Minnesota super finds lost Raynor art

“For many decades now, Midland Hills has been making guesses about what Seth Raynor intended when he designed our golf course… until right now.”

Photo: Mike Manthey

That’s the opening of Mike Manthey’s blog post (available at mhccturf.com), and it is appropriately dramatic. Recently, Manthey, the superintendent at Midland Hills CC, Roseville, Minn., made an Indiana Jones-like discovery in the ceiling of the maintenance shop. Stashed away above a crooked ceiling tile in his closet was a 3-foot by 6-foot irrigation map drawn over the original design, dated Feb. 7, 1921.

Photo: Mike Manthey

“When I found it, I called Jeff Johnson, superintendent at Minikahda (Minneapolis) CC, who has prior knowledge of the course as he was previously the assistant superintendent here,” Manthey told Golfdom. “He told me, ‘Mike, people are going to freak out… this is huge.’”

Since posting photos of the map online, Manthey has made all sorts of new friends. More than 100,000 people interacted with his tweet from @MidlandTurf in only five days. Golfers from around the world, superintendents, architects, architecture fans and even a few PGA Tour pros (one asked if he could buy the print) have reached out to Manthey since the find.

“There are way more people who have an appreciation for golf history than I realized,” Manthey says.

The timing couldn’t be better. Midland Hills recently retained Jim Urbina to create a master plan for the course.

For now, the print is getting a high-definition scan. Where will it go after that? “It’s going in a bank vault,” Manthey laughs.