North Shore Towers Courier n December 2016 13 Work begins on Hole #3. Flags and spray paint indicate irrigation pipes, around which the dirt will be removed by hand. this year’s, and in 2005, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places; then further designated a National Historic Landmark in 2014. “We got him in his prime,” O’Neill said. “An golf course architect brings a lot of good knowledge about earth displacement; what can and can’t done in terms of surface-water drainage; where to put the bunkers…” O’Neill explained. Before the renovations began in 2012, one of the main problems was the drainage in the bunkers. According to the Director of Grounds, there wasn’t any. No lines were put in place to help move the ground water after a storm, which created puddles and muddy areas. While Weiman’s crew handles the contouring and earth movement of the renovations, all the underlying irrigation work and fresh sod installation is being undertaken by O’Neill’s crew. During the renovation, O’Neill and his crew have encountered some interesting surprises, unearthing everything from garbage cans to car parts, cinder blocks and other building materials. “You have to realize,” O’Neill explained, “the course had a single owner, a member of Glen Oaks who purchased the land to build three high risers.” With the Glen Oaks Club re-locating and a new course being built, retaining the one at the site of North Shore Towers was an afterthought, as further evinced by the veritable mantle of cement beneath the 9th hole. “It’s where the cement trucks were cleaned after unloading for the Towers,” O’Neill said. “We needed jack hammers to break it up for removal.” Weiman’s new design for the North Shore Towers golf course includes proper placement of bunkers, removal of extraneous ones, resizing of others; refinement of fairways; reshaping of greens; new Course “Shaper” Arturo discusses progress with Director of Grounds O’Neill. tees for certain holes and fine-tuning the alignment of the rest, so all point to the center of their respective fairways. “Over forty years, if you don’t watch your mowing patterns, fairways shift, increase, decrease, left or right,” O’Neill explained. One of the challenges Weiman faced, as requested by the membership, was lengthening the course. According to Guido, the ideal golf course constitutes 6000 yards of play, of which NST’s is shy approximately 300 yards. In order to gain precious yardage within the course’s finite confines, Weiman set tees back and extended fairways and greens. Still, the savvy architect was not about to sacrifice the integrity of the overall design for the sake of gaining yardage. As an example, Guido cited the green of 17th Hole, the current location of which would appear to the untrained eye, to be able to extend an additional 30 yards. “At 202 yards, the hole is already a long,
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