[Jason Thurman]

Thanks for the tour, Jason.

I'm pretty sure that Archie Simpson (designer of Murcar, and assistant to Old Tom Morris on Cruden Bay and Dornoch) was the head pro at Clovernook in the early days.  Do you have any information on his tenure there, and is it possible he assisted L&M in the design and construction?

Thanks in advance and keep the tour coming.

Rich

I don't know at the moment, though Bob Harrison, our Golf Pro Emeritus, has pulled some of the early papers the club has on file for me. I just need to swing by sometime (probably today) and look through. Archie Simpson was indeed an early pro at Clovernook. I just don't know about his role in the design or construction. I'll do some digging.

[Jason Thurman]

Let's close out the front nine.

7th Hole, 380 yard par 4:

Like the 6th hole before it, the 7th is much easier on the scorecard than on the ground. The landing area need not be blind from the tee, as a player shouldn’t really hit much farther than 230 yards on his tee shot to reach ideal position. Balls hit longer risk finishing on a difficult downslope or even running through the fairway and out of bounds. A draw with a wood or long iron between the two white 150 markers works nicely here.

The tee shot falls steeply downhill beyond 230 yards, but there’s really no reason to hit farther than that either:


Once again, the hole’s interest is ratcheted up on the approach. The 7th is perhaps the most confounding approach shot at Clovernook and plays to perhaps the best greensite on the course. The green sits precariously atop a small mound, elevated some 15 feet above the stream that crosses some ten yards short of it. An unassuming but devastating grass bunker fronts it to the right, and fallaway edges around the right and back make recoveries on those sides nearly impossible. Topping it off, winds swirl violently in this corner of the property, as trees and another ravine funnel the breeze in unpredictable directions. For that reason, distance control is especially difficult here. Well struck balls often shoot over the wind tunnel and wind up long and dead, while shots hit lower get trapped in the wind tunnel and come up well short. At least that’s my story, because I can never control approach distance here with any success. The green itself is flat by Clovernook standards but pitched strongly back to front.

Cresting the top of the hill reveals a green with no good place to miss:


That grass bunker front right is really a bad spot:




8th hole, 137 yard par 3:

The shortest par 3 on the card, the 8th is another brilliant piece of routing by Langford. The 7th hole transports the golfer to a section of the property with another ravine that initially seems too severe for great golf. Most architects would no doubt have placed the 8th tee on the knoll above and to the left of the 7th green, and likely routed either a par 3 running perpendicular to this 8th hole or a par 4 that uses part of the corridor where the 9th sits today, thus easily working around the ravine. Instead, Langford faced the ravine head on by placing the tee left of the approach to 7 and still just a short walk from the green. The result is a short par 3 with a terrifically intimidating tee shot. Balls hit even slightly fat may come up only a few yards short of the green, but can end up some twenty feet below it. A bunker left adds more danger and colors this hole with shades of the 9th at Pinehurst No. 2. Also of interest is the mound on the right side of the green. As the tee shot is uphill, even short irons come in at a fairly shallow angle and are apt to release several yards upon landing. The mound can work as a kickplate to send the ball closer to the hole.



The stream running through the bottom of the ravine almost looks Moreau-shaped in spots:


The most interesting part of this green is certainly the back left corner. From there, shots hit long can leave putts with up to 10 feet of break toward the front right opening of the green. It’s one of the easiest holes on the course, but capable of wreaking disaster for a player who hits a poor tee shot or fails to handle the green well.

Looking into the green from the opening front right:


9th Hole, 450 yard par 4:

After three straight short-ish holes, the front side closes with a brutally tough par 4. While the view off the tee looks cramped, there’s actually plenty of room out there. Of course, all that room in the fairway left is virtually useless as a tee shot to that side lengthens this already long hole considerably. A player hoping to reach the green in regulation will need to hit a big tee ball that hugs the tall trees on the right of the fairway. While Clovernook could no doubt be improved with some selective tree clearing, many of the trees on the course work as strategic hazards for the aerial game, with branches the bold player is tempted to flirt with. Also, note that we’re crossing the southern ravine of the course one more time, though Langford again keeps this severe feature mostly out of play. The front nine at Clovernook is an absolute clinic in routing a walkable, playable course over severe terrain, a fact to which Clovernook’s thriving caddie program and strong walking culture attests.

The tee shot sets up nicely for a 310 yard fade (for righties), but the player who fails to execute that shot will have a long approach:


On the approach, Langford infuses plenty of interest for both the player reaching in regulation and the player laying up. The player going for the green must beware of the deep bunker on the left, while another bunker front right threatens any shot hit with a low draw. For the player laying up, though (and there are many), a bunker some 50 yards short of the green in the left side of the fairway challenges the landing area and adds interest. The angle of approach for the ensuing pitch shot is best from the left side, as the front right bunker is taken out of play, but it takes a bold swing to get near that left fairway bunker (when it’s not staked as GUR, as in the photo).

Once on the green, the player faces what many believe is the best putting surface on a course with numerous contenders. The 9th green is wildly contoured with numerous humps around its perimeter creating a number of channels and troughs that can funnel balls toward or away from the hole. It’s another half-par hole and indeed a 3 here will almost always win a skin in the club’s Saturday morning game.

Even from 150 yards, the slope of the green is evident in this photo:


The bunker 50 yards short adds a dose of interest for players who must lay up:

[JLahrman]

I love the look of the 7th green. Any thought to cutting the grass closer on the face of the grass bunker? Looks like the ball could catch up on the face of it, which might make the pitch easier with an uphill lie. If the ball rolled down into the flat of the bunker, the pitch shot looks like it could get mighty interesting.

[Jason Thurman]

Let's go to the back nine.

10th Hole, 400 yard par 4:

The back nine opens with another difficult tee shot. Like the drives at 2 and 9, the 10th tee shot is critical to cutting length off this hole. A well struck drive up the left side will leave just a short iron approach, while a pushed drive to the right side risks running through the fairway while leaving a much longer second shot. The southern ravine on the property cuts across the hole’s corridor, and big hitters will need to lay up to avoid running through the fairway at the 260 mark.

A draw is the preferred shot off the tee, with an ideal shot hugging the left treeline:


As one of the more demanding ballstriking holes on the course, the 10th green sometimes flies under the radar. It’s a behemoth, some 45 yards deep, with numerous humps that send approach shots bounding and spinning in unpredictable directions. The final third of the green slopes away from the approach shot, making back pins extremely interesting as a player must either risk bounding over the green on his approach or risk a putt over a ridge that runs away steeply on the other side. It is another in a deep group of greens that contend for the title of Clovernook’s best.

It’s a scary approach to 10. The trees on the right are scary, but they hide some equally scary features:


The 10th green is a great one, though it might go unnoticed thanks to the difficulty of getting there. The huge wall that forms the right side is largely obscured by trees for the player standing in the fairway, though it’s very obvious for the player who pushes his approach:


From back to front, a deep bunker on the green’s left side is evident, as is the ridge that sends the rear of the green running away from the player:


You’ll pass Clovernook’s excellent new practice area on the way to the 11th tee:


11th Hole, 147 yard par 3:

Listed at 147 yards, this hole often feels shorter than its scorecard length. It moves downhill gradually from the tee and the green is another pushed-up Langford and Moreau classic with awful fates awaiting balls pulled, pushed, or hit long. A pair of deep bunkers left pin players behind another 4+ foot deep grass face. Misses long are equally bad. With a good tee shot, though, this is the most realistic birdie opportunity among Clovernook’s par 3s, as its green is relatively flat and the hole itself is fairly short.

It’s a dicey, slightly downhill tee shot to a gently crowned green with fallaway edges and a mound partially obscuring the front right side:


Once on, it’s one of the flatter greens on the course and easily the best birdie opportunity among the par 3s:


12th Hole, 330 yard par 4:

One last potential birdie hole before a very tough four hole stretch. The bunker fronting the left side of the fairway dominates the view off the tee, but it’s only a 180 yard carry. The bunkers up the right side are more in play. Beyond those, OB cuts in and is reachable for big hitters.

The tee shot is tapered, and the farther past 180 yards you go, the more accurate you need to be:


This trio of bunkers right of the fairway will catch a pushed tee shot, though they’d be more fearsome with larger grass faces and an extended fairway cut that brought them more into play for bouncing shots:


The real interest begins near the green. A trio of bunkers makes an aerial approach ideal here. The green sits on one of the highest points on the course and is usually just a touch faster than the other greens at Clovernook. It’s also fairly flat, but probably the smallest surface on the course as well. An approach that stays on the green leaves a very makeable birdie putt, but it’s a very tough green to hit in spite of the hole’s short length.

It’s also a greensite that would benefit from some maintenance tweaks. I’d love to see the fairway lines widened to encompass the three fronting bunkers. Not only would more balls risk running into the sand, but it would also help reintroduce the opportunity to bounce balls that just clear the bunkers onto the green. I also wonder if the bunker faces here have always been so low.

Another trio of bunkers really makes the approach shot interesting:


Another look at the mowing lines around the green-fronting bunkers:


The 12th is a good hole that fits nicely into the ebb and flow of the routing. Its excitement is derived mostly from its placement in the round, as there’s a lot of pressure to make a good score here before holding on through the four holes ahead. When the club installed its practice facility a few years ago, there was originally talk of plowing over this hole. Thankfully, it was preserved and the original routing of the course remains intact. Still, I can’t help feeling that it’s the hole on the course that would most benefit from a sympathetic restoration. It features more hazards than any other hole on the course: 7 bunkers along with OB very much in play right and feasibly in play long on the approach. It would be great to see the bunkers renovated to reflect a more frightening Langford and Moreau look and to see the fairway extended to bring the trio that governs the approach more into play.

[Josh Tarble]

Jason, it looks like there are several holes that the land forces you to leave the driver in the bag. Do you find that to be the case?

[RJ_Daley]

Yup, that 10th looks tremendous.  I wonder if taking just one of the two large trees obscuring the right side of green approach wouldn't make a positive difference.  And, it is also easy to see that your speculation that a remodeling and lowering of the brow height of the two 'alligator eyes' peeking up from the 12th approach is correct.  The same question for the bunker nest on the inside right corner of that hole. 

 I take it Jason, that we don't know who or what process made the remodeling and apparent bunker brow softening decisions.  Reviewing the club website and no mention of a supervising resto-reno 'architect of record' leads to believe that they make their decisions in-house and farm out the work under their own supervision... One gets the impression that the club is an old and established membership that either has a benevolent dictator sort of oversight, or simply a committee that know what they want, and are comfortable with that. 

It just seems to me that the light handed touch that a supervision architect firm like Forse-Nagle did with Lawsonia could shine this course up to a sparkling gem, with minimal work.  Not that it isn't a gem already.  Personally, if I were a resident of that area, this is definitely the type of club I'd want to join, based on the golf course aspect and apparent understated elegance of other facilities. 

[Jason Thurman]

Josh, for you and me, there are definitely quite a few holes where driver isn't an option and a few more where it's not prudent. The only sure driver holes on the course for me are 2, 5, 9, 16, 17, and 18. I'll occassionally hit it on 12 if the wind is helping, or 13/15 if I feel like being a moron. The average member probably hits driver on every non par 3, but anyone who drives it over 250 or so will have a few holes to lay back on.

On one hand, the short-ish landing areas help keep the course relevant in the face of new technology. A big hitter just can't use full power all that often and plenty of the holes that cross the ravines on the course will never be a flip-wedge approach. On the other hand, though, I think the course's biggest weakness might be the way it requires layups from a large number of players. Part of that could be alleviated with some wise tree clearing, as you'll see later in the back nine. Even a hole like the 7th could be a really tempting risk/reward tee shot if the trees left were cleared to make the lower landing area of the fairway more of an option.

RJ, the membership certainly loves their course, but I'm not sure many members realize its true pedigree. In a city where Camargo really overshadows everyone else, there's reason to believe Clovernook has the bones to be at the top of the next tier of courses when it comes to pure quality of golf. When I joined, members were surprised that I had heard of Langford and Moreau, and more surprised that their involvement in the course was a big part of my attraction to it. While it doesn’t have the freedom to add length that would make it a “Top 100” contender, it’s a really sporty and fun course that has some quietly bold features lurking. While the third green is obvious, the 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 12th, 14th, and 15th holes are all really just a small amount of work from being brilliant, compelling holes that truly display their ancestry.

I’m not aware of any supervising architects of record for renovation work. I think you’re right that the club’s board makes most decisions about maintenance and renovation. The good thing about that is that there’s really been very little change out there over the years; trees have been planted, a couple bunkers grassed over, and a couple bunkers added, but the old aerials are very similar to the current course. The downside is that the course has some untapped potential, particularly in its gradually softened bunker shaping and overall width, that could make it a really extraordinary layout if revealed.  It’s impossible for a student of golf course architecture not to think about that potential when looking at the course. Still, as you mention, it’s already a gem of a golf course with an absolutely ideal membership culture (lots of walking, fast play, an emphasis on match play, and a generally casual atmosphere).

[RJ_Daley]

   Jason, it didn't sink into my thick head that you are actually a member there.    I guess I didn't pick up on your couple of phrazes "our pro - our pro emeritus". 

I'd say, congratulations on joining a what looks to me to be a great golf course experience.  That said particularly in context with your statement: 

Josh, for you and me, there are definitely quite a few holes where driver isn't an option and a few more where it's not prudent. The only sure driver holes on the course for me are 2, 5, 9, 16, 17, and 18. I'll occassionally hit it on 12 if the wind is helping, or 13/15 if I feel like being a moron. The average member probably hits driver on every non par 3, but anyone who drives it over 250 or so will have a few holes to lay back on.

On one hand, the short-ish landing areas help keep the course relevant in the face of new technology. A big hitter just can't use full power all that often and plenty of the holes that cross the ravines on the course will never be a flip-wedge approach. On the other hand, though, I think the course's biggest weakness might be the way it requires layups from a large number of players. Part of that could be alleviated with some wise tree clearing, as you'll see later in the back nine. Even a hole like the 7th could be a really tempting risk/reward tee shot if the trees left were cleared to make the lower landing area of the fairway more of an option.

This certainly implies to me that the times you don't use driver vs the holes you do is in balance and gives you an excellent workout through your bag of clubs with the added element of strategic thinking always present and not rote or boring.  How could a serious golfer not love that!!! 

And, your observations about particular tweaking improvements seems to me to say that the club has a great member in you, with your excellent perception and playing skills to back what you believe.  I hope you are on track to be a leader in member oversight of what seems obviously a classic gem to be maintained and enjoyed for the wizardry left behind by Langford and Morreau. 

Bring on the rest of the tour, I'm loving it. 

[Doug Ralston]

Jason;

I had the pleasure of going out to Clovernook to watch a City Championship round some years back. It is indeed a course for thinking players, and I noticed that not all the top players thought alike either. Since I only saw it one round, I did have a question.

The hole that paralells West Northbend is closer than I have thought walking by the outside. I mean by that I would worry about my approach actually carrying over into the street. I know there is a lot to carry, but my own tendency to hit high slices could be a problem. My question is, as a private club, are the members protected from such a problem? What about visitors, tourney players? I know that isn't quite an architecture problem, but it must bear on how the trees there are treated. I have never been a private club member, so I know nothing of how this works.

Jason, I thought at the time this course was exceptional, and I think I commented at least briefly on GKL about it. Glad you found it. Your insights are so much clearer than mine. I hope sometime I can come out and have a look. As you know, I can no longer play; but I sure can look, and appreciate. Nice piece here.

Doug

[Criss Titschinger]

The hole that paralells West Northbend is closer than I have thought walking by the outside. I mean by that I would worry about my approach actually carrying over into the street. I know there is a lot to carry, but my own tendency to hit high slices could be a problem. My question is, as a private club, are the members protected from such a problem?

I'm wondering about this too. I have to admit when I played Western Hills CC a few years ago, I was puckering a bit on 11 and 16. But solid shots down the middle of the fairway put my mind at ease. Also, the roads bordering those holes are on aren't super busy.

15 at Clovernook is certainly not a good hole to slice on and Galbraith is a pretty busy road. There are a few more trees on the right side, but they don't border the fence like other clubs like Western Hills, Losantiville, and Maketewah.

In fairness though, you do have more room to the right off of 15 at Clovernook than you do at 11 and 16 at Western Hills.

[Michael Herrmann]

Jason,

Fun tour here and glad you have posted it.  I must very shamefully admit that, having played Clovernook on a few occasions some 15 or so years ago in my high school/competitive days and myself being a long time member just a short drive away at Miami View, I was totally unaware of the architectural pedigree of Clovernook until reading this thread.  Have a couple relatives and business friends that are/were members there but I've only been there recently for a drink/meeting at the clubhouse.  I have had the opportunity to play another L&M gem in Skokie CC in Chicago-land and really enjoyed it, just as I remember enjoying my handful of rounds at Clovernook.

Agree with some of the sentiments here that some selective tree removal/widening of corridors and a little bunker restoration could really make the place shine.  Looking forward to the rest of the tour to jog my memory.

Were these pictures taken fairly recently?  Course looks to be quite lush, and why wouldn't it with as much rain as we've had this spring!

[Jason Thurman]

Doug, you're welcome anytime. I'd be glad to show you around, and if your back will allow it I'd suggest bringing a wedge and a putter as there's plenty of short game interest that you'll find out there.

I assume you're talking about the 15th, which borders W Galbraith (North Bend is about a block from the southern extreme of the course). The tee shot there really isn't a problem, as the trees steer you well away from the boundary fence. But as you mention, the approach then angles back toward that fence. I've heard varying legal interpretations of how much responsibility a golfer has for a ball that he hits, and I can't speak to whether or not members are protected. I do know that our practice range is fairly short (about 220) and, while there's just an open field on one side, there are plenty of signs warning players that they're responsible for any property damage they cause to neighboring homes. On 15 though, my guess is that it's rarely an issue. Most players have a pretty short iron in there (often after a pitch out from the trees) and it takes a pretty bad miss long and right to clear the fence. I say rarely though, because I'm pretty sure you had a van windshield taken out there once. True?

RJ, I think you're right that the layup holes make Clovernook a better overall ballstriking test than most courses of its length. It's surprising how many clubs I use out there in a single round. I do wish there were one or two "green light" holes where a longish hitter could open their shoulders and swing hard off the tee. But I think the test presented is a very balanced one.

[Joe Leenheer]

Another hidden gem in Ohio....

Great tour. 

[Jason Thurman]

13th Hole, 385 yard par 4:

The most difficult stretch at Clovernook features holes of mostly modest length, but with brutally challenging greens and very difficult tee shots. The 13th is the first in this stretch of four.

A mid-length par 4, 13 still demands a well thought out and well executed drive. The ideal play is probably about a 230 yard layup to the 150 mark, but as a fairly long hitter, it’s awfully hard to resist trying to blast a draw around the trees left. Part of the temptation comes from some significant contours in the fairway that offer the empty promise of a turbo boost for a perfectly struck drive.

There’s really plenty of room right off the tee, but the urge to get overzealous often presents itself as a draw around the trees left fits the eye so well…


From the landing area, those contours become evident along with a very fiercely sloped green with some serious back-to-front pitch. Along with the 7th, this is one of the two most difficult approaches at Clovernook. A miss long is absolute disaster, and misses into the depressions left, right, and short aren’t much better. The play here is to the middle of the green almost every time. This may be the most interesting hole on the course from inside 100 yards considering the ground contour and slope of the green. Surprisingly for a hole with so many bad places to miss, the 13th doesn’t feature a single hazard.

From about 150 yards, the valley separating the landing area from the green is evident here:


The contours here are really cool. The photos give some idea, but don’t do it justice:


It’s easy to get distracted by the golf course porn in the fairway and not notice the extremely aggressive back-to-front slope of the green and its wonderful surroundings:




Looking back toward the fairway from arguably the worst position on the course from which to be hitting a pitch:


14th Hole, 192 yard par 3:

Langford is noted for providing varied sets of par 3s. Many of his courses feature 5 one-shotters, and most have a wide disparity in yardages. The 14th hole is the fifth par 3 at Clovernook, and arguably the most difficult. The tee shot is played over more wonderful ground contours to the most challenging green and greensite on the course – a pushed up monster with about 5 feet of slope from back to front and 10 foot tall grass faces that the player who misses left or right must deal with. As bad as missing the green left or right might be, those misses still might be preferable to going even 5 or 6 feet beyond the pin. Putting off the front of the green is a real risk when they get to full speed in the summer. It’s a challenging hole from the tee that becomes even more of a test as the player nears the hole.

With a mid or long iron in hand, it’s a pretty uncomfortable feeling standing on this tee with the fronting ridge in the fairway obscuring the front of this awesome tabletop green:


A better look at the swale in front of the green. This photo gives some idea of the back-to-front tilt here as well (5+ feet):


Missing even a few feet long of the pin is awful, but a miss left leaves a really intimidating recovery. That’s a very steep grass wall on this push-up green:


15th Hole, 362 yard par 4:

Yet another hole that looks easier on the scorecard than in person. The tee shot at 15 feels very constrained. An ideal play is probably some 220 yards to the narrow fairway, though things actually get wider if you can turn a driver left to right around the dogleg. The trees to the right are kept trimmed to avoid encroaching too much on the tee shot, but they still block the ideal line for bigger hitters. Of course, they also block the road that runs next to the course. The trees left are pretty thick, and it would be nice to see some of the conifers further down the fairway cleared to make recovery from that side more realistic. For a fairway with so many interesting humps and bumps, the focus is more on just keeping the ball in play off the tee.

It’s a tight target, but a fade is the ideal shot off the tee at 15:


Once again, though, Langford provides a wonderful test over the final 70 yards of the hole. A bunker on the left side well short of the green challenges the preferred layup area for anyone punching out of the trees. More bunkers around the green provide extra challenge. The real star of the show here, though, is the putting surface itself. In my opinion, it’s the best green on a course with many fantastic contenders. Slopes front left and back right can be used to work the ball toward the hole, while a trough running from back left to front right can alternately funnel balls toward or away from pins depending on the quality of the strike. All kinds of options exist on approaches, pitches, and chips for using the slopes of the green to feed the ball in different directions. It’s really too bad that the playing corridor for this hole is so tight, as this green is interesting and challenging enough to impact the ideal angle of play all the way back to the tee and change the strategy of the hole on a daily basis based on pin position if only the hole had enough width to allow anything other than a shot aimed down the middle of the fairway. Still, the final 70 yards of this hole are as interesting as any hole I’ve ever played.

Even from 70 yards on 2D film, this green is a monster:


Lots of ways to feed balls toward or away from holes here:


Another look at this excellent green. Note, as mentioned earlier in the thread, the boundary fence looming on the right. This is a bad time to shank an approach shot into the oncoming traffic:


Bail out away from the OB right, and this bunker on the left leaves a creative recovery:


This stretch is interesting as it shows that holes of relatively modest length can still provide plenty of challenge, so long as they require some precision off the tee and defend par at the green. In fact, I would argue that the drives at 13 and 15 could both stand to see some trees cleared and still wouldn’t lose much (if any) difficulty, though some more interesting recovery shots would become available. Things will stay tough at 16, but you’ll have a chance to steal some strokes back down the closing stretch as well. We’ll cover the last three tomorrow.

[Doug Ralston]

*bonk self*

Of course I meant Galbraith. A client lived over on North Bend, and it has been a few years since I have been out there.

Jason, let me know if there is another City Tourney or similar, and I'll come out to peek. It is still fun to be out.

Jason, I hope you don't mind, but since you and Mr Daley did ask, I will mention: It is not my back, it is arthritis in many places, but worst in my neck and spine, which has made a golf swing impossible. I could deal with the pain, but my shoulders now naturally contract at the bottom of my swing, creating sensational tops, shanks and even the elegant big miss! Unfortunately, my family illness is recession proof, so I really wont swing a club anymore.

Sad. But I always loved golf courses more than golf, so I still go out with my friend to drive the cart, and give bad advice.

Just a shout out to the folks here whose discussions I follow more than I ever butt in. Thank folks.

See you soon, I hope.

Doug

[Josh Tarble]

Jason,
That's kind of what it looked like, although it also looks like if you had the skills to accurately shape your shots you may be able to pull driver more frequently.  I can definitely see why you said it plays extremely long as a 6400 yard course.

Still, it looks like a lot of the defense of the course is in the green surroundings.

And it looks like a lot of fun!

[Doug Ralston]

Jason;

It was actually here [rather than IH] where I would be concerned about changes. When you and some others of like mind may have a few small improvements, once the decision to make changes becomes strong, will not others there with differing ideas also want input into what should change?

There is a certain archi, often spoken of on this site, that has made many 'improvements' in courses for the PGA events. And as I think on it, I seem to recall that not everyone was thrilled with all of them.

I just think it might be better with this little gem to give some serious thought as to who might want what before bulldozer, or even a few men with spades, begin to alter what is already quite good.

Doug

[Jason Thurman]

16th Hole, 562 yard par 5:

The last two holes at Clovernook both give opportunities to make birdie. Before you can get there, though, you must survive the arduous trek up the 16th hole. It’s 562 yards, it’s uphill most of the way, and numerous disastrous places to miss lurk on all sides. It’s simply one of the toughest par 5s I’ve played anywhere.

The tee shot plays from a bit of a chute. Short hitters actually have a fairly wide fairway to aim at, but they’ll be a LONG way from the hole once they get there. For longer hitters, the fairway is very tough to hit as it moves hard left-to-right in the landing area. A big ball risks running through the fairway and under some trees. A push risks getting knocked down by the trees right or not making it to the corner, leaving very little chance of a third shot from inside 175 yards. Additionally, most drives land into an upslope that robs them of much of their distance.

It’s a long way just to reach the fairway from the members’ tee:


The view from further up shows the hole’s uphill and left-to-right orientation:


From the fairway, it’s still a long way home as only the biggest of hitters can reach this green in two, and they likely need either very favorable conditions or a natural left-to-right ballflight. For almost everyone, the second shot is a layup as far up the hill as possible.

While the third shot is relatively straightforward, plenty of trouble still lurks. Bunkers on the right side of the green are, once again, severely below the putting surface and make for a very difficult recovery. The bunkers left aren’t much better. It’s a wide opening to the green, but you’ll need to hit it. The putting surface itself is knobby and it’s very difficult to keep putts on line.

After reaching the top of the hill, it’s a fairly flat approach:


Another green with plenty of contour:


From right of the green, you can see another deep Langford and Moreau bunker guarding the putting surface:


A look at the green from the second fairway:


17th Hole, 500 yard par 5:

Clovernook features a wonderful risk/reward finish that gives the opportunity to recover some strokes lost in the tough stretch from 13-16. Equal opportunity exists to see a round wrecked by hazards, including the only water hazard on the course that’s truly in play for anyone hitting the ball reasonably solidly.

The 17th tee shot is a fun one, as it plays slightly downhill on a reachable par 5. Big hitters need to be careful, as water lurks on the left at about the 230 mark. The ideal ball here will get down near the end of the fairway, leaving about 200 yards into the green.

From the tee, it’s a bit of a blind landing area in a fairway that can really send the ball bounding a long way:


The second shot is a brilliant one. The lone pond on the course functions as something of a Hell’s Half Acre hazard. Players who miss their tee shot may need to lay up short, thus leaving a very long approach. Other players have a green light to go after the green in two. A player who pushed or pulled his tee shot may be dealing with a dicey lie and have to deal with the big tree left, which makes the decision of whether to lay up short or long of the pond a difficult one. Additionally, a player who goes at the green in two but blocks his second right of the tree may wind up in a fearsome trio of bunkers front right.

From the landing zone around 260 yards out. The water gives the short hitter a decision – lay up short or go for the other side? For the bigger hitter, the tree left makes a rip at the green a bit more difficult:


Another look at the pond and target for the second shot:


The green itself is relatively flat and offers one of the two or three best birdie opportunities on the course. This hole really shouldn’t be too difficult, but the risk of blowing up is high with a lot of difficult hazards lurking.

Thanks to the tree left guarding the second shot, this trio of bunkers fronting the right side of the green sees plenty of play:


18th Hole, 278 yard par 4:

Like Lawsonia, Spring Valley, and many other Langford courses, Clovernook closes with a good chance for birdie. The 18th is a very driveable par 4, but narrow and with enough hazards to burn the overzealous player as well. A control play might be smart off this tee, but most longer hitters will take a swing at the green. The bunkers on the left shouldn’t really be in play, but often see action thanks to pulled tee shots getting knocked down by the trees left.

The tee shot is a bit tight, but there’s a very alluring promise lurking at the end of the fairway as the green is only about 250 yards away:





These bunkers some 150 yards from the tee see a surprising amount of action thanks to balls that encounter tree trouble:


The approach is to a fairly flat green that extracts a big penalty for players who miss the target. More deep Langford and Moreau bunkers surround it on the left and back sides, making it very difficult to get up and down for par (or birdie).

Overall, Clovernook is a really fun golf course that provides a nice look at a Langford and Moreau routing with many of its features still intact. While the course would benefit from some tree clearing and bunker restoration/renovation, it’s really a sporty course kept in excellent condition that offers a playable, difficult, and varied challenge. It’s also a club with a wonderful, casual atmosphere. It flies under the radar a bit among Cincinnati’s best courses, but I think it’s absolutely worth a look for architecture fans and as interesting a course as any in its area aside from Camargo. While the routing gets a bit constrained in spots between the smallish property and heavily treed corridors, it’s a course with plenty of teeth to test any player and with a lot of excellent holes. In particular, Clovernook deserves credit for being as good a set of greens as any in the impressive Langford and Moreau catalog and for being as interesting from 100 yards and in as any course. It’s truly an interesting place to play on a daily basis and a great history lesson for anyone interested in golf course design.

[RJ_Daley]

One of the best course/photo tours I have seen, well done Jason.

However, as you note that the course may be a little over-treed, I feel confident that the hazard tree on the second shot at 16 is excessive to the design intent, overhanging the water and completely obstructing the second shot in that it demands basically a loft over the tree to the 2nd long landing area, where there already lurks those bunkers.  The hazard of the tree and the water is over -the-top, IMHO.  I also feel confident that this tree was not there or was a very small sappling when L&M built the course. 

Are there any photos or aerials of the course from the 1930?   I'll check later if I can find that website that has a large amount of old aerials from select parts of the country that Mucci posted some time ago.  But, I'd be very curious to see what was presented in the manner of tree hazard within the context of "original intent" of L&M.   It seems to me that they designed to have the bunkers (as the trio on 17) be the obvious hazard. 

This tree on 17 puts me in mind of the tree completely blocking out the par 3 green at Keller, in St. Paul.  The members have grown fond of it as their own tribute to quirk.  I can see how this tree on 16 may have become a signiture quirk of the members of Clovernook.   It isn't that the tree can't be negotiated with the precise lofted shot to that next LZ or force the lay up leaving a very long 3rd as you note.  But, a double hazard where the balls hitting the tree are very likely to also drop into the water is just too much, IMO. 

The trees off the tee on 16 are in the same vane.  They most likely didn't exist in L&Ms time.  Most egregiously, the recent plantings add unnecessary fuel to the fire.


Couldn't the conical ornamental and at least two large trees up the right be thinned out.

and



And, besides the ornamentals already there, what on earth would possess the minds of the committee to add yet two more sapplings into the upslope of this apparent LZ area?  The long LZ on the inside is also excessively crowded out by the ever growing (appears to be oak). 

Do you think there is any evidence that there may have been L&M gullwing like bunkers in the inside of dogleg there at the first LZ?

[Doug Ralston]

Wow Jason;

That certainly was a great treatise. I feel like I missed a lot during my single visit at Clovernook. Must take a clearer look.

And don't ever lose that precious tree on #17. It is a keen strategy engine.

Doug

[Jason Thurman]

Doug, out opinions on a few courses that we've both played make it clear that we don't evaluate strategy in the same manner. How do you define strategy as it relates to the tree on 17? I wouldn't necessarily cut it down this afternoon if they gave me a chainsaw and told me to do whatever I wanted with it, but I can't say that I see it as remotely strategic either.

RJ, I doubt that tree on 17 will ever come down until it dies of natural causes. The membership considers 17 their "signature hole" and the tree is a part of why. I do think it adds some challenge to the hole, but at the expense of some of the design interest. The pond is really a great strategic feature on that hole and the tree actually removes some of the strategy that it presents by making it less of a focal point. The tree also makes the bunkers right of the green a target instead of an area to avoid for anyone going for the green in two. Ultimately, I don't mind it. I'm long enough to just hit past and around it with my draw. But I can't imagine anyone hitting over it with a long iron or wood when going for the green in two. I can't help but think that it limits some of the potential scoring swings on that hole while also really discriminating against the weaker player, who already faces a significant hazard in crossing the water there. Its presence means that plenty of high handicappers will be hitting their third shot from 200+ yards and still have no hope of even aiming at the green.

The trees on the inside of 16 just make it a brutal tee shot. I’d like to see a few of them cleared to bring cutting the dogleg right into the realm of possibility for some players in the right conditions. While they make it very hard to reach the hole in two, they also make it unlikely that anyone will take too bold a line and screw themselves. Like the tree on 17, they take away a lot of the strategy there and just force a conservative play from everyone. It might make the course tougher in relation to par, but it also cuts down on some of the scoring spreads that hole can produce.

There are a few old aerials of the club lying around. I’ll try to get a shot of one posted in the near future. There have always been quite a few trees on the property, but certainly more now than were there originally. The turf quality, particularly in the rough, suffers a bit in the summer as a result and there are obvious impacts on strategy that can make things a bit of a chore if you’re missing fairways. I’d like to see some thoughtful clearing done. The club does a nice job with pruning of branches in play to allow players to make full swings, but there’s still an obvious opportunity to open up air flow to the turf and bring recovery skills back into play. A lot of misses now are just an automatic pitch-out, which isn’t particularly exciting nor is it a particularly good test of creative shotmaking.

[Dan Moore]

Wow.  Some very cool L/M still there. 

Some of the greens look awesome.  If the greens are as well preserved as they look that alone makes CCC pretty neat and worth lobbying for more intensive restoration. 

I see a lot of similarities with Spring Valley.  Six looks like an reverse mirror image of SV 11 which I think has similarities to an Eden Hole and 18 is a lot like SV 14.  Eighteen makes me wonder if the routing was altered at some point. 

I bet there was more width in a few places and a few more bunkers.  I wouldn't be surprised if 4 didn't have a big bunker short like Lawsonia's 10th.  L/M also used trees in the routing (Butterfield CC had a tree in the middle of the 1st fairway and of course the nle tree at 13  on Lawsonia) so I wouldn't be surprised if the creek side tree left on 17 was original-the others on the right not so much. 

You should definitely do more research on the original routing and start a 10 year education plan to raise awareness among the members of what a unique and historic course you have. 

Thanks for the tour of Clovernook. 

[Doug Ralston]

Jason;

Just judging visually, it looks like the tree could be flown. But you would actually not want to be too long off the tee, too close to the tree to get over. I thought for those who could hit a high fade with a fairway wood, or possibly long iron, that was the 'in two' play. If you cannot go over it, then I suppose it keeps players from trying to be as close as possible to the pond. I cannot quite tell how much room you have right in the landing area. How much room over there to avoid having the tree in your line? Certainly, without the tree, if you have any length, you will mostly challenge the end of the fairway to gat as close as possible. I like the tree.

Doug

PS: Of course it is all hypothetical for me. At my best this was a three shot hole for me.

[Jason Thurman]

I can see how the photos might not have made some of the playing angles clear.

17 is an easily reachable par 5. I've gone at the green in two with everything from 5 iron to 3 wood. I also hit the ball very high and, while I've been working hard to lower that ballflight some, I rarely meet anyone who hits it higher than me.

The hole doglegs left over the pond up to the green. The fairway is straight ahead off the tee, and the water comes into play on the left at about 230 yards up. The water is in play for big hitters who hit a big pull. The fairway runs out at around the 320 yard mark.

Thanks to the dogleg left, there's no angle you can take from the tee to avoid dealing with the tree on your second. The only play is to bomb it as far as possible. If you hit a 300 yard drive, you basically blow the ball PAST the tree and leave yourself an open look into the green from the far corner of the dogleg. Anything less than that, though, and you're dealing with the tree on your second. You can go around it with a hook, but even I can't come close to going over it, particularly since the right to left slope in the DZ effectively creates a downhill lie. Perhaps I could clear it with an 8 iron or something toward the layup area, but that would be really risky and I'd never try it. I almost always wind up hitting a draw with a long iron aimed at the three bunkers. If it draws, I have an eagle putt. If it doesn't, I'm right next to the sand or in it.

The problem with the tree is it basically cripples anyone who can't drive the ball as far as me. If you hit something like a 220 yard drive, you don't even have a clear shot at the landing area. It's basically all blocked out by the tree. So you can either lay up short of the water and leave yourself a 200 yard approach, or you can "hit and hope" for the other side and pray that the tree doesn't knock your ball back into the pond. In my opinion, the pond itself is enough of a strategic feature for short hitters that they shouldn't also have to consider a huge tree blocking their shot. In fact, if we consider that the average 220 yard driver probably also is a right hander who flights the ball left to right, there's a good chance that he still hits the tree even on his 200 yard third shot after a layup.

For a strong player, it's an easy hole to get next to the green in two. For the weak player though, there's a good chance that he won't reach in four even without hitting a single poor shot. I tend not to like holes that are so tough for short hitters. I think that being a short hitter is enough of a penalty on its own not to require any extra discrimination from the course layout, particularly in the form of "double hazards." Again though, the tree really doesn't bother me much other than forcing me to hit a hook on my second shot, which I don't really have a problem with. I just think it compromises the hole's strategy quite a bit. The role of that brilliantly routed pond is really diminished by it.

[Doug Ralston]

Thanks Jason;

Can't wait to come over for a closer look now.

Doug

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