21 Photo: Jim Nagle Better Billy Bunker liner, new sand and fescue surrounds; added new forward and back tees; widened fairways; undertaken tree management; and installed new irrigation. Bunkers are being relocated or reinstated on 10 holes to further enhance the playability of the course and to restore the original design intent of William Flynn. The biggest change will be the rebuild of eighteen. The hole was rebuilt in 1955 and was a departure from the rest of the course in both its bunker construction and the internal undulations of the green. The new eighteenth will draw inspiration from the course’s original fifth, which no longer exists, as well as bunker concepts befitting a Flynn design, with an emphasis on a cluster of bunkers on the inside of the dogleg where I drew inspiration from the sixteenth at Shinnecock Hills. How have you balanced the restoration and modernisation elements of this project? Greens were laser scanned and mapped and by rebuilding them, we have the opportunity to recapture over 22,000 square feet of lost putting surface, enabling the club to reinstitute lost hole locations not seen in decades. Also, historic aerials and ground level photos enabled Mottin Golf Renovations to recreate the bunkering as accurately as possible. For your work at Meridian Hills, what was the impetus for the renovation? Like Philadelphia, it was the ageing infrastructure, which we have also replaced in this project. The original remaining greens had shrunken, and six greens rebuilt in the early 2000s were not performing well. The club had a strong desire to look back at its original William Diddel design as well as reconfiguring those six rebuilt holes. What has your work at Meridian Hills involved? In addition to rebuilding those six greens to better match the originals designed by Diddel, Aspen Golf has expanded the remaining 12 to their original size. All bunkers were rebuilt with nearly all expanded, some relocated, and others eliminated. Numerous bunkers were also reinstated, while others were repositioned further from the tee. Bunkers are now in a single style, play more consistent and won’t washout as easily. Players will also find better playing options on the newly redesigned holes – four to seven, nine and ten – while they will also see greater variety, interest and challenge in the existing 12 holes. What have been the biggest changes at Meridian Hills? Both my Meridian Hills and Philadelphia projects have been ‘restovations’. Portions of the Meridian course were fully renovated while drawing inspiration from the original William Diddel design. I studied the original bunker style and locations, expanding all greens to their original sizes, and restoring (primarily) the par threes. The par fours and fives had portions restored whereas other areas were renovated to match today’s playing equipment and to also add interest and challenge to the property. As someone who has spent most of his career focusing on restoring golf courses, on the stretch of holes from the fourth green through to the parthree seventh, then the ninth green and tenth hole, it was very gratifying to be able to create something new. Although I drew inspiration from the original design style of the 1923 course, I was able to create something that fits with the remaining 12 holes but is entirely new and something not previously seen at the club. At Meridian Hills, Nagle has renovated all bunkers to a single, coherent style
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