Newport Country Club (Ross / Tillinghast) - A Photo Tour - Hole 15 Posted!!!

[Mark Saltzman]

Newport offers four sets of tees.  Photos will be from the par-72, 6,600 yard Red tees, which I was told receive the bulk of member play.  Available to the bombers of the world is a Black set which plays to a far less manageable 6,950 yard par of 70.

The golf course can be viewed in sections, each with something of a different feel.  Holes 1, 9, 13 and 14 occupy the high ground near the clubhouse.  Holes 2-8 cross Harrison Ave and play nearer the ocean -- these are the Tillinghast holes, the best holes on the course.  And holes 10-12 and 15-18 are laid out on mostly flatland on the east side of Harrison Ave.

The first hole is a 480 yard par-5 that plays gently downhill going away from the clubhouse (it plays as a remarkably difficult and into the wind 460 yard par-4 in competitions).  




The first tee shot offers ample width with no obvious preferred line, and most golfers will be left with the opportunity to try for the upper plateau on which the green sits on their second shots.




The right to left tilt of the plateau hides the similarly leftward slope of the green.  Not surprisingly, the shortest carry is on the right hand side, but missing on that side, short or long, can be a disaster.




A common theme, a hidden back bunker...

[Chris Roselle]

Really looking forward to this tour Mark.  Was there for the final of the 1995 US AM but haven't been back since.

[Thomas Dai]

Didn't this course hold the US Women's Open a few years ago?
All the best

[Mark Saltzman]

Didn't this course hold the US Women's Open a few years ago?
All the best

2006.  Annika won in a playoff.

[Tim Martin]

For those that like the gentle handshake to kick things off Newport certainly delivers. 1 provides a nice way to ease into the round with the prevailing wind and yardage giving most a leg up for a reasonable chance at par if not birdie. If you hit the fairway with your drive you should get some run out and have a shot at getting home in two. Although bunkered on both sides you have the option on the approach of either bouncing it in with the desired angle or taking the aerial route. Definitely a worthy opener.

[Mark Steffey]

sitting there all by its lonesome, one would think that clubhouse is HUUUUUGE.  then you get inside and can't believe how small it is.

depending on the day of the week you ask me, either this or wannamoisett is the best course in new england.  i love playing here.  for being so small, rhody has some great golf courses.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Tim Martin,

Not so fast my friend.

# 1 also plays as a difficult par 4, depending upon the color of the tees you select.

Ditto # 12.

Mark,

The 5th hole is one of my all time favorite holes in terms of the architecture and position and alignment of it's features.

If you could post a few "extra" photos of # 5, I wouldn't object.

[Tim Martin]

sitting there all by its lonesome, one would think that clubhouse is HUUUUUGE.  then you get inside and can't believe how small it is.

depending on the day of the week you ask me, either this or wannamoisett is the best course in new england.  i love playing here.  for being so small, rhody has some great golf courses.

Mark-You could probably make a pretty strong case for your contention that they represent the two best courses in New England although you would be splitting hairs with a handful of others. For the tiny piece of land that Wannamoisett sits on it has to be one of Ross's most masterful routings. No where does it feel shoved in or contrived and the outward nine has to be among the toughest in New England as well.  Sorry as I didn't mean to thread jack.

[Michael Goldstein]

From my one play last year, this course has great bones but could desperately do with some work - a la Maidstone.  Mowing lines in particular.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Michael,

While I'd agree, they, like Maidstone, have a different mindset.

I was very disappointed to see them narrow the fairways for the Women's Open and not return them to their pre-Open width immediately thereafter.

How does their current width compare to the Pre-Open width ?

[Michael Ryan]

Patrick,

I feel it still lacks the proper width, specifically the right rough of the DZ on the 7th hole is still 10 yards too tight.  I'm fortunate to play NCC a few times a year and feel that the membership would enjoy their course more with some width of fairways re-institued.  

Mike

[Mark Saltzman]

We cross Harrison Ave and continue moving South for the second and third holes.  The second is a shortish par-4 of 366 yards that is more penal than strategic, as the golfer will do well to keep his tee shot and approach down the centre.  








The 325 yard par-4 3rd is a world class golf hole that must play remarkably different depending on wind direction.  Downwind the green will be within reach for some, but of the utmost importance is a tee shot that challenges the out-of-bounds running the left hand side of the hole.  Into the wind, a cross-bunker that sits a very modest 180-200 yards from the tee will catch some mis-hit tee shots.




Playing down the left rewards the golfer with this clear view of the green, while




bailing out to the right leaves a remarkably difficult pitch over a bunker that blocks the front portion of the green.  From this angle the right-to-left tilt of the green makes finding the putting surface a difficult task -- and flirting with the right greenside bunker a must.




A pair of hidden back bunkers are lurking, but this one, long-right, guarantees bogey.

[Mark Saltzman]

The 4th tee brings us hard against the Atlantic...




The first par-3 measures 230 yards from the Red tees and can stretch to over 250 yards from the championship tee.  With the predominant wind playing into from the left, 3-wood or driver must be the norm.




A small rise in the ground has both a foreshortening effect and hides all of the trouble lurking around the 4th green.  A cross-bunker juts into the fairway 50 yards short of the green, which otherwise offers an open green front.




A series of bunkers also await on the right:







Quite remarkably, this seemingly uninteresting tee shot gives way to one of the world's great, strategic par-4s.




From the tee, challenging the fairway bunkers and out-of-bounds is of the utmost importance.  A slight bail-out to the right runs the risk of finding this perfectly placed pair of centreline bunkers:




The green side bunkers are laid out such that approaches from the right require an all-carry approach to a green with a fronting shoulder that will kick approaches to the back of the green.  This picture, as seen from the left side of the fairway, shows a more welcoming angle of approach:

[Patrick_Mucci]

Mark,

# 5 is a spectacular hole.

It would be great if you could post an aerial view, (google ?) depicting the strategy off the tee and into the green.

It's a shame that the camera flattens out the bank on the right side of the green.

[Mark Saltzman]

Pat, here's the 5th...

[Patrick_Mucci]

Mark,

Thanks.

"A" key to playing the hole is driving down the far left side over the bunker in order to give you an ideal angle into the green.

Playing safe down the right side leaves you at an awkward angle given the slope of the right side of the green.

Throw the prevailing winds in and it's a spectacular hole

[Michael Ryan]

A" key to playing the hole is driving down the far left side over the bunker in order to give you an ideal angle into the green.

Patrick, agreed...an approach from the left is optimal.  In firm conditions and the normal afternoon prevailing breeze-one now has to be careful not to have a drive end up in centerline bunker at around the 150 mark.  One of the rare cases where technology has brought more shot value into play in my opinion as opposed to encouraging bomb and gouge.  

One of my favorite holes in golf.

Mike

[Ronald Montesano]

Can you elaborate on why #3 is world-class? From the images, I don't see it. Thanks for your patience.

[Patrick_Mucci]

A" key to playing the hole is driving down the far left side over the bunker in order to give you an ideal angle into the green.

Patrick, agreed...an approach from the left is optimal.  In firm conditions and the normal afternoon prevailing breeze-one now has to be careful not to have a drive end up in centerline bunker at around the 150 mark.  One of the rare cases where technology has brought more shot value into play in my opinion as opposed to encouraging bomb and gouge.  

One of my favorite holes in golf.

Michael,

Mine too.

And, it's relatively simple in terms of the co-ordinated features that constitute the intended architectural scheme that dictates the strategies.

[Tim Martin]

Although we are only on # 5 I think my favorite stretch on the golf course is 3 through 6. 5 is a pretty stout par 4 and as already stated the drive that doesn't take a line far enough left turns this into a very tough hole. There is some deception off the tee as the landing area is obscured due to the uphill nature of the tee shot which flattens out beyond the bunkers.

[Will Lozier]

And, it's relatively simple in terms of the co-ordinated features that constitute the intended architectural scheme that dictates the strategies.

 

[Dan_Callahan]

I don't think there's a weak hole at Newport (although that short par 4 on the back with water ... 16 maybe? ... I didn't love). But my favorite hole is the 9th. In fact, that would be in my top 10 favorite holes anywhere. It has just about everything ... wide open off the tee, but important angles to consider with that big bunker guarding the inside of the dogleg. There's big elevation change in the climb up to the green. The second shot to the skyline green is tough. Very hard to balance out the uphill shot with the prevailing wind at your back. I find that second shot plays much shorter than you'd think. The first time I played there, I hit a 9-iron from 160, thinking I would put it on the front edge. I ended up over the green and over the entrance road.

[Tim Martin]

I don't think there's a weak hole at Newport (although that short par 4 on the back with water ... 16 maybe? ... I didn't love). But my favorite hole is the 9th. In fact, that would be in my top 10 favorite holes anywhere. It has just about everything ... wide open off the tee, but important angles to consider with that big bunker guarding the inside of the dogleg. There's big elevation change in the climb up to the green. The second shot to the skyline green is tough. Very hard to balance out the uphill shot with the prevailing wind at your back. I find that second shot plays much shorter than you'd think. The first time I played there, I hit a 9-iron from 160, thinking I would put it on the front edge. I ended up over the green and over the entrance road.

Dan- 10 is a somewhat pedestrian par 5 IMO. Nothing bad about the hole but certainly nothing special.

[Mark Saltzman]

After a walk-back to the tee of the 400 yard 6th, we are treated to another great view of the Atlantic and a generously wide fairway, presuming this wind is either from behind or into.




Another cleverly placed foreshortening bunker short of the 6th green fools the golfer into thinking he must carry his drive to the green.  On repeat plays the golfer learns that landing the ball on the front-to-back sloping front portion of the green is a fool's errand as the ball inevitably bounds to the rear of the green, where




the golfer can only hope it is slowed by this swale or, the last line of defense, the back of the green which is, as is Tilly's trademark, mown up into the mounding.




The 7th is a behemoth par-5, which now stretches to 596 yards from the Black tees and 553 yards from the Reds.  The hole generally plays downwind, but on the day I played it this was not the case.  

Not a true Hell's Half Acre, but this bunker which guards the entire left side of the fairway on the second shot, covers just over 6/10 of an acre.
  Here, the golfer is given some room to play down the right should he be unwilling or unable to challenge the bunker, but as seen below, the approach from the right side is a difficult one.




The approach from the right is played over a deep fronting bunker to a raised portion of the green that repels approaches from this angle.




And, hidden rear bunkering (again!):

[Mark Saltzman]

The 8th is a lovely mid-length par-3 that brings the golfer back to the 2nd tee and Harrison Avenue.  If there wasn't another group teeing off on number 2 (one of four groups playing that morning), I would have loved to have played the stretch from 2 through 8 again!  As at the 4th, bunkering crosses in front of the green, hiding the 50 or so yards of fairway short of the green.  With the 8th playing downwind, a three-quarter shot landing 25 yards short of the green was the play.




This unique green is shaped like a funnel -- and I was told required some re-shaping as the low point in the green was prone to saturation.  The shape of the green emphasizes line over distance control from the tee, as recoveries from short of the green are far more manageable than from beside it.




The 9th is a 422 yard par-4 (465 yards from the Red tees), where a tee shot that takes on the carry bunker is handsomely rewarded.  My caddie, speaking too soon, let me know that the new back tee brings the carry bunker back into play as the carry is too short for many from the Black tees.  My first mis-hit tee shot of the 9 left me in the bunker with no shot at the green...




The approach is played to a skyline green that funnels hard from the right.  Even with only a sand wedge into the green, it was exciting to land my approach near the front-right corner and then hustle to the green to see where it stopped!