Country Club of Scranton.......Photos

[Anthony Gray]

  I had the pleasure to play The Old Course at the Country Club of Scranton a 1927 Walter Travis design. The one thing that stands out is the quality of the greens. The greens run at 13+ and have challenging internal contours. At 13 theses greens are perfect, you would not want them any faster. The routing is flawless. The land has a good bit of elevation change but it does not seem like you are playing a hilly course. Angles off the tee favor a player that can work the ball and the feature that is most enjoyable is on a handfull of downhill approach shots you can bounce the ball in. Not exactly fast and firm but the same play.

 

 

 

 

 

 


  Anthony



   

[Anthony_Nysse]

Anthony,
  Greg Boring, a lurker here on GCA, is the golf course superintendent there. I played some golf with Greg and his brother, good players and Greg is real student of architecture.

Tony Nysse
Pine Tree GC
Boynton Beach, FL

[Anthony Gray]

  Art Wall the winner of the 1959 Masters was a long time member. He also recorded over 40 holes in one.

 
 
 

 

 

   Left to right are Terry Hurst head pro who is on his 31st year at the club. Harvey Williams retired club pro at a local couse. Greg Boring super and DG member. Greg is from Shinston, West Virginia and worked at Pete Dye while in high school. His brother is also a super and works in Hilton Head. Terry stated that the condition of the course has greatly improved since Greg took over. He said members were coming in and were three and four putting because of the speed of the greens and they were loving it.


   Anthony

   

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[Anthony Gray]

  The 10th green. Inverted biarritz? One of the holes where you can bounce the ball in.

 

 

 

 

 


   Anthony

[Anthony Gray]

  Not sure what green this is because we started on the back,but notice the internal contours.

 

 

 


   Anthony

[Anthony Gray]

  Again another green where you can bounce the ball in. The green also has an inverted biarritz feel. I love the swale that fronts the green.

 

 

 

 

 


   Anthony

[Anthony Gray]

  I believe this is the 7th green. Again plays downhill and you can play a runner. Great green, rolls like a rollercoaster.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


   Anthony



 

[Anthony Gray]

  My favorite green is the 18th. A difficult two putt if not close to the pin.

 

 


  The 10th tee beside the patio.

 

 

 


  That's all I got..........Anthony

[Chris Buie]

Pretty nice - especially the greens.  What was your experience on the greens that day?

[Anthony Gray]

Pretty nice - especially the greens.  What was your experience on the greens that day?

  Chris,

  A couple three putts. The greens are compareable to The Honors. On the 7th hole I played a runner to the rollercoaster green,only the see my ball disappear....appear...disappear...appear...then roll off the back of the green.

  Anthony

[Patrick_Mucci]

Anthony,

Thanks for the pictures.

I've heard a good number of very positive remarks about CC Scranton and their greens.

With all this rain, were you fortunate enough to enjoy relatively fast & firm conditions ?

[Ian Andrew]

The green you were not sure about was the 13th.

For your notes: the 4th, 5th and 11th are rebuilds - the rest are original.

[Anthony Gray]

Anthony,

Thanks for the pictures.

I've heard a good number of very positive remarks about CC Scranton and their greens.

With all this rain, were you fortunate enough to enjoy relatively fast & firm conditions ?

  Pat,

  I've never met a man more passionate about what he does than Greg. I know you are friends, the club has increased membership since he arrived. All the rain flushed out the nats. They were all over me.

  Anthony

[Chris Buie]

I love greens like that.  Very fast and pure with a lot of contouring.  But it does make for quite an adventure when you spend most of your time playing pretty standard greens.
I don't recall hearing of this course before but if I am in the area I will go out of my way to play it.
Thanks for the post Anthony.

[Anthony Gray]

  Thanks Chris. This was my first Travis course.

  For some of the historians on the site, Is Travis known for his greens?

  Anthony

[Willie_Dow]

Thanks for the pics, Anthony.  I recall going up there and seeing the bunker work done by Greg Armstrong under the guidance of Ira.

Is this still there ?

[Ian Andrew]

Willie,

There was just one bunker done at that time.

Greg Armstrong has moved on and Greg Boring is the superintendent.

I still remember your knock down running approach to two feet on the opening hole when we played.


Anthony,

Yes he is well know for excellent green contours - some of the best I have seen.

[Tom MacWood]

Ian
The course looks great and the greens wild. I remember the old aerial you posted, have they given you the go ahead to restore that magnificent course?

[Ian Andrew]

Tom,

We have restored the fairway widths, the views (all the tree removal is done), the chipping areas, all the original green surfaces and even the creek that runs through the middle of the property.

The remaining work is the bunkering and drainage.

[John Mayhugh]

I had the pleasure to play The Old Course at the Country Club of Scranton a 1927 Walter Travis design. The one thing that stands out is the quality of the greens. The greens run at 13+ and have challenging internal contours. At 13 theses greens are perfect, you would not want them any faster.    

Were the greens actually running that fast the day you played?

Thanks for sharing the pics.  Looks well worth a visit.

[Anthony Gray]

I had the pleasure to play The Old Course at the Country Club of Scranton a 1927 Walter Travis design. The one thing that stands out is the quality of the greens. The greens run at 13+ and have challenging internal contours. At 13 theses greens are perfect, you would not want them any faster.    

Were the greens actually running that fast the day you played?

Thanks for sharing the pics.  Looks well worth a visit.

  John,

  Nice to hear from you. They double cut and roll the greens. That morning they were 13. Not to sound disrespectful but I was not expecting the greens to be that awesome. It was a surprise and a blast. With those contours the speeds are right on the edge of being too fast but aren't. As stated before the pro said that the members were coming in after 3 and 4 putting all day and were loving it after Greg had got them at that speed. Enjoy the BUDDA. I hope you have a better first day partner than you had at the KP.

  Anthony

[John Mayhugh]

Enjoy the BUDDA. I hope you have a better first day partner than you had at the KP.

I can't remember who I played with.  The guy was a flashy dresser but never stopped talking.......   

[Anthony Gray]

Enjoy the BUDDA. I hope you have a better first day partner than you had at the KP.

I can't remember who I played with.  The guy was a flashy dresser but never stopped talking.......   

  THat would have been Tommy Naccarato. You should have been in a cart with him.

  AG

[jonathan_becker]

Anthony,

Nice thread.   Other than the club's website, I've never seen any other pics of the course.  This thread is another reminder of all the greats out there that don't get much recognition.

[GBoring]

Anthony,

We are hosting a Pennsylvania Golf Association event on Monday and Tuesday.  It is a two day stroke play event for ages 45 and older.  This is the first PA Golf Associaion event since the 2003 PA Amatuer, and since the trees came down and the changes were made to the golf course.  Many of the participants have not seen it since then.  Unfortunatly they are calling for rain on Sunday and Monday so it will be hard to get to course very firm.  I'll let you know what kind of feedback we here and how the scores are.