Good info on this site re the provenance of the course.
I particularly enjoyed
this GCA.com thread. Be sure to pay attention to Brad Klein's reply #57 and to read
Michael Fay's writeup praising the quality of Spence's restoration..
But no pics, so here are a few of the front nine. These greens are fast even by top-tier private course standards! They bedevil the golfer with slope not contour.
1 tee, par 4. The strategery starts right here, as you'd think you want to hit your shot right (the line to the green is between those two large trees), but in fact the angle of the green indicates for the best angle in, the golfer must aim left, potentially bringing into play the stream over there
1 approach
1 green.
I did the worst thing possible preparing for my round: I spent about 15 minutes on the practice green, of which 13 were unmowed-green prep time, followed by 2 minutes of mowed-green time. And so I was well below this first green on approach, 8 feet above for my second putt, 15 feet below for my third putt. Tap in for my fourth!
2 tee, par 3 (1 green in foreground). The challenge is apparent; carry creek, yet stay below the hole
2 green, from right. Alas, 4 putt
3 tee, par 5. This is a neat ANGC 13th-type hole. Lay up off the tee or try to cut the corner
3 approach. Do or die time: to go for the green you must carry a stream with a sharp bank. The temptation to quasi-bail by playing over the stream to the left is tempting...
...and a better option than trying to lay up as close to green as possible (shades of 13 ANGC, yes?)
3 green
3 green, from 7 tee. Lots of neat vistas out here
4 tee, par 4 up and (a little) over. Number 1 stroke hole
4 approach
4 green, as seen from left and 5 tee (many short green-to-tee walks out here!)
5 tee, par 4. The terror of this hole is a busy road steps to the right!
5 approach. This approach reminds me a little of the 5th(?) at PB Dye GC
5 green
6 tee, par 4. Here's another example of what Ross did so well: a "barrel-straight" uphill par 4 that plays from an
elevated tee. Like looking down a barrel, distances appear deceiving, and this hole plays loonnng.
6 approach
6 green, from right. Note slope
6 green, from left
7 tee, par 3. The par 3s collectively have a higher slope rating than any course I've played (2nd=9, 7th=5, 9th=3, 14th=18, 17th=10). In the morning round I played the middle tees (190 yards) and could not understand why. Then I moved back for the afternoon (220 yards) and experienced the terror of holes like this
7 green, from back right. Note falloff into chasm of death. Green also falls off to back and, to a lesser extent, the front. A conservative tee shot away from the chasm gives the golfer a terrifying putt to this flag: gently uphill, then the falloff after, all on a verrry fast green. Yikes!
8 tee, par 5 up and over
8 approach. Excellence in deception: Note how green appears "connected" to fairway. In fact, there is a huge swale and the green is much farther away
8 green. Note elevation: green is 15-20 feet higher than fairway swale 30 yards in front
8 green
9 tee
9 tee, another brutal par 3
9 green "approach" (You know what I'm talking about)
9 green. The 2002 restoration brought greens back to their original sizes and shapes
The stream to the left of 9 green influences or directly affects play on 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, and 9. The man knew how to make a lot out of a little.
Speaking of which, for Bunkerman: 18 bunkers on front nine, 2 and 7 bunkerless. Bunkerless par 3s, wow.
Back nine whenever I get a chance.
Mark