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Maples’ original work key in rebuilding
of Forest Oaks
By SCOTT MARTIN
When Davis Love III visited
Forest Oaks Country Club as a collegian at the University of North Carolina and
then as a touring professional, he played a course that was essentially the one
that Ellis Maples designed in 1962. In rebuilding the course, he and his design
associates are rediscovering much of Maples’ original work and using it as a
foundation, if not inspiration, for the ‘new’ Forest Oaks.
“We’re taking out all the old
greens and finding original drainage and infrastructure from the Maples greens,”
says Paul Cowley, design associate with Love Design Group and the person in
charge of the Forest Oaks project. “We’re building many of the green sites very
near the original ones.”
To offset gains in distance,
one of the first jobs Love and Cowley had to tackle was the restoration of the
strategic integrity of the course. This meant building new tees so that the
doglegs of many of the par-4s and par-5s are approximately 280 yards from the
tips instead of the previous 235 in the Maples design.
Love and Cowley have paid particular
attention to the green complexes in an effort to give the course more of a
traditional look and feel, providing options wherever possible.
“There’s some Augusta National in the
greens,” says Cowley. “But there’s some Seth Raynor, some Donald Ross, some
Ellis Maples.”
Cowley has sewn a mix of A4 and A1
bentgrass in the greens. This has germinated and is already being mown. The
fairways will feature tiftsport bermudagrass. Cowley believes that despite
atrocious golf course architecture weather in the winter and spring months, the
work is on schedule to open in time for the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro
October 13-19.
While the course is obviously
important as the home of a storied PGA Tour event, Cowley and Love understand
that Forest Oaks serves an important role 51 other weeks of the year.
“It’s a member’s course and that’s
been the primary motivation in the redesign,” says Cowley. “The goal is to make
a great course all the more aesthetically pleasing and also improve the nature
of the strategic test. It’s really the older more traditional courses that
professionals like Davis enjoy and that’s what why we’re going back to some of
the original Maples design while incorporating some tried and tested classical
elements.”
The revamped Forest Oaks should be
well worth the wait – so long as there are no ice storms or blizzards between
now and mid-October.
Hole-by-hole description of
the new Forest Oaks layout:
No. 1:
Formerly a straight par-4, it’s now a dogleg right with the green where the
second tees used to be.
No. 2:
Tees are now where the first green used to be, creating a dogleg left hole and a
tighter angle for the drive. The green has been moved forward some.
No. 3:
Can stretch to about 460 yards. Some trees removed to create more of a dogleg.
The green, like many on the course, will be somewhat lower than the former
greens.
No. 4: The green has been pushed up to what Cowley
calls a “horizon line green.”
No. 5:
Love shortened the hole, moving the green site forward to accommodate a new tee
for #6.
No. 6:
Added length and a dogleg at about 290 yards.
No. 7:
Depending on the location of the tee, it could be a driveable par-4.
No. 8:
The only bunkerless green complex on the course – the green will be difficult.
No. 9:
A par-5 through the original corridor. To reach the green easily, a touring
professional will now have to carry a bunker at the inside of the bend – about
290 yards from the tee. The relocated green site makes it almost a double
dogleg.
No. 10:
A difficult new green plus new bunkers. Most of the bunkers will have grass
faces throughout the course.
No. 11:
A longer driving hole and a two-tier square green.
No. 12: Trees cleared out to the
left of the hole to make it more visually appealing.
No. 13:
The tee is back 30 yards. The landing area is more receptive. The green has two
plateaus and an internal swale. Trees to the left of the fairway, guarding
against taking on the pond from the tee, have been removed so that given a
favorable tee and wind, the pond could be driven.
No. 14:
The hole has been widened and the tee pushed back.
No. 15:
No new length but some new bunkers and an improved overall appearance for this
par-5.
No. 16:
For the tournament, there’s a new tee box across the road that leads to the
clubhouse. Approximately 65 yards of additional length and a green that’s
receptive to longer shots.
No. 17:
The uphill par-3 will stretch to about 225 yards.
No. 18:
The angle of the dogleg has changed and the fairway narrows, making it a
narrower target for the driver. The green will look simple but will be testy.
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