Tumble Brook Country Club

Tumble Brook Country Club in Bloomfield, CT opened in 1924 when Willie Park Jr. completed the first 9 holes. In 1949 another 9 designed by Park Jr. and Donald Ross prodigy who flies under the radar, Orrin E. Smith, opened as well. As seen in the Google Earth slide, much of the two nines have been overgrown by trees, bunkers have been lost, greens lost shape, and fairways became narrow. The property has many ridges that holes are built either over, under, or along that are shut out now mostly by the overgrown trees that were planted back in the 50’s and the shrinking of the fairways overtime hide the great undulating land that these holes lie on.

In this concept plan Natural Lines has created, hole locations are recaptured, bunkers are brought back to life, and fairways are expanded for a more fun and creative test of golf as Park Jr. and Smith intended. Because of tree removal; turf conditions can improve, the ridges that run along the property will be brought back to life, and new tee boxes can be found which adds a total of 327 yards to the 18 holes and makes the holes played as the architects intended from the back tees.

Major Improvements include:

• The green on the par 5 3rd is moved back 50 yards to make it a true par 5 uphill without major changes in the playability of the hole.

• Combined fairway on holes 1 and the green area on 4 where bunkers in the area are recaptured.

• Added mounds on hole 12 brings back a Smith signature found on his courses.

• A rough hazard on the par 5 15th that makes the longer hitters make a tough decision both off the tee and on the second shot. This hazard contains fescue with some mounds and walking paths in between the mounds. An aerial from the 50’s shows a rough area here.

• A change in routing as a third Fazio course was added in the 70’s, but now this routing incorporates one architect per nine rather than a mixture. Players will finish hole 4 and then play the par 3 5th rather than going to 9th. Thus created a better flow in holes and players can finish the nine by the clubhouse.

• New combined tee boxes on 5 and 9 is found because of tree removal and an additional 65 yards is added to the back tees on 9 to make it a long and tough finishing par 4.

 Overall, Tumble Brook has so much potential like most of the courses around the Hartford area and throughout Connecticut. The Hartford area has a rich golf history and can become a prime golfing area and attract many to the area as courses like Hartford Golf Club, Kenny Park Golf Course, and recently restored Wampanoag Country Club and Country Club of Farmington are all within the area.   Golden Age golf architecture is rich in the Hartford area with the likes of Donald Ross, Devereux Emmet, Willie Park Jr. and those who go unnoticed like Robert D. Pryde, Robert J. Ross, and Orrin Smith. Going through a restoration faze for TBCC is feasible as it has 27 holes, making it possible for 18 others holes to still be open while the other 9 is being restored. Going back to their roots, TBCC can unlock its potential and therefore be a great long term investment for the future of the club. Tumble Brook is just one of MANY clubs in the area who are due for a revival and unpopular architects whose work has been lost can soon be found and a new age of golf in Connecticut can be possible.

Keep a lookout as I will be rolling along similar plans for courses in Connecticut especially the Hartford area.

Sources:

●  CT State Library State Archives

●  UConn MAGIC

https://www.tumblebrookcc.com/