Like turning a large ship around, getting a course to head in the right direction is no small task. Just ask anyone who has ever served on a club board, especially a country club board where there are diverse, competing interests. Far too often, the unintended result is a watered down product that doesn't make any one group particularly happy. Hence, it is always a pleasure to profile a country club that got everything right during a major restoration. Charlotte Country Club is one such example.
A pair of key members did their homework and produced a never seen before aerial from the 1930s which revealed the fully realized design that Ross had spent an uncommon amount of time fashioning. The aerial proved just how far the course had devolved from a Ross design - and in North Carolina especially, Ross is still 'The Man.' Having established momentum to return to a course replete with Ross features only, the club interviewed several restoration architects before hiring Ron Prichard.
Despite being the epitome of the restoration movement Old Guard, Prichard's proposal was bold and included shifting - slightly and otherwise - seven green sites, generally back toward the property's edges. As these are classic Ross push-up greens, they could be moved as they weren't tied to any particular landform. Of course, the key was that the person doing the moving had the skill to then replicate them at their new position - and Prichard fit the bill.
Charlotte has hosted big events for over eighty years and with its new found length of 7,355 yards, it is well equipped to do so again. Mission accomplished in that regard but more importantly, the course became more fun for daily member play. Golf is a game and, the more interesting the challenges, the more interesting the game. The key word is 'interesting' as any architect can make a course harder but few can make it more interesting to the wide range of playing abilities found at every country club.
To do so, trees came down, fairway width was restored, Ross bunkers set on diagonals to the line of play were re-introduced by Prichard, and imaginative interior green contours of the sort built by Ross in the late 1920s were brought back. Hence, the course enjoys MORE short grass than before, giving MORE golfers the ability to maneuver around what became true hazards (bunker depth was recaptured and they now need to be avoided). For the tiger, the green contours lie at the heart of the challenge, which always sounds good to me as no one is precluded (a 15, 45, or 65 year old, male or female) from handling challenges dished out on greens. The narrower version of the course as existed after RTJ's work in the 1960s was less well suited to a range of playing talents as its underpinning was the requirement of high, accurate shots.
As you can see from the photo of the first hole below by member Tom Eppes, Charlotte once again feels like a Golden Age course. Played from the right set of tees, it is much more clever than brutish. What is not evident in the striking photo below - and what is in the photos that I took last fall - is the club's commitment for true and firm conditions through the green. You'll note in the course profile photographs how the club didn't overseed for the winter. Green rye grass might look pretty to some but it also connotes the slow playing conditions which compromise Golden Age designs.The addition of Green Keeper John Szklinski from Southern Hills CC (you think Charlotte gets humid, try Tulsa!) into the mix was the last - and important - piece of the puzzle that will help Charlotte reach its full potential.
Have a read as to how Charlotte carried off its transformation in a relatively short period of time. It was good enough to win Golf Digest's 2009 remodel of the year award, edging past California Golf Club of San Francisco, which is says quite a bit! Importantly, it serves as an inspiring 'how to' from which many country clubs, especially those with parkland course, might learn.
Cheers,