Bill Shamleffer- weren't you at the AGC caddy reunion 5-6 years ago? Looking back I thought I caddied a lot. The brothers Shamleffer really caddied a lot. llamas!
Tom,
I was at the Caddie reunion in 2003 and I do recall seeing you there also. I am still residing in Springfield, MA, but am still a die-hard Cards and Mizzou fan. (By the way, although my brothers caddied a lot, I caddied more than they did.)
For the others on this site, Algonquin used to have a tremendous caddie program, and almost all of the caddies lived within a mile of the course. So many lifelong friendships were formed in the caddie yard, that a few years ago we had a caddie reunion at one of the local American Legion halls. Many former caddies attended covering about 4 decades of caddies.
On to the course.
AGC is a 1903 Foulis design. The routing is unchanged for holes #1 and #6 through #18. Holes #2 through #5 were changed primarily to accommodate a clubhouse and pool expansion. (Of course a great but subtle hole was lost in the process.) Prior to these changes Brian Silva had already begun in the late 1980's working on changes to the course, primarily by adding fairway bunkers, and redoing some of the greens and greenside bunkers and mounding. In the very early 1990's holes #2-5 were modified
The old #2 was a 480 yard par-5, but the green was backed up to make way for the new pool. It is now a 412 par-4.
The old #3 was a 130 yard par-3 and #4 was a 360 yard par-4. The old #3 was paved over for parking and the tee for #4 was backed-up to create a par-4 of 434 yards.
The old #5 was a fun and tough par-4 of 410 yards. The same tee is still used for what is now #4, but the hole was extended to become a 512 yard par-5, and a lake was even created for the left side of the last 100 yards.
The new #5 was then created to play back towards hole #6. The new #5 is a 146 yard par-3. And no this hole is not a redan.
Prior to these changes the course began with the following yardages: 420, 480, 130, 360 & 410. The first five holes now have the following yardages: 416, 412, 434, 512 & 146. Quite a change to the opening salvo.
As I stated the rest of the routing is unchanged, but almost every green has been changed in the last 25 years. Before 1980, the course had 1 fairway bunker - on the 18th hole. However, the greens had 2 to 4 bunkers per hole. The greens were primarily level with some subtle breaks (think Bethpage Black greens). And the green surfaces were typically slightly elevated. The bunkers were shallow, but because of the greens usually being slightly built up, the bunker shots did require a shot to a green a couple feet above the sand. And the sand was brown sand, as is natural to mid-west riverbeds.
The Silva changes resulted in the addition of about a dozen fairway bunkers, and some chocolate-drop mounds in the rough near landing areas. Also additional mounding has been added to some green sides. The sand is now all white sand (which in all of my visits to natural areas in the mid-west is not natural to the mid-west). Some holes now have bunkers with a bit more depth and there are a variety of sizes of bunkers.
The course is very heavily treed. However, I think it is essential for this course. Holes #3, #2, #1, #18, #16, #15, #7 & #6 are all parallel to each other and the whole course is enclosed in just barely 100 acres. Without each hole having its wall of trees to the right and left, the result would be a lot of golfers being in danger of being hit by stray shots, and a lot of slowdown of play as players would then often have to wait to play from adjoining fairways.
The course is very short, under 6200 from the tips, but it plays longer due to some elevation changes (#1 second shot is uphill, #6 tee shot is uphill, #7, #10, #12, #14 & #18 second shots are all uphill.), but also the tightness of the course makes driver often not the smart choice from the tee. Therefore, rather than most of the course being a driver and wedge (six par-4s are under 385 yards and two par-5s are under 500 yards), most holes are a fairway wood or a hybrid off the tee and then a mid or short iron to the green.
The fairways are all zoysia. Zoysia is an extensively discussed topic that needs no further discussion in this posting. However, I do agree with Nick Price's comment when he won the 1993 PGA at Bellerive on Zoysia, that it does make chipping easier.
In my opinion, although the course lost some of it Foulis feel, the changes by Brian Silva have retained a very fun but challenging course of just barely over 6000 yards. However, my biggest knock is that they now seem to like to be continuously changing the course. I understanding they now want to take the 17 year-old #4 and get rid of the current green and build a new green further out so that the hole will then reach 600 yards. Before 1985 the course would go a decade with only a couple greens being re-built. Now it seems like each year another green has been changed.
My specific comments per the course.
#1 offers a very wide opening tee shot, but a challenging tee shot to an elevated and slightly crowned green. Stay to the left side for your tee shot, then hit your approach to the front right.
#2 is very tight tee shot, and then better to play to the very front of the green for your second shot.
#3 as Tiger would say "is all in front of you".
#4 a blind tee shot over a hill, a driver may run through the fairway into downhill rough towards a creek. The landing area (not visible from the tee is flat on the right, but the left side slopes to the right. However, tee shots too far left may stay up in the rough. The next shot is very downhill, so the green can be reached in two. Play to the right side of the fairway and if the ball is running it should run towards the green.
#5, the left side hole locations are sucker pins, due to the creek on the left. Play for the middle or to the right.
#6 VERY uphill tee shot, with 2nd shot blind. Walk forward about 30 yards to see the green before hitting your second.
#7 VERY downhill tee shot. It is not obvious from the tee, but there is more fairway on the left then appears, also better to approach the green from the left. You second will be a VERY uphill wedge.
#8 if between clubs go with the longer club. Better to be long than short and you do not want to be in the front left bunkers.
#9 my personal way to play is to hit a fairway wood and aim directly for the fairway bunker on the left. You will then have a short iron to the green.
#10 if you have a hook tee-shot, aim to the right side of the fairway. This hole not only turns about 60 degrees to the left, but the fairway slopes very slightly to the left. Do NOT go over this green.
#11 a 200 yard par-3 with the green slightly elevated. The safe shot is to the right side of the green.
#12, blind tee shot into swale, and hole slightly doglegs left. If you hit tee shots of 300 yards, go straight over the trees on the right and see if you can get close to the green. Otherwise, fairway wood will leave you an uphill short iron to blind green. Just shoot for the pin.
#13 (see #3)
#14, not only must you be in the fairway, but you must be in the center of the fairway. Again, if you hit it long, your driver may get past the OB that is the range to the left of this hole. After about 280 yards from the tee, there is no more OB left. (But the tee shot is uphill.)
#15, shortest hole on the course, fairway slopes left to right, and going right puts you in jail.
#16, longest hole on the course and a very tight tee shot. Hole gets wider after tee shot. At about 140 from green, fairway goes very downhill until at about 70 yards from green. So only tough decision is if you want to avoid a downhill wedge to elevated green, may need to leave your self a short iron. Also, beware of the false front on the green.
#17 Do not be long. Do no be left.
#18 A birdie opportunity coming home, 480 yard par-5, but after tee shot over slight swale, all slightly uphill. At about 100 yards out from green there is a slight depression in the fairway on the left, so better to be slightly right for your second shot.
Finally Algonquin v. Westbough is NO contest. Westbough is on a smaller piece of property than Algonquin; Westbough has some goofy holes; and lacks the challange that Algonquin is able to offer inspite of barely being 600 yards.