Okay! One more try!! I'm hopeful.
Hi Kyle! Yes, that was me. Then I got busy and I could only afford time to come to GCA in order to read, learn, and stay informed. I mentioned somewhere yesterday that since I'm retired, I want to be more regular posting my thoughts, experiences, and reactions to what I see other people saying. I may be confabulation but is it possible that we bumped into one another at Stoudt's following around at Galen Hall? In any event, it's nice to be back.
Specific to Merchantville Country Club, I have had the good fortune to be playing there since about 2003 with a good friend, who is also a member. I think it is a brilliant utilization of a limited amount of acreage that challenges everyone from beginners to accomplished players. I think most people know the connections between John McDermott, Al Besselink and "the Ville". I know that there has been some discussion here about the connections between Merchantville CC and Moorestown Field Club, both of which were among the 50 or so earliest clubs in the country. I wasn't the first to raise a possible connection between George Crump and Merchantville CC that goes well beyond his membership around the turn of the 20th century. Before sharing some notes about the golf course, allow me to say that the members at Merchantville have been about the most consistently personable, friendly and interesting as the members at any other course, where I have played.
On to the golf course! I have heard Merchantville described as a "nine-hole private club", which isn't exactly accurate as there are at least 11 greens and 14 tee boxes. The routing makes excellent use of the available real estate (probably no more than 45 acres). The routing also changes the direction on nearly every hole by anywhere from 90 to 180°. The yardage may seem modest at just over 6200 yards the rating and slope (71.1/130) inform us that this is no pushover. Year-round play is a definite possibility and course conditions are consistently excellent.
Here are my thoughts on actually playing the golf course.
The first two holes on the outward and inward nine are identical par fives. Number 1/10 is a narrow 500 yard proposition that crosses water twice to arrive at a quick, subtle green surface.
Number 2/11 is a stout 580 yard par five that plays in the opposite direction, crossing the same water to avoid a well-placed sand bunker on the left on the drive and more bunkers on the right that threaten the approach shot. More typically, two well struck shots still leave a wedge or short iron to a more challenging and somewhat larger green surface protected left and right by bunkers. This second green is more challenging than the opener, especially when the pain is back and left. These opening holes on both lines are far from the "friendly handshake" featured by number three Donald Ross et al. to afford golfers a chance to loosen up for the round. Unfocused ambitions are simply not rewarded.
Number 3 is played just once as 140 yard three, which is a bit of a shame in that it is a genuinely good golf hole that plays more like a par 3 1/2 to any left side pin that hides behind a front bunker. Right side pins are much more accessible but even the slightest pole can be severely punished because the green slopes dramatically left to right.
On to numbers 4/13, which are similar though not identical golf holes. #4 is a straightaway, short par four of about 320 yards. Before anybody thinks about "just driving it down there close", the rough on the left is punishing and that rough features contours that can lead to a very uneven stance... add to that a front bunker and water 20 yards short of the green, the fourth can be a very challenging golf hole. Now for #13... It is a somewhat longer (330-340 yards) par 4 that plays from the same teeing ground to the same fairway with the same punishing rough on the left but this time, a more precise tee ball is required. 200 yards may not allow you to see around the corner as this green is set to the right creating a dogleg. Only the longest hitters will find trouble with a 260 or 270 yard tee shot but in that middle range from 215 to about 235, a large tree 60 yards short of the pin vastly complicates the approach. Both greens are quick and true but neither is overly complicated.
That brings us to numbers 5 and 14, where again we have similar but not identical par fours that are just a little longer than 4 & 13. However, there are some not so subtle differences. Most players hit driver or three wood at 4 & 13 but here, in order to avoid the punishing rough cutting in on the right, the play is more likely to be a long iron or hybrid. Going back to the pair of tees, there is a another significant difference such that #5 plays straighter, while #14 tee almost forces a more conservative play or a right to left shot. There is a similarity here Crump feature at Pine Valley #15, since the entire hole narrows as the player approaches the green. Granted, this is a shortish, level par 4 whereas the whole at Pine Valley is a behemoth par 5 playing uphill but the defense by narrowing the available field of play is quite similar. Speaking of the green surface, this one features a back to front slope requiring confidence and touch with the flat stick.
Cross back over Chapel Avenue for numbers 6 & 13, both of which are par threes, targeting the same green but from different tees. Number 6 plays 203 yards to a well bunkered green. In my mind, this is the most difficult par on the golf course. Number 13 plays to the same green with the same bunkers but from just 190 yards. My friend, the long time member, tells me that there used to be a 40 foot tree that stood in the middle of this golf hole about 60 yards short of the green. Good riddance! I don't have a club in my bag for that shot!
Now we find ourselves on the tee for numbers 7 and 16. These holes are identical short 4s of just under 300 yards. Making it even "easier", the hole plays downhill. Once again before anybody drags the "Big Dog" out of the bag, allow me to state unequivocally, "That is not the play unless you are the fourth guy hitting in a scramble format and someone has already put a serviceable shot in the middle, 90 yards out." Here's why. OB extends on the left of the entire hole. At the admittedly wide green, OB is probably no more than 10 yards left. There is a right side bunker that sits maybe 165 off the tee and that will complicate the approach shot'. There is a "burn" fronting the green, if in fact you managed to hit that dead straight 260 yard shot from the tee that you wish you could have managed at the first hole. Lastly, this is the nastiest green on the golf course if you happen to be left of or beyond the pin. I have seen 15 foot breaks. I have seen balls roll 20 feet past. I have personally managed to put clear off the green on at least two occasions (and I am not a terrible putter). Par is a very good score on this 29 yard downhill par 4. In a way, this green reminds me of hitting against Bob Gibson. If you manage to birdie #7, don't stand there and gloat. It doesn't like that and it will remember when you revisit at #16.
Numbers 8 & 17 are the same hole, played from the same teeing ground to the same green. It's easy to get blocked out or even penalized on the left side. It's probably better and somewhat braver to play down the right, carrying as much of the stream that runs right along your finishing line, if you opt for the right side approach. This is a mid-length golf hole of around 360 yards. Probably no more than a seven or eight iron (maybe less) if you managed to stay dry. Much like all the other green surfaces at Merchantville, this one is quick and true. It has been my experience that for some reason the green may not hold quite as well as some of the others, so I have realized some success with landing in front and letting the ball run back toward the pin.
Numbers 9 and 18 and up at the same place, directly under the balcony of the clubhouse, almost assuring an audience for the approach shot. Numbers 9 and 18 start from different places so there is some difference between the yardages. Nine plays just short of 400 yards with the same stream that we saw right on the previous hole but this time it is on the right. Once again the preferred line tends to be center-right, bringing that stream into play on wayward shots. Eighteen plays over 400 yards and from a lower tee box that lengthens the hole even more, while slightly adjusting the angle for the tee shot. The stream does cross in front of the green so I'd be sure to take enough club on the approach but not so much club that your next play is from the bocce courts. If there are members crowding the balcony and "cheering you on" don't get anxious. As a caddie once said to me, "The only people out here, who really care about how your shooting, are you and me and if I had a bet against you, it would just be you." Invariably, I find the players at Merchantville to be extremely generous with their course knowledge and not the least critical of the almost unavoidable bad shot.
My sense is that a good golf course fair. It rewards good shots and punishes poor shots. A good golf course brings every club out of the bag at some point during the round. A good golf course requires creativity and a good golf course makes one a better player. Merchantville is a VERY good golf course. If you're offered the opportunity to play there, go!