A.W. Tillinghast is perhaps best known as the great architect whose signature style was a lack of signature style. I’m not really sure that that is true as Tillie’s courses are generally recognizable at least to the experienced eye. Several recent prominent restorations by most notably Gil Hanse and his crew have perhaps regularized the bunker style, but overall Tillinghast was a little less likely to pigeon-hole himself into a consistent style, certainly not creating a well-defined M.O. as several modern architectural firms do today with their consistent looks, signature aesthetic design features, framing and especially trademarked bunkering.

He did return to several holes throughout his career most notably the Hell’s Half-Acre hole - a classic par 5 requiring perfection to avoid a four shot and certainly to have any attempt at a two-shot par 5. Perhaps best executed as Pine Valley’s magnificent par five 7th, Baltusrol’s lower course hole #17 is the most famous of the lot because of USGA and PGA tournament exposure, the West nine at Ridgewood has an unusual use of hell’s half-acre as a hazard on the par 5 fourth hole. There one finds a completely bunkerless HHA, so far unique to my experience. The full treatment of a very demanding must-carry hazard is given a little different twist that is no less penal than the fully-bunkered treatment and certainly more so for many! Unearthing early drawn renditions of this course reveal intended sand in the Hell's Half Acres as is the usual, but exactly why these two were built differently is not to my knowledge known. One must assume that for one reason or another the sand was never used, perhaps it was thought too penal.  In the 1920's, the lack of irrigation did not encourage the very penal grass that can  now grow, modern agronomy yielding a perhaps even tougher hazard than Mr. Tillinghast had intended.

Ridgewood by the nines

One visiting Ridgewood is faced with what is always to me a good/bad dilemma – three nine hole courses. Good in that there are the three 9 or 18 hole combination “courses” to play, but bad in the fact that which two nines constitutes the proper course causes the golfer to miss some of the best holes on the property. GolfWeek Magazine, Golf Magazine and Golf Digest in their ranking of Ridgewood specify that the East/West combination is the course for rating purposes. In this reviewer’s provocative opinion, perhaps no less than three of the top six holes on the property are in the center nine. Perhaps there might even be nary a single hole on East one wouldn’t leave out to include one of these three exceptional holes.

The 470 yard par 4 third center is a fabulous use of perhaps the greatest terrain on the property. There are trees at the corner creating a true dog-leg rather than an elbow hole. The fairway is laid out to perfectly take advantage of natural contours in a way that the most well-placed and shaped tee shot will gain maximum advantage. This may be the most satisfying shot on the entire golf course. Again, too much greed in hitting too far left or with too much draw will yield a penalty for that failure of execution. 

Tee 3 Center

At the turn

The following par 5 fourth hole makes excellent use of the same elevation changes played downhill on the third used to create varying degrees of blindness on the approach to the extremely small, well-bunkered but open in front green. The further you get up the hill on either your tee shot or approach, the greater view afforded to the player of the ultimate target. This is nothing short of brilliant laying of the hole on the natural ground by the consummately skilled artist.

4Center after successful tee shot - Find the flag!

4 Center - very small green and thoughtfully designed approach

After a fairly forgiving sort of downhill par 3, the sublime “Nickel or Dime” hole appears –  It's often said that surely if you don’t make your five you’ll take a ten. Less than 300 yards and uphill to a green seemingly only just larger than a king-sized mattress, one runs out of fairway at least 50 yards from the green. Only the desperate or perhaps supremely talented, lucky or surely the foolhardy rips at this green trying to make a two. Reminiscent of AWT’s 315 yard15th at Fenway in Westchester County New York, it is shorter, less uphill and left to right rather than the opposite but of the same sort of character. At Fenway Tillie allowed the player to perhaps run the ball on the green, not at Ridgewood – it’s aerial or nothing. The fairway is basically blind from the tee and littered with bunkers as well making this no ho-hum 5-iron wedge affair. Thoughtful precision is required as it is at the sister hole at Fenway.

Nickel or Dime? Sublime!

East

East nine starts smoothly with a less demanding mid length slight elbow to the right with a sharply tilted green, good AWT sort of stuff to get you going with an increased heartrate but nothing to stroke you out. Fairway bunkering is well-designed to guide you to a best approach, left for right pins and vice versa.  Wrong-sided drives aren't overly penalized, but I do believe that first holes ought to give you a little bit of a break.

One East

Number two is a mid iron to a rather severe green with two low spots to collect front left and mid right. This is a good test of iron play very early.  A small fairway aids you in some pin locations, but the aerial appraoch is needed in other parts of the green.  Much variety just because of the green, a fine hole indeed.

Two East

If it weren’t for the heaving sea of a green complex at the third it would appear to be a fairly simple par 5 hole as no bunkers are to be found away from the green and the tee shot matters in strategic placement only to the long hitter trying to avoid the mini dolomites in the separated fairway trying for the left side to allow a possible go in two. Here we have a mini sort of Hell's Half-Acre (Apparently never built with the intended sand) to protect agianst the longest of hitters and there is a slight length advantage to the longest and most accurate players who do want that eagle try.  Good luck with some placements on this green complex, one of the most penal greens you are ever likely to encounter even with a lofted wedge third. The accompaning photo is taken at 70 degrees right of the line of play - not much of a target for a long iron or lofted wood. Hmmmmm, AWT has you again.

Three East Green - simply outstanding defence of par

Four is a solid hole but one of the least impressive architecturally on the course. The mid-length fifth requires placement of the tee ball left to allow a solid chance at proper placement of the approach in a safe place for a birdie putt, a strategic style often used by Tillinghast and the other Philadelphia school members, notably thinking mirror image of the twelfth at Pine Valley. Long and right well serves you there to a vastly different style of green complex, but the most advantageous strategy from the tee remains left. The green has a false front so bold enough approach is necessary and the back of the green is rather hard to get to as the elevations make executing enough vigor with the proper club difficult for most. 

Five East

At number six a downhill long par 3 demands a solid shot, but overshadowed by the following hole - the most interesting, demanding and to many the best par 4 of the nine, arguably its greatest hole of any par.  Using length, negative camber and a sloping green hard to the side of the hill to catch you, smart players will regognize these factors and play the fairway contours and read enough break on this green. 

Seven East

Seven puts the golfer off with the sidehill left-to-right in play from tee to green and on the green as well. Long and challenging the entire way, it is a true standout, surely one of the half-dozen best on the property and least likely to give way to any from center.

Eight is flattish and defence is clever bunker placement near the green, returning to line up with number two on the approach to confuse the golfer who does not pick out the proper flag for approach.  Nine is a pretty hole with water in play off the tee, an impressive view of the clubhouse and perhaps the largest putting surface on the property. Still, it’s just relatively average stuff when comparing the world’s great golf holes. That said, anywhere else this hole might be the entire course's standout.

The Rest of Center

One Center requires a firm, straight and well-placed tee shot uneasily over a pond or else on a medium length four with a forgiving green.

The hazard of One Center

Two is a very high quality par 5, just not quite up to the standard set by eight West or the previously described Four Center. Seven is a nice mis-direction sort of affair with an approach not easily mastered. Eight is a plateaued shortish three that is very satisfying and well-protected. 

Eight Center

Nine cleverly routes the pond used on the first as a must-carry as a lateral hazard to another elevated green. Decent stuff, but in the world of great it has to sometimes be overlooked on such a superior course.

Nine Center

West

The West nine starts with a short somewhat claustrophobic tree-lined par 4, the type loved by so many but nearly impossible for your super to grow grass and far from my ideal of a great golf hole, pretty straightforward but very penal. The second has a fantastic green to top off a shortish four. Third is a plateau green par three mid-iron length.

Hell's Half-Acre Ridgewood style

Four with Hell's Half-Acre is mostly described above while Five West is the picture postcard green that you always see in writes-up of this course. Multiple levels to the green make distance control essential and significant elevation makes extra clubs mandatory. Instantly recognizable as a Tillinghast classic with the setting and the elevated severe green a sense of deja-vu comes over you. Six is a left-to right tilted teeny must carry green where you are only asked to hit no more than an 8-iron. Sounds easy, but every course needs a variant of this brilliant little bugger. Give me a tough short hole under 150 over the 260 par 3 slog any day and you will not go wrong emulating the principles of this one.

The lovely Six W

Seven seems more like a hole out of the oeuvre of another member of the Philadelphia School with its green set completely astride the right edge of the fairway cut and at an angle; this is good solid stuff certainly in isolation it might come of more recognizable as a Flynn trademark but well done by Tillinghast.

Eight West back to the tee

Now approaching the green

Eight West is widely known as one of the best holes in the Metropolitan Golf Association (MGA). Tillinghast’s double dog-leg hole that keeps turning to the left using a gentle rise to hide the 25 or so feet of elevation change from tee to green; it is a rare day to go at this green in two and pull it off. The true three-shotter for nearly all, the benched green accepts a running draw from the right-hander and it is not a wedge that is likely in your hand. O.B. the entire left side with a fairway bunker perfectly placed to make it necessary to make it a four shot hole supports the general consensus about this hole with solid architectural principles. The green complex is every bit as good as the rest of the hole with a false front to make honest the over-cooked approach or over spun one. Truly a must-play hole if there ever were one. West Nine is a gently turning left to right hole with a severely complicated green with spines, shelves and drop-leaves. Add O.B. over the back and you must show this hole respect.

Overall whichever nines played in combination will yield a superior course, so what a delight the fortunate members of Ridgewood must have deciding which of three top shelf eighteen to play on any given day.

Alas finally, rest assured: 

I was able to find that Mr. Tillinghast did indeed leave his signature at Ridgewood!