I had the privilege of playing Monroe Golf Club in Rochester, NY this past Sunday and it was quite a treat. The course is located about 2 miles from Oak Hill and was finished a year or two before Oak Hill I believe. The course is set on 190 acres and features rolling terrain and some magnificent large oaks.
The bread and butter of Monroe are the green complexes and greenside bunkering. It is nothing short of fantastic. Many of the greens feature false fronts and collection areas which happily collect mis-struck shots or over-aggressive plays. A few greens have dramatic drop offs to one side that lead into bunkers where you would easily be 10 feet below the surface of the green. There are some great pin placements on these greens.
The fairway bunkers are also strategically placed and very deep. There isn't an over-abundance of fairway bunkers but they are often very penal if you find one. Two of the par 5's on the golf course (#9 and one in the middle of the back nine) feature two of the smallest and most unique green complexes I've seen for par 5's. They are extremely small and crowned and make going for the green in two a very difficult proposition.
#2 is a 390 yard par 4 with a severely tilted back to front green. There are some deep bunkers short of the green and a dramatic fall off behind the green that leads to Out of Bounds. When I played the flag was all the way back so the safe play was to the front of the green below the hole. It's also a place to very easily three putt from as I found out. Just a great green.
#17 is a 400 yard par 4. At about the 120 yard mark, the fairway goes downhill and then uphill to the green. So, I hit a great drive and was left with 105 in but I was on a severe downslope hitting to an uphill green. To the left of the green is a greenside bunker that had to be 10 feet deep. The smarter play on this hole would have been to lay back to about 135 yards and then have a level stance to a level green. Another great hole.
The par 3's range from about 145 yards to 210 yards and are very demanding yet very fair golf holes. Nothing is contrived on the course and everything flows together seamlessly.
There are many great oaks around the course and the club has removed many trees in recent years especially around some of the greens. I was told they are trying to remove many more trees, especially the Evergreens around the course to open things up a bit and provide more options. It's tough to hit from underneath an Evergreen!
I saw the original drawings from Donald Ross in the clubhouse, they are very dedicated in keeping the course true to his original intent. Gil Hanse also recently completed a four hole short course with holes that range from 100 to 160 yards. The holes are very similar to what you find on the big course and it provides a great short game practice area for members.
Playing Monroe was one of the most enjoyable rounds that I've had. The green to tee walks are very short and the course is isolated from any outside distractions. It was a true delight.