebble Beach? Looks that way

[Matt_Cohn]

Can't wait to play this as I'm a big Maxwell fan.


Is the strategy on #16 a bit like #6 at Pebble Beach? Looks that way

No. The rock face is immediately in front of the green. If you lay up to 100 yards, you're short of the cliff. On 6 at Pebble you can try to get the ball around the green and unless you hit a really bad one, you're at least okay. That's not the case here. Short or right and the ball ricochets off the cliff and you'll be lucky to get down in 3 from there. Long left and you might be OB.

[Jackson C]

Can't wait to play this as I'm a big Maxwell fan.


Is the strategy on #16 a bit like #6 at Pebble Beach? Looks that way

No. The rock face is immediately in front of the green. If you lay up to 100 yards, you're short of the cliff. On 6 at Pebble you can try to get the ball around the green and unless you hit a really bad one, you're at least okay. That's not the case here. Short or right and the ball ricochets off the cliff and you'll be lucky to get down in 3 from there. Long left and you might be OB.

Here is another view of the approach into #16.  This photo is taken from the side of the #10 green looking across into the #16 fairway.  Notice the cross bunkers on #16; they are "new".  You would probably be attempting the approach around area of the cross bunkers or closer in.

[mike_beene]

Is the old cemetery with Maxwell grave in good shape by 16 green? Does the club take care of it, or is it just an adjacent property? How much of the range was taken?
I like opening the hills up!
The course is not much more than an hour from DFW

[Chris Clouser]

Mike Beene,


The club maintains the area where the cemetery is located.  They were the ones that opened up the trees so the memorial is in view from the 7th hole. 


I was quite impressed when I visited earlier this year while the construction was ongoing.  Tom and his team did a great job incorporating the information available to them.  Maxwell didn't keep notes, like a Ross or some others, on his courses.  So, there is some guesswork to fill in some of the holes.  When you think of all the changes they put into place it is truly remarkable.  Every hole has some significant changes to get it closer to Maxwell's work.  It is truly representative of what Maxwell created on his home course.  I can't wait to go back and see it in the spring after it has grown in.  The photos by Jackson are great but don't do it justice.  A couple of my favorite moments weren't even in the images he posted, the view up the 11th fairway to the restored green and the stair step bunkering going up the hill and the 15th green.     

[Jackson C]

Chris, agree, the changes are remarkable and my photos do not do it justice.


Here are some photos of the 11th and 16th.  My sense tell me the 16th may be one of the best greens on the course.  It was special to see.

[Jackson C]

Is the old cemetery with Maxwell grave in good shape by 16 green? Does the club take care of it, or is it just an adjacent property? How much of the range was taken?
I like opening the hills up!
The course is not much more than an hour from DFW

Mike,
Let's drive up in the Spring.  Short drive for us.
The club gave up maybe half the width of the range, there are 8 stalls now.

[Lou_Duran]

The "new' drop shot par 3, #17th.  Old pond around it removed.

Thanks for your post Jackson.  I am curious, had you played the course before? How was this hole (17) improved?  I don't think that Maxwell disliked ponds specifically, or whether the one on #2 (a more demanding 3 IMO) was there originally.  The pond on 17 did add value to the shot and likely served to drain the area.  Other than perhaps not liking water on forced carries (there was a bail-out area to the right as I recall, leaving a difficult pitch to save par), were there changes to the green complex that added back what was lost?  Having a downhill shot, even a short one, into the prevailing wind to a green protected by water has always challenged me.  I am also not turned-on by the bunkering, but perhaps that's due to the limitations of photography.


BTW, I played OU's golf course a couple months back and thought it was great fun.  Worth the extra travel when you go back to play Dornick.