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Post by gforce41 on Mar 28, 2021 8:47:53 GMT -5
Welcome to the Grand Reopening of Taconic State Park - Red Course (published simply as Taconic State Park - Red)! Once known as “The Valley Course”, the original Willie Park Jr. design, was lost to the golf world due to financial issues, as it fell into disrepair during the Depression. The land was incorporated into Taconic State Park and was mainly used as connected walking trails most of which still exist today surrounding the grounds as well as running through the golf property. Nestled in the flatter South East portion of the park in between The Information Center and The Alfredo Winery, the State Park Board of Directors commissioned a refurbishing of the old course in order to compete with the success of Bethpage State Park and spur economic growth and tourism in the area. The fascinating course history began at the turn of the nineteenth century and paralleled the area’s economic evolution. The original golf course was laid out on the Redthorn farm by an obscure local designer and was an interesting but short flat nine. The Redthorn Club was born the next year and quickly became successful as the popularity of the game gained momentum. By 1916 the Board of Governors voted to expand the golfing facility to eighteen holes due popular demand. Unfortunately, due to the onset of the World War in 1918, the course was never fully expanded to 18 holes. But then in 1921, the Board of Governors were finally successful in procuring more land, and later that year announced the hiring of world renowned golf course architect, Willie Park Jr. to expand and renovate the course. His eighteen-hole layout was constructed in 1922 to replace and expand the original nine-hole links course. It incorporated many features of Park’s golf course design - terrific green complexes, a penchant for following the natural contours of the terrain he encountered, and his desire to lay out a course with playability for players of all abilities. While golfers of the era loved the course, it sadly ran into hard times financially during the later stages of Great Depression just prior to World War II. The land was eventually incorporated into the neighboring State Park System by the NYS Council of Parks in 1953. Due to the great success of Bethpage State Park and the revitalization of the Black Course to national and world prominence, a consequential decision was made to commission a new golf course on the site of the old course, using the little historical and topographic information remaining from documentation and pictures. The timing could not have been better for reopening. Still reeling economically from the COVID shutdowns, residents of the area are hoping for a boost to the local economy and more importantly, excited about a new world class place to play golf! During the pandemic, the interconnected trails remained open during construction and provided a great walking refuge to those seeking to get outside, get some fresh air, and get some exercise. The decision was made to keep the trails as part of the course. Following tradition, the new course is named Taconic State Park - Red Course, in the hopes that success with provide the ability to add additional courses to the Park eventually, leaving golfers to wonder, is there a Black Course on the horizon? Par 72 Green Tees 7306 Blue Tees 7443 Gold Tees. 7607 (Note as it is a full 18, the front 9 is the contest course). |
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Post by ddixjr509 on Mar 28, 2021 13:59:22 GMT -5
cool story bro...
excellent job with the State Park aesthetic... reminded me a lot of the State owned courses I grew up playing in upstate NY.
I think you accomplished exactly what you set out to do here.
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Post by karma4u on Mar 28, 2021 14:18:17 GMT -5
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mayday_golf83
TGCT Design Competition Directors
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TGCT Name: Jeremy Mayo
Tour: Elite
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Post by mayday_golf83 on Mar 30, 2021 6:25:47 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2021 12:10:59 GMT -5
Loved the low-key details and realism of this one. Really enjoyed your work!
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Post by gforce41 on Mar 31, 2021 17:49:42 GMT -5
cool story bro... excellent job with the State Park aesthetic... reminded me a lot of the State owned courses I grew up playing in upstate NY. I think you accomplished exactly what you set out to do here. Thank you!! |
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Post by gforce41 on Mar 31, 2021 17:51:55 GMT -5
Here you go Gary. Cheers. Thank you Vic! Great job! |
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Post by gforce41 on Mar 31, 2021 17:52:15 GMT -5
Loved the low-key details and realism of this one. Really enjoyed your work! Thank you!! |
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Post by meyo on Apr 5, 2021 7:30:48 GMT -5
I must admit, this is a very well designed course. Not the hardest but a joy to play, I can easily see this one on tour, maybe TST??
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Post by gforce41 on Apr 10, 2021 8:31:56 GMT -5
I must admit, this is a very well designed course. Not the hardest but a joy to play, I can easily see this one on tour, maybe TST?? Thank you and thanks for the great play through. Yes, it can play fairly easily and I try to make courses that can be easily tweaked for tournament play. For a little more challenge feel free to crank up the wind or firm up fairways. And it will hold up at 187 if you want to speed up the greens. With the wind and 295 D, a lot of holes will play easy, but into the wind and say, 287 D, things get a little interesting. (I hope!) |
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Post by rhino4life on May 7, 2021 15:16:20 GMT -5
This will be course #2 on Xbox Alt shot tonight starting around 7:15pmEST barring any disconnects or busted controllers. Fabulous course which struck at my heart strings of being a sucker for courses that look like real life courses whether its by accident or design. I really enjoyed it. Not sure where you might stand in the contest as I havent paid alot of attention to how the rounds ended up but it was certainly a solid course worth some advancement....hopefully. Streams will be in the shout box and i will let you know who streamed here as well in case you want to watch some bad golf and listen to people talk sh%$ about the course.  Taff1980 and rhin04life streamed |
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Post by blueblood1995 on May 10, 2021 5:28:36 GMT -5
gforce41 does the name - Red Course - suggest another course in the pipeline to complement this design, e.g. Blue Course? Nice work by the way!
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Post by gforce41 on May 10, 2021 9:06:34 GMT -5
This will be course #2 on Xbox Alt shot tonight starting around 7:15pmEST barring any disconnects or busted controllers. Fabulous course which struck at my heart strings of being a sucker for courses that look like real life courses whether its by accident or design. I really enjoyed it. Not sure where you might stand in the contest as I havent paid alot of attention to how the rounds ended up but it was certainly a solid course worth some advancement....hopefully. Streams will be in the shout box and i will let you know who streamed here as well in case you want to watch some bad golf and listen to people talk sh%$ about the course. Taff1980 and rhin04life streamed Thank you for the feedback and streaming your round glad you liked it! |
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Post by gforce41 on May 10, 2021 9:08:40 GMT -5
gforce41 does the name - Red Course - suggest another course in the pipeline to complement this design, e.g. Blue Course? Nice work by the way! Thank you and yes...the name had 2 purposes, to be consistent with Bethpage State Park and to leave the door open for another course if people liked this one... |
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2021 9:55:31 GMT -5
I'm such a fan of this course! The realistic environment was just perfect and enjoyable to be in, and even without the fans it plays exactly like you would imagine a state park course would play. I'd be very interested in a second course if you do one.
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