Baltimore CC Five Farms - Photo Tour

[Ed Oden]

In reviewing Art Fuller's Official Directory - Golf Course Photo Tours thread, I was surprised there wasn't a photo tour of Five Farms listed.  I searched the site and while there are a number of threads discussing the course, I couldn't find any with photos.  So I thought I would put one together quickly since I took a number of pictures when I visited in late April.

Oops, I accidentally hit the wrong button.  Sorry about that.  Here are photos of the front nine:

Par 4 1st


Par 4 2nd


The 2nd from behind


The blind approach to the par 4 3rd


The 3rd from behind


Par 3 4th


Par 4 5th


Par 5 6th


The 6th green


Par 4 7th


The 7th from behind


Back nine photos to follow.

[Ed Oden]

Here are back nine photos:

The marvelous approach to the 10th


The 10th green from the 11th tee...


...and from behind.  What a beautiful setting.


The sharp dogleg par 4 12th from behind


Par 3 13th


I regret not taking more pictures of many holes at Five Farms.  But no more so than the terrific par 5 14th.  Here is the green through the trees from the 15th tee.


Par 4 15th (with the 11th green in the background)


Par 4 16th


Par 3 17th (with the uphill 18th in the background)


The 17th from behind


Par 4 18th


Five Farms has been discussed on a number of prior threads.  So I don't know that my amatuerish thoughts would add anything meaningful, although I may chime in if others discuss the course.  I really just wanted to share some pics since I didn't see (or perhaps missed) any on this site.

Ed

[Greg Krueger]

Ed, thanks for the great pictures. Looks like a wonderful place!

[tomgoutman]

Great course. One of the best Tillys around.

[David Stamm]

Thanks Ed. I've always liked the look of this course.

[Dan Herrmann]

Ed - thanks...

To my untrained eye, I thought it had some elements I've seen on Flynn courses.  I love the vertical movement I see in the photos.

By the way, what are those little "fences" used for, like the one on 10 to the left of the water?

[Steve Burrows]

Dan,

Those fences look to be traffic control for carts, and pedestrian circulation for that matter.  You can see them on hillsides and in between bunkers in some of the other pictures, so I am assuming that they are serving simply as more aesthetic means to keep people out of certain areas.

Though I am sure that weed-eating around all of them is no picnic!

[Tim Nugent]

Nice job.  #4 is a personal favorite.  I love the all/nothing aspect of this short, plateau green.  Illustrates that water is not necessary for the short 3.

[tlavin]

Looks like a charmer.  Would look even better with hundreds of trees in the chipper.

[Jim Franklin]

We have taken a lot of trees down, but more to go IMHO. Thanks Ed for posting, I remember you had a great day and I was sorry I could not play (10th anniversary trip to Rome ). A few things the pictures do not show are the elevation change on some of the holes and the slopes of the greens.

The fence looking structures are to reduce traffic in some areas. I guess it is more aesthetically pleasing than a plain sign that says keep off.

[Phil McDade]

Calling Phil Young!

The bunkering here looks terrific, but somewhat different than other Tillie's I've seen. Deeper, perhaps, without the raised lips one might see at WFoot.

The use of the rolling terrain here looks terrific. Can't say I like the mowing patterns, though.

[M. Shea Sweeney]

Looks pretty good.

I understand the purpose for those wooden fences, but they obviously obstruct play.
Stick to the green ropes.

[Wayne_Kozun]

Calling Phil Young!

The bunkering here looks terrific, but somewhat different than other Tillie's I've seen. Deeper, perhaps, without the raised lips one might see at WFoot.

The use of the rolling terrain here looks terrific. Can't say I like the mowing patterns, though.

They did a restoration in the last few years - who was the GCA?  The bunkers look very similar to the grassed down bunkers just completed at Scarboro - another Tilly course.  The renos at Scarboro were done by Ian Andrew and Gil Hanse.

[Ed Oden]

Thanks for the compliments on the pictures.  A few quick thoughts on Five Farms:

While I trust Jim's assessment that there is further tree removal to be done, I would think that work would be more a selective fine tuning than a wholesale job.  This is NOT one of those courses choked by trees.  Rather most are well out of play.  I actually thought Five Farms had an unusually striking variety of trees that presented a beautiful setting to the course without adversely impacting the architecture.

Second, this is one tough course.  The brutal rough, undulating fairways and a par of 70 made the course seem much longer than the listed 7100 yards.  I played very well for me and didn't crack 80.  Five Farms will definitely test your game.

Dan Herrmann, interesting comment on seeing some similarities to Flynn's style.  I haven't played many Flynn courses (only 3 that I know of), but I do think Five Farms and HVCC have some similarities, particularly some of the bunker work. 

Finally, I am very much a "gut reaction" type of person when it comes to my assessment of courses.  By that I mean, I usually have a gut reaction to a course and that initial impression rarely changes upon further reflection.  Five Farms was an exception for me.  My initial gut reaction was that it was a very good course worthy of its ranking somewhere in the middle of the second fifty of US top 100, but probably not much higher.  To my surprise, however, I have found myself thinking about Five Farms a lot over the 4 months since I played; the terrific routing, the wonderful green complexes, the great mix of holes, the challenge, the strategy and the beauty.  I remember every hole and every shot vividly without any effort of recollection, which I always find to be a good litmus test to quality.  So upon further reflection, I am now confident that Five Farms is in fact underrated, which is no small feat considering its ranking.

Ed

[Britt Rife]

Thanks for the compliments on the pictures.  A few quick thoughts on Five Farms:

This is NOT one of those courses choked by trees.  Rather most are well out of play. 

Dan Herrmann, interesting comment on seeing some similarities to Flynn's style.  I haven't played many Flynn courses (only 3 that I know of), but I do think Five Farms and HVCC have some similarities, particularly some of the bunker work. 

I remember every hole and every shot vividly without any effort of recollection, which I always find to be a good litmus test to quality. 
Ed

Ed, I am really in your debt--I was so hoping to see on this site a photo tour of this fantastic course.  I visited Five Farms last year as a spectator at the Senior PGA Players Championship, following Nick Price, Scott Hoch and Andy Bean on Friday morning--it was me, my mother and Scott Hoch's wife who made up the entire gallery for these players. 

The course is magnificent and the topography is breathtaking.  I completely agree that the course is in no way choked by trees (though I must admit that, being an average handicap player, the OB was a little to close to a couple of greens for my own comfort).

I am interested in the comparison with Flynn--I have only had the opportunity to play one of his courses, Naval Academy Golf Club, here in Annapolis.  I understand that NAGC is sort of out of character with Flynn's other work.  But I can't help but think that there are some real common characteristics between the two courses.  I don't know if you have ever played NAGC, but if you have, you might see some similarities between the two.  The greensites at nos. 4, 7, 8, 14, 15 at Five Farms are a lot like what you see at a number of holes at NAGC. The overall topography of NAGC also feels familiar to me after having visited Five Farms.

Watching Price, Hoch and Bean play this course was wonderful.  Price gave forth an ironic laugh after his putt on the fearsome no. 15, seeming to be in disbelief at how cruel this green can be.

Thanks again for the photo tour.

Britt.

[Dan Herrmann]

Britt,
I saw some of Rolling Green and a little bit of Lehigh in those pictures, which is a very good thing.  I think Flynn used topography extraordnarily well, and it's obvious that Five Farms has been extremely successful in that regard.

It's a shame we don't hear more about Five Farms up here in Pennsylvania.  I'm only 80 miles from Baltimore, but I hear more about Jersey Shore couses than Baltimore's best.

[Jim Franklin]

Well Dan, you should take the trek south and play. I love bringing guests to show them how great the course is. I just got back from Lehigh for the first time and loved it. I saw some similarities, but the biggest difference is the length of Five Farms.

[Carl Nichols]

Yes, thanks for the pics -- the course looks terrific.  Definitely tops my list (by a wide margin) of courses I haven't yet played in the Baltimore-DC area.

[david h. carroll]

Ed--thanks for the wonderful pictures of my home course...you were clearly there on a beautiful spring day. 

As to those fences, they are not permanent strucutures and do not impede play at all.

AS to the mowing pattern comment, I love the up and back centerline style and I am very pleased that our superintnedent has implemented it.  Cross hatched/checkerboards only look good from blimps on TV!!

The one thing I dont believe comes out in the photos is how severe the elevation changes are at Five Farms.  For instance in the photo of the green at #2, the players down in the fairway are so far below the green that it can be hard to see the pin. 

[John Mayhugh]

Thanks for the photos Ed.  I really like the partial fences to provide obstacles to carts.  They don't distract nearly as much as other solutions we commonly see and actually blend in fairly well.  At least from the photos.

[Jay Flemma]

My favorite Tillie!  What a great course and supurb photos.  Thanks for the great thread!

[Ed Oden]

Ed--thanks for the wonderful pictures of my home course...you were clearly there on a beautiful spring day. 

As to those fences, they are not permanent strucutures and do not impede play at all.

AS to the mowing pattern comment, I love the up and back centerline style and I am very pleased that our superintnedent has implemented it.  Cross hatched/checkerboards only look good from blimps on TV!!

The one thing I dont believe comes out in the photos is how severe the elevation changes are at Five Farms.  For instance in the photo of the green at #2, the players down in the fairway are so far below the green that it can be hard to see the pin. 

David, we did indeed have a great spring day.  You are a lucky man if you can claim Five Farms as your home course. 

I thought the split rail posts added character and fit well with the fences around the perimeter of the property.  It is horse country after all.

I agree on the mowing pattern.  One of my clubs has adopted the same pattern.  I love it, although its not always the best for photos.

Also agree on the elevation changes.  You can see the contour in the photo from behind the #2 green.  I think the pic of #15 also shows the rolling terrain well.

Ed

[Scott_Burroughs]

While I've posted several pics from my round at Five Farms in the past, I haven't posted the whole lot.  I guess this motivated me to
post the rest (now, I just need time do post the other 70+ courses I haven't posted).

#1:


#4:


#5:


tee shot and barn on #6:


cross bunkers on #6:


#8:


#11:


tee shot on #12:


approach:


#13:


#17:

[Ed Oden]

Scott:

Wow, comparing your pictures to mine really shows how many trees have been cut down in the 2.5 years between our rounds.

One more thought about Five Farms, as a par 70, it only has 2 par 5s.  But both are absolutely terrific.  Seems to me par 5s are often the weakest link in many great course.  Not so at Five Farms.

Ed

[Eric Pevoto]