Chechessee Creek Club
SC, USA
Green Keeper: Jay Gratton
Golf in the low country like there hasn't been in 75 years - the 7th at Chechessee Creek.
Chechessee Creek Club is a throwback to the times when golf was simpler.
Gone are the insipid mounds that plague so many coastal South Carolina courses. Gone are the long green to tee hikes that make riding in a golf cart a foregone conclusion. Gone is sacrificing sound course design for the quest of a signature hole. Gone aredecorative bunkersof no strategic value. Gone is the fear of losing golf ball after golf ball in man-made water hazards. Gone is the concept that a course built today must be a par 72, 7,000 yard monstrosity.
What is present are traditional design elements of the kind that the coast of South Carolina has rarely seen since Seth Raynor was in Charleston in the 1920s. Just as the sub-7000 yard Harbour Town with its small greens was a revolutionary design in the early 1970s,Chechessee’s design is a welcome return to shotmaking.
Taking a look at specific features, start with the teeing areas whichare simple, squared affairs and never built more than a yard or two above their surrounds. The golfer isreminded of Garden City (where Ben Crenshaw is an Honorary Member) in this regard. There are no steps for the golfer to walk up, and the wasted multiple tees that Ron Whitten complained of in his Feature Interview are no where to be found.
Next, out in the fairway, the course enjoys the same low profile features of a Yeamans Hall or Pinehurst No.2.The absence of artificial mounding harkens to the Golden Age of course design when dirt wasn’t pushed around just for the sake of ‘framing’ holes.
In terms of dirt moved, as the islands along the coast are a mix of clay and sand, each fairway was caped with six inches of sand for the sake of drainage to insure fast and firm conditions. Save for that, the only dirt of any consequence that was moved was in creating the pushed up green complexes. Jim Craigwas the only designatedC&C dozer man on the job and he roughed in all the greens,some of the fairwaysand did all of the finishdozer work. Bill Coore said of their dirt moving plan ‘move as much as you need to for drainage, then we will highlight some areas’. As Dave Axland notes, ‘I think the same is true for the golf, Bill and Ben did what was necessary for fun golf and no more.’ More architects need to adopt the same sensible, minimalistapproach.
The pushed up greens are anywhere from one tothree yards higher than their surrounds and some of the greens like the 3rd or 5th are extensions of the fairway. Similar to their Kapalua Plantation course, the greens vary widely in size, from the 3,300 square foot 1st to the 10,000 square foot 16th. Many of the greens feature a false front of some degree or anotherand none of them are the multi-tiered affairs that invariably seem disjointed from their immediate surrounds.
The seemingly simple pushed up 1st green complex is fraught with challenge with its false front, small putting surface, and fall-offs on all sides.
The bunker above is no more than 120 yards off the 10th tee but it serves the purpose of breaking the golfer's line of sight. Though set in the low country, the golfer largely remains unaware that he is playing on an essentially flat course.
As with all Coore & Crenshaw courses, bunkering is a particular highlight. The jagged edged bunkers courtesy of Jeff Bradley areseem a part oftheir surrounds. Theyrange from the 180 yardsand area that parallels the left of the 5th fairway, to the cross bunkered 8th hole, to thesmall bunker that fronts the middle of the 12th green, to the massive bunker that guards the best angle into the 15th green. However, there are only 65 bunkers in total on the course and similar to Royal Melbourne, rarely is any green bunkered on both sides. The golfer has to decide for himself where the best chance for an up and down lies: is it in the bunker or not? If not, should he try a running chip, flop shot or bounce it into the greenside bank? Decisions, decisions…
The long sandy area down the 5th fairway is not raked.
A final aspect needs to be mentioned, as without it, much of the good work could have been hidden. Originally, the 360 acres were zoned for 130 home sites. However, after selecting the course routing that maximized the site’s potential, it became apparent that accommodating that many homesites would have a detrimental effect on enjoying the golf as a continuous, uninterrupted experience. Therefore, the owner decided to pare it down to 46 sites, thus insuring that golf forever comes first.
A by-product is that Coore & Crenshaw’s favorite mix of holes were allowed to stand, which consists offive par threesandonly three par fives.A lot ofshort holescoupled with afew long holes are never ideal for selling the most number of homesites. However, with thatnot the driving consideration, the golfer gets to play the best set of holes that Coore & Crenshaw could find on the property.
Complete with a wrap around porch, the 9,200 square foot clubhouse at Chechessee ideally compliments the low profile, low country course.
Holes to Note
Third hole, 350 yards; The first of three very finetwo shottersunder 350 yards, this hole features both a) the only bunkerless green on the course and b) the tightest lateral water hazard to a green. As was Tom Simpson’s stated desire and numerous architects that since attempted to follow, Coore& Crenshaw successfully made Chechessee harder for the good golfer while still providing plenty of room for the less accomplished. For example at the 3rd, the width of the fairway is cut in half 275 yards from the tee. Surely the best play is to lay back into the width of the fairway and accept having a 125 yard pitch into the green. But then again…
The 3rd fairway bends to the right and is pinched in by a lateral water hazard at the 275 yard mark from the the tee.
Any approach slightly pushed may be kicked right and into the water hazard.
Forth hole, 410 yards; A classic misdirection play comes at this hole, the only onewhere a large field was already cleared before the Boys went to work. First, the golfer sees a big, long bunker that begins at the start of the fairway and hooks around the left side. Mercifully, the golfer then sees the flag further to the right. ‘I’ll go that way and stay away from the big bunker,’ he thinks. However, with a string of four smaller bunkers down the right and a pair of greenside bunkers that guard the right side, the ideal tee ball is actually left center. Standing behind the hole, the left to right angle of the green is obvious and clearly shows that left center of the fairway is ideal.Plenty consider this the cleverest hole on the course. As Axland says, ‘If I had to pick a favorite, or perhaps better put, a hole that was a bit different and yet complimentary to the others, it would be number four.’
A tee ball hit slightly left of the caddie is ideal.
The bunkers down the right take the green out of reach in two.
The right to left tilt of the green further hinders an approach from the right portion of the fairway.
The detail work at Chechessee is excellent. Unlike so many course set-ups, the tightly mown areas that feed away from the crowned greens are appropriately wide. Pictured is the area to the left of the 4th green.
Sixth hole, 435 yards; The more ways an architect can ask a player to do something, the better. However, on a piece of property where the high to low point is five feet, topography is not at the architect’s disposal. To create interest off the tee, Coore & Crenshaw often times bent the playing corridors one way or another. Frequently in such cases, there are no bunkers in the hitting area off the tee such as here, the 1st, 5th, and 18th. On the straighter holes like the 4th and 8th, bunkering becomes more prolific to create the interest.
A tee ball that draws toward the bunker 340 yards in the distance is ideal.
The golfer is teased with partials views of Chechessee Creek behind the 6th green. One thing is for sure - the day's wind must be taken into full account on the approach.