The first Seth Raynor designed golf course that I had the privilege to explore was Shoreacres just outside of Chicago. After laying my eyes on the geometrically shaped cross bunker on the very first hole, I loudly proclaimed, “What the hell is this?” It was unlike anything I had seen before.
Even though designs like this had been around for over 100 years, I had no clue about them. By the time I had reached the 3rd hole, I was already in love. The rest of the round was an exploration of an entirely different kind of golf course design. I knew afterwards that I was going to find and play as many Seth Raynor courses that I possibly could. I quickly learned that CB McDonald and Seth Raynor had taken the most interesting golf holes from the golf courses of the British Isles and brought them over to the United States. Each “template” design was similar to the original but built specifically for the land upon which it resided. This trip to Shoreacres had sparked a golf adventure like no other.
Many years and many Seth Raynor courses later, I had the privilege to photograph a relatively unheralded Raynor design just outside of Minneapolis called Midland Hills. All the hits are here, they just don’t get the publicity or appreciation that some of Raynor’s other designs do. I invite you to join the exploration and follow along with my photographic journey through Midland Hills.