Goodbye to the 17th in Mackenzie and Ebert plan for Baltray
The 10th fairway at County Louth could become the first.
A draft proposal for the renovation of County Louth Golf Club would see the old 17th eliminated, the creation of a new par-three 12th, the 10th become the first and the first the 10th and the 18th hole re-aligned.
A new Himalayas-style practice putting green is also proposed for the area between the starter’s hut and the 18th green.
The golf course architect firm of Mackenzie and Ebert (M&E) was asked by the club to look at the course and they have proposed layout changes that would see the course start at the 10th from a new tee, then take in the current 11th, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, eighth and ninth holes before playing the current first and second holes as the 10th and 11th.
A new, 200-yard par-three 12th would be built left of the current second hole before the course rejoins the existing layout with the 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th becoming the 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th.
The creation of the new par-three 12th will lead to the removal of the old 17th, allowing M&E to shift the 18th tees closer to the current 16th green “to produce an attractive, gentle right-to-left dogleg where the central bunker plays a much more important strategic role than it does within the current layout of the hole.”
The re-sequencing of the holes came about following the review by M&E which showed a number of tee shots ending up in and around the clubhouse and car park from the 10th tees.
“By swapping the 1st and 10th holes, restoring the line of the original 18th hole which played past the clubhouse, but this time as the 1st hole,” M&E writes in draft version of a member booklet currently being prepared ahead of a member information evening scheduled for the d hotel Drogheda on May 31.
“This leads onto a re-sequencing of the rest of the holes to improve a very busy and complicated area of the routing.”
MACKENZIE & EBERT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Proposed Layout Changes To The Course 1st, 10th, 17th & 18th Holes
One area that was highlighted during the review was the number of tee shots ending up in and around the clubhouse and car park from the 10th tees. This is not surprising when carrying out a desktop study of the layout. Shot scatter analysis has been carried out of the tee shot from the main tee that shows a situation which could be considered as being unsustainable.
There is quite a simple solution for this and involves swapping the 1st and 10th holes, restoring the line of the original 18th hole which played past the clubhouse, but this time as the 1st hole. This leads onto a re-sequencing of the rest of the holes to improve a very busy and complicated area of the routing.
The existing 17th hole plays across flat ground to a green which lacks the typical Baltray feature of an attractively contoured green complex. The Club obviously investigated this previously with the creation of the alternative 17th hole but, for many reasons, this was not successful, and the original hole remains in play the majority of the time.
Several options were looked at for the improvement of the existing hole and, while this is possible within the existing area of the 17th hole, it was felt that there is an alternative solution which brings with it some exciting prospects.
This change involves the creation a new par 3 after the current 2nd hole. There is great potential here to create a ‘County Louth’ green complex within the flat carry of the existing 12th hole which would sit beyond the natural shapes in what would become the carry of the new hole. The creation of this new hole and removal of the 17th means that the 18th tees can shift closer to the current 16th green to produce an attractive, gentle right-to-left dogleg where the central bunker plays a much more important strategic role than it does within the current layout of the hole.