Golf Club Atlas

GolfClubAtlas.com => Golf Course Architecture => Topic started by: mike_malone on May 21, 2008, 09:29:27 AM

Title: Lake Norconian-Featured in 1930 movie "Love in The Rough"
Post by: mike_malone on May 21, 2008, 09:29:27 AM
 I caught about 5 minutes of this movie this morning. It was just as they began golfing. The course looked interesting; wide open and rolling down to the shores.

   What remains today?
Title: Re: Lake Norconian-Featured in 1930 movie "Love in The Rough"
Post by: Steve_ Shaffer on May 21, 2008, 09:35:33 AM
Not much remains:

www.lakenorconianclub.org/norconian_brief_history.htm


www.arcadiapublishing.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=0738555592
Title: Re: Lake Norconian-Featured in 1930 movie "Love in The Rough"
Post by: Jon Spaulding on May 21, 2008, 11:36:27 AM
Paging Robert Ball and the Emporer, aisle 3.......
Title: Re: Lake Norconian-Featured in 1930 movie "Love in The Rough"
Post by: Robert_Ball on May 21, 2008, 02:01:21 PM
The Norconian is a fascinating place and would be one of the top courses in the west if not the nation if it were still open.  The history of the resort is well documented in the above link so I'll just give a VERY BRIEF history of the course.

It was designed by John Duncan Dunn and opened for play in December, 1928.  No expense was spared in constructing the course and it featured the most advanced irrigation system of its time.  The resort was a haven for movie stars and athletes in the 30s and was used for several movies, although only "Love in the Rough" features the course.

With the resort in debt and WWII approaching the resort was sold to the US Army and closed in 1941.  There are witness accounts of golf being played there into the 1960s by military personnel.

Today, most of the front nine has homes on it.  The 1st and 2nd holes are undeveloped but probably not recoverable.  The land formerly used for the 10th, 11th, 12th, 16th and 17th holes are now occupied by the campus of Riverside Comm College.  Holes 13-15 are the only holes that appear to be fully recoverable and they all look like fine holes.  13 may have been a Bottle design concept with a creek running along the left.  14 was a short par 3 with a large fronting bunker (pic below).  15 was similar to Muirfield Village 14.

The remnants of 18 are still visible but the lake and fairway are the victims of excessive fill, most of which is contaminated.  Tommy N and I were given access to tour the course in January and we were blown away by how great it must've been.  Below are some pictures, if there's interest I have more.  Note that this course is also featured in Daniel Wexler's Lost Links (p.142) which includes a routing map.


1931 aerial showing (l-r) 2nd green, 1st fairway & tee, and 18th fairway and green
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3193/2511831402_1d87392dfd_o.jpg)

View from behind 14th green during the filming of "Love in the Rough"
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3212/2511831284_2a9a12c06d_o.jpg)

Golfers playing up 18th fairway.  JD Dunn is in all black.  Resort in the background
(http://www.lakenorconianclub.org/060_COPY%20Group%20of%20Playing%20Golfers.jpg)


Current Live Maps aerial (15th played straight south from edge of parking lot)
http://tinyurl.com/57qwd5


Title: Re: Lake Norconian-Featured in 1930 movie "Love in The Rough"
Post by: Jon Spaulding on May 21, 2008, 02:41:12 PM
Great photos.

I'm seeing about 50 different parking lots in that aerial....can you make a jpg of it with a note and post it. And more importantly, do you have any action shots of the Emporer on site?
Title: Re: Lake Norconian-Featured in 1930 movie "Love in The Rough"
Post by: David Stamm on May 22, 2008, 01:32:01 PM
Solid presentation, RB. The original clubhouse is still pretty much intact and makes it easy to imagine how great the place used to be.