Trademark Raynor features in a course like Morris County (NJ) Golf Club

[Craig_Rokke]

Looks like I'll have the opportunity to play the Raynor-designed Morris County G C in North Jersey at some point this summer. I'm very excited to be back playing golf with an old buddy, after a long vision-related layoff.  I'm also pleased with the opportunity to take in my first Raynor course. I understand it's a very solid course, and I would venture a guess that there are a fair amount of Raynor "features" present in the layout. For those familiar with the course or with Raynor, what are some of the obvious Raynor design features on this course that I might want to check out?

One write-up lists MacDonald as a "possible design collaborator", so that also spikes my curiosity. Thanks

[Ben Voelker]

Craig,

Please give us an update and post some photos if you can get some once you have had the chance to play.

I work across the street from the club and I would love to see what the interior of the course looks like.

[Cory Lewis]

I was very fortunate to play this course on my birthday two years ago.  It has alot of good Raynor stuff.  The Short, Eden, and Redan are all there as are some of the other template par 4's.   Below are a couple pictures.  First one is the Short hole. The second one I believe is a par 5, don't know the hole number.

[Mike Sweeney]

I really enjoyed this course, and I think the first hole is up there with the first at Garden City for short par 4 openers.

It is not Raynor's best but it is a very fun day.

PS. I am a member at Yale, so take the above with a grain of salt. 

[Phil McDade]

Craig:

The best primer I know of, with respect to what one might encounter at a Raynor course, is this GCA interview with George Bahto:

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/feature-interview/george-bahto/

Looking at an aerial of the course, I see what certainly looks to be a Short, perhaps a reverse Redan, and maybe an Eden. Hard to tell without being on the ground re. other Raynor templates.

[Malcolm Mckinnon]

A very fine club. Much cross pollination with Pine Valley as far as membership goes. I like the four leaf clover logo.

Craig, If you have never played a MacDonald School style course you are in for a treat. However, I can't believe that you could have hung around this website for so long and not grasped the basics of that branch of golf architecture.

Raynor is not known for great deviations from the standard except perhaps where he decided to supersize things a la Yale University.

Malcolm

[Alex Lagowitz]

I have played the course multiple times, and not to disappoint but it is far from the top tier courses in the state.
It's better than Rock Spring, which is a Raynor/Banks in West Orange, but far short of both Forsgate and Essex County.
The 18th hole is a little quirky as a blind tee shot can find a small lake on the doglegged hole.

Last time I played, the greens were a little slow, and the redan not so "redan-like", but there certainly are some interesting holes.
I believe the 8th hole (or around there) is called Big-Ben.  Its a downhill hole with a series of plateaus in the fairway creating a stair-like feel.
From what I remember, their is not a biarritz but there is a short and eden.

Enjoy the round!

[Craig_Rokke]

A very fine club. Much cross pollination with Pine Valley as far as membership goes. I like the four leaf clover logo.

Craig, If you have never played a MacDonald School style course you are in for a treat. However, I can't believe that you could have hung around this website for so long and not grasped the basics of that branch of golf architecture.

Raynor is not known for great deviations from the standard except perhaps where he decided to supersize things a la Yale University.

Malcolm


thanks for the responses! Yes I've hung around GCA for a while, and while I'm not a Raynor expert, I have gleaned a bit over the years. I think my inquiry was really about my hope that the course was still pretty intact "Raynor", and that there would be some notewaorthy examples his style..

[Bill Brightly]

There is a very nice double plateau green, I believe on Hole #9.

Rock Spring is all Banks, Raynor had already passed away when Banks built it.