[Andrew Lewis]

As much as I like the idea of the 8th green, I agree with Terry on the feel of it.  Its incongruous to the rest of the course, especially the punchbowl like feel of the back portion.

Sven -

Did you mistype in saying you feel the back portion of the green has a punchbowl feel?

The punchbowl is the front section as defined by the fronting bunkers and hill short-left of the green.  From most approach shots from the left to center of the fairway, the actual putting surface of the front section of green is not visible.  It's not a completely blind shot, as at least the top of the flagstick will always remain visible, but the effect is pronounced.

The rear section is built up with the putting surface visible from every angle I can think of.

But oddly enough, the rear section is to me more in character with the other greens on the course -- somewhat elevated from the surrounding land with banks that drop off a few feet, and dominant back to front slope, and a few ridges/spines that create micro-greens within the larger surface.  The front section, by contrast, sits at grade with the end of the fairway and is comparatively flat-ish.

[Sven Nilsen]

Andrew:

No mistyping. 

To me, the back feels more like a punch bowl than the front, even though the front is the lowest lying area.  It has nothing to do with site lines, and more to do with the surrounding terrain (when I think of a pb I think about mounding just off the green surface).  There's a sense that balls at the back of the green might feed back, which makes it seem more like the catcher's mitt I associate with a punch bowl.

Its hard to do in a non-photo tour, but picture the green if the fairway ran all the way to the start of the back section.  It would be a quintessential punchbowl.

Sven

[Sven Nilsen]

Perhaps its a good time to discuss a "Beverly Green."

There are so many great greens on the course, its hard to single out just one as emblematic.  The cascading 12th?  The devilish 13th?  The built up 4th?  Or perhaps the 1st, which does a good job of setting the theme for the day.  If I were to cite one example, it might be the somewhat mirror image greens of the 5th and 16th.  Both have pinched approaches, with a predominant diagonal slope and back to front terrain.  Both greens have a higher corner that can be used to feed balls back to the hole.

Its the long sweeping contours that make the greens at Beverly.  It places a premium of not only being below the hole, but being on the right (or left) side of the hole to minimize any break.  Try putting across the bottom of the 11th, or from one side of the 18th to the other.  There are very few easy putts out there, and when the greens are really running its a blast to try to negotiate those long gentle slopes.

Sven

[Terry Lavin]

11 and 18 have the best greens. Big, tilted back-to-front with little pockets of terror created by spines that harm and lines of charm. Murder, Inc.  And each hole is 600+ yards.

[Andrew Lewis]

Hole #9 (Par 4, 410 yds, 385 yds)

The drive – From the eighth green, the golfer performs a quick about-face and back-tracks from the front left some twenty yards to find the ninth tee wedged against the western boundary fence.  The playing corridor extends due south along this property line for around 250 yards before veering 45 degrees to the left (southeast) and doglegging to the green.

The drive feels tight.  Trees, a fence and train tracks line the right side of the hole; trees between this and the eighth fairway line the left.  A single fairway bunker on the left guards the inside corner of the dogleg at around 230 yards.  And for big hitters who can’t work a draw, the outside of the dogleg is lined by only a modest stretch of rough before abutting the grounds crew facility.

Did I mention that the drive feels tight?

The approach – From the fairway, most players will have between a 5-iron and 9-iron in hand.  The front of the green rests at grade with the fairway and will accommodate a running shot, which is especially useful when playing into the wind to a front pin.  Bunkers frame the left and right sides of the green, with a large tree just before the left trap causing added stress.

An approach from the outside of the dogleg presents the best angle into the green, which sits on a redan-like bias from the line of play, and almost all pin positions will favor a draw.

The green – The surface is a narrow figure-eight shape that tilts from back to front and right to left.  Recovery shots from left of the green are thus generally easier than those from the right, and chips or putts played from the back of the green to the front will be surprisingly quick.

As has been documented before, the green site was relocated to accommodate 87th Street some time ago.  Perhaps the original hole held more interest and/or felt less cramped, but that sadly is not the case today. 

All told, the ninth hole marks a rather non-descript end to an otherwise engaging front nine.

[Terry Lavin]

I think this is a great medium length par-4 hole, with a very demanding second shot into the tight- waisted green which is set at an angle that really demands accuracy. For a normal chop player, hitting a five-to-seven iron into this green is no easy feat. The green has a lot of counterintuitive slopes and pockets that challenge good putters. For a guy who can bomb it 290 off the tee, this hole may not be that complicated. Cut a bit off the dogleg, pound it long and your wedge is a far better tool to challenge the tougher hole locations.  In sum, this hole has similarities to #4, but this hole is clearly better. It is further testament to the clever ways that Ross et al dealt with repetitive boundary holes on the two rectangles that comprise the playing ground.

[JC Urbina]

 Terry,

If you don't mind I want to back track to Hole #8.  I have to disagree with the sore thumb label.  After touring the front nine I went back to hole # 8 to revisit the green complex.  I thought from 100 yards in the character of the second shot was very complex.  I thought the  staggered bunkers with a green surface tucked below the horizon of the bunkers, intriguing.  Compared to the other holes at Beverly, I would agree its different but not a sore thumb.   I could say that the  fairways on # 11 and 15 are very undulating and out of character with the flats on holes # 2,3 and 4 but I didn't see it that way.  Each section of Beverly has its own little niche and hole #8 for me is one of the exciting parts of Beverly which has many of these interesting divides.

 I don't know if hole # 8 is original but it does have its niche. 

[Terry Lavin]

Jim,

I think the bunkering short of the green is great and would look good with a punchbowl green as opposed to the green that's there. This was the source of controversy, as I recall, during the renovation because Prichard called an audible and deviated from his proposed green. I'll ask around and report later.

[Matthew Sander]

I think this is a great medium length par-4 hole, with a very demanding second shot into the tight- waisted green which is set at an angle that really demands accuracy. For a normal chop player, hitting a five-to-seven iron into this green is no easy feat. The green has a lot of counterintuitive slopes and pockets that challenge good putters. For a guy who can bomb it 290 off the tee, this hole may not be that complicated. Cut a bit off the dogleg, pound it long and your wedge is a far better tool to challenge the tougher hole locations.  In sum, this hole has similarities to #4, but this hole is clearly better. It is further testament to the clever ways that Ross et al dealt with repetitive boundary holes on the two rectangles that comprise the playing ground.

I'll agree with Terry that #4 and #9 are similar, but my personal preference favors hole 4. I primarily attribute that to the green complex at 4. The 9th seems a "little" more forgiving of a straight ball off the tee that isn't turned over, but club selection, line, and shape are still paramount.

Regarding the approach, I find that a front hole location just looks ripe to accept a shot landing just short and ending hole high after a bounce. However, I think to do that you have to favor front-right, because anything landing short on the front-left line seems to funnel down into that bunker. I've had anything from LW-PW on that approach, so the wise move for me is probably to just fly it to the hole, but the bouncer just looks so dang inviting...

[J_ Crisham]

The 9th hole brings back some not so fond memories of caddying at Bev . It's 1979 and it's the Beverly Proam and I am looping for a very accomplished, but older pro from Butler National, Errie Ball. Mr. Ball was a Welshman who spoke to you only when he wanted the approach yardage. Back in those days we had yardages from bunkers and trees to the center of the greens. In other words a yardage  was far from precise. The Proam was in late Summer and the ground behind 9 green was baked out and rock hard.  The pin was back left and the yardage I gave was off by 20 yards on the long side- an error of addition. We had 150yds left to the pin or so and I told him it was 170yds. Mr. Ball hits a bullet right at the pin and it lands about 15 yds over the green and bounces down into the tunnel. The pros back then played for a sizable amount of money and suffice to say the day went downhill from there.

[John McCarthy]

Jack:  you have to mention that Mr. Ball is the last man standing from the original Masters, at 103!

[J_ Crisham]

Jack:  you have to mention that Mr. Ball is the last man standing from the original Masters, at 103!

John,   You are correct - Mr. Ball did play in the first Masters. He was in his late 60's but was still a very good ball striker at that point.  He was a bit gruff but then again I no doubt cost him some money.

[Andrew Lewis]

The pin was back left and the yardage I gave was off by 20 yards on the long side- an error of addition. We had 150yds left to the pin or so and I told him it was 170yds. Mr. Ball hits a bullet right at the pin and it lands about 15 yds over the green and bounces down into the tunnel. The pros back then played for a sizable amount of money and suffice to say the day went downhill from there.

Jack --

Does this mean you initiated the tradition of "fuzzy caddie math" that seems to have continued on to the present?

At least now we have yardage markers and can "trust, but verify"! 

Cheers, Andrew

[Andrew Lewis]

The Turn

The Turn at the Bev is an integral part of the golf experience and an important milestone in one’s day.  

After exiting the ninth green, the golfer again passes through the tunnel below 87th Street, walks up to the clubhouse, descends into the Men’s Locker Room as the caddies continue around the building to the 10th tee, says hello to Pat, the stalwart locker room manager, and continues into the Men’s Card Room to grab a handful of snacks and order one of any number of adult beverages to loosen up one’s swing on the back nine.  (Insiders’ Tip – Order a Rey-Rey.)

Like Proust’s madelines, a milkshake from Castle Pines or a burgerdog at Olympic (see http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,49639.0.html for a wonderful recounting of that), the ritual of the turn at the Bev can transport the player to a specific place and inspire a visceral feeling.  For me, the walk beneath the bustling and humming street and through the locker room to order a drink is one of the distinct charms of Beverly, a pleasant reminder that on a warm and sunny day, this is a nice place to play golf – especially if one is up in The Beverly Game.  

(Insider’s Tip – Do not, under any circumstances, agree to play The Beverly Game.)

And speaking of The Beverly Game, the turn also means that all bets and presses, less the Scotch game, reset if one has foolishly opted to partake.  If you are up, you want to stay focused and maintain momentum.  If you are down, you can collect yourself and, in typical form, press the points and bets on the back because (a) you want to try to intimidate your opposition and (b) you know that games are usually won or lost on the final four holes.
 
(Insider’s Tip – It bears repeating:  you should at all costs avoid playing The Beverly Game.)

Now, on to the back nine…

[Matthew Sander]

At many clubs/courses you’ll exit the 9th green and ask your playing partners if anyone wants/needs something from the clubhouse. Often times, returning to the house for a drink (or what have you) is a bit inconvenient and the group usually strolls/rides directly to the 10th tee. This is not so at Beverly.

If a straight line were drawn from the exit of the 87th St. tunnel to the 10th tee, I’m pretty sure that line would pass directly through the card room*, and perhaps right in front of the welcoming bar. Walking through the locker room and into the card room, the outside conditions are left behind. The location of the card room is down in the bowels of the clubhouse where there is no indication of sun, rain, wind, clouds, heat, cold, etc. It is perfect, grab your elixir of choice (the aforementioned Rey-Rey does the job just fine), and head out the rear clubhouse door back into the sun, rain, wind, clouds, heat, cold, etc. with the promise of a new, and hopefully better nine awaiting.

That would be the card room’s first act, or second if there were any pre-round festivities. Act 3 is still to come and it is where the true danger lurks…

*EDIT - I just checked the satellite image, and my supposition looks to be just about dead on.

[Jud_T]

While it's difficult to remember each hole in detail sans photos for those of us who've only played the course a few times, the turn at the Bev is burned indelibly into one's psyche at first blush.  The card room is the epicenter of the quintessential Chicago club.  Some clubs make cocktails that are too strong even for my thirsty palate (Bob'o'Link, Knollwood, Onwentsia, Butler), others too weak as they seemingly have grandma's hand on the pour (see any of the traditionally Jewish clubs in the area), but the stalwarts in charge of the bar at the Bev know EXACTLY how much booze goes into the perfect cocktail, even going so far as to discern how the front has gone, where you stand in the match and precisely what fortification you'll need to get your rally cap on on the back, as if by ESP.  And don't get me started on the 19th hole...

[Josh Tarble]

I'm thoroughly enjoying this thread....


But I need to know more about this Beverly Game.  Or is that a secret that cannot be divulged unless at Beverly?

[Terry Lavin]

The Card Room, as it's called, does have a certain decadent energy to it, but it surely isn't the architecture of the space itself. It's a windowless pit of a place, but festooned with historic photos of all of our champions, from Chick Evans to Ouimette to Palmer to Nicklaus to Luke Donald to Vinny Giles. Fun place.

[Peter Pallotta]

Sounds like the 'space itself' is just perfect for its purpose. If I'm drinking decadently I don't want some glass-walled-one-with-nature room that let's the sunlight pour in and the smell of geraniums and marigolds waft through the primly curtained windows....

Judge, Judge - just when I think I'm getting to know you, you throw me some kind of screwy curve-ball....

[Andrew Lewis]

But I need to know more about this Beverly Game.  Or is that a secret that cannot be divulged unless at Beverly?

Josh -

The next time you're in Chicago, consider this an invite to join me at the Bev with the condition that you choose between these two options:

Option A -- I find a couple other guys and we play the Beverly Game.

Option B -- I kick you in the crotch, you give me a hundred bucks, and we play a social round.

And before you immediately elect Option A, I'd encourage you to consider that Option B is probably the less expensive and certainly the less painful of the two...

I'll comment further on the Beverly Game at the end of the tour.

Cheers, Andrew

[Josh Tarble]

Hahaha!  Let's get to the end of the thread before making my decision.

[J_ Crisham]

The Card Room, as it's called, does have a certain decadent energy to it, but it surely isn't the architecture of the space itself. It's a windowless pit of a place, but festooned with all of our champions, from Chick Evans to Ouimette to Palmer to Nicklaus to Luke Donald to Vinny Giles. Fun place.

To add to Terry's description- it has a certain Las Vegas feel after a round where you sit down with 10 or 12 guys having a drink and suddenly you look at your watch and 3 hours has flown by and you are now very late for your wife/family etc - you can easily lose track of time at The Bev.

[Andrew Lewis]

Hole #10 (Par 3, 193 yds, 180 yds)

The drive – Armed with the newfound courage afforded by a cup of snack mix and a drink, the golfer exits the southern end of the clubhouse, follows the sidewalk to the right and climbs a small-ish mound to find the tenth tee.  Mature trees hand overhead, and views of golfers on the left putting out on 15 and teeing off on 16 and golfers tacking the 18th green to the back-right offer pleasant diversions while waiting for the group to clear the 10th green. 

The hole plays slightly downhill across a swale in the property to a large green stuck in the far northwest corner of the club’s southern property.  OB in the form of a parking lot looms to the right, and in the form of 87th Street long.  One bunker sits short-left of the large, oval-ish green, and another runs along its right side.  Trees shoot upward along the left side of the green, providing both shade and protection to golfers teeing off on the 11th hole.

The hole will normally play a club shorter than the yardage due to the slight downhill nature of the shot, and the fact that one will want at all costs to stay below the hole.

The green – Following an earlier comment that asked “what makes a Beverly green,” the 10th to me is just that.  Steep back-to-front slope, a vertical ridge that separates the space into two distinct sides, and smaller, subtler horizontal ridges that form ledges and define “micro-greens.”  In addition, fronting traps that sit well below the surface and a pushed-up pad that complicates recovery shots from the back or sides.

Recoveries from the front traps or trees on the left are relatively straightforward:  fly/run/chip/pitch your ball onto the surface and keep it below the hole.  From the right, the flanking bunker requires a more lofted shot, which can prove especially tricky if short-sided.  And from behind the green, the golfer should reset expectations and just try to have a putt for his next shot.

Uphill putts on this green are very makeable.  Downhill putts must be played defensively.  And cross-green putts require precise reads of both break – the quintessence of the “slider” can be found here – and speed, which one of my playing competitors yesterday executed to perfection to hole a testy 10-foot birdie to take six-for-twelve (we had, of course pressed the back) for twenty-four in our Scotch game, beginning a string of four very impressive putts made, two by yours truly.

[Terry Lavin]

#10 provides great defense in the form of bunkering right and short-left along with a towering oah just left of the putting surface make this mid sized green a tough target at times. Most times, however, it's a commercial par and move onto 11, arguably the best three-shotter in Chi-town.

[Phil McDade]

Some (our fearless leader among them ) have recently criticized the nature of the "catcher's mitt" green -- one sloping from back to front that it makes for receptive shots into the green. Although true in this case for Beverly's 10th, I think the nature of the green works well here -- shots short of the green may make for an easier up-and-down par than a downhiller from above the pin or those sliders you encounter as Andrew observes. A really wonderful setting for a hole -- tucked into a corner of the "lower" Bev rectangle, tight to the clubhouse, surrounded by some enormous trees. Probably the easiest of Bev's par 3s, but one that lingers in the mind long after the round.

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