Maple Bluff CC, in the Madison WI bedroom community of Maple Bluff, is one of the oldest golf clubs in Wisconsin, dating back to 1899. Its ties to Wisconsin golf are deep; in 1901, it was one of nine charter members that created the Wisconsin State Golf Association. It has hosted numerous state tournaments throughout its history, and this past July hosted the State Amateur championship.
What started out as a five-hole course roughed out on farmland by the club’s early members quickly evolved into a 9-hole course designed by Herbert J. Tweedie (Flossmoor, Exmoor, Glen View and others in the Chicago area). Cornish and Whitten list Tweedie’s original 9-hole design as NLE, and the course was expanded to 18 holes in 1916 – presumably by the little known George P. Ferry, whose only other major work (that I can find) was the West Shore Golf and Country Club on Grosse Ilse, MI.
The course sits on two distinct pieces of modestly rolling land covering not much more than 100 acres – a narrow rectangular portion near the stately white clubhouse, and a triangular piece of land atop the rectangle. The two pieces of land join at the highest point of the course, and the course squeezes seven tees and greens near this high spot, making for some elevated tee shots and greens.
The course has undergone several major renovations during its time, including the re-routing of a public road in the 1960s that relocated several holes (5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 11) and led to the creation of several new greens. The architectural team of Killian and Nugent worked on the course, as did Arthur Hills about 10 years ago. (This link:
http://wsga.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/wsga11/event/wsga1139/course/maplebluffcc/aerial.htm?next=..%2F..%2Findex.htm provides a very good aerial of the course.)
The course is generally viewed as the best test of golf among the Madison-area courses. Although not quite as short or quirky as its counterpart on Madison’s west side, Blackhawk CC (
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,41775.0.html ), the Bluff is not overly long, and has its share of unconventional holes. The course is characterized by its narrow, tree-lined fairways, deep bunkers that pinch nearly every green, thick rough, and greens that (with a few exceptions) don’t feature significant internal contouring, but are often sharply tilted. Maple Bluff’s greens are considered by most knowledgeable golfers as among the best and fastest in the state.
One notable feature – out-of-bounds runs completely, or nearly so, alongside seven holes, making an already tight course play that much tighter. Conditioning is always top-notch; current superintendent Tom Harrison has been on the grounds crew for 43 years and in his current post since the mid-1970s. Current PGA pro Jerry Kelly, who grew up on Madison’s east side, is a member here, and owns a home nearby.
The course tips out at exactly 6,400 yards, at a par of 71 (rating 72/slope 132). It plays to 6,073 yards from the white tees (70.6/129) and 5,502 from the forward tees (72.7/126). Its most significant strategic element lies with the golfer’s choice off the tee; with a number of short par 4s and three reachable par 5s, the long hitter may be tempted to take driver off the tee. But the numerous trees, thick rough, and challenging bunkers – and the necessity of keeping approach shots below the hole on the sharply tilted greens – puts a premium on playing from the fairways. In short, the conventional wisdom about playing the Bluff is that your wedge game is far more important than your driver. It’s no pushover; not one of the state’s best amateurs managed to break par during the 72-hole championship, with +1 the winning score.
No. 1 (par 4, 290/283 yards)Maple Bluff demands choices off the tee, and that’s evident right out of the gate on this short, uphill par 4. The long hitters can reach the green, but the fairway is tight, thick rough and trees line both sides, and large bunkers (especially the one short left and one fronting the green) gobble up the slightly miss-hit shot. One threesome that I saw tee off at the Amateur played, respectively: driver (wide right, big trouble); utility wood (left fairway, past the large bunker on the left – ideal positioning); and 6-iron (middle of fairway short of all bunkers, wedge to green). Conventional thinking suggests that narrow, parkland courses offer only one-dimensional play, but the Bluff has a number of holes with options off the tee.
The lip of the large fairway bunker left; Hills is said to have done a lot of work on the bunkers here during his work on the course 10 years ago.
This golfer (ball just to the left of his bag) has ideally placed his tee shot past the fairway bunkers but short of the fronting bunker, leaving a short chip into the green.
A typical Maple Bluff green – not overly big, not much internal contouring, but with a significant tilt from back to front. On the first day of competition, this was one of the easiest pin placements on the hole; pins placed on the front half of the green are quite tricky. Birdies are possible here; it’s the only hole that played to an under-par average (3.99) during the Amateur.
No. 2 (par 4, 448/437)The #1 handicap hole on the course, this is a tough hole that puts demands on both the tee and approach shots. The drive is modestly downhill, and a ridge coming in from the left helps feed balls into the fairway on that side. But OB lines the entire right side of the hole (the brown picket fence is staked OB). At the narrowest point, near the ideal landing zone in the fairway, OB sits just 12-15 yards from the right edge of the fairway – a narrow margin of error.
This fairway bunker benched into a small hillside sees its share of tee shots from those trying to stay away from the OB right.
From the right rough just short of the green; note how close the white-staked fence is to the bunker, and the road and OB looming behind the green. The golfer who takes less than driver off the tee to keep the ball in play will be left with a longer approach into a small green surrounded by trouble.
The small oval green of the 2nd, perched up from its surrounds. This hole, not surprisingly, played as the most difficult during the Amateur, with an average score of 4.69. A very difficult test early in the round, when the golfer may be unsure of his swing.
No. 3 (par 4, 285/274)The Bluff’s quirkiest hole, the short 3rd is wedged in between a public road, the club’s entrance road and clubhouse, a parking lot, tennis courts and a pond! Like the 1st, it can be driven, but OB can be found on both sides of the hole, and long of the green. Here’s the tee shot; two stately trees frame the opening.
These two bunkers on the left side of the fairway see lots of action.
This centerline bunker is well-placed, sitting about 40 yards short of the green. Note the severe falloff on the right side of the green.
A look back at the tee of the 3rd; the course lies a few hundred feet east of Lake Mendota, the largest of the four lakes in the greater Madison area. Just above the tennis courts you can see the skyline of downtown Madison and (faintly) the Capitol dome (just above the flag). In its beginnings, the course’s members often boated to the club from Madison’s more populated downtown isthmus for a round.
The green also features a severe drop-off on the backside; here’s a look at the wrap-around bunker on the back side. Wise club members with newer cars know where not to park at this club.
No. 4 (par 3, 177/167)The first of the course’s solid set of par 3s, the 4th hole plays downhill from a tee adjacent to the clubhouse. Deep bunkers left and right pinch the front of the green. Club selection is key here, and can be tricky, as the hole plays about a club-length less from the tees and often with the prevailing summer wind. Long is trouble; at least one player at the Amateur had to re-tee after not finding his ball that landed over the green.
A look at the greenside bunkering on the right side of the green. This player left his initial shot in the sand; you have to make a concerted effort to get out of the Bluff’s deep bunkers.
No. 5 (par 5, 532/520)A gently rising par 5 that’s within reach for many players in two, but you’d better be in the fairway. The green is benched against a hillside off in the distance, under the three pointy fir trees.
This active rail lines runs alongside the entire length of the hole, and although camouflaged by trees, it lurks close by and is easily reachable with the slightly wayward drive.
Trees and bunkers narrow the playing corridor of the 5th.
The lips on many fairway bunkers at the Bluff are raised, often leaving the player with little choice than to pitch out with a short iron and take his medicine.
The green sits at the highest point of the hole, once again pinched by fronting bunkers.
A look back at the 5th shows the narrowness of the hole; the rail line sits about 10 yards beyond the cart path lining the side of the hole (left of photo).
No. 6 (par 3, 205/175)One of the reworked holes from the 1960s course renovation, the 6th is a solid par 3 where any wayward shot right will find a watery death. Water comes into play on only two of the Bluff’s holes, but it’s the major feature here. The tee sits at the highest point of the course.
The 6th green features three distinct tiers – a small front section, a large middle section, and the very tough back tier. This pin here is on the right side of the middle tier. A really tough challenge; during the four rounds of the Amateur, the 6th yielded a modest 28 birdies, 150 bogeys, 84 double bogeys, and 14 others.
No. 7 (par 4, 353/331)Most holes at the Bluff play straightaway or with modest turns in the fairway; not so the 7th. This short par 4 turns sharply at the denuded tree on the left. (If you can believe it, a major storm five years ago felled numerous trees on the course. This dominant tree was damaged during the storm, but left intact.)
Mounding obscures the narrow, small green at the 7th.
No. 8 (par 4, 379/358)The tee shot on the 8th is slightly elevated to – by Maple Bluff standards – one of the more generous fairways on the course. The rail line that runs alongside the entire right side of the 5th runs along the entire left side of the 8th.
The approach to the 8th, sharply uphill. As narrow as the fairways are at the Bluff, the course is perhaps even more exacting with its approach shots, as wayward shots into the green are usually penalized with a bunkered ball.
No. 9 (par 5, 561/513)The longest hole on the course, and one of the few where the golfer feels he can open his shoulders a bit and let loose from the tee. The tee shot here is elevated to a fairway below that sweeps off to the right. Very dense woods line the right side of the hole, but this is a fairway that’s wider than it appears on the tee.
The fairway bunker left about 50 yards short of the green threatens the off-line second shot into this green. The green is a very good one, similar to the 6th, with three distinct tiers.
The player here is putting from the lowest tier of the green to a hole placed in the middle tier. The upper tier occupies the back third of the green. The bunker sits astride nearly the entire right side of the green.
