Far and Sure

[T.J. Sturges]

I was lucky enough to arrange my first ever visit to Chicago Golf Club this past Monday (and yes, it was 100 degrees in Chicago on Monday...and yes, you know I walked).  

I thoroughly enjoyed my day there and am curious as to how other CGA'ers would place this great course in their hierarchy of golf courses.  For those who have seen it, where do you rank Chicago Golf?  How would you rate it on the Doak scale?  What are your favorite holes?

Please offer your opinions.

TS

[ed_getka]

Ted,
    I haven't seen it, but would be interested in what you thought about it. What were the strengths? Weaknesses? Has technology rendered it obsolete for good players? Is it challenging and fun for the average golfer? I presume the last is yes since you enjoyed your round. Is it a course the average non-GCA golfer would enjoy and understand?

[T_MacWood]

Ted
A wonderful course, today, the best course in Chicago IMO (If Skokie had been properly restored it may have given it a run for its money and I haven't played Beverly).

Macdonald's third best course? NGLA, Yale, Wheaton...

I think it is a course that a non-GCA would enjoy. Its a tough and fun course, the features are bold and straight forward and the open prairie site is unusual and aesthetically pleasing.

I think its strength is the way the obviously man-made features blend into the untouched expanse of grassland...the Raynor paradox. And the crystal clear presentation of the hazards and strategies. I like the 2nd hole.

[PThomas]

I  haven't played it  - yet - but I did walk it during last year's Walker Cup Ted

felt like I was in a time machine, as things really haven't changed out there..half-expected to bump into Harry Vardon....

of course the Redan stands out....another GCAer, Paul Richards, had a hole in one there, I believe

I think it's the 10th, the short par 3 over the water that is also very cool

[Geoffrey Childs]

Ted

I loved Chicago GC.  It is to my eye a MacDonald/Raynor version of Garden City Golf Club given the similar land used for the course.

The holes of note that attracted me were

the Road Hole where the green angle relative to the bunker works extremely well.

The great manufactured Redan as mentioned

The Short over water which has a crazy wild and complex green almost akin to NGLA.

The Punchbowl is as good as it gets.  The green complex is the best PB I've seen and its at the end of a long par 4.  The drive might be better at NGLA but thats a heck of an approach shot.

I thought the Eden was a bit of a letdown as its shorter then most every other one I've played.

Great Course!!!

[Adam Clayman]

(If Skokie had been properly restored it may have given it a run for its money and I haven't played Beverly).

Tom, Knowing the complexity of Skokies pedigree, to whom and, to which iteration, would you call "properly restored"?

If you've detailed this before, please provide me with parameters to do a search?

[T.J. Sturges]

Geoffrey,

My observations of CG are very similar to yours.

1.  I too loved the road hole green at the 2nd.  The 2nd hole played like a beast that day (directly into about a 10 mph wind).  The approach shot played very similar to the original road hole.  Fantastic green.  (I felt the 11th was a version of the road hole green as well...does anyone else see this?).

2.  The Redan was amazing.  As you said, it rises up out of the ground making absolutely no effort to blend in with the terrain (like the redans at Yale, NGLA or Mid Ocean).  But it was great in it's own way.  It must have been 15,000 square feet (does anyone know for sure how big it is?).  The scale of that green complex is what sticks with me.

3.  I too felt that the 10th green complex ("short") had a certain similarity to the one at NGLA.  Like the one at NGLA, it was "wide".  I've NEVER seen a green like the short hole at NGLA, but this one was very cool.  The "bathtub" feature, though not as pronounced as the one at National, was also sitting at the highest point of the green, which makes for very interesting approach shots.

4.  LIke you, I loved the 12th and the Punchbowl green.  I still prefer the one at National, but the 12th at Chicago was a great golf hole.

5.  I felt the Eden was the weakest of the one shot holes at Chicago Golf.  The green complex, perched up on the knob reminded me of the Eden at Fishers Island.  Only, it was playing 140 yards (versus 175 at Fishers) and it wasn't sitting out on a wind swept ocean front peninsula.  I felt it played much easier than most Eden's do.  Because of this, it lacked interest for me.

Other observations about the course:

I thought the false front on 4th hole was the "longest" (measured from the fall line to the fairway) of any false front I have ever seen.  Must have been 20 feet.  Amazing (and terrifying, even with a wedge in your hands).  Why don't modern day architects use this feature more?

I loved the double plateau green complex and the principal's nose bunker on the 6th.  LOVED that hole.

The 17th, from the 465 yard tee was a MONSTER.

It was too hot the day we played, but I had mud on my ball too often.  Is it always that soft at Chicago Golf, or just the way it has to be in July/Aug.?

TS

[Geoffrey Childs]

Ted

I had exactly the same thoughts on the edan hole at CGC and I made the same mental comparison with the best one I've seen outside of 11 at TOC and that's 11 at Fishers Island.

The drive on 17 from the new tee is indeed a bear. It puts all those muonds and bunkering back into play (for me anyway).

[T_MacWood]

Tom, Knowing the complexity of Skokies pedigree, to whom and, to which iteration, would you call "properly restored"?

If you've detailed this before, please provide me with parameters to do a search?

Adam
You are absolultey right about the course's pedigree. Bendelow laid it out originally, and his course had a lot of old fashioned funk. Ross then redesigned TB's course and transformed it into an excellent modern design...good enough to host the 1922 US Open. In 1938 Langford completely redesigned Skokie again and when he was done it was considered as good as anything in Chicago and one of Langford's greatest accomplishments.

You would think a restoration architect would have choices...Bendelow (unlikely), Ross (maybe) or Langford (maybe). But Bendelow and Ross's course was gone...Langford was called in the late 30s because the club had sold off a portion of their course for development and had a new parcel for Langford to work with. He created some very interesting holes in that parcel (with water as major design element) at #11, #12, #13, #3 and #4, and redesgined the remaining holes in his distinctive style. When he was done it was his one of his three best designs - along with Lawsonia and Wakonda.

Instead of restoring the superb Langford course (which was pretty well preserved already) they chose to restore some of Langford and some of Ross...now they have a Rossford...a golf course that has a split personality and a golf course that never existed. IMO it was no brainer to faithfully restore the Langford course.

[Tom Roewer]

I agree with Geoffrey Childs on the Punchbowl #12.  I think it is close to perfect.  The club is very understated and the clubhouse seems as if it hasn't changed much in years and years.  The grill room could be my favorite in the U.S.  When I played there the handicap role showed more than 80% at single digit -- not bad!  I have heard that the membership votes down air conditioning the clubhouse all the time which is consistent with what I perceived as the thread at C.G.C., which is golf and golf only at a pure level.  No business outings.  No hoopla.  Just great golf on a great course.  

[ward peyronnin]

I thought the course was very, very good but not great.

What was most unique for me was the grand scale of things. Being able to see vast sweeps of the course in any location seemed to promote a corresponding grander scale of features- cross bunkering, green elevations, false fronts, green sizes, slopes to mention a few- that instilled a diminutive sense in the golfer. Shivas I too thought the 9th and 15 th may have been what comprimised my Doak scaling.

I would not tire of playing it.

WardP

[Tom Huckaby]

I played it but once, and it was too many years ago for me to be able to add any meaningful comment about the design or architecture.

However some things do stick with one's memory, and well... when I read this:

An Ideal American Club, period. Very unpretentious, wonderful membership.

I nearly gagged on my afternoon tea.  I've been fortunate to experience quite a few clubs that would merit that distinction, at least based on my limited experience with them.  Based on the same, if CGC is an Ideal American Club, then treating guests like shit must be Rule #1.  I must say that at least the day I was there, CGC was THE most pretentious club I had ever experienced, and that remains true to this day.  And as many of you know, I have been to many clubs that at least based on outside perception might merit that "p" word.

I've told the story way too many times, and as I said when this came up elsewhere recently, I have come to believe I was just with some bad apples on a bad day.  But man oh man I must say this comment had me reeling, Bill.

TH

[Jim Franklin]

My favorite hole was #12. I loved the greensite. It was one of the best greensites I have played.

[JR Potts]

Never played it....always wanted to....does someone have access??

[Tom_Doak]

Ryan:

I am the club's architectural consultant, and I still have to play with a member when I go.  Fortunately, I know quite a few of them.  

I am sitting in O'Hare after playing there last evening and again this morning with two of my associates.  It is still a great treat to go play there.  It's not a particularly tough course unless the greens are very fast, but it may have the best ambiance of any course in a metropolitan area.

Believe it or not, in the club's archives we found a plan drawn up just after WW II to put thirty housing lots in between the holes.  Fortunately they never got to the point they had to sell any of them.

I was also surprised to find that the 12th hole was in fact one of the easiest on the course in the Walker Cup last year -- I think it was the 15th hardest hole.  Nine-iron to a punchbowl green for those guys.  That's one of a couple of spots where we have suggested putting the back tee back a bit further.

[Gerry B]

played it this past weekend - have played it at least 10 times - and is in my top 5  

a museum piece / as messr doak described- not the toughest out there but as a pure golf experience is hard to beat - i feel the same about Myopia.

yes short by todays standards but some of the best green complexes anywhere. the greens were slow this weekend due to weather. I last played there in late may and they were lightning fast.

my favorite holes are the 2nd -the road hole / 7th - redan / 12th -punchbowl / 10th - short / 14th - a cape like hole.


have been treated very well everytime i have played the course and all of the members that i have met or played with were true gentlemen as were the staff.