The Country Club Pepper Pike (William Flynn) - A Photo Tour - All 18 Posted

[Joe Leenheer]

Gosh this course is so good...

Completely agree that trees are not an issue at all at country.

Aced #5 last fall so that is my favorite par 3 in the world currently.

#3 is not a birdie hole. Very difficult green that you must stay below the hole on (which I never do)

#7 is delicious.

Bring on the back 9!

[Mark Saltzman]

Hole 10: Par 4, 383 Yards

An absolutely wonderful bunkerless golf hole.  The green lay in clear view straight away.  The LZ is blind from the tee hidden by the broad, 5-10 foot undulations in the 10th fairway.  The fairway that is visible from the tee has an obvious leftward cant, begging the golfer to aim up the right side of the fairway.







But, as the golfer crests the hill, he sees that the land movement has shifted directions, now tilting noticeably rightward.  Any golfer tricked into playing up the right side of the fairway (yours truly) will be rather disappointed with the result of the tee shot.




The approach is played to a green tucked neatly in an amphitheatre setting.  Fairway cut short and right of the green makes the approach considerably more difficult.

Approach from right.






Approach from centre.










While the front portion of the green slopes noticeably from the middle of the green back towards the front (and also from right-to-left, further penalizing tee shots on the right side of the fairway), the back portion of the green slopes away from the tee making it a very difficult part of the green to find (I presume).

[Mark Saltzman]

Hole 11: Par 3, 174 Yards

The first one-shotter on the back-nine is a demanding one.  Played over a series of unforgiving bunkers to a green protected by a large fall-off to the left.  Long may seem like a decent place to miss, but the back-to-front tilt of the green means that recovery from there is difficult.

Curiously, Ran, in his review, says Flynn had a knack for cutting bunkers into the landforms to make uphill par three holes still be fun to play.  Thrilling? Yes.  I'm not sure how bunkers cut into a hill makes it more fun.










There is a bit more room over the bunkers than appears from the tee.








Hole 12: Par 5, 557 Yards

The two-hole stretch from 12-13 is comfortably the least interesting on the course, though there is nothing offensive about either hole. 




The tee shot plays straight away to a bling DZ.  Longer hitters (about 290 from the tee) are forced to lay-back as a ridge crosses the fairway.




The second shot must be well-placed, avoiding the single fairway bunker, and if possible carrying to the top of the hill.




Approaches too far to the right will be blocked-out by trees, but laying up close to the fairway bunker will leave this approach:




From the top of the hill the golfer is left with a downhill approach and a clearer view of what lies ahead:




Approaches from the left / top of the hill have the option of running the ball onto the green.




Even with the flattening effect of the camera the wild contouring of the 12th green is evident.

[Mark Saltzman]

Hole 13: Par 4, 375 Yards




The 13th is a hole I would expect to find on a Perry Maxwell design.  Not only is the fairway titled, but there is a trade-off between playing to the inside of the dogleg (shorter line) vs the outside of the dogleg (preferred angle into the green).

The series of bunkers on the left were once a single large bunker protecting the short line into the green.




Approaching from the left leaves a very difficult angle into the green




While approaching from the right allows the golfer to run the ball on











Hole 14: Par 3, 186 Yards




The Country Club's version of the redan (though I struggle to call it a redan because I don't think the ground contours support the definition).  The bunkering / green opening certainly calls for a drawing tee shot, landing short-right of the green and running on.  But, the green does not slope like any redan I've seen and the fairway contouring is flat, rather than encouraging a kick towards the green.

[JLahrman]

It might not play like a Redan but that is one good-looking golf hole.

[Mark Saltzman]

Hole 15: Par 4, 414 Yards




The 15th shows once again how effectively Flynn uses diagonal ridges.  The tee shot is played to a generous fairway with natural and wonderful movement rarely seen on modern golf courses.






The approach is played over a ridge and a trio of bunkers cut into it.  Clever placement of the left greenside bunker makes one think the ridge continues...






Over the bunkers there is plenty of room to bailout, though as this is only a mid-length par-4, there is really no reason a golfer should find himself in the bunkers (though the intimidation factor means it happens reasonably often)











Hole 16: Par 5, 510 Yards




Though many golfers will be tempted to try to carry the fairway bunker only the longest of hitters will have any chance.




In fact, with the tilt of the fairway back towards the golfer, many golfers will be unable to crest the hill on the tee shot and will face a blind approach.




Once cresting the hill the golfer is treated to a fairway that tilts gradually leftward until it reaches an end and plunges.




When laying-up the golfer has the choice of laying back leaving a level approach from 120 yards




Or playing into the valley leaving an approach of 70 yards or less




Another false-front at the 16th...

[jonathan_becker]

#15 is fantastic.  How often do you get to play a shot from one tier of land to another on a parkland course?  This is the only hole I've ever played that presents itself this way.  Plus, the bunkering adds to the interest of the approach as the crossing point from one level to the next.

[BHoover]

This photo tour is fantastic. Based solely on the photos (I've never had the opportunity to play here), if TCC is not the best course in Ohio, I'd be surprised. The angles and use of bunkering to create the visual sense of having less room to miss is superb. The green complexes also look terrific. I've also heard that the routing here is wonderful. Did you find that to be true?

Thanks for sharing these photos.

[Joe Leenheer]

This photo tour is fantastic. Based solely on the photos (I've never had the opportunity to play here), if TCC is not the best course in Ohio, I'd be surprised. The angles and use of bunkering to create the visual sense of having less room to miss is superb. The green complexes also look terrific. I've also heard that the routing here is wonderful. Did you find that to be true?

Thanks for sharing these photos.

Ohio is saturated with fantastic golf courses.  TCC has a solid spot on my top 10 in Ohio.

I truly believe this is a GREAT match play course with many swing holes.  The Women's AM should be interesting, but I'd love to see some other big time Match Play events come to TCC.  Bring on hole #17!

[BHoover]

This photo tour is fantastic. Based solely on the photos (I've never had the opportunity to play here), if TCC is not the best course in Ohio, I'd be surprised. The angles and use of bunkering to create the visual sense of having less room to miss is superb. The green complexes also look terrific. I've also heard that the routing here is wonderful. Did you find that to be true?

Thanks for sharing these photos.

Ohio is saturated with fantastic golf courses.  TCC has a solid spot on my top 10 in Ohio.

I truly believe this is a GREAT match play course with many swing holes.  The Women's AM should be interesting, but I'd love to see some other big time Match Play events come to TCC.  Bring on hole #17!

Interesting point. I wonder if the Women's Am might be the first step in opening the club up to hosting other USGA events? Would it be a stretch to hope for a future Walker Cup?

[Michael George]

Brian:

CCPP is a great golf course.  However, I still have it below Brookside.  The greens at Brookside are the difference.

[JT Taylor]

My name is J.T. Taylor and this is my first post to GCA.  Like many others, I have been lurking for a number of years.  I have been anxious to see if The Country Club would get some additional attention from this discussion board as the U.S. Women's Am approached and this photo tour has not disappointed.  I have been a member at "Country" since 1991 and have seen it evolve into one of the best courses in Ohio.  I was interviewed for Ran's course tour back several years ago and told him that the true test of a great course is one that you want to play over and over again and it always feel "fresh", which is clearly the case at Country.

Angles play a big role at Country and, like many Golden Age courses, plays harder when it is firm and fast.  The heavy rain and 95 dgree temps we had in mid July didn't do Brian Mabie our course superintendent any favors but we've had some cooler nights and no rain for a week so the course has begun the get a bit quicker which is how it was designed to be played.

I am caddying for a contestant in the Women's Am and I am looking forward to seeing how these fine amateurs play the course.  I hope my 20 years of knowledge will pay dividends for my loop!

If anyone is planning to come out an watch, I'd be happy to spend a few minutes discussing the cousre and introducing myself.

Cheers,

JT

[Brian Joines]

Mark,

Thanks for another great photo tour. I hadn't seen much of this course outside of Ran's review and I'm quite impressive. It looks like a fun challenge from tee to green. #10, #11, #15 all look particularly good.

JT,

Welcome to GCA! I'm sure all following this thread will appreciate your insights here. What holes do you think will be the most challenging for the Women's Am?

[JT Taylor]

Brian:

I think the toughest three-hole stretch will be 5, 6 and 7.  5 is the toughest par 3 on the course and the women are playing it at 192 yds which is the longest par 3 the contestants will play durng the championship.  6 is the #1 handicap on the course and while it is not the longest hole, it plays significantly uphill, both on the tee shot and the second shot.  Overall, the toughest hole could be 15 but that will largely depend on where the hole location is each day.  There are some nasty positions on that green.  The best green on the course is on hole 4 but unfortunately, due to the heat and rain we got a few weeks ago, the poa in the landing zone in the fairway is severely stressed and as a result, the USGA has moved up the tees by about 35 yards to allow most players to drive it past the normal landing zone into an area much closer to the green.  As a result, the players will be hitting shorter irons into that green which will negate some of the complexity of that green.

Cheers,

JT

[BHoover]

JT, welcome to the site.  I grew up in NE Ohio (Akron-Canton area), and love the courses in the area. 

Do you think that the Women's Am is the start of the TCC seeking out more events?  I've heard through friends that might be the case.  How does the membership feel about possibly hosting more events? 

I posed the question last night, would the club ever be in the running for an event like a Walker Cup?

[Mark Saltzman]

Hole 17: Par 4, 387 Yards




Another diagonal ridge! This one must be carried to find the wider-than-it-looks blind landing area.  Though the tee shot is initmidating, even from the plates the carry is under two hundred yards -- just don't go left.






Upon cresting the hill the golfer sees a rather wide fairway that first cants right then tilts hard to the left all the way to the green.  Though tee shots down the left will leave the shorter approach, surely most golfers will prefer to approach this green from the right.






Longer hitters may have their drives run out to this area 100 yards short of the green.  Again Flynn has cut the bunkers into the hillside, increasing the drama if nothing else.






Back up top now, golfers planning to play a running approach into the green must deal with this massive kicker short-right of the green.




Missing left is certainly not ideal...




The green...

[Mark Saltzman]

Hole 18 Par 4, 397 Yards -- back tee is 451 yards




Once again the Line of Instinct will lead the golfer astray as he attempts to play down the right side of the fairway.  The ideal line, as suggested by the fairway bunkering, is down the left side of the fairway.








Much of the fairway is blind from the tee.  This is the fairway as it first comes into view.




The approach from a preferred angle






The interestingly shaped 18th green

[JT Taylor]

Brian:

Hard to say on the club's willingness to host future events before the dust has settled on the Women's Am.  Keep in mind that for a norther-tier club (i.e. where there is a real Winter/late Fall season with no golf), it is hard to give up your course for 10 or 11 days.  While I think it would be very cool to have a Walker Cup at Country, I think that event is reserved for the upper-most eschelon of clubs (National, Merion, Chicago Golf, Quaker Ridge, PV, Cypress, Shinnecock, etc).

JT

[JLahrman]

Great pics, thanks Mark. Good to see a nice photo tour of this course.

[jonathan_becker]

15 and 17 are two original holes that are full of great features.  The tee shot across the bank, the movement of the fairway with the hanging lies and different angles on the approach, and the phenomenal greensite and bunkering makes 17 my favorite hole on the course.

Thanks for the tour, Mark.  This was one of your better ones.

[JT Taylor]

Johnathan:

I agree with your assessments of 15 and 17.  They are my two favorites as well.  The thing I find interesting and one of the reasons why I enjoy Golden Age architecture so much more than most modern designers is that a hole like 17 would likely not be built today.  If the ridge was kept, the internal movement of the fairway would most likely have been removed or regraded and the blind landing area would be taken away.  The "rumpled blanket" look of fairways like 1, 10, 15 and 17 are what give a course like Country its character.

Regards,

JT

[Joe Bausch]

Really good stuff Mark.

Note, here is a recent article on the Haskell ball that was invented by a TCC member:

http://www.usga.org/ChampEventArticle.aspx?id=21474849162

[Michael Herrmann]

Outstanding photo tour, thanks for posting.  I'm going to be traveling to the Cleveland area Monday for work and may have to head over late in the day to try and catch some of the Women's Am.  Safe to assume they would still be out on the course later in the day (5:00?)

[JT Taylor]

Michael:

The last time of the day is 2:30.  Figure at least 4:30 rounds and they will be finishing at 7PMish.  I am caddying for a player at 2PM off the first tee.

JT

[Ronald Montesano]

Here is a link to the official site of the WAM:  http://www.usga.org/ChampEventSite.aspx?id=17179869348

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