Country Club of Buffalo Restoration

[Ronald Montesano]

The CC of B is going to close next September 1st (or thereabouts) to undergo a 3-4 million sheckel restoration to what his Donald J. of Ross initially planned for the (Williamsville) property. Despite the eviction (for a season) of the team that I coach, I could not be more thrilled with this announcement.

I do not know which firm has been retained for the work, although I did spot them out on the first hole last week (one chap was wearing a Sebonack cap.) I hope to be able to gather a bit more information for you and also snap a few images along the way. The club is an extremely private one and I intend to respect its mandate.

In the meantime, a quick Gooooooooogle search returned no leads, so if you hear of anything worth telling and allowed to be released, consider sending me a personal message via this site.

[Joel_Stewart]

I think it's Gil Hanse???

[Mark Saltzman]

Ron,

I visited CCB in May and in speaking to a couple of the club pros was told that they were likely restoring the course at some point over the next couple of years.  They showed me some historical photos and an old routing map.  It seems many bunkers have been lost/downsized over time.

Glad to hear the work will happen.  The course should be fantastic when completed.

[Jim_Kennedy]

What could anyone do to improve this hole?  

[Ronald Montesano]

A) James, I've not seen it in that light, but it is a remarkable hole. Mother Nature improved it when she shed the course of 500+ trees in the October Storm of 2008.

B) I can confirm that Gil Hanse is not the restoration architect. He promptly answered an email and assured me that he is not the firm. He did develop a master plan for CCRochester in 2004, so I can understand how one might draw the connection.

[Jim_Kennedy]

Ronald,

I wonder how large the smile was on Ross' face when he saw that little escarpment.

[Kalen Braley]

What could anyone do to improve this hole?  

Is that a real hole Jim?

Looks like one of those fantasy par 3 holes...

[Jim_Kennedy]

Kalen,
I's real, a "Volcano" hole (or green). I think THE Donald liked using them. 

[Tyler Kearns]

I'm kind of lost for words. How has it taken so long for this hole to be picked-up by the GCA radar? This 'volcano' type hole, is a great way to amplify the architectural intimidation factor, causing many to steer instead of swing. This looks daunting for a 170-yard shot.

TK

[Dan Herrmann]

What a well-kept secret.  I spent the first 22 years of my life in Buffalo, and never knew a hole like this existed.  Granted, I wasn't exactly invited to CCB with open arms, but surely I should've heard about such a great golf hole, no?

[Mark Saltzman]

Though they are of nowhere near the quality of Jim's picture, here are a couple more looks of the 6th at CCB:

Tee View:




From right:







From left:

[PThomas]

What could anyone do to improve this hole?  

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Tim Martin]

What could anyone do to improve this hole?  

Jim-That is an incredible looking golf hole. Great pic.

[JNC Lyon]

Tim,

Are there any holes like that at Yale?

6 at CC of Buffalo is definitely one of the coolest par threes I've ever played.  Obviously, the quarry makes for a dramatic setting, but the hole's biggest hazard is GRAVITY.  Very cool.

[Mike Cirba]

The state of my game right now leads me to conclude that I couldn't hit that green with a bucket of balls.

On the other hand, the look of that hole would make me want to try.

[Tim Martin]

Tim,

Are there any holes like that at Yale?

6 at CC of Buffalo is definitely one of the coolest par threes I've ever played.  Obviously, the quarry makes for a dramatic setting, but the hole's biggest hazard is GRAVITY.  Very cool.

John- There is no volcano hole at Yale but there are plenty of dramatic shots courtesy of Mac/Raynor and some very rugged terrain. I am very much looking forward to your reaction as the scope of the property and the size of the greens are behemoth. You will get a better idea of how much land is there when you look at the proposed routing diagram in the clubhouse for the 36 hole project. Dare to dream for the sister course that never came to fruition.

[Ian Andrew]

I do not know which firm has been retained for the work

Ron Forse

[Ronald Montesano]

Thanks to Ian for that bit of information...no wonder I didn't recognize anyone in the group upon which I stumbled.

#6 is only truly difficult the first time...The shot is an eight iron to the lower third of the green. You simply don't mess with a middle or back pin, unless you are Dudley Hart (a member) or a teenage golfer on my team, bent on adding to my farm of gray hairs. Shots that tumble off either side of the rear 2/3 of the green are nearly impossible to get up and down and are fairly difficult to keep on the green (lots of back and forth on that hole!) Essentially, you let your putter do the work and that is that. There is little "killer" internal contour, so long putts from down low to up middle or up top have a break that is easy to discern.

The tee decks wrap around the escarpment/quarry lip to the left and the shot from the 120 yard deck (where our girls team plays from in the spring) is easily as much fun.

CCB was the second quarry course (Merion being the first) built in the USA, I've been told.

John, Yale doesn't need any eruptions. In fact, this hole would be the fifth-best par three at Yale (although I do believe it to be world class) simply because it wouldn't fit the Raynor system.

As Mark will attest, the hole doesn't always look like it does in Jim's shot. That is a perfect day, perfect lighting, perfect color contrast of all of nature's work.

[JNC Lyon]

Tim,

Are there any holes like that at Yale?

6 at CC of Buffalo is definitely one of the coolest par threes I've ever played.  Obviously, the quarry makes for a dramatic setting, but the hole's biggest hazard is GRAVITY.  Very cool.

John- There is no volcano hole at Yale but there are plenty of dramatic shots courtesy of Mac/Raynor and some very rugged terrain. I am very much looking forward to your reaction as the scope of the property and the size of the greens are behemoth. You will get a better idea of how much land is there when you look at the proposed routing diagram in the clubhouse for the 36 hole project. Dare to dream for the sister course that never came to fruition.

We played a new course in the Rochester area today called Champion Hills (John Foley is a member), which is a short course with very large greens.  My Dad asked a great question: would Donald Ross build greens this size if he were around today?  My answer was yes, partially because he and lots of other Golden Age archies DID build large greens.  My example numero uno?  Seth Raynor, especially from what I've seen at Yeamans Hall and Fox Chapel.  But now that I think about it, Ross built some HUGE greens as well, and one of them in 6 is CCB.  I LOVE the 6th green at CCB, partially because of location, but also because its gigantic nature makes it a little more reasonable.

So yes, I am very much looking forward to Yale, for its huge greens and dramatic layout.  I'm a sucker for great golf architecture, what can I say?!

[Ronald Montesano]

John,

If you like large greens, you will explode when you get to Yale. In fact, the very first hole will get you started with a gigantic, two-tiered green. I expected to like Yale a lot, but what I found there this summer was the greatest course I could ever hope to play in this lifetime.
I had played a template course before (Fox Chapel) but this was just silly good fun. Absolutely amazing track...even f you have to play it with Tim Martin ( )

[Tim Gavrich]

Boy, that 6th green at CC of Buffalo sure doesn't look very big.  What an incredible-looking golf hole.

And yeah, you know you have big greens when there are sprinkler heads completely surrounded by putting surface, as is the case many times over at Yale.

[Tim Martin]

John,

If you like large greens, you will explode when you get to Yale. In fact, the very first hole will get you started with a gigantic, two-tiered green. I expected to like Yale a lot, but what I found there this summer was the greatest course I could ever hope to play in this lifetime.
I had played a template course before (Fox Chapel) but this was just silly good fun. Absolutely amazing track...even f you have to play it with Tim Martin ( )

John- Ron really loves it because he marched in and shot in the mid seventies from the back tees on his first look. This certainly added to all his gushing.

[Jim_Kennedy]

Mark,
The photo is from the club's website.    Never played it, but the green looks to be small -ish, somewhere around 6,500 sq.ft., under 20 paces wide, and it looks like it's set at a 20+ degree angle to most of the tee boxes. Is that correct? Definitely looks like a thrill ride.

I'd love to see the look on people's faces when they first come upon this beauty.


edit: A visual improvement might be to move the cart path to the ridge and dump it out at the back of the green. There looks to be enough room up there. Wonder what the hole looked like when DR built it?








  

[Mark Saltzman]

.

[David_Tepper]

Does anyone else think this hole (#6) is reminiscent of #2 at Royal Dornoch?