HOLLAND, Michigan – ASGCA Member, Raymond Hearn, President of Raymond Hearn Golf Course Designs, Inc., has been hired to create a long-range Master Plan for the Moon Brook Country Club located in Jamestown, NY involving the restoration and renovation of their historic golf course. The course was designed by Willie Park Jr. in 1918.
“We are excited to be working with Ray Hearn again. His company’s niche working with Golden Age pre-1930 golf clubs is very impressive. He knows our course through past site visits, meetings, research, and previous studies. He respects our great history, our club traditions and he always listens carefully to our goals and objectives. We feel Ray will provide a great partnership with our Club. Our ultimate goal is to have Ray create a comprehensive long-range Master Plan that will guide us through the next 25 years. A Master Plan that we can slowly and carefully implement over time,” states Dr. Jim Cirbus (Greens Committee Chair).
“I consider this assignment a great honor. I have worked for Moon Brook CC in the past, but this is a whole new chapter in working with this outstanding membership. It will be exciting creating a new 25-year roadmap for the membership guiding them into their very promising future” says Hearn.
“Ray has a great eye for classical restoration and renovation detail at historic clubs. He has quite a reputation in restoring and renovating pre-1930 clubs around the country. He respects our club’s great history, and we enjoy really working with him,” says Howard Ellis Moon Brook’s Golf Course Superintendent.
“The history of this club is incredible. Having the privilege to work on a classic design that Willie Park Jr. created is thrilling. Park is a legend both as a champion golfer and as a golf course architect. He was the winner of the Open Championship in 1897 and 1899 at Prestwick and the Musselburg Links. He has been credited to have designed or redesigned over 140 courses in Europe and North America. Some of his most notable designs include: The Old Course at Sunningdale Golf Club (England), Huntercombe Golf Club (England), #2 and #3 Courses at the Gulland Golf Club (Scotland) Portstewart’s Stand Course (Ireland), Maidstone Club (New York) and the North Course at Olympia Fields Golf Club (Illinois) to name a few. He was a master at strategic golf course routing and was incredibly creative in his green designs. It is no wonder that Mr. Park is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame” states Hearn.
Many of Willie Park’s original holes are still intact at Moon Brook. Club historians state that 11 of Parks original green designs remain on holes 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17 and 18. What a treasure it is to have this many of Park’s original green designs still intake. These greens are master designs by one of the game’s legends. As with all great green design, they take time to figure out as many members attest to when bringing out first-time guests from other clubs. These greens are a “must see” for serious golf enthusiasts and golf historians. They are truly unique and are very complex in terms of their design.
“As with all my work on historic courses, my design process will begin with another thorough investigation and research of the club’s history, studying every inch of the course and then carefully listening to the membership’s goals and objectives. My work will involve restoring as much of Willie Park’s original design as possible that make sense with the modern game. I will embark on specific restoration tasks such as restoring original angles of attack in the fairways, restoring original edges to greens and gaining historic pin placements along with original bunker edges that were lost over time. Functionally, I will help solve any maintenance problems that exist throughout the golf course. Finally, I will creatively bring the design into the 21st century with added strategy and shot value for all levels of golfing ability to enjoy” states Hearn.
Hearn will be working closely with Club’s Board of Directors, Key Committee Members, the Club Historian, Key Club Staff and the Club’s veteran Course Superintendent Howard Ellis.
Contact Raymond Hearn at ray@rhgd.com or call 616-399-7686 for more information, graphics and photos. Information on his company can be found at www.rhgd.com
Raymond Hearn talking with members of the Moon Brook Country Club (Photo by Scott Kinberg of the Post – Journal)
