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JC Jones

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Roaring Gap Restoration - WOW!
« on: October 11, 2014, 02:47:06 PM »
I was fortunate enough to have an opportunity to play Roaring Gap last week and I came away incredibly impressed.  A sporty course coming in at around 6400 from the tips, it makes up for its lack of length by giving you some incredible greens.  I did not have an opportunity to play the course prior to the restoration but I understand that this was a full scale restoration including greens, tees, irrigation, etc.

I'm starting this thread in hopes that those who have taken pictures can help provide the visual.  I'm also calling out Dunlop White to give us more information on the restoration.

You can find a good read on page 12 of this link:

http://content.yudu.com/Library/A257az/TRIADMay2013/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=

There might not be a better place in the NC mountains than Roaring Gap Club.  I know I've not yet experienced one if there is.  Not surprisingly, the course measures up to the place.  

In the old Confidential Guide Doak listed a few places that he said one should grovel to get the chance to play, Roaring Gap should be on that list.
« Last Edit: October 11, 2014, 04:35:24 PM by JC Jones »
I get it, you are mad at the world because you are an adult caddie and few people take you seriously.

Excellent spellers usually lack any vision or common sense.

I know plenty of courses that are in the red, and they are killing it.

Tommy Williamsen

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Re: Roaring Gap Restoration - WOW!
« Reply #1 on: October 11, 2014, 04:25:41 PM »
Jason, I played RG last August with our own Daryl Boe.  We played 27 holes and we both were absolutely stunned by the course.  You're right, it wasn't long but it played longer than the yardage.  I thought the shots into the greens required a lot of thought and imagination.  The pro shop is a throw back to a more simple yet elegant time.  It is perfect.  NC has more than their fair share of mountain courses.  Roaring Gap certainly belongs on the short list of great ones.
« Last Edit: October 13, 2014, 12:57:23 PM by Tommy Williamsen »
Where there is no love, put love; there you will find love.
St. John of the Cross

"Deep within your soul-space is a magnificent cathedral where you are sweet beyond telling." Rumi

Dunlop_White

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Re: Roaring Gap Restoration - WOW!
« Reply #2 on: October 11, 2014, 04:48:03 PM »
« Last Edit: October 12, 2014, 07:14:05 PM by Dunlop_White »

Tom_Doak

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Re: Roaring Gap Restoration - WOW!
« Reply #3 on: October 11, 2014, 04:56:40 PM »
JC:

That's a place I would love to get back to someday.  It reminded me a bit of Crystal Downs the first time I went to northern Michigan ... a great layout in a sleepy location with a short season, so it had stayed off the radar.  I hope I don't have to grovel to get there again.

JC Jones

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Re: Roaring Gap Restoration - WOW!
« Reply #4 on: October 11, 2014, 05:10:27 PM »
It's funny you say that, Tom because my playing partner and I said the exact same thing. 
I get it, you are mad at the world because you are an adult caddie and few people take you seriously.

Excellent spellers usually lack any vision or common sense.

I know plenty of courses that are in the red, and they are killing it.

Dunlop_White

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Roaring Gap Restoration - WOW!
« Reply #5 on: October 11, 2014, 05:18:02 PM »
Tom,

You're welcome to visit Roaring Gap any time. It's just an hour away from Old Town…. two reasons to come back! No groveling is necessary.

http://www.dunlopwhite.com/www.dunlopwhite.com/Roaring_Gap_files/RoaringGap_Restoration_Slideshow2.compressed.pdf
« Last Edit: October 12, 2014, 07:14:32 PM by Dunlop_White »

Steve Okula

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Re: Roaring Gap Restoration - WOW!
« Reply #6 on: October 11, 2014, 05:28:49 PM »
Dunlop,

You have some absolutely stunning photos. I'm way impressed. Did you do those yourself?
The small wheel turns by the fire and rod,
the big wheel turns by the grace of God.

Dunlop_White

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Re: Roaring Gap Restoration - WOW!
« Reply #7 on: October 11, 2014, 05:58:37 PM »
Dunlop,

You have some absolutely stunning photos. I'm way impressed. Did you do those yourself?

Photos mostly by Larry Lambrecht (photographer). Our superintendent, Eric Guinther, Larry Van Hoose and I also contributed a few.
« Last Edit: October 12, 2014, 07:16:24 PM by Dunlop_White »

Peter Pallotta

Re: Roaring Gap Restoration - WOW!
« Reply #8 on: October 11, 2014, 06:09:32 PM »
JC, Tom - that made me laugh, because the first thing I did after reading JC's post (and the linked content) was to go to the club's website, which basically said "Yes, this is an amazing place - now go away".  :)

Peter


Wade Whitehead

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Re: Roaring Gap Restoration - WOW!
« Reply #9 on: October 12, 2014, 10:32:26 AM »
Wow is right.

Gotta get to Roaring Gap.

WW

Joe Sponcia

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Re: Roaring Gap Restoration - WOW!
« Reply #10 on: October 13, 2014, 06:43:29 AM »
Dunlop,

Thanks for sharing the slideshow.  The before and afters are always fascinating.  I wish more would chronicle courses like this.
Joe

https://pillarsofgolf.wordpress.com

"If the hole is well designed, a fairway can't be too wide". - Mike Nuzzo

JC Jones

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Re: Roaring Gap Restoration - WOW!
« Reply #11 on: October 13, 2014, 07:02:03 AM »
Dunlop,

One thing that surprised me was the size of some of the greens relative to the scale of the course.  Do you know how much green surface was recovered?

Also, do you have a picture of the 12th green to 13th tee tie in? 
I get it, you are mad at the world because you are an adult caddie and few people take you seriously.

Excellent spellers usually lack any vision or common sense.

I know plenty of courses that are in the red, and they are killing it.

Dunlop_White

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Roaring Gap Restoration - WOW!
« Reply #12 on: October 13, 2014, 10:15:57 AM »
Dunlop,

One thing that surprised me was the size of some of the greens relative to the scale of the course.  Do you know how much green surface was recovered?

Also, do you have a picture of the 12th green to 13th tee tie in? 

Jason,

I'm glad you and Mark Pritchett enjoyed the Roaring Gap restoration.

As for the green sizes, Roaring Gap fortunately uncovered old aerial photos, as well as Donald Ross’s original routing plan, and many of his hole drawings and green sketches of the course. We discovered that over the last 85+ years, Ross’s large intricately-shaped greens had been reduced more than 35% in size to resemble non-descript, small postage stamp-sized ovals, causing them to lose their original shape, size and strategic corner pin locations. So much of Roaring Gap's greens had been lost over time that current golfers assumed the knobby undulations outside the evolved oval perimeters were chipping areas. Instead, they were integral parts of the original putting surfaces.

Worse yet, core green plugs indicated that decades of topdressing had caused the shrunken putting surfaces to rise approximately 12" above their original grade levels, which effectively amplified the awkward disconnect between the evolved puffed-up, oval shapes and their surrounding features. So we endeavored to restore the approximate size, shape and dimensions of the original greens. Today, we have approximately 94K sf of putting surface.

Please refer to the green restoration profiles of Holes 15 and 17 in the slideshow linked below…

http://www.dunlopwhite.com/www.dunlopwhite.com/Roaring_Gap_files/RoaringGap_Restoration_Slideshow2.compressed.pdf





Bruce Wellmon

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Re: Roaring Gap Restoration - WOW!
« Reply #13 on: October 13, 2014, 11:16:20 AM »
I, too, enjoyed the restoration at Roaring Gap about 3 weeks ago. I had a foggy hazy day so my pics pale in comparison to Dunlop's.
Dunlop's point about green size is readily illustrated on #17. The "knobby undulations" are certainly an integral part of the green.
I was intrigued by 9 green (a sort of crescent moon shape) and my favorite was 15 green. A rectangular 3 level that hugged the countour of the land perfectly with a back to front slope you can't imagine. I do have a question for Dunlop. The fairways at times seem wide, for example the short 9th. Is that because originally the course was tied in with the Inn and was a resort a la Pinehurst?    
« Last Edit: October 13, 2014, 11:29:42 AM by Bruce Wellmon »

Bruce Wellmon

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Re: Roaring Gap Restoration - WOW!
« Reply #14 on: October 13, 2014, 11:30:29 AM »
The back bunker on the par 3 2nd.
« Last Edit: October 13, 2014, 11:37:27 AM by Bruce Wellmon »

Bruce Wellmon

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Re: Roaring Gap Restoration - WOW!
« Reply #15 on: October 13, 2014, 11:31:15 AM »
The par 4 4th, the clubhouse/Inn barely visible behind the green.
« Last Edit: October 13, 2014, 11:39:29 AM by Bruce Wellmon »

Bruce Wellmon

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Re: Roaring Gap Restoration - WOW!
« Reply #16 on: October 13, 2014, 11:32:12 AM »
The 6th drop shot par 3. Only a hint of a huge swale short and right of the green is visible from the tee.
« Last Edit: October 13, 2014, 11:42:06 AM by Bruce Wellmon »

Bruce Wellmon

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Re: Roaring Gap Restoration - WOW!
« Reply #17 on: October 13, 2014, 11:32:54 AM »
The par 4 17th. A true infinity green. The expanded putting surface "knobby undulations" visible.
« Last Edit: October 13, 2014, 11:43:24 AM by Bruce Wellmon »

Dunlop_White

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Re: Roaring Gap Restoration - WOW!
« Reply #18 on: October 13, 2014, 12:04:54 PM »
Nasty day!

Dunlop_White

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Re: Roaring Gap Restoration - WOW!
« Reply #19 on: October 13, 2014, 12:41:36 PM »
Quote
The fairways at times seem wide, for example the short 9th. Is that because originally the course was tied in with the Inn and was a resort a la Pinehurst?
 

Hello Bruce, The front 9 weaves through a forest of trees. Over the last 15 years, we have peeled back much of the overgrown trees and understory vegetation squeezing the fairways from both sides. The hole corridors and fairway widths on the front 9 used to appear like bowling alleys before the tree work. Today, the bunker and green features are no longer positioned out in the rough camouflaged by trees and their shadows. On Hole 9, the extent of the fairway width actually corresponds with the crescent moon shaped green (you mentioned) and ties into the large deep bunkers guarding it. A narrow fairway would feel forced and out of scale with the open breadth-of-space on that hole, in my opinion. (FYI: Most members consider the front 9 unduly narrow)

The back 9, in contrast, was originally wide-open. Unlike the front 9, decades of overgrowth hardly affected it. Instead, it was the victim of a ploriferation of secondary tree plantings, which plugged up all the open spaces. Here, we have been removing these plantings to recover the original sweeping vistas. The back 9 is highlighted by a single swath of fairway which joins holes 14, 15, and 16 pictured below.




Sean_A

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Re: Roaring Gap Restoration - WOW!
« Reply #20 on: October 13, 2014, 01:02:31 PM »
Quote
The fairways at times seem wide, for example the short 9th. Is that because originally the course was tied in with the Inn and was a resort a la Pinehurst?
 

Hello Bruce, The front 9 weaves through a forest of trees. Over the last 15 years, we have peeled back much of the overgrown trees and understory vegetation squeezing the fairways from both sides. The hole corridors and fairway widths on the front 9 used to appear like bowling alleys before the tree work. Today, the bunker and green features are no longer positioned out in the rough camouflaged by trees and their shadows. On Hole 9, the extent of the fairway width actually corresponds with the crescent moon shaped green (you mentioned) and ties into the large deep bunkers guarding it. A narrow fairway would feel forced and out of scale with the open breadth-of-space on that hole, in my opinion. (FYI: Most members consider the front 9 unduly narrow)

The back 9, in contrast, was originally wide-open. Unlike the front 9, decades of overgrowth hardly affected it. Instead, it was the victim of a ploriferation of secondary tree plantings, which plugged up all the open spaces. Here, we have been removing these plantings to recover the original sweeping vistas. The back 9 is highlighted by a single swath of fairway which joins holes 14, 15, and 16 pictured below.





iii

Have you struck gold twice?  I am incredibly impressed with your efforts at Old Town.  Is the Roaring Gap story somewhat similar?  Care to share the story?

Ciao
New plays planned for 2024: Fraserburgh, Turnberry, Isle of Harris, Benbecula, Askernish, Traigh, St Medan, Hankley Common, Ashridge, Gog Magog Old & Cruden Bay St Olaf

Dunlop_White

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Re: Roaring Gap Restoration - WOW!
« Reply #21 on: October 13, 2014, 01:10:00 PM »
….about Roaring Gap's Pinehurst Legacy.

Bruce and Sean Arble, In 1925, Roaring Gap originated as a corporate venture for Pinehurst, Inc. and Leonard Tufts, who was interested in creating a mountain resort away from the summer heat of the Sandhills to serve as an alternative resort enticement for his mostly northern Pinehurst clientele, who were tiring of the trip back home every summer.

In the beginning, Roaring Gap was referred to as "the Pinehurst of the Hills".  It was a "legitimate annex of Pinehurst". The Graystone Inn at Roaring Gap was built to function as the summer counterpart to The Carolina Hotel in Pinehurst. In theory, Roaring Gap would help Tufts solidify clientele year-round and stabilize a trained workforce year-round by avoiding off-season pitfalls inherent with an unsteady client-base and employee turn-over.  

Pinehurst, their department heads, staff and clientele simply mobilized operations to the Roaring Gap annually when the season turned every summer. It's no coincidence that the golf course was designed by Donald Ross, and Tufts was the first President of Roaring Gap Club. Ross's good friend Alex Innis served dual roles at Roaring Gap and Pinehurst, along with a host of staff members, including Palmer Maples, and E.G. Fitzgerald the Manager of both hotels.

The historical entries and coverage of Roaring Gap in "The Pilot" newspaper is mindboggling -- the scope and magnitude of which leave little question about what Roaring Gap truly meant to the Tufts family magnate.  The Roaring Gap advertisements demonstrate an exorbitant investment and commitment by Tufts in marketing Roaring Gap to the world.

The Ross-designed golf course was identified by Tufts in all ads as "The Aristocrat of Courses".  Apparently, this was the golf course slogan!

In 1925, Ross designed and constructed 18 sand greens at Roaring Gap. In 1929, Roaring Gap converted all greens to grass. Hotel guests all noted that "it was a treat to play on grass greens for a change" following their winters in Pinehurst. Thus, Roaring Gap had grass greens before Pinehurst No. 2., which converted from sand just prior to the 1936 PGA Championshionship. Roaring Gap may have helped influence and encourage Tufts and Ross to make the necessary conversion at Pinehurst?

Richard Tufts actually held the course record at Roaring Gap through the 1930's…. firing a 68 in 1928.

Naturally, a layout so intimately tied to Donald Ross, Leonard Tufts and Pinehurst, Inc. had to be restored and taken seriously — even 90 years later.

« Last Edit: October 13, 2014, 05:21:00 PM by Dunlop_White »

Bruce Wellmon

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Re: Roaring Gap Restoration - WOW!
« Reply #22 on: October 13, 2014, 01:39:04 PM »
Dunlop,
          Thank you for the information. Roaring Gap has to be one of the most history rich clubs I have visited.
           What year did the Inn close and the club become private?
           So, #4 was #18 originally?

Dunlop_White

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Re: Roaring Gap Restoration - WOW!
« Reply #23 on: October 13, 2014, 03:55:47 PM »
Dunlop,
          Thank you for the information. Roaring Gap has to be one of the most history rich clubs I have visited.
           What year did the Inn close and the club become private?
           So, #4 was #18 originally?


The Graystone Inn was originally constructed as a 55-room hotel with expansion plans for 250 rooms. Because of its proximity to the Donald Ross designed golf course, hotel guests routinely started their rounds on Hole 5 next to the practice putting green laid out on the hotel’s lawn [as pictured below]. Likewise, Hole 4, fittingly named “Graystone” for its commanding view of the Inn, served as the finishing hole until 1939, when the golf shop was erected in its current location as designated by Ross when he designed the course.

Ross didn't like the arrangement that existed between 1925 and 1939 during which time hotel guests played the course in the same sequence but in a different order than he designed. (I have a copy of the letter from Ross to Tufts where he reiterates his displeasure with starting and ending your rounds at The Graystone.) Pinehurst Inc. relinquished operations of the club in 1933 -- as Tufts had to scale his interests back due to the Depression -- though he kept his cottage on the mountain for a long time thereafter.


See Practice Putting green on the lawn to the left. Circa 1926



A 1927 view of the former finishing hole as seen from the top of The Graystone. (current hole 4)


A 2014 view of Hole 4 from the top of the Graystone. (former finishing hole)


A 2014 view of Hole 5 from the top of the Graystone. (former starting hole)
« Last Edit: October 13, 2014, 07:55:50 PM by Dunlop_White »

ward peyronnin

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Re: Roaring Gap Restoration - WOW!
« Reply #24 on: October 15, 2014, 11:18:49 AM »
Dunlop

The bunker detailing is outstanding. A great expression of the classic flat bottom bunker and the faces are uniformly executed with a soft artistic hand. I am envious.

Mike Young speaks of eliminating his flashed faced bunkers at The Fields and i wonder if these are what he has in mind?
"Golf is happiness. It's intoxication w/o the hangover; stimulation w/o the pills. It's price is high yet its rewards are richer. Some say its a boys pastime but it builds men. It cleanses the mind/rejuvenates the body. It is these things and many more for those of us who truly love it." M.Norman

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