Sept. 10, 2019
Hackensack Golf Club
Oradell, N.J.

The 7th annual “Steam Shovel” at historic Hackensack Golf Club is scheduled for Sept. 10, hosted by the Metropolitan Hickory Society. Charles Banks, who taught English at the prep school, Hotchkiss, in Connecticut, met Seth Raynor when the latter was hired to rebuild the school’s golf course. Smitten with the prospects of working with Raynor and not babysitting spoiled rich kids, Banks left his position and joined forces with Raynor and CB Macdonald. After Raynor’s death, Banks completed a number of his partner’s projects and succeeded in building a number of his own before an early death at age 48. He garnered the nickname “Steam Shovel” because of his use of that particular piece of machinery to build up greens, dig cavernous bunkers and convert flat pieces of property into masterpieces of movement. Hackensack GC is a fine example of his work, incorporating as it does a number of the “template” holes for which Macdonald and Raynor were known, including a Biarritz, a Punchbowl, and a Redan hole, as well as a few other gems that make this course a tribute to the architects of the Golden Age of Design. It also epitomizes the fact that short, well-designed courses can present a challenge today, especially for players wielding hickory clubs.

For information, please contact Bill Martin @ martinbuildersnj@gmail.com.