What would be on a list of lesser known Ross gems?

[Chris Buie]

Please pardon me if this has been discussed before.
Obviously, a certain group of his best courses are quite well known (Seminole, Oakland Hills, etc). I am interested in seeing which courses you would say are among the very best of his lesser known works. I'm referring to the ones that you rarely if ever see written up in your average golf magazine.

To get you started here are some that seem to have a consensus agreement of superior quality that you're not going to hear about on something like the Golf Channel:

Plainfield
Holston Hills
French Lick

Would these go in that category as well?
Mountain Ridge, Interlachen, Schuylkill, Beverly, Essex, Ridgewood, Wannamoisett, Misquamicut, The Orchards, Biltmore Forest...

What other courses would you say are among his best that are not so famous? I would include designs that were once great but got mishandled by the various clubs later on.

Thanks much

[JNagle]

Country Club of Buffalo
Monroe
Country Club of Rochester
Winchester C.C.
Oak Hill West
Salem C.C.
Lake Sunapee
Wannamoisett

[Mac Plumart]

Although I have not played it, I've been told that Essex is one of his, if not his, best.

One that I have played, that is very good is Augusta CC and Inverness is over-looked (it is borderline great, if you can over-look a few renovated holes).

In total, I've played 11 Ross courses (Pinehurst #2, Inverness, Seminole, Pine Needles, Holston Hills, Augusta CC, Mid-Pines, Gulph Mills, Columbus CC, Southern Pines, not sure if Old Elm counts)...and each one has been, at a minimum, very good.

I believe he is an excellent router of a golf course and his greens are outstanding.

[Matthew Sander]

Broadmoor CC in Indianapolis. The greens are fantastic, and the club has gone a long way to restore ideal playing conditions and corridors to bring out the best in the greens.

[Dale_McCallon]

Not really sure I would include Interlachen and the Orchards on the list..haven't they both hosted US Women's Opens in recent times?  That may not make them household names, but they have probably been "seen" more than Seminole.  

What about Raleigh Country Club?  We used to have some posters on here that were members and the pictures always looked great.  Maybe Grove Park?  I know Kris Spence renovated it, but I really enjoyed it.

Here in KY I would definitely say Idle Hour fits the title of  unknown gem.  I knew nothing about the place till Mike Hendren posted some shots of it a few years ago and I thought the place looked amazing.  I had never heard of anyone playing it before and I live here.  

[Dan Kelly]

Two of Minnesota's outstanding courses:

White Bear Yacht Club (White Bear Lake)

Northland Country Club (Duluth)

Rick Shefchik can tell you more about the Ross connections.

[BHoover]

Brookside CC (Canton, OH) - if it were in Cleveland or Columbus, I don't think there's any doubt that people would know about it. 

Timuquana CC (Jacksonville)

Congress Lake (Hartville OH)

[Chris Buie]

Thanks very much for the input guys!

[Dan_Callahan]

Longmeadow Country Club, where the Mass Am is being played right now, is better than the Orchards in my opinion. It's a rarely discussed course that is very fun. It also hosted the US Am about 10 years ago. At par 70 and 6,700 yards, it's challenging but not punishing.

[Greg Holland]

Very good but perhaps lesser known NC courses:

Sedgefield CC in Greensboro
Carolina Golf Club in Charlotte
Mimosa Hills in Morganton
Highlands CC
Linville CC
Roaring Gap
Mid Pines

On several rankings lists
Charlotte CC
Biltmore Forest
Pine Needles

[George Freeman]

Franklin Hills!!!

Beverly CC
Ravisloe GC
Barton Hills CC
Essex CC (Canada)
French Lick
Oakland Hills North

[Ed Homsey]

Teugega CC near Rome, NY
Glens Falls CC, north of Albany, NY

[Dan Boerger]

Ed - You beat me to it by a minute or so! Played Teugega last summer and it was/is a gem. Certainly not all that well known.

And I wonder how you could ever put Plainfield as a lesser known. After all, they hosted a nationally televised PGA event just recently.

[Steve Kline]

Hyde Park CC in Cincinnati - recent renovation is really good

Cincinnati GCA outing coming up there in a few weeks

[Ed Homsey]

This may really be a leap, i.e. regarding it's gemdom, but how 'bout the Balsams?  It is my understanding that Ross spent considerable time there during the construction of the course.

[Chris Buie]

And I wonder how you could ever put Plainfield as a lesser known. After all, they hosted a nationally televised PGA event just recently.

Do you think Average American Golfer knows about Plainfield? I know for a fact that most of the ones I know don't. So that's why I listed it as not so well known.

Thanks again guys!

[Tim Martin]

Wampanoag
Worcester
Whitinsville
Knickerbocker
LuLu
CC of Waterbury
The Orchards
Shennecossett
Brae Burn
St. Davids

[Rick Shefchik]

I don't think Northland or White Bear are going to make a consensus list of Ross's overlooked gems. I love them both, but they are very different from the standard (if there is such a thing) Ross course. I've brought a couple of groups of friends from my club up to Northland; some get it, some don't. It's a hillside course that must play firm and fast to fully take advantage of its sloping greens and ingenious bunker placements. It is anything but a standard parkland course, and some players simply don't appreciate its unique character. I played it this year after a week of rain, and while the greens were as great as ever, a soggy Northland is not a treat. I've played with guys at other times, however, who thought it was too firm. To each his own.

White Bear is just funky as hell. It's a very hilly site, and Ross made sure the slopes were maximized in the green sites -- either as a place to perch them, or using the slopes to create unusual contours. The fairways, too, require precision to avoid a long day of uneven stances. I think it's great fun, but again, you hear comments from some players who think it's too odd.

[Terry Lavin]

Exmoor and LaGrange are off the national radar but well loved in Chicagoland.

[BHoover]

Granville GC (14 holes, at least).

[Dan Kelly]

I've played with guys ... who thought it was too firm....

...Some players ... think it's too odd.

They don't deserve to play either one of them, then.

[Terry Lavin]

I've played with guys ... who thought it was too firm....

...Some players ... think it's too odd.

They don't deserve to play either one of them, then.

Judgment affirmed. Call the next case!

[Pete Balzer]

A course I enjoy playing that isn't talked about - Springfield CC Oh.

[Jim_Kennedy]

I don't know if it's his shortest 18 hole course, but the little gem he built for the Winchendon School (Winchendon, Ma.) is a blast at 5500 yds. from the 'tips'.

[Rick Shefchik]

I've played with guys ... who thought it was too firm....

...Some players ... think it's too odd.

They don't deserve to play either one of them, then.

They tend not to return. Which is fine with me.