As the golf world turns to Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pa., for this week’s PGA Championship, fans and especially golf architecture pundits will be focused on the legendary layout of Donald Ross. But nearly 700 miles away in Harbor Springs, Mich., BOYNE Golf has spent the last few years ensuring that golfers can experience a piece of that Major championship drama for themselves. At The Highlands, the 15th hole on the Donald Ross Memorial Course has undergone a significant renovation to come as close as possible to mirroring the design intent of the 11th hole at Aronimink — the very same challenge the world’s best will face this week.
The Donald Ross Memorial was a first-of-its-kind course, opening in 1990, paying homage to a great early-20th-century golf course architect. The course has long been a popular “greatest hits” compilation of the architect’s best work.
Recently, the vision has shifted. Several years ago, Aronimink officials determined that their 11th hole had drifted from Ross’s 1928 vision, and they restored it to the original Ross plans with famed architect Gil Hanse, aided by a historical aerial photo taken by Victor Dallin. BOYNE Golf followed suit with its own version, part of a long-term project transforming several of the courses’ Ross-inspired golf holes, led by course architect Ray Hearn.
Bernie Friedrich, Director of Golf Course Renovation & Development at BOYNE Golf, notes that the plan is to make these holes as true to the original design concepts as possible. This commitment led to a transformation of No. 15, where the green complex was expanded by 65 percent and reshaped to Ross’s original design, which at Aronimink will be one of the most challenging putting surfaces during the PGA Championship. This also included adding multiple levels at the front of the green and offset bunkers that create a challenging illusion on the approach shot.
The journey to create this began in 1988, when Friedrich recalls scouting trips along the East Coast to visit various and high-profile Ross courses that the public did not have access to.
“It was difficult to find old Ross drawings back then”, says Friedrich. “So, a group of us flew around with architect Bill Newcomb and legendary instructor Jim Flick to find Ross holes that closely matched the Michigan terrain. We were specifically seeking a 375-to-450-yard par-4 that played uphill, and the 11th hole at Aronimink closely fit that mold. We walked that hole, took notes, pictures, and built a close version of the original at that time.”
Fast forward almost 40 years, with historic photos and modern-day technology more readily available, the Friedrich, Hearn, and Furness construction team has improved the playability while better respecting Ross’s original design intent.
“You can never fully replicate a great hole like No. 11 at Aronimink, especially on very different terrain, but our vision was to create a very close rendition that pays homage to Donald Ross,” explains Hearn. “Our process involved studying historic aerial photography from the Tufts archives, other historical sources, and modern technology to analyze greens, slopes, and approaches, fairway widths, distances between bunkers and landing areas, and angles of play that more closely represent Ross and his team’s original vision for this hole.”
Hearn says the technology was especially important when working on the green complex and bunkers.
“The green and bunkering on this hole, especially around the green, with its slope from back to front, a false front, and shelves, are particularly challenging. Having these resources allowed us to reimagine this on the Donald Ross Memorial course. Even though the land might not be the exact same and the surroundings are different, we were able to create a Donald Ross experience for golfers both visually and in shot values.”
Now, as a 415-yard par 4, playing up hill with a demanding approach to a sharply sloped green, this has become a signature hole at The Highlands.
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