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John Challenger's IMO piece on Indian Hill, H.H. Barker and Harry Colt

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Ran Morrissett:
Wherever Harry Colt traveled – France, Spain, Netherlands, Canada, the United States – good things happened, with him nonchalantly leaving behind one of the finest courses in each country. Can you imagine being that good at your craft?! :o 
 
During the period from 1911 to 1914 when Colt came to North America, he worked on ~15 courses in addition to his famous input at Pine Valley. Personal favs include Toronto GC and Bloomfield Hills (I haven’t played Old Elm). Did you know he also worked at Indian Hill outside of Chicago? Until recently, even the club didn’t appreciate its own important Colt connection. Happily, John Challenger’s most recent In My Opinion piece provides a clear, concise accounting of Colt’s involvement there. Here is the link:

Challenger, John – The Routing and Design of Indian Hill Club’s Golf Course – Golf Club Atlas

Indian Hill enjoys the unique distinction of having H.H. Barker, Colt, Ross AND Langford work on it. Pretty tasty! In this IMO entry, John meticulously details the course’s foundation, namely the work performed by Barker initially in 1912 and early 1913, and then what Colt did on a hole-by-hole basis in 1913.  John intends to publish a follow-on IMO later this year detailing Ross’s and Langford’s subsequent work.

As part of his second of three trips to North America, Colt came to Chicago to design Old Elm. Thankfully, Indian Hill lured him over for three fateful days in May 1913. No less than Max Behr used diagrams of holes 15 and 16 to illustrate Colt’s command of design. As John notes, “On this 1913 journey, Colt’s development of precise plans and drawings was a significant innovation in the history of golf course architecture.” As part of Colt’s changes, the 17th went from a par 5 to a par 3 and many consider it and his work at the 8th to be the course’s two best holes.

Though there is no evidence that the four architects ever collaborated at Indian Hill, it is still revealing to read John’s analysis of Colt’s work as it captures features that Colt prized in designs, including variety of shapes and sizes in greens that dictate preferred playing lines back to the tee. Colt clearly was a quick study and enjoyed great clarity of purpose, making fundamental and critical changes at Indian Hill after a three-day visit, to Pine Valley after just seven-days, and Old Elm after nine-days. Talk about impactful - The man knew what he was doing!

Thanks to John for sharing this important insight into how Colt worked. Who knows how many more times Colt might have come stateside if not for WWI, but after that, he never returned. Thankfully, his partner C.H. Alison carried the torch going forward but given the relative paucity of courses that Colt himself touched in North America, it makes me appreciate his selective works on this side of the pond even more.

Cheers,

Tim_Cronin:
This is a tremendous work of scholarship and research. Kudos, John!

V_Halyard:

--- Quote from: Ran Morrissett on May 20, 2023, 02:41:30 PM ---Wherever Harry Colt traveled – France, Spain, Netherlands, Canada, the United States – good things happened, with him nonchalantly leaving behind one of the finest courses in each country. Can you imagine being that good at your craft?! :o 
 
During the period from 1911 to 1914 when Colt came to North America, he worked on ~15 courses in addition to his famous input at Pine Valley. Personal favs include Toronto GC and Bloomfield Hills (I haven’t played Old Elm). Did you know he also worked at Indian Hill outside of Chicago? Until recently, even the club didn’t appreciate its own important Colt connection. Happily, John Challenger’s most recent In My Opinion piece provides a clear, concise accounting of Colt’s involvement there. Here is the link:

Challenger, John – The Routing and Design of Indian Hill Club’s Golf Course – Golf Club Atlas

Indian Hill enjoys the unique distinction of having H.H. Barker, Colt, Ross AND Langford work on it. Pretty tasty! In this IMO entry, John meticulously details the course’s foundation, namely the work performed by Barker initially in 1912 and early 1913, and then what Colt did on a hole-by-hole basis in 1913.  John intends to publish a follow-on IMO later this year detailing Ross’s and Langford’s subsequent work.

As part of his second of three trips to North America, Colt came to Chicago to design Old Elm. Thankfully, Indian Hill lured him over for three fateful days in May 1913. No less than Max Behr used diagrams of holes 15 and 16 to illustrate Colt’s command of design. As John notes, “On this 1913 journey, Colt’s development of precise plans and drawings was a significant innovation in the history of golf course architecture.” As part of Colt’s changes, the 17th went from a par 5 to a par 3 and many consider it and his work at the 8th to be the course’s two best holes.

Though there is no evidence that the four architects ever collaborated at Indian Hill, it is still revealing to read John’s analysis of Colt’s work as it captures features that Colt prized in designs, including variety of shapes and sizes in greens that dictate preferred playing lines back to the tee. Colt clearly was a quick study and enjoyed great clarity of purpose, making fundamental and critical changes at Indian Hill after a three-day visit, to Pine Valley after just seven-days, and Old Elm after nine-days. Talk about impactful - The man knew what he was doing!

Thanks to John for sharing this important insight into how Colt worked. Who knows how many more times Colt might have come stateside if not for WWI, but after that, he never returned. Thankfully, his partner C.H. Alison carried the torch going forward but given the relative paucity of courses that Colt himself touched in North America, it makes me appreciate his selective works on this side of the pond even more.

Cheers,

--- End quote ---


Outstanding work John! Thanks for the insights!

John Challenger:
Thanks Tim Cronin and Vaughn Halyard for your kind words!

Ira Fishman:
John,


A masterfully researched essay. I read that CDP was retained to do a master plan for Indian Hill. Any word on whether they are contemplating implementation of the Colt 15 and 16 holes?


Ira

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