This week’s PGA Tour stop is The Greenbrier Classic, at The Old White Course. The Old White is a 1914 C.B. MacDonald designed golf course as Seth Raynor being his design and construction associate. However in 1920, Raynor returned to The Old White to do several updates, putting his stamp on Classic Golf Course Architecture in West Virginia.
Over time, just like at Midland Hills, the golf course slowly evolved and changed. Over several decades, trees were over planted, playing corridors shrunk, key components of Raynor’s design were softened/disappeared through normal maintenance. Golf Course Architects made changes that steered away from Raynor and CMB’s original design concepts.
Then came 2016. A catastrophic flood two weeks before The Greenbrier Classic was set to begin, changed the area forever. Lives were lost, people’s possessions were literally washed away in the floods, as well as The Old White Course literally being wiped away from the high rushing waters.
Watch this great video Tim Rosaforte did on the background story of this historic flood.
This sad and tragic story has a silver lining. The people of West Virginia have come together, rebuilt most of their communities, and the Greenbrier Resort has restored their C.B. MacDonald / Seth Raynor golf course to its original state.
Read the two links below regarding what went into rebuilding The Old White, and the work the Turf Maintenance Department put into getting this entire course rebuilt and completely grown-in in one year, providing PGA Tour conditions in such a short amount of time. It really is a tremendous feat what they accomplished in that short amount of time.
If you are a fan of Seth Raynor, Classic Golf Course Architecture, want to see/learn more about Template Holes from Raynor, watch The Greenbrier Classic this week. DVR it and watch it in the middle of winter if you don’t have time now (I admit, I do this). If you’ve never seen a restored Seth Raynor golf course, this is the week of the year where you will not only see true Template Holes, but several explanations will be given on their strategies and backgrounds. If you just want to watch a different looking golf course on the PGA Tour, this may be the most unique tour stop of the year. Maybe you’ve never seen some of the Templates Midland has on another golf course: Redan, Biarritz, Alps, Punchbowl, and the Eden, for example. Or maybe you’ve never seen true Templates that Midland is missing: Narrows, Short, Long, a Principle’s Nose bunker, etc., this is your week. This is the week where Seth Raynor’s work is put on display for the world to watch the best players in the game, play design concepts that are unique and challenging.
Kieth Foster, who is a classic golf course architect, was hired to restore the course. Kieth used aerial photography, as well as his understanding of Raynor, to bring back the bold features, angles of play, hazards, as well as restore views and sightlines of the property. When you watch TV coverage, pay attention to the similarities to Midland, but also the differences. I think you will notice that MH, like all Classic Golf Courses, soften over time. Old White will appear very bold and unique, but that’s how MH was 98 years ago!
Check out the link below regarding Kieth’s restoration of the Classic Raynor Course.
http://www.golfcoursearchitecture.net/content/old-white-ready-to-host-2017-greenbrier-classic
The Short at Old White (with thumbprint)
The Biarritz at Old White (12 at MH)
The Alps at Old White (14 at MH)
Eden at Old White (7 at MH)
Redan at Old White (16 at MH)
I hope you get a chance to watch the Greenbrier this week. Enjoy!
Mike Manthey
