#12 at Chicago Golf Club is about as good as it gets and tough as nails.
Look for it at the Walker Cup
Indeed! I played Chicago Golf Club with the irrepressible and always hilarious Gerry Barad this past Sunday. Outstanding. The best Redan I have seen (admittedly a small group), 210 yards or so, and it played perfectly, and a terrific eden and double plateau also, and an excellent biarritz (front half not mowed as green). The Punchbowl was hilarious fun. I was the only one to get away with par, possibly because I was also the only one who laid up. A terrific short too with a "terraced" green I could have tried to putt all day. Some of the bunkering is not quite as penal as some others places, but great to play as it entices some risky shots, and the greens and green sites were stunning. Gerry and I have been talking about the place almost nonstop ever since (he has been there a bunch of times, but this was my first). I didn't kill anything playing with him this time either.
A little contrast with Shoreacres, where it seemed that the most memorable holes are not necessary the template holes but the unique 11, 15, etc., which use the ravines to great effect, whereas at Chicago the most thrilling at first glance were the templates. First Biarritz I have seen where the front half is not green. Played great. Will be an excellent matchplay course, and it should be an outstanding Walker Cup. There are back tees on only a few holes, most especially 17, where there is a tee back to about 465. Gerry took a whack from it and hit a magnificent drive that just made the fairway because of how far back the tee was. The high grass is growing in nicely as well. Jon Jennings, CGCS, looks to have done an outstanding job.
Also, the members and staff could not have been more gracious and welcoming. Pretty crowded too, for that place; I think I saw 2 or 3 other groups out there.
What a day!