For all of the nine-hole course fanatics and William S. Flynn fanatics on this website, I assumed I would have heard about any course possessing both of these characteristics. I thought it would be even more likely to hear about such a course that was within an hour's drive of New York City. Yet, one week ago, I had no idea Monroe Country Club in Monroe, NY existed.
I got the opportunity to play Monroe Country Club two days ago. I was driving back to Rochester from Oradell, NJ (where I got the opportunity to play Hackensack Golf Club with GCAer Bill Brightly). Monroe happens to be a small town in Southern New York near the intersection of Route 17 and Interstate 87. Although my buddy and I had commitments for the afternoon, we were able to play the nine William Flynn holes early in the morning before our trip upstate.
I thought the William Flynn layout was almost too good to be true, but the course surpassed all of my expectations. The course maintains its original Flynn routing. 8 of 9 greens are Flynn originals; only the 8th green has been re-contoured, although it still maintains its original location. The 8 greens are magnificent creations. The most spectacular sites are 2 and 7, where Flynn benched the greens into hillsides to create dramatic short game options. 3 of the greens (5, 6, and 9) are absolutely flush with the slope of the land. It appears that Flynn simply rolled a giant carpet onto the ground and used it as the greensite. There is no evidence of man's hand within the internal green contours. The course is well under 6,000 yards for the 18 hole configuration at a par of 70, but there is not a single hole without challenge or interest. My favorite hole was the seventh. For us, it was a downhill par four with a diagonal tee shot over the creek that dominates the routing. After a good drive, the second shot is a short iron to a shelf green that tilts severely from left to right. There is a steep falloff to the right that is death. For the back nine configuration, the hole plays as a par five with the creek dominating the tee shot. Flynn originally had bunkers cutting diagonally across the fairway to confront the second shot. Our host at Monroe hopes to restore these bunkers in the near future.
The course was especially unique because of golden-age maintenance. The course is still without a sprinkler system. Despite this year's wet summer, the course played firm and fast in the morning dew. Wild bounces were commonplace, and low running pitch shots were the smartest options around the greens. The greens were not nearly up to modern speeds, but they rolled true and were very steep. It is on such a course that brains prevails over pure talent and strength.
Flynn's layout at Monroe is a trip back in time, but for me it represents how golf should really be played.
I would love to opinions about Monroe from any Flynn or golf fans who have been lucky enough to play this layout.