SteveP
I wouldn't be too enthused about Walters taking over Normandie; the Emerson family - they own the land - has to be willing to make an investment in the course - something they have not been willing to do since 1985, when it went public. Walters would be foolish to invest unless they have a long-term agreement with them; something that must be substantially less dollars than Eagle golf was paying, otherwise they won't make any money either. I'll give you an example. If they spend 400k on maintenance during the year, generate 800k in revenue and spend 350k on the lease they only net 50k, and that won't cover the staffing required! In reality, they would spend more than 400k to bring it up to shape!
Regarding Forest Park - or FOPO as I belovedly refer to it - it was never a Foulis design. It was designed by committee, headed by Dwight Davis. Robert Foulis did build it, so it did have a lot of his signature on it. But if you look at it as compared to Glen Echo or Normandie or Sunset or Ruth Parketc., you won't find as many similarities as you might think as it went through numerous changes over the years with little effort to retaining the original look and feel.
The new FOPO, with zoysia fairways and new featues, doesn't pretend to be an updated version of the old course. It is a new course with traditional features found in older courses, but with new maintenance built in. Should allow for greater playability, easier maintenance and less stress on the course, given that the 27 holes have seen as much as 100,000+ rounds per year!
JH