Recently I was asked by an architect to help him understand the original design of a golf course that Tilly did. In addition to changes over the years made by others, the clubhouse suffered a fire in the 1940's which destroyed almost all of the original documents, drawings, etc...
In helping them to reconstruct what he created, I included the following hole definitions from his 1916 booklet "Planning a Golf Course." I find it gives a fascinating peak into the way he thought as he approached a new course design:
“This brings up a rather fine point – what is the difference between a dog-leg and an elbow? As a rule, the two terms are used indiscriminately, but I always have made this distinction. A dog-leg provides some pronounced obstruction, which forms a corner in a twisted fairway from either side. If it be impossible to carry over this obstruction, but at the same time necessary to get beyond it in order to open up the next shot, we have a Dog-leg…
“If a similar obstruction may be carried by a courageous shot, which is rewarded by a very distinct advantage, we have an Elbow…
“There is still a third variation, where a corner is formed close by a green itself, usually by the encroachment of a hillside or sandy waste, and this is known as a Cape hole…