[Joe Bausch]

Rather than tack on a photo tour to the ongoing Paramount thread, I thought I would do a traditional tour in a separate thread.

The Club's webpage is quite nice and has the condensed history:

http://www.paramountcountryclub.com/Default.aspx?p=DynamicModule&pageid=294689&ssid=176183&vnf=1

Here is the hole-sequencing from an annotated June 2010 Google Earth aerial:



Note:  all pictures below are 'clickable' to give much larger size.

#1.  Slight dogleg-left par 4 (372 yards) [also the No. 1 stroke hole].

This hole generates much discussion as a big tee shot can cross over a public roadway.

Morning view from the tee, where the road is about 250 yards out:



A later afternoon view from the forward tee where you can see a very elevated green:



A conservative tee shot leaves a view like this from about 160 yards to a green that is 65' in elevation, sitting up on a beautiful ridge on this part of the layout:



From short of green on top of the ridge, here's the look back down the hole:



And a later afternoon view from just over the green:



Now you play the next five holes on this side of the road before re-crossing on the 7th.  Holes 2-6 have tremendous elevation changes, and I rather like them.

#2.  Downhill par 5 (590 yards).

This hole just rolls downhill pretty much all the way to the green once the little flatness off the tee is passed.

Tee view, where you need to take a line left as the fairway cants hard to the right:



Go right and the ground will take you further that way:



So stay left and the ball will tumble down to the right:



If you can play your 2nd shot real well, up near this bunker, you'll get a more level lie:



But end up short of the green on your 2nd and you'll have a downhill lie and look like this:



Here's a view from long and left of the green, nicely showing the summer colors that Brian and his crew so nicely achieve and maintain:



Now it's time to head back up the hill, which Tilly accomplishes with a short uphill par 3 then an uphill par 4.

#3.  Uphill par 3 (135 yards).

This hole plays at least a club longer than the yardage:



What makes this hole tough is the green, which is subtly two-tiered with a large amount of tilt.  This view from right of the green somewhat shows the two tiers:



Elevated view from over the green:



#4.  Uphill par 4 (383 yards).

Later afternoon tee view:



This fairway is rather crowned which can make it more challenging to hit:



From short of the green:



I like how many of the greens are squared off in the front and allow a non-aerial shot in:



Back down we go for the 5th.

#5.  Somewhat downhill par 4 (417 yards).

Tee view, where carrying the cross-bunker is not hard:



A decent drive can leave a view like this:



A better drive can catch a turbo boost off the downslope to leave a short iron in to a green that actually runs away from you:



View from just over the green:



Now back up the hill!

#6.  Uphill par 4 (406 yards).

View from the back tee:



Trees behind the green have been removed (grass huggers unite!) to allow for a nice skyline green on the approach shot:



From just short of the green:



Elevated view of the green from the hill behind 1 green:



Well, that's a nice start for today!  More over the weekend, or at the latest on Monday morning.

[Peter Pallotta]

Thank you, Joe-- your posts are always a pleasure. The course looks close to ideal for my tastes -- the feel and the use of the land reminds me somehow of many of the 'tier-two' inland English courses that Sean Arble profiles.

Peter

[Mark McKeever]

Joe,

Are those small bunkers in front of the road on the first hole??  Looks neat.



Mark

[Joe Bausch]

Are those small bunkers in front of the road on the first hole??  Looks neat.

Yes, and they are no bargain!

[PCCraig]

Looks like a very neat classic course. Jim Urbina did the renovation work, correct? Do you happen to know what the extent of the work completed?

[Joe Bausch]

Looks like a very neat classic course. Jim Urbina did the renovation work, correct? Do you happen to know what the extent of the work completed?

Yes, Jim Urbina did the renovation work.  I'll let Jim or Steve L or Brian C take over on this.

[Mark McKeever]

Joe, any better pics of those bunkers?!!?

MM

[Steve Lapper]

Looks like a very neat classic course. Jim Urbina did the renovation work, correct? Do you happen to know what the extent of the work completed?

  For now, all the work is done. (ex any added teeing ground and/or further resolution of the road holes #1 & 7)

  Our inclination is to let it play as is for at least 1-2 seasons before we take any further substantive steps to address the road.

Cheers,

S

[PCCraig]

Looks like a very neat classic course. Jim Urbina did the renovation work, correct? Do you happen to know what the extent of the work completed?

  For now, all the work is done.

Steve,

What work was done to the course? Bunkers? Mowing lines? New tees? Just curious. Any "before" pictures would be great to see as well, if possible.

Thanks.

[Steve Lapper]

Looks like a very neat classic course. Jim Urbina did the renovation work, correct? Do you happen to know what the extent of the work completed?

  For now, all the work is done.

Steve,

What work was done to the course? Bunkers? Mowing lines? New tees? Just curious. Any "before" pictures would be great to see as well, if possible.

Thanks.

Pat,


 A full and extensive restoration was accomplished by Jim & Brian. With historic help from Phil Young, they took old aerials and photos (that I sadly don't have available to post....even if I knew how ) and expanded greens, reshaped and restored bunkers, widened fairways, added a few tees, changed mowing lines and created a master plan. It was a 2.5yr project that allowed us to keep it open for play. Jim or Brian are better suited to respond with greater detail. Hope that helps.

Cheers,

S

[PCCraig]

Looks like a very neat classic course. Jim Urbina did the renovation work, correct? Do you happen to know what the extent of the work completed?

  For now, all the work is done.

Steve,

What work was done to the course? Bunkers? Mowing lines? New tees? Just curious. Any "before" pictures would be great to see as well, if possible.

Thanks.

Pat,


 A full and extensive restoration was accomplished by Jim & Brian. With historic help from Phil Young, they took old aerials and photos (that I sadly don't have available to post....even if I knew how ) and expanded greens, reshaped and restored bunkers, widened fairways, added a few tees, changed mowing lines and created a master plan. It was a 2.5yr project that allowed us to keep it open for play. Jim or Brian are better suited to respond with greater detail. Hope that helps.

Cheers,

S

That's great, thanks Steve.

[Brian Chapin]

I'll share some pictures of before and during construction later tonight when I have a bit more time to respond.

As Steve said, the restoration was carried out under the guidance of Jim Urbina and done by my in house grounds crew.  We hired extra local labor and purchased all of our own equipment to execute the project.  We supplemented our crew with some talented and experienced dirt guys: George Waters, Tony Russell, Jeff Stein, Ryan Yonce.

Over the 2.5 years we touched nearly everything: tees, fairway lines (added 6 acres of fairways), added nearly 30 acres of naturalized areas, green expansions (reclaimed close to 1 acre of putting surfaces, restored, removed, or added bunkers, tree removals, "clutter removal", we even re-vamped or eliminated many of the course accessories.

Joe's pictures do a nice job of capturing some of my favorite features.  Like I said... I'll be back a bit later this evening for further comment and to share some pics.

[Dan Herrmann]

Another feature I really enjoyed at Paramount was the pleasing views of the nearby mountains.  The Hudson Valley is one of the most beautiful parts of the USA, and Paramount shares in that beauty.

[Joe Bausch]

Ok, time to squeeze some holes in before I go out and play some golf in stupid hot weather here in the Delaware Valley!

Ah, to the 'problematic' 7th hole with the public roadway in play.  This used to play as a par 5 and in the overhead aerial it is easy to spot the no longer used back tees.  Now the tees are up far enough to play as a par 4 and most people will easily carry the road on their drive.

#7.  Par 4 (455 yards).

Blue tee view (395 yards), where you can now see where the Paramount logo comes from:



Later afternoon 2nd shot view where the green sits down low, a running shot tumbling down the hill can be utilized (more so when playing longer as a par 5):



The terrain goes down starting near this bunker:



From short of the green:



From long and right of the green, with the reef hole 18th green in the background:



#8.  Gradually downhill par 4 (453 yards).



Approach shot view from left in the fairway (preferred if you wish to use the ground for your 2nd):



Later afternoon view, where this right bunker is maybe 20 yards short of the green:



Another beautiful view from short of the green:



Looking back up the hole from just over the green:



#9.  Par 3 (167 yards).

Tee view:



From left of the green:



View from the 10th tee, just above the green:



#10.  Slightly downhill par 4 (430 yards).



2nd shot view:



From just over the green:



#11.  Uphill par 4 (370 yards).

Tee view:



Approach view:



From right of the green where the back right portion of the putting surface has been reclaimed nicely (but don't be there to a pin position front left as we found out was a guaranteed 20' or more comebacker for your 2nd putt):



#12.  Downhill and dogleg-left par 4 (394 yards).

Tee view (but the green in the distance is not the green for this hole!; it is a fairly sharp dogleg):



The fairway cants hard to the right; the green to the left in this view is the 12th's green:



You can cut the corner a bit with your drive to leave this short iron approach in to a green with significant tilt to the right:



This morning image from over the green is with the pin in a different position than the previous afternoon pic:



Have at it!

[Dan Herrmann]

Great photos!   Some really great work was done out there, and I'm proud for the membership

[PCCraig]

I'll share some pictures of before and during construction later tonight when I have a bit more time to respond.

As Steve said, the restoration was carried out under the guidance of Jim Urbina and done by my in house grounds crew.  We hired extra local labor and purchased all of our own equipment to execute the project.  We supplemented our crew with some talented and experienced dirt guys: George Waters, Tony Russell, Jeff Stein, Ryan Yonce.

Over the 2.5 years we touched nearly everything: tees, fairway lines (added 6 acres of fairways), added nearly 30 acres of naturalized areas, green expansions (reclaimed close to 1 acre of putting surfaces, restored, removed, or added bunkers, tree removals, "clutter removal", we even re-vamped or eliminated many of the course accessories.

Joe's pictures do a nice job of capturing some of my favorite features.  Like I said... I'll be back a bit later this evening for further comment and to share some pics.

Brian,

Kudos to you and your crew, the work looks fantastic.

A quick question, what method did you use for expanding the fairways? Or Did you bring in sod or did you scalp and overseed?

Thanks!

[Brian Chapin]

I've mixed in some of the before pics.

Note:  all pictures below are 'clickable' to give much larger size.

#1.  Slight dogleg left par 4 (372 yards) [also the No. 1 stroke hole].

This hole generates much discussion as a big tee shot can cross over a public roadway.

Morning view from the tee, where the road is about 250 yards out:





A later afternoon view from the forward tee where you can see a very elevated green:



A conservative tee shot leaves a view like this from about 160 yards to a green that is 65' in elevation, sitting up on a beautiful ridge on this part of the layout:





From short of green on top of the ridge, here's the look back down the hole:



And a later afternoon view from just over the green:





Now you play the next five holes on this side of the road before re-crossing on the 7th.  Holes 2-6 have tremendous elevation changes, but I rather like them.

#2.  Downhill par 5 (590 yards).

This hole just rolls downhill pretty much all the way to the green once the little flatness off the tee is passed.

Tee view, where you need to take a line left as the fairway cants hard to the right:





Go right and the ground will take you further that way:



So stay left and the ball will tumble down to the right:





If you can play your 2nd shot real well, up near this bunker, you'll get a more level lie:



But end up short of the green on your 2nd and you'll have a downhill lie and look like this:





Here's a view from long and left of the green, nicely showing the summer colors that Brian and his crew so nicely achieve and maintain:



Now it's time to head back up the hill, which Tilly accomplishes with a short uphill par 3 then an uphill par 4.

#3.  Uphill par 3 (135 yards).

This hole plays at least a club longer:





What makes this hole tough is the green, which is subtly two-tiered with a large amount of tilt.  This view from right of the green somewhat shows to the two tiers:



Elevated view from over the green:



#4.  Uphill par 4 (383 yards).

Later afternoon tee view:





This fairway is rather crowned which can make it more challenging to hit:



From short of the green:





I like how many of the greens are squared off in the front and allow a non-aerial shot in:



Back down we go for the 5th.

#5.  Somewhat downhill par 4 (417 yards).

Tee view, where carrying the cross-bunker is not hard:





A decent drive can leave a view like this:



A better drive can catch a turbo boost off the downslope to leave a short iron in to a green that actually runs away from you:





View from just over the green:



Now back up the hill!

#6.  Uphill par 4 (406 yards).

View from the back tee:



Trees behind the green have been removed (grass huggers unite!) to allow for a nice skyline green on the approach shot:





From just short of the green:



Elevated view of the green from the hill behind 1 green:



Well, that's a nice start for today!  More over the weekend, or at the latest on Monday morning.

[Brian Chapin]

Brian,

Kudos to you and your crew, the work looks fantastic.

A quick question, what method did you use for expanding the fairways? Or Did you bring in sod or did you scalp and overseed?

Thanks!

Most of the fairway expansions were done by simply cutting down the rough and then aerification and seeding.  Some of the areas closer to greens or bunkers were sodded with existing fairway grass flipped form another area or sod that we stripped from the old tees.

[David Harshbarger]

Brian, great before and after photos.  The course had morphed for a non-descript parkland course to a classy classic.  Kudos to you.

[Philip Caccamise]

Wow, this was a good, solid layout, but I thought had been de-Tillie'd a bit, what a great restoral! Great job Brian!!!

[Joe Bausch]

Brian, I'm going to 'recompose' your after-and-before post to make your "before" pics clickable and not have the blue slider bar:

#1.

After:



Before:



After:



Before:



After:



Before:



#2.

After:



Before:



After:



Before:



After:



Before:



#3.

After:



Before:



#4.

After:



Before:



After:



Before:



#5.

After:



Before:



After:



Before:



#6.

After:



Before:

[David Harshbarger]

Joe, I think you've got the afters before the befores, and vice versa.

[Joe Bausch]

Joe, I think you've got the afters before the befores, and vice versa.

Good catch.  I'll correct it soon.  Fixed.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Joe,

Are those small bunkers in front of the road on the first hole??  Looks neat.


Mark,

I was in them with my drive, they're anything but neat, especially considering the extremely difficult approach shot that lies ahead


Mark

[Patrick_Mucci]

Joe,

Once again, thanks for the photo tour.

I thought that # 6 was a fantastic "skyline" green, from the tee, DZ and front recovery.

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