[Jay Kirkpatrick]

I've been meaning to start this thread for a year now, but been too busy to take the necessary pictures.  These pics didn't turn out as I had hoped.  The early morning lighting was tough, and I haven't quite figured out to maximize the power of my camera.  Also, we have zoysia fairways and bermuda rough that provided a perfect contrast several weeks ago.  Most of that texture has been lost since then... as winter approaches.  Finally, this property rises and falls a ton... almost like a mountain golf course.  These pictures really flatten everything out.  Anyway...

We re-opened the Farm about a year ago after Donald Steel spent 10-months extensive renovating the place.  The original routing was done by Ellis Maples back in the early 60's.  For those of you that are familiar with Maples, you'll know that he was an excellent router of holes... almost always using the most interesting terrain available.  I also find Maples green complexes interesting with all sorts of slopes, nooks, and crannies.  Maples biggest weakness in my opinion was his bunkering style.  At the original Farm, they were big blobs of sand dotting the landscape and, for the most part, taking away from the inherent beauty of the surrounding property.  

The renovation committee brought in Steel after a lot of due diligence.  He has quite a resume and had just finished Primland (a fine mountain course about 1 1/2 hours awasy).  Steel kept most of the playing corridors intact... though he added thee new holes and majorly re-did several others.  The new green complexes are huge by most standards.  These pictures don't do the inner contours justice, but the greens are full of plateaus and wild undulations.  The course plays 7300 from the tips, and will host the NC Amateur Championship in June.  Enjoy and feel free to ask questions.

First hole: 400ish yard par 4.  plays down-hill 20-30 feet to a undulating, slightly plateaued fairway. steel did a major renovation of this hole.  the original green sat way up on a hill to the right, and the fairway sloped heavily from right to left.  he flattened the fairway and moved the green down the hill next to the big lake on the left.


2nd shot with lake on left...


Second hole: 540ish par 5.  hit out to a plateau guarded by bunkers left and right.  second shot trundles down 30 ft to a valley bordered by a big oak on the left.  green sits up on a hill and guarded by two bunkers on the left.
tee shot.


2nd shot from 230 yards.


3rd hole: 260yd par 3.  a beast of a hole from the tips.  the green sits almost on the same level as the tee though the terrain drops 40 ft to a pond below and back up to the green.  the green is a wild ride bisected by a major center swale.


looking back.

[Tom_Doak]

Jay,

Interesting post.  I was asked to consider this job two or three years ago but declined, because we were plenty busy at the time.  I had not heard that Donald Steel was eventually chosen.

Was it Donald himself doing the work, or his former associates Tom Mackenzie and Martin Ebert, who now have their own firm?

[Jay Kirkpatrick]

Tom -- Donald did the design with the help of associate Jonathan Gaunt.  I walked the property with Mr. Steel on one occasion.  He's a delightful man with lots of golf wisdom.  Also, Medalist Golf did the shaping.

The link below connects to Gaunt's website and has some good pictures of the course that annihilate mine in terms of quality and beauty.  Oh well.

http://www.gaunt-golf-design.com/portfolio_greensboro.php

For all others -- i'll add more holes as time permits.

[Jay Kirkpatrick]

4th hole: 380ish par 4 that plays severely down hill on the tee shot... then back up a fairly steep hill to the green.
2nd shot from the right side of the fairway.


5th hole: 150yd par 3 playing slightly downhill.  Steel created this hole out of nothing.  originally it was the driving shoot for the next hole.  he took out a ton of trees and found the hole.  the green is interesting as it slopes from front to back fairly severely... and has a plateau on the right that falls off steeply to a chipping area.


6th hole: 450ish par 4.  the tee shot plays about 40-50 ft straight down hill, then doglegs to the right up a slight slope to a well-guarded green.  my camera went silly on me so i never captured the tee shot, but the inside of the dogleg is protected by massive trees (that capture many balls).  interestingly, the outside of the dogleg has two big bunkers that protect balls from going down a steep embankment.  the second shot from 150yds is below.


7th hole:  530ish par 5.  the tee shot meanders down into a valley.  the second shot doglegs left up 40+ feet to the green with a false front.
tee shot


second shot from 230yds up the hill.


8th hole: 220ish par 3.  steel really transformed this downhill par 3.  it was a semi-island green in the middle of the lake, and  you could hardly see the lake from the tee. steel scooped a lot of dirt below the tee to bring the lake into view.  he moved the green way left and nearly doubled the size of the lake.  this is a really hard hole as you hit downhill 40 feet. the wind swirls from the top of the hill.  the bailout left is a very difficult up and down.


9th hole: 420ish par 4.  tee shot through a shoot to the top of a plateau.  two-tiered green sits on a hill off to the right and is protected by a massive fronting bunker.
2nd shot from 165 yds on top of plateau.

[Bruce Wellmon]

Jay, Looks fantastic. I am somewhat surprised by the degree of the elevation changes. What is the location to I-85 or I-40? Trying to get my bearings. I have not played Primland but have played Cherokee Plantation although it was years ago.

[jim_lewis]

Jay:

I played your course several times when I lived in Greensboro back in 1971 ("Carlson Farrms" at the time), and then once about 3 years ago. I look forward to seeing the changes that Mr. Steele, particularly since I really like his other two courses that I have played (Primland and Cherokee Plantation). Because of recent back surgery I probably will wait until next spring.

I remember playing the par 3 eighth hole on a very cold winter day when there was a thin sheet of ice on the pond fronting the green.  I skulled my tee shot, and it scooted accross the ice and up onto the green from where I made a birdie. I guess that must happen frequently to guys up north, but it was the only time this Carolinian ever saw it.

[Greg Holland]

Bruce,

Greensboro is at the intersection of 85 and 40.  Our Farm course is in the north part of Greensboro, only a mile or so off Hwy 220 N (future I-73).  In fact, as Jay mentioned, we have a couple of "brand new" holes -- which were necessitated in large part due to changing road right of ways.  We lost the most bland par 3 on the course (IMO) due to the encroachment of the 220 right of way (though you cannot see the road from the course), but gained the really fun, short par 3 5th hole shown in the photos and the really tough par 4 6th (no. 1 hdcp hole).

Jay hasn't finished with the photos, but I think the five par 3 holes are really good on this course.  We have the really long 3d, the really short 5th, the deceptive 8th (plays much shorter because downhill and wind can be an issue, as well as the mental issues the pond creates), then on the back we have a really good new par 3 in the 14th that is downhill, has water behind, and a massive green, so club selection is always an issue, and then a good hole at the 17th that can yield a birdie, but is one where you are happy to take  your par.  We also have 5 par five holes.  

I think Steel did a great job in opening up some of the vistas that folks did not even realize were there before the renovation.  Once we are fully matured, I think we will have a great look -- much like the "matured" look Ran is currently displaying on the home page now.  And, Mr. Steel's British influcence, I think, will become much more evident.   He added lots of natural tall fescue areas, and the zoysia tees and fairways provide a really nice contrast (and an awesome playing surface) to the bermuda rough and bent greens.  

[Jay Kirkpatrick]

Sorry its taken me so long to get to the back side.  This summer I hope to update these photos with better ones that show the beauty of the property and the strategy of the holes... especially the greens.  My photography skills leave a lot to be desired.

The front side meanders through a forest while the back side incorporates mostly open former cattle farmland.  It's rolling, but not nearly as hilly as the front.

10th hole: 580ish par 5.  The driving area is flanked by two big bunkers.  The second shot is the most pivotal on this hole.  Steel added a pond that takes up a large percentage of the landing area from 165-140 yds in.  Prior to Steel's renovation the second shot was a relatively mindless three wood down the hill to a wide open swath of grass.  Now one has to think how to play the hole.  As you can see from this picture, the bailout right is guarded by a massive bunker 80-100 yds out.  The green is surrounded by bunkers and a massive sideboard on the right.


11th hole: 420ish par 4.  You drive down a hill to a blindish driving area.  The approach shot seen below rises up to a well-guarded green.


12th hole: 450ish par 4.  This is one of the re-routed holes.  Its a relatively flat straight away hole flanked by mounds.  The green is big and has a false front.


13th hole: 520ish par 5.  My favorite hole on the course.  It is a shortish par 5 with a thin, wild and deep biarritz green.  You must fit your tee shot between the lake on the left and the big bunker on the right.  If you can fly the bunker on the right, you can get a speed slot kick down to the 220-230 range.


The fronting bunker is 60 yards short of the green.  If you fly the bunker on your second shot, the downslope will propel the ball onto the front of the green.


Looking back...


14th hole: 185ish par 3.  One of Steel's new holes, this par 3 plays severely downhill.  The back of this boomerang-shaped green is protected by a steep fall-off towards the lake.  The green has a shelf in the middle that slopes towards the sides.


from the righthand side...


15th hole: 400ish par 4.  My pictures don't do this hole justice.  You drive into a slight upslope thats protected by a pot bunker on the right.  The second shot from 150ish continues uphill into a green framed by big oaks.


16th hole: 450ish par 4.  Steel lengthened and straightened this hole... making it one of the more difficult on the course.  The drive must split the big oaks on the left and a massive fairway bunker on the right.


The second shot plays downhill to a well-guarded by big flat green.


17th hole: 200ish par 3.  This picture doesn't give much, but the "p" shaped green has a slight punchbowl feel to it.  A bunker short right protects the back of the green.  If you fly it, balls filter towards the middle.


18th hole: 650ish par 5.  This brute plays pretty flat.  The player must navigate several bunkers on the drive.  The second shot is fairly wide open, though you need to strategically place your ball for the ideal third shot.


The green sits into a nice setting backed by tall pines.  A swale runs through the middle of the green... making precision necessary to execute a rewarding third shot.

[Bruce Wellmon]

[Bruce Wellmon]

I finally had the chance to see the Farm Course at GCC.
It is a very strong layout. The quality of the bunker shaping is excellent. The back 9 is flatter than the front, but, a very nice piece of property overall. The par 3's are excellent and varied; downhill, long, short. I really liked the "look" of the approach on #9.
And the par 5 13th with a biarritz green was among my favorites.
A must play.     

[Jeff Shelman]

I played here a little more than a year ago and had a wonderful day. There are a number of good holes on the course and it is a nice mix of being challenging and requiring you to hit good shots to score, but without totally destroying you and giving you a beatdown.

[Scott_Park]

Thanks for the pics as they brought back some very fond memories.  The Farm course is a wonderful golf course- the front is a little more intimate and varied, whereas the back is a big solid set of holes.  I played in a tourney there last year and the course was set up in such a way that the course really shined.  This is more of a personal preference, but several of the holes on back are beautifully framed by the long straw colored grasses.  My son and I still talk about the Farm course on occassion-ts that solid.

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