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| 5th green |
A few weeks ago I was hired to work with Glens Falls Country
Club, a beautiful Donald Ross course north of Albany, New York. I spent Friday on site helping the club change some grassing lines on the
course.
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| 7th hole - 290 yards |
I follow a great architectural legacy here. Last year Gil
Hanse provided a report for the club that recommended quite a bit of tree
removal and widening out the grassing lines to bring the bunkering back into
play. I was fortunate to receive a copy and after visiting the course I can
honestly say he provided the club with excellent advice. I will work from his
report.
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| 9th hole 145 yards |
Before Gil was hired the club worked with Brian Silva who
helped (mainly) with a bunker renovation. His bunker work was very well done
and I plan to send him a note to let him know how much I enjoyed his work. Before
that was Geoff Cornish. The original design is Donald Ross. The club has been
prudent and barely altered any of the original course beyond a few back tees.
The work that has been done recently has been very well thought through.
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| 12th tee - 235 yards! |
Glens Falls would be best described as a wild rollercoaster
through the forests of upper New York State. The course features some of the
biggest ups and downs I have seen in quite some time and the variation in how
the land was used is a tantamount to how good Donald Ross was at identifying
excellent holes. There is nothing flat from the fairways to the greens and
there are so many truly innovative features added including the one of a kind
green on the 5th.
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| 17th tee |
I feel very fortunate to be working with such a great
course. As strange as it sounds, I’ll have a lot of fun making very few
changes. My goal is to help them get the grassing lines right. We’ll also
probably remove a few more key trees and shift some paths further out of view
over time. We may even soften a green that averages 5% and restore a bunker or
two but nothing big. Beyond a tee or two I hope nobody ever knows I worked
there.
I finished up the day with Chris, Doc and many of the other
wonderful members I met and thought how lucky I was.
Hello Ian,
ReplyDeleteIs that 5th green an original Ross design? Does the pin always have to be on the plateau or can it go on the lower outside edges? It looks like you could do a lot of back and forths.
Is their pattern of revolving Architects a concern to you? Why wouldn't Hanse stay on to see his recommendations through?
ReplyDeleteWeekender,
ReplyDeleteGil just began with the club last year. The Olympic Course and Doral has created time issues for Gil and he recommended me to continue.
Brian,
Apparently it is, it can go to the right, but not right in back since the green has shrunk in this area. The plan is to return the back right pin.
Ian