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ward peyronnin

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A Progression of Pennsylvania Plays
« on: June 05, 2023, 02:49:27 PM »
I recently returned from a swing around Philly put together by a third party and want to report on what a pleasant and informative tour it surprisingly turned out to be. The variety and number of courses in this state/area can be a satisfying journey into design not readily available to most us.


Our first play was Liberty Natnl a 1990s Player course then onto Moselum Springs by G Fazio and host to the 67 womens open followed by both Stonewall Doak tracks after which we playe a Bobby Weed Gordon redo at White Manor CC with a finish at Aronimink. This is a rota no individual  travelling to PA would consider but this serendipity moved us through a progression of designs.

Liberty was instructive of how not to use $14 million to build a golf course. Great condition and nice property and facility but only validated my wonder at what Gary Player design actually brings to the table: what could there elevator speech be?

Moselum Springs was a lovely expierience of when golf was simpler and a counter that all mid 20th C design is misguided or brutalist. Fazio drapes the course over a totally rural big sidehill setting and claims the predominate slope as his dominant feature in fairways routings and green movement which produces it's own subtle charm. The understated schist rock low slung clubouse is always in view. The routing is like a small course in the highlands called Pitlochry ( a thought I was carrying when an unsolicited remark of the same nature was offerred up during play).

Stonewall North was my choice as I can no longer play 36. This is a masterpiece of every shot requiring choosing the proper angle. I found a thread where TD offers that these are among the wildest greens his crew has ever built. The stonewalls and wispy fescues and widely visible small landform punctuation marks deliver a constantly moving frozen motion affect that subtley induces interest and awareness through the whole round.
White Manor was a HUGE surprise. The least functional, and 70s tainted, clubhouse anyone has spent that much money on very much overshadowed by a delightfully executed renovation by Bobby Weed. His bunkering is some of the best I have seen. Beautifully placed and predominantly shallow bottomed with just enought friont curl to support that wispy meadow grass brow that doesn't ensnarl shots but produces a visual hurdle hard to ignore. Other very finely done small features abound and the fourth hole is a very sporty sorta bottle hole that ranks among the very finest of transition holes I have seen in a long while.

We finished at the meticulouosly restored championsip course , Aronimink. Such a treat and I will employ the elegant stately matron metaphor here. Great bones carry a sortof soft strength and elegance. No real surprises but lots of very attractive good stuff.

So there you have it. Most of these are treated on other threads here. I mostly wanted to encoursage folks playing in PA to not only consider all those Marquee names when exploring there. Dig a little and discover. We did...60's, 90's, 2000's, minimalist classic, and 30's classic minimalist. Fantastic!
 
"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

Daryl "Turboe" Boe

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: A Progression of Pennsylvania Plays
« Reply #1 on: June 05, 2023, 04:13:07 PM »
I'm confused is there more than one Liberty National?  Are you talking the one in NJ that you can see the statue of Liberty from?  I thought that was Tom Kite/Bob Cupp and in the 2000's sometime.  Maybe there is another I am not familiar with.
Instagram: @thequestfor3000

"Time spent playing golf is not deducted from ones lifespan."

"We sleep safely in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm."

mike_malone

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Re: A Progression of Pennsylvania Plays
« Reply #2 on: June 05, 2023, 04:43:46 PM »
I'm confused is there more than one Liberty National?  Are you talking the one in NJ that you can see the statue of Liberty from?  I thought that was Tom Kite/Bob Cupp and in the 2000's sometime.  Maybe there is another I am not familiar with.


Liberty Hill
AKA Mayday

ward peyronnin

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: A Progression of Pennsylvania Plays
« Reply #3 on: June 05, 2023, 05:18:06 PM »
Thank You Mayday
Maybe I wished I was at Liberty Naional
"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

mike_malone

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Re: A Progression of Pennsylvania Plays
« Reply #4 on: June 05, 2023, 06:43:37 PM »
Thank You Mayday
Maybe I wished I was at Liberty Naional


Always welcome at Rolling Green down the road from Aronimink and White Manor. I think their agreement not to be developed is expiring so it might be gone. 
AKA Mayday

Wayne Wiggins, Jr.

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: A Progression of Pennsylvania Plays
« Reply #5 on: June 07, 2023, 12:26:22 PM »
Thank You Mayday
Maybe I wished I was at Liberty Naional


Is there any intention to redo Liberty Hills? Isn't Andrew Green about to "restore" UL Torresdale?

mike_malone

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: A Progression of Pennsylvania Plays
« Reply #6 on: June 07, 2023, 10:00:27 PM »
Thank You Mayday
Maybe I wished I was at Liberty Naional




Is there any intention to redo Liberty Hills? Isn't Andrew Green about to "restore" UL Torresdale?


Wayne,


Andrew Green is doing Torresdale. UL has a gazillion dollars so I wouldn’t be surprised if they spent some at Liberty Hill.
AKA Mayday

ward peyronnin

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: A Progression of Pennsylvania Plays
« Reply #7 on: June 08, 2023, 02:08:54 PM »
I was actually there in a semiofficial golf capacity and  no mention was made which I assume means:
a) we wouldnt have been there if they intended to orb) they would have made sure we knew about it
"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

Jaeger Kovich

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: A Progression of Pennsylvania Plays
« Reply #8 on: June 09, 2023, 09:44:14 PM »
You cheesesteak eaters and Flynn homers need to get your butts over to Cedarbrook. We’ll be halfway done w the master plan work by Xmas. You won’t recognize the course either.


Cedarbrook has More holes on the wissahickon than the wissahickon course does!  8)

mike_malone

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: A Progression of Pennsylvania Plays
« Reply #9 on: June 10, 2023, 03:48:35 PM »
You cheesesteak eaters and Flynn homers need to get your butts over to Cedarbrook. We’ll be halfway done w the master plan work by Xmas. You won’t recognize the course either.


Cedarbrook has More holes on the wissahickon than the wissahickon course does!  8)


I’m excited to get there.
AKA Mayday

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