[BHoover]

I always look forward to watching the Wyndham each year.  I think that Sedgefield CC may be the course on Tour that I'd most want to play; I've played both Firestone South and Muirfield Village, but Sedgefield seems much more interesting to me.  I know that television probably doesn't do it justice in terms of terrain and elevation, but it seems like great land for a golf course.  Moreover, now that the greens have been converted to Ultradwarf Bermuda, the course has a chance to play F&F.

What do others think about Sedgefield?  How does it rank in terms of retaining its Ross traits?

[Tommy Williamsen]

Sedgefield CC may be one of the more under appreciated Ross courses.  Kris Spence did a very good renovation in 2007. The club wanted the course to play "the way Ross intended."  I don't know how well he succeeded but the course is just shy of excellent.  Except for the first hole there is plenty of elevation change.  It is well bunkered and though tree lined they do not interfere with play.  The greens complexes are interesting and varied.  The par threes run in different directions and vary in length. The strength of the course are the par fours.  They move right to left and left to right.  They go uphill, down hill and across some hills.  The new greens may be the best I have ever played.  They are firm, roll true, and have enough slope to make them interesting.  The par fives are probably the weakest part of the course.  With the exception of 15 they are pretty ordinary.  The most problematic hole is 18.  It plays as a par five for members and a par four for the tournament.  Unless you really kill a drive you have a downhill lie to an uphill green.  
If you get a chance to play it, do.  It is an enjoyable round.

[Tommy Williamsen]

bump.  Sedgefield is worth a thread.

[BHoover]

bump.  Sedgefield is worth a thread.

I thought so too, but perhaps the group disagrees...

[Brian Finn]

Sedgefield is certainly worth a thread.  For me, it is one of a handful of regular tour stops (along with Pebble, Riviera, Greenbrier, and maybe a couple of others) that I look forward to watching on TV specifically for the golf course.  I have not played it or seen it in person, but it looks like a fun course, particularly around the greens.  

The thing that strikes me most about the Ross courses I have seen and played is the brilliance on/around the greens.  Although he may not have a distinct style (having designed hundreds of courses with varying level of oversight), Ross greens always seem to demand well thought out and precise approach shots and putts.  Playing courses where the primary defense is around the greens usually results in my most enjoyable rounds.  

There are some other threads on this course (usually pop up around tourney-time) from past years, some of which have some interesting discussions.

[Dale_McCallon]

I agree about the tv coverage of this place.  I had never heard of it till the tournament started going there and I was impressed by the place; interesting they left the other course in Greensboro after DL3's team had done quite a bit of work on it (Forest Oaks???).

I've never played it; tried to win a auction for a foursome there but got beat out last second.  Thought it would have been a great addition to a Pinehurst trip.

I believe it is under the management of McConnell golf, which seems to be a great deal for those folks in the Carolinas.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Dale, it is indeed owned by McConnell Golf.  In fact it has merged with the Cardinal, a course Pete Dye designed and renovated a few years ago.  Sedgefield now has two courses:  Sedgefield Ross and Sedgefield Dye. I think it made good business sense. One membership gives members two very distinct courses to play.

[mike_beene]

Maybe just the real estate but from TV it looks like Pine Needles.How do they compare?

[Bill Crane]

How hard is it to get on?  My daughter goes to college nearby at Elon and it would be nice to have a round there or more when I visit her.

If my pro calls would that likely work?  Or perhaps someone could sponsor me?

I also have some friends from NJ who belong to other McConnell clubs, does that make the most sense.  Or maybe I should consider joining as a non resident and go to check out the course ( nudge, nudge,  wink,  wink, say no more, say no more).


Wm Flynnfan

[Greg Holland]

I think Pine Needles benefits from the sandhills -- better drainage and natural terrain.  To me, it also feels like a "bigger course" but SCC holds its own.  SCC is a very good routing over rolling terrain, with very good greens and many fairways where you cannot find a level lie.  The tour players this week have been raving about the greens - Baddeley said they are the best greens he has played on this year.  First round leader Stroud said they were Top 5 on tour this year.  They were shocked at how fast they were today with all the rain we had.  Clearly a course where you must miss on the proper side of the hole.  Heard that one of the Golf Channel commentators said it was one of the top 5 courses on tour.  

How about Patrick Reed -- 23 years old and his wife is his caddie -- she is all of 5'1" and his tour bag is bigger than she is.   It is rainng like crazy tonight though so who knows what will happen tomorrow.  

P.S.  Jordan Spieth is a stud.  Yesterday, he played with Bill Hass and Zach Johnson, and was out hitting Haas by 20+ yards.  Really solid kid.  Also think Morgan Hoffman will do really well on tour.  Bad round today, but he is really solid.  

[Tommy Williamsen]

How hard is it to get on?  My daughter goes to college nearby at Elon and it would be nice to have a round there or more when I visit her.

Wm Flynnfan

I suspect that if your pro called he could get you playing privileges. It may depend,  however, where you belong.  McConnell members can only send guests to their primary club.

[Pat Burke]

Played a couple of times in the Buy.com events there.
Pretty fun course.  Haven't seen it post remodel.
Wasn't particularly fond of the conditioning, but the greens were pretty cool.
Par threes were brutal as a group, even with the short one.

Never felt warmly welcome at the club back then compared to the ridiculous
spoiling we got everywhere else!

[Tommy Williamsen]

Played a couple of times in the Buy.com events there.
Pretty fun course.  Haven't seen it post remodel.
Wasn't particularly fond of the conditioning, but the greens were pretty cool.
Par threes were brutal as a group, even with the short one.

Never felt warmly welcome at the club back then compared to the ridiculous
spoiling we got everywhere else!

Pat, I think you would notice a big difference in the condition of the course and the club.  McConnell demands good and friendly service. 

[Pat Burke]

Tommy,
Good to hear that.  
First year I played, I played the par threes like 5 under!
The two easily (back then) par fives I managed to play 1 under

[Jerry Kluger]

Tommy: I am a member at Prestonwood in Cary and played in an interclub at a McConnell course and asked the professional if it might be possible to play one of their courses when our course was closed for the Champions Tour SAS event and he made it very clear that McConnell clubs do not allow any reciprocal play other than from their own courses.

[A.G._Crockett]

Dale, it is indeed owned by McConnell Golf.  In fact it has merged with the Cardinal, a course Pete Dye designed and renovated a few years ago.  Sedgefield now has two courses:  Sedgefield Ross and Sedgefield Dye. I think it made good business sense. One membership gives members two very distinct courses to play.

Tommy,
I think the merger will prove unpopular with the Sedgefield membership, while wildly popular with the folks from Cardinal.  The Cardinal is a very difficult golf course, and I doubt that there will be nearly as much interest in playing there from the Sedgefield folks, while Cardinal members will be all over Sedgefield.  

That said, McConnell Golf is absolutely top shelf in terms of the conditions of the golf courses.  I played at Raleigh Country Club in June; it was as well-maintained and had as much attention to detail with landscaping, etc., as any course I've ever seen.

[Tommy Williamsen]

A.G., you may be correct about the Cardinal folks being happier, although their dues are going up. The Cardinal isn't a great deal of fun and I am not certain many from Sedgefield will make the trip to the other course.  New members, however, might be excited to have two courses from which to choose.

[Jeremy Rudock]

I personally enjoy playing Cardinal more than Sedgefield, in large part because of how easy it is to walk Cardinal, but also because the bermuda greens at Sedgefield can get a little out of control at times.

[Tommy Williamsen]

I personally enjoy playing Cardinal more than Sedgefield, in large part because of how easy it is to walk Cardinal, but also because the bermuda greens at Sedgefield can get a little out of control at times.

Interesting, I find the Cardinal more difficult to walk.  I played them back to back earlier this year and walked all 36.  I played the Cardinal first and was more tired after it than after my second 18 at Sedgfield.  Both courses are hilly and both take some stamina.

[BHoover]

Bump. I think Sedgefield may be my favorite course that the Tour plays each year. Is it the purest Ross design that hosts a Tour event (seems to be)?

Also appears to be a really fun members' course.

[Ed Oden]

Bump. I think Sedgefield may be my favorite course that the Tour plays each year. Is it the purest Ross design that hosts a Tour event (seems to be)?

Also appears to be a really fun members' course.

Brian, Sedgefield could very well be the purest Ross to host a tour event.  Of course, I'm pretty sure it is the ONLY Ross course that hosts a regular tour event.

Sedgefield is, in my opinion, a very unusual Ross design in that it is essentially a planned residential development course.  Pull it up on Google maps for an overhead view to see how it weaves through housing.  While I like the course quite a bit (particularly what Kris Spence did with their most recent restoration), I don't believe it is among Ross' best simply due to the nature of the development.

[Matthew Essig]

Bump. I think Sedgefield may be my favorite course that the Tour plays each year. Is it the purest Ross design that hosts a Tour event (seems to be)?

Also appears to be a really fun members' course.

Brian, Sedgefield could very well be the purest Ross to host a tour event.  Of course, I'm pretty sure it is the ONLY Ross course that hosts a regular tour event.

Sedgefield is, in my opinion, a very unusual Ross design in that it is essentially a planned residential development course.  Pull it up on Google maps for an overhead view to see how it weaves through housing.  While I like the course quite a bit (particularly what Kris Spence did with their most recent restoration), I don't believe it is among Ross' best simply due to the nature of the development.

I think it IS among Ross' best. Sure, the nature of the development can be killer for most courses, but it doesn't affect Sedgefield CC.

1. The land is used spectacularly
2. Green-to-tee transitions are short
3. The houses don't feel very encroaching

[Ed Oden]

Matthew, I guess it all depends on what you mean by "among Ross' best".  Again, I like the course very much.  However, I've probably played 15 or so Ross courses that I prefer to Sedgefield.  It may not be in the top 5 Ross' in the state of NC.  There is no shame in any of that since the competition is stiff.  Rather, I view it as a testament to Ross' talents and the depth of his portfolio that I am able to say that I don't consider a course of Sedgefield's caliber to be among his best.

[Will Spivey]

Ed,  I would tend to agree with you.  I do think Sedgefield is a really good course, and the club has improved greatly from McConnell's investments.  However, just in NC I would rate #2, Mid Pines, Roaring Gap and Pine Needles above it, in that order.

[Tom Bacsanyi]

It seems like it's hard to find Ross tracks that have grass faced bunkers primarily angled perpendicular to the line of play.  But that seems to be Ross's early M.O.  What are the best examples of that specific Ross look?  Obviously Sedgefield has that going on, and I grew up right by Franklin Hills in MI which definitely has a similar bunker look.  What others?  Aronimink?

[Tags:]

Tags:

[Tags:]

Tags:

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()