• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

A Golf Course Master Plan for: United States Naval Academy Golf Club Annapolis, Maryland The United States Naval Academy Golf Club is a national golf treasure. Designed by William Flynn in 1944, it serves as his last design that remains in existence. Flynn who is famous for his work at Shinnecock Hills, Merion, Cherry Hills, Indian Creek, the Cascades, and numerous Philadelphia area courses, was a master of golf strategy and his design elements are timeless. His work at the United States Naval Academy Golf Club put it among the greatest academic institution golf facilities. It has the charm and classic nature of C.B. MacDonald’s Yale Golf Course, the strength and strategy of Alister MacKenzie’s Scarlet Course at Ohio State, and the graceful lines of play of George Thomas’ Stanford Golf Course. All it is missing is a renovation and awakening of it elements. n early 2013, McDonald Design Group was commissioned by the United States Naval Academy Golf Club to review the Golf Course Restoration Plan completed Iin 2007. The purpose of this reassessment was to update and enhance the original plan so that it generated the best course of action to completely revitalize the facility. The result is a comprehensive Master Plan that addresses all the needs of the golfers who play the US Naval Academy Golf Club. Additional considerations were also added for the Midshipmen Golf Teams. Rear Tees have been located to stretch the golf course to over 7,000 yards. Multiple Practice opportunities have been incorporated to allow for exciting and realistic feedback that will give the teams a much needed home for dedicated preparation. The final product provides for all new playing features and surfaces throughout the golf course and establishes a modern standard. The implementation of the plan will set the course up to thrive for decades to come. CONTENTS: US NAVAL ACADEMY HISTORY 2 WILLIAM S. FLYNN 6 THE GOLF COURSE MASTER PLAN 8 THE PUTTING SURFACE 10 THE TEEING gROUND 12 THE BUNKERS 14 THE fAIRWAYS 16 THE dRAINAGE 17 HOLE BY hOLE 18 THE PRACTICE gROUND 36 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE VISION 40 UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY GOLF COURSE HISTORY n 1928, William Richardson and Fred Rhodes, two Washington lawyers, bought the Remsen brothers’ dairy farm on Greenbury Point. Upon this peninsula Ithey placed a golf course that would be called Greenbury Point Yacht and Country Club. The course was designed by Harry Collis, an English immigrant. Mr. Collis, who began his golf career as the greenskeeper at Indianapolis Country Club, had designed or remodeled a number of golf courses across America by the time he came to Annapolis. It appears that Collis may have been contacted by Richardson and Rhodes because of his 1923 work at Manor Country Club in Rockville, Maryland. The original course at Greenbury had nine holes on the flat coastal plain bordering the Chesapeake Bay and nine holes along the “high ground” to the northwest. Greenbury Point Yacht and Country Club had a short life before the Great Depression. As economic hard times fell on the country the golf course could no longer sustain its operation. In 1938, the Navy purchased the golf course to expand its radio station complex. As a by product the Naval Academy inherited the remnant portions of Collis’s design. The enlarged radio center destroyed much of what was the front nine, leaving a hodgepodge of golf holes for the Academy. In October of 1940 the Naval Academy Golf Club opened for play on the rough nine hole course. CLEARED CENTERLINES CURRENT #8 GREEN CURRENT #1 GREEN THIS AERIAL FROM 1942 SHOWS THE US NAVAL ACADEMY GOLF COURSE UNDER CONSTRUCTION. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF VISUAL CLUES TO THE FEATURES WILLIAM CURRENT #5 GREEN FLYNN PULLED FROM THE ORIGINAL COLLIS DESIGN AND HOW HE WENT ABOUT INCORPORATING HIS IDEAS. CURRENT #7 GREEN CURRENT #9 GREEN After two years of play across the reclaimed golf holes, William Flynn, a well-respected golf architect, was hired to design a proper golf course for the Naval Academy. He was charged with creating a golf course that utilized any usable remnant of the original Greenbury course. He therefore incorporated a number of the original greens into his routing, including today’s 1st, 5th, 7th, and 9th. Flynn’s ability to fit these holes into a quality sequence and then find the remaining holes on the natural lay of the land was critical to the quality of the final layout. He placed 11 holes south of Greenbury Point Road and 7 to the north. The finished product opened for play May 1, 1944. Much has changed on Greenbury Point since 1944. The Naval radio station expanded periodically from WWII to the end of the Cold War, placing new towers and buildings across the peninsula. In 1954 expansion plans were made for the area in and around the current 2nd green. As a result two holes of the original design were taken out of play. At the time the par 4, 3rd played away from 2nd, along the southern side of Greenbury Point Road and the 4th, a long double-dogleg par- 5 played back to near today’s 3rd tee. These holes were removed to make way for the construction and two new holes were built along the northwest corner of the property to fill out the golf course. The resulting reconfiguration and renumbering of the golf course ultimately led to the course that golfers enjoy today. 4 EVEN THOUGH THE GOLF COURSE HAS EVOLVED 1952 IN THE DECADES SINCE THE US NAVAL ACADEMY GOLF COURSE WAS FOUNDED, IT STANDS TODAY AS ONE OF THE LEAST TOUCHED WILLIAM FLYNN DESIGNS. HIS OUTSTANDING ROUTING AND WELL INCORPORATED STRATEGIES CONTINUE TO PROVIDE A QUALITY GOLF EXPERIENCE TO ALL WHO PLAY. 2011 A AL HI F WA DE ENAMORED WA F 1890 E LYNN LYNN A FAN S S S ST O IGN S S FRIEND LEF FINI C EXCELLED OF GREW WA T P OUR S AR HED ALL T F O S T WI S NER HIRED P E U RANCI SP HE UR T P H OR A A P S T S F T HI S LAYING UE M TS ERVED T S P LYNN B O . ENNI . Y T W ERION H HE UIME GOLF S A UGH B T HEN S U HA AND G S T T INE T HE . W W H WI OLF T WA SS HEY GREENKEE T 1910 IL IL H P C E S S S LAN ON ON P LU LANNED ’ HEARTWELLVILLE CC T ON S S V H U B OU O . ERMON A HEAL NFOR I P S HI ER HEL T FIR H S . F T W T T OWN T P ST H ERION AST R O ER M GC -E ( ) UNA T OF COM FAILED FORM IL COUR . T T S HE ON ELY COUN P T LE HE , S F ERION EST OURSE COUR A WA M GC - W C T E C I E T T GOLF LYNN WA RY W NO S T HE S ANADIAN S S O E IDE S LONGER LAID COBB’S CREEK GC ILLIAM 25 U P EXI B ON ORDER DOYLESTOWN CC STS MILE T . HE S . W CC OF HARRISBURG EAGLES MERE CC ILLIAM 1930 US F A MAT S. F S. LYNN U WASHINGTON G&CC (R) ER AT LY LANCASTER CC M ERIO 1920 POCONO MANOR NN ’ TOWN AND COUNTRY N G S COLUMBIA CC (R) C W BALA GC MONROE CC GLEN VIEW CLUB NORTH HILLS CC (R) KITTANSETT CLUB BRINTON LAKE CLUB CHERRY HILLS CC FRIENDSHIP GC ORK ATLANTIC CITY CC CASCADES GC DENVER CC (R) MARBLE HALL GL SEWELLS POINT PEPPER PIKE CLUB SPRINGHAVEN CLUB CLEVELAND HEIGHTS MANUFACTURERS G&CC RITZ CARLTON ELYRIA CC HOMESTEAD - OLD (R) WESTCHESTER CC (R) PINE MEADOW GC OPA LOCKA MANOR CC ROLLING GREEN GC FLORANADA SOUTH ROCK CREEK PARK GC BEAVER DAM GC THE CC -BROOKLINE (R) PLYMOUTH CC (PA) PHILADELPHIA CC THE CREEK CLUB (R) PENN ATHLETIC CLUB LEHIGH CC SPRINGDALE GC HUNTINGDON VALLEY CC CC OF VA - JAMES RIVER PHILADELPHIA CRICKET(R) SUNNYBROOK GC BOCA RATON RESORT CLUB PINE VALLEY GC (R) ( R ) - denotesrenovation lynn’s work excelled in the 1920’s. Widely considered one of the best decades for golf design, he completed some of the most outstanding golf courses the FUnited States had ever seen. He was a master at routing superior golf holes no matter the site, may it be a pine flat in Florida or a mountainside in Virginia. He valued all segments of the game but considered accuracy the most important. He perfected the “preferred line of play,” a strategy that forced the golfer to think their way around the golf course and place their shots properly to have an advantage on their next. “The principal consideration of the architect is to design his course in such a way as to hold the interest of the player from the first tee to the last green and to present the problems of the various holes in such a way that they register in the player’s mind as he stands on the tee or on the fairway for the shot to the green. The best way to whet the appetite and improve the game of any golfer is to offer an incentive and provide a re- ward for high class play, and by high class play is meant simply the best of which each individual is capable. Placing a premium on accuracy with due consideration CC for length should be the aim of all men who design golf courses, for accuracy in the play signifies skill and skill is REEK C generally the master of brute force.” ) IAN R D N I DURING THE LATE 1930’S THE U.S.

Load more

  44

Copy Link