Cornell GC

[David_Tepper]

The Robert Trent Jones golf course at Cornell U. is undergoing some improvements/upgrades this year. Don't know if any of Cornell's famous GCA alums will be involved.


"Golf course drainage and bunker enhancements will begin later this spring, allowing for a more rapid recovery/re-establishment of playing surfaces during times of poor weather conditions and bringing the course back to a Championship level that allows us to host local, state, national, and collegiate events."

[Tom_Doak]

The Robert Trent Jones golf course at Cornell U. is undergoing some improvements/upgrades this year. Don't know if any of Cornell's famous GCA alums will be involved.

Not sure who is doing the work.  At one point it was proposed that all of us who went to school there should collaborate, but that seemed like a lot of people for a small job.  It was a pretty good course forty years ago, I don't really think they need to do much, and there aren't any alumni raising eight figures to try and make it famous.

[Paul Rudovsky]

played it in summer of 2020...and it might have been the worst conditioned course I have played since I was a kid in Queen NY playing NYC munis.  bunkers were basically hardpan with weeks ranging in height from about 12" to 36"

[David_Tepper]

"played it in summer of 2020...and it might have been the worst conditioned course I have played since I was a kid in Queen NY playing NYC munis"

Paul -

I wonder if the Covid shutdown/lockdown might have impacted how the course was maintained in the summer of 2020.

DT

[Paul Rudovsky]

"played it in summer of 2020...and it might have been the worst conditioned course I have played since I was a kid in Queen NY playing NYC munis"

Paul -

I wonder if the Covid shutdown/lockdown might have impacted how the course was maintained in the summer of 2020.

DT


David--Good point.  I also remember thinking after that round that Ivy League golf might be disappearing.  Dartmouth was about to decimate its course (that move abruptly halted when a bunch of wealthy alums made the powers that be understand their donations would stop if that happened)...and the future of Yale's great track was highly questioned.

[John Blain]

"played it in summer of 2020...and it might have been the worst conditioned course I have played since I was a kid in Queen NY playing NYC munis"

Paul -

I wonder if the Covid shutdown/lockdown might have impacted how the course was maintained in the summer of 2020.

DT


David--Good point.  I also remember thinking after that round that Ivy League golf might be disappearing.  Dartmouth was about to decimate its course (that move abruptly halted when a bunch of wealthy alums made the powers that be understand their donations would stop if that happened)...and the future of Yale's great track was highly questioned.

Cornell's course has been in steady decline for at least the past decade, if not longer. Either the administration doesn't care or they are clueless as to how to go about getting it to where it is at least something more than an eyesore.


With regards to Dartmouth I think you are confusing the course (Hanover CC) with the golf team. When the announcement was made to permanently close the course the decision was final. The administration at the same time decided to drop Men's golf and when that news got out the sh** hit the fan. After calls and letters from past players, donors, etc. they decided to reinstate golf as an intercollegiate sport.

[David_Tepper]

John B. -

If the course in Hanover is closing, but Dartmouth is keeping its men's golf team, where will the golf team practice & play?

DT

[Brett Hochstein]

I haven't heard any news on this in a couple of years. Hopefully all goes well, if indeed it all goes (I haven't the slightest clue what "all" means or the scope involved, fyi). 


I played the course a ton early on to get one of my PE credits, and, while the more scenic of the two, I regret playing the front nine as much as I did. The back nine (which was the original nine before RTJ later added the 2nd nine that's now the front) has a lot more interesting stuff going on, especially at the greens. It'd be interesting to see it again (been forever since being on the course--maybe 2008 Senior Week?) and compare it to the rest of the evolution of RTJ's work, because that earlier nine feels closer to the Golden Age than the later one, which seems a lot more 60s era.


Certainly curious what the plans call for.

[John Blain]

John B. -

If the course in Hanover is closing, but Dartmouth is keeping its men's golf team, where will the golf team practice & play?

DT

They are playing/practicing at Montcalm GC in Enfield, NH.  I believe it's a good 30-minute drive from campus.

[Nigel Islam]

Was Cornell the first RTJ design?

[Ira Fishman]

The Robert Trent Jones golf course at Cornell U. is undergoing some improvements/upgrades this year. Don't know if any of Cornell's famous GCA alums will be involved.

Not sure who is doing the work.  At one point it was proposed that all of us who went to school there should collaborate, but that seemed like a lot of people for a small job.  It was a pretty good course forty years ago, I don't really think they need to do much, and there aren't any alumni raising eight figures to try and make it famous.

Tom,


Perhaps I am reading too much into the eight figure reference, but Yale (the only college course that fits the reference) already is famous. I think that you narrated a Fried Egg video about the course. I do hope that the restoration is successful, but unless Hanse really botches it, Yale will be one of the best courses in the country regardless.


Ira

[Buck Wolter]

The Robert Trent Jones golf course at Cornell U. is undergoing some improvements/upgrades this year. Don't know if any of Cornell's famous GCA alums will be involved.

Not sure who is doing the work.  At one point it was proposed that all of us who went to school there should collaborate, but that seemed like a lot of people for a small job.  It was a pretty good course forty years ago, I don't really think they need to do much, and there aren't any alumni raising eight figures to try and make it famous.

Seems like it might take about 5 calls
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Cornell_University_alumni#Chairpersons,_CEOs,_and_executives

[John Blain]

Was Cornell the first RTJ design?

No. His first design was Midvale Golf & CC in Rochester, NY