CC of Florida (R.B. Harris / Lester George) - A Photo Tour

[Lester George]

1000 posts, who would have thought.

Lester

[Bill_McBride]

1000 posts, who would have thought.

Lester

Especially after you met 28 of the loonies who post here last fall.   

[Mark Saltzman]

Notable Changes Hole 10:
- Bunker to the right of 10 fairway (present in both earlier iterations) has been removed and the lake guarding the right (and the ideal angle into the green) has been expanded closer to the fairway.
-Bunker was added to the left of the fairway (sorry, Lester, this is one of the very few bunkers on the course I didn't like... perhaps you can  explain it?). 
- Greenside bunkering has been revised, close to a restoration to original bunkering
- MOST NOTABLE, green has been substantially expanded.  Don't know what the original contouring was, but the new contouring is exceptional (think Biarritz!).


Notable Changes Hole 11:
- Greenside bunkering restored
- Bunkers 100 yards short of the green added to create interesting second shot decision



Hole 10: Par 4, 428 Yards




Easily the most difficult tee shot on the course.  Water on the right guards the ideal angle into the green.  Lots of room to bail-out left (though there is a single bunker there, and as mentioned, it's not my favourite bunker on the course), but approaches from the left are considerably more difficult.




Approaching from the right, the golfer need not carry the green side bunkering and a running shot can be played into this deep green.  Approaches from the left are played at angle to the green and must deal with the green side bunkering.






I wish I had a better picture of this green -- it is one of the best in the State of Florida.  A great Biarritz green with a nasty run-off to the right.





Hole 11: Par 5, 524 Yards




This is my favourite hole on the course and a GREAT par-5.  Decision-making starts from the tee.  Golfers who plan to play this as a 3-shot hole will want to challenge the right-side fairway bunkering to leave the easiest lay-up.  Golfers hoping to reach this green in two will want to play to the left -- but, some large trees and that always pesky OB will catch shots that are pulled just a bit.




A look at the 11th hole from the 6th fairway:




The bunkering short of, and around the green is so darned good.  From the centre of the fairway the golfer must decide how bold he wants to be -- distance and line must be matched perfectly on this lay-up.  The ideal pitch into the green is from the left, but this is guarded by agua and deep bunkering.  So, how about I take enough club to blow it over the bunkers on the left? A good plan, but don't push it to the right at all as a deep bunker guards the right 60 yards short of the green and is a very bad spot to be.






Laying up 100 yards short of the green, the golfer need not worry about any of the bunkering.  But, from here the angle of approach is considerably more difficult as the angle of the green is designed to be approached from the left. Further, the green's surface is entirely blind from this angle.




From the left side 50 yards short of the green, the green's surface comes into view as the golfer looks down the throat of the green.




A ridge bisects the green into front and back sections.  IIRC, each section creates a bowl -- just don't miss into the wrong bowl.

[Mark Saltzman]

1968




1995





2010




Notable changes:

Hole 12: Not much.
- Bunker on left side has been re-shaped and moved toward the tee.
- Green has been enlarged and re-shaped.  Was circular, now favours shots from the rich.
- Tree removal down right side.

Hole 13:
- fountain removed  
- Green significantly expanded and re-shaped to provide 'Sunday pin placement' back-right
- eye-candy bunkering from behind green removed and replaced by penal bunkering left and right.



Hole 12: Par 4, 385 Yards




The tee shot on the 12th calls for precision over power.  A straightaway hole, with the pin and green in clear view.  Pin location is a key determinant of strategy.  The bunker on the left is carry-able by most, but tee shots up the left leave a very difficult approach to a left pin.  A group of trees cut into the fairway from the right 75 yards short of the green.  Left pins ask the golfer to play up the right side of the fairway, but he must be careful not to push his tee ball at all or else risk being blocked-out by the trees.




No bail-out on this approach to a green set at an angle to the fairway.  Shots missed left will be bunkered and shots missed right will find a deep swale.  Should be an easy hole, but it isn't.





Hole 13: Par 3, 127 Yards




An excellent short par-3 with backboards and sideboards not unlike those found at Sand Hills' 3rd hole.  Though the bunkers are set back a long way from the green, I think this placement is very clever.  The sideboards can be used to effectively increase the available landing area of shots that will find the green.  Any golfer trying to use these slopes to his advantage must face the very serious risk of finding the bunkers, from which he will have an extremely difficult recovery.






Green from back-right




Green from short-left




Green from left



Green from 14 tee

[Mark Saltzman]

1968




1995




2010




Notable Changes:

Hole 14
- Pond on left significantly expanded into fairway, narrowing the 'lay-up' area
- Single bunker on right replaces earlier duo of bunkers
- Two bunkers moved from right to centre to create a centerline feature to challenge longer hitters that can carry the water
- Green was angled right-to-left.  Now angled left-to-right to reward golfers who challenged the water

Hole 15
- Significant tree removal on right
- Top-shot bunker added on left to hide fairway width
- Restoration of green side bunkering and bunkering short of green


Hole 14: Par 4, 343 Yards




Golfer has the option of laying-up to the right of the water or trying to carry it and negotiating the cross-bunkers.






Approaches from the right are over the cross bunkers and green side bunker.  There is no view of the putting surface and the green angles and slopes away from here.




From the left the golfer has a simple pitch up the throat of the green.










Hole 15: Par 5, 524 Yards




A top-shot bunker on the left, combined with the bunkers on the right and the one well in the distance makes this fairway appear narrower than it is.  Golfers are tempted to play up the left to leave a shorter approach into this par-5, but the ideal angle is from the right.




A fairly simple lay-up for those that find the centre of the fairway.




From the left side of the fairway, the green is within reach, but the large trees and several bunkers must be avoided.




Laying back to 130 yards leave a clear view of the green.






Lay-ups closer to the green have the putting surface hidden by the deep green side bunkering.




A large, rolling green, with a tiny and difficult back pin position available.

[Mark Saltzman]

1968




1995




2011




Notable Changes:

Hole 16
- Fairway bunkering on inside of dogleg restored
- Right side bunkering short of green also restored
- In 1995 green significantly expanded and angled diagonally to the fairway.
- Greenside bunkering expanded and re-shaped


Hole 17
- Bunker 30 yards short of green added to create visual deception
- Bunker on right expanded and re-shaped
- Bunker on left expanded and moved farther up the green
- Back-right portion of green expanded


Hole 18
- Trees on left thinned-out
- Fairway bunkers on right side added to create added interest for long-hitters
- Bunker 30 yards short of green added


Hole 16: Par 4, 362 Yards




Interesting tee shot here.  Short hole where everything is telling you that the ideal line is over the right fairway bunker, but the prudent play is up the left side of the fairway.  Tee shots that miss right will be blocked out by trees, or worse, may kick into water.




From the left (150 yards out) the green is easily approached.  Deep bunkering right of the green maintains one's interest here.




Approaching from the right leaves only half of the flagstick in view.  The approach must be played over the deep bunkering from here.










Hole 17: Par 3, 175 Yards

Another really good par-3.  A bunker short of the green makes the tee shot appear much more difficult than it is, as there is quite a bit of grass on which one can miss. 










Green is kidney-shaped with a back-right pin that could be hidden behind the green side bunkering.





Hole 18: Par 4, 396 Yards

The 18th is a great finisher and it may be the toughest hole on the course.  A good example of this 'bunkers everywhere' look, as there are bunkers on all lines, though they are staggered.  The ideal line is over the bunkers on the left, though tee shots long enough to carry these bunkers must not miss right into the fairway bunkers. 






There is tremendous width for those willing to lay back off the tee.  The fairway narrows as one gets closer to the green.




A bunker 30 yards short of the green will hide the putting surface from golfers approaching from the right.





The green as seen from back-left

[Lester George]

Mark,

Thanks again for doing this.  As stated earlier, nice job on catching my intent and noticing the things that are less commanding.  You have really discovered Country Club of Florida for those on this site.  I would like to schedule you to visit some other places just for the review.

Lester

[Keith Phillips]

Agreed - Mark, thanks and congrats on the great effort - I'm very surprised this thread didn't garner the interest it would seem to deserve.

[Ed Kenny]

The course is even better than the pictures can show. Thank you Mr. Saltzman for all the work you did, spot on great job.  Best conditioned course I've ever played, total props to the super.  Played 3 days in 3 different winds which really allowed me to appreciate the design intelligence and strategy of Misters Harris and George. Wow. Lucky and happy to have been able to play it.

[Patrick_Mucci]

CCF is a really neat course.

What's hard to believe is the topography, the highest natural elevation in Palm Beach County.
Yet, not far away, the N-S and E-W roads are flat as a pancake for as far as the eye can see.

It's a really neat course and Lester is right the Superintendent really gets it, the blend of architecture and maintenance, and, he's a hell of a golfer.

Have to run now, but, I thought that CCF was the type of course you enjoy playing on a daily diet, and, it benefits from the WIND.

[Dean Stokes]

The course looks great and the Palm Beach County Amateur was held there last weekend - won by Eddie Kenny - who I believe is a member  on this forum......everyone I talked to said the really enjoyed it and the conditions were perfect.
From looking at the photos it appears to me that once again we have a course that would play and look so much better if the surrounds of the bunkers were mowed at fairway height - this is now officially a "pet peeve" of mine. It looks like so many shots may roll off greens into those bunkers if it were not for the thick rough as well as tee shots running into the hazards rather than being held up.