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Orchard Lake
West Bloomfield Township, Michigan
- Address5000 W Shore Dr, West Bloomfield Township, MI 48324, USA
Orchard Lake Country Club is a Golden Age design, set out by Harry Colt’s partner, C.H. Alison, in the mid-1920s. Much of the famous architect’s work remains intact, thanks to a new millennium restoration by Keith Foster.
The club contacted architect Keith Foster in 2002 with a view to reviving the fortunes of a course that had become a diluted, weakened version of the original. And yet, even though new greens had been built at holes 2, 4, 8, 12 and 15 during the 1960s, much of Alison’s layout remained in place.
What had drastically changed, however, was the size and density of the many Norway Maples which obscured the wonderful rolling landscape on which the course was laid out on. Many of these trees were removed before the bunkers were restored – increasing the number of hazards by 50% – with the sand footprint of the course significantly enlarged.
Greenkeeper Aaron McMaster had this to say about the work that was carried out: “we put back all the bunkers from the original course and added a few in the Alison style. The bunkers needed to be grand like Alison’s other works and they needed to fit the scale of the property. We stepped up the tree removal and also made a major gain with the addition of twenty-seven acres of native fescue.”
Orchard Lake Country Club is a Golden Age design, set out by Harry Colt’s partner, C.H. Alison, in the mid-1920s. Much of the famous architect’s work remains intact, thanks to a new millennium restoration by Keith Foster.
The club contacted architect Keith Foster in 2002 with a view to reviving the fortunes of a course that had become a diluted, weakened version of the original. And yet, even though new greens had been built at holes 2, 4, 8, 12 and 15 during the 1960s, much of Alison’s layout remained in place.
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Alison studied history, law and divinity at Oxford and represented the university in Varsity matches. In one of these contests he famously pitched onto Woking’s 18th green from the clubhouse verandah roof.
