I had the great fortune to play this course this week. Greg Boring and Terry Hurst were great hosts and the members that stopped by to chat were informative and helpful. Despite a difficult (understatement) winter, Greg has the course in unbelievable (no hyperbole) shape. If dermatologists could do for teenaged skin what Greg did for CCS' greens, we'd have no more acne.
CCS has a marvelous set of Travis greens. 16 of them are original and the club seems to have plans to reclaim the other two. Numbers 9 and 18 are out of this world; numbers 10 and 7 are right behind, and the others are probably unlike anything you've seen if you don't know Travis.
The movement across the land is enchanting and there is a mixture of (mainly) up and down holes, and flat holes. I don't suffer from vertigo, but all great courses with topographical undulation need and have a balance between vertical and horizontal. There is great width and the rough is quite playable. If you lose a ball, you've really hit a goony.
It is unfortunate that the decision to not restore the bunkers to Travis' specs was made and carried out. CCS deserves to have its fairways and greens be the focal visual points of the round and too often, they are overshadowed by large, flashed-up bunkers.
I recommend this course to anyone with the opportunity to reach Scranton. Travis rejected four or five sites before settling on this one. Back in the day, Scranton was an energy capital of North America, not yet the butt of jokes in "The Office," so there was plenty of money to entice Old Walter J. to come to town and build a great track.