My Home Course - Wake Forest GC (NLE), Wake Forest, NC

[Scott_Burroughs]

One year ago today, my former home course of 12 years, Wake Forest GC in WF, NC, closed
for good.  I was one of the last people to play there (finishing after sunset).  Also 1 year ago
today, not long after that last round, I finally submitted my years-in-the-making My Home
Course piece to GCA (as you'll see, the pics were taken more than 3 years before the
submission, and the text was written and re-written in my head for about 6 years, and finally
put to paper in 2007).  I was told it would be posted some time after GCA's software upgrade
in early 2008.  After another MHC piece was published in mid-2008 (after being submitted 5
months after mine),  I realized that my piece was not accepted.

So as to not completely distinguish all the effort it took to finally get it done, I wanted to post
it as a (soon-to-be-forgotten) thread on the 1 year anniversary of the course's closure. 

Keep in mind, this was written in present tense while the course was still open, and Tommy
Byrne passed away 5 weeks after this was submitted.


Wake Forest Golf Club
Wake Forest, North Carolina
Architect: Gene Hamm, 1968

History:  WFGC was built during the ‘Dark Ages’ of design, in 1968, and was designed by regional
architect Gene Hamm.  After playing several of Gene Hamm’s designs (who did several in the Pinehurst
and Myrtle Beach areas), I would describe him as similar to other mid-Atlantic regional architects of
that time, such as George Cobb and Ellis Maples, whose routings are often solid, but bunkering and
details are often uninspired.  WFGC has gone through a few name changes, from starting out as
Horse Creek CC, named after the creek that bisects the property and is in play on 5 holes, to Wake
Forest Golf & CC, to the present WFGC, intact for at least 12 years.  The club has always been semi-
private.

The club was started by former Major League Baseball player, one-time Yankee fireballer Tommy
Byrne, who still lives off one of the holes on the course, and is a lifetime member, not to mention a
former mayor of the town of WF.  The current layout is not all original.  Holes 2-5 were redesigned
significantly after the current owner sold off the land around these holes for a housing development. 
Hole #2 is mostly the same, the 2nd half of #5 is the same, but #3 and #4 are completely new holes
in different locations.

The first hole is the ‘signature’ hole and locally famous, as it once was the world’s longest par 5, at
711 yards.  The opening stretch of holes is the toughest stretch on the course, which often makes for
a demoralizing start.  Who wants to start off with a narrow, 711-yard par 5 with a creek in the 2nd
shot landing area?  Supposedly, the nines were reversed years ago, possibly to highlight the lengthy
hole as an opener.  I try to start on #10, a downhill, 400-yard par 4, as often as possible in
recreational rounds.

The land the course sits on is rolling-to-hilly in spots, with a few creeks and man-made ponds in play,
where all but 3 holes have elevation change, and one of these 3 is because of the re-do of holes #3-
4.  The layout is easily walkable, with only a few somewhat large walks created by the re-do.

Hole-By-Hole:

#1: par 5, 711 yards

The Signature Hole, once the World’s Longest Par 5 (since surpassed several times).  This ominous
sign greets those playing from the back tee:

From the back tee, the hole is basically a gimmick, since most players have to lay short of the creek on
the 2nd shot, save for the super long who pure it.  The opening tee shot plays downhill for the first
300 yards (though the final 150 go up).

From the other tees, it’s a pretty good risk/reward hole, as two decent shots can clear the creek in 2,
leaving 120-150 in to this uphill approach to a skyline green:

Without 2 solid shots, one is left with a 200+ yard shot that is all uphill:

Once over, the trouble is not over, as the 2-tiered green is small and sloped from back to front.


#2: par 4, 438 yards

Tied for the longest par 4 on the course, it plays longer, especially from the tips, where the landing
area is uphill-sloped, reducing roll.

This starts the four-hole section altered by the housing development, although this holes was
changed the least.   Due to the housing, there is OB lining both sides.  The uphill landing area slops at
about 150 yards in, so approaches on drives not perfectly struck may not be able to see the putting surface.

On the approach, the green is angled from front right to back left, with this nice fronting bunker on the left side:


#3 par 3, 143 yards

The start of the two “Florida holes”, as I call them, due to the housing, mostly flat land, OB, and water
features involved. 

This short, slightly downhill par 3 grew on me through the years.  The housing is on top of you,  but it
has an interesting raised, two-tiered green that falls off on all sides, including the water on three sides.

The longest walk on the course is from #3 to #4, entirely due to the housing changes.

#4: par 4, 347 yards

This short par 4 requires a precise iron off the tee, fade preferred around the tight dogleg right.

A creek goes down the entire right side, and a pond is down the left side from 100 yards in, tight by
green.  The difficulty on this hole is mostly on the approach…

which is to the narrowest green this side of Myopia.  Just 8-9 yards wide for the front 2/3, the rear 1/3
opens up another 5 yards.

Water is tight left, a bunker right, and missing farther right leaves a difficult pitch across the narrow
width of the green with water long.

#5: par 4 398 yards?

Once a straight-ahead 4, the ‘new’ dogleg right demands a fade off the tee…

to shorten the approach, which must clear a pond 5 steps from the green:


#6: par 3 183 yards

An otherwise boring, flat par 3...

 it has two buried elephants in the left 1/3 of the green…

essentially negating any pin placements there other than an occasional rear setting just behind the mounds.

#7: par 4 317 yards

An otherwise boring, flat short par 4 is made interesting only in that it is occasionally drivable by long hitters.

The green is open in front, despite four bunkers around it, making it the easiest hole on the course.

The ball on the green was a second attempt to drive it, showing that it is indeed drivable, even by mortals.

#8: par 4 421 yards

A straight-away, mid-long par 4, is made a little longer by the slight uphill grade.

The approach is to a green with a flattish elephant buried in the middle of the green, adding some interest.


#9: par 5, 575 yards

The prettiest hole on the course from the (elevated) tee…

 it is generally not reachable, despite the downhill tee shot.  The landing area is often wet/soft, and
the hole goes significantly uphill for the final 300 yards…

(parallel to the opening hole tee shot) to a well-sloped, two-tiered green with a nice fronting bunker:


beneath the clubhouse and practice green.

[Scott_Burroughs]

Back nine:

#10: par 4 401 yards

A downhill hole all the way (paralleling #9) with a tee shot to a blind landing area…

 the approach is to a receptive green, where part of the back half falls ever so slightly away from the player.


#11: par 4 369 yards

Don’t let the short yardage, iron off the tee, and only hole on the course without a bunker fool you,
this is a tough hole, the #2 handicap. 

With a recent creek movement, the drive is a little more open than it used to be on the left, but it’s
still very much in play, making it a little easier to shorten the approach, which is where the fun starts. 
The approach, usually at least 150-190 yard, is over the creek, significantly uphill to the toughest and
most tilted green on the course.

The green is two-tiered, but even each tier is tilted, especially the front half. 

In the late winter when greens are the fastest, the front half is almost unpinnable.  I once saw a
player miss a putt long by several feet, only for the ball to roll back into the cup.  Missing the green
short on the upslope is usually better off than missing long or even elsewhere pin-high on the green.

#12: par 3, 143 yards

A short par 3 to a narrow green (somewhat of a mirror image of #4), where left and long are death.

Ironically, the lower left bunker is harder to get up-and-down than from the right, upper bunker.

#13: par 5, 552 yards

This 90-degree, dogleg right par 5 has some character to it.  The uphill drive

appears to be short before the dogleg turns, but it’s not, and the longer, the better, to get a clear
shot around the trees on the right of the bend. 

The more a big drive hugs the treeline on the right to shorten the holes, the more the land kicks balls
to the right, shortening the hole more, but hit too far right, and you’re in the trees. 

The second shot will be to this rather tilted landing area:

The entire second half of the hole is tilted from left to right.  The big downer to the hole is the flattest
green on the course, though it is the most well-bunkered green.  The back right pin is tough to get close.

#14: par 4, 375 yards

Almost a mirror image of #5, with a more-sloped fairway and green.  Yet another iron off the tee,
there are way too many trees encroaching on the left, necessitating a draw off the tee.

The short approach…

 is over a pond to an angled, somewhat interesting right-to-left sloped green, with a back-right
bunker that is well in play on the blocked approach.


#15: par 4, 401 yards

A moderately difficult uphill par 4, due to the narrowness of the tee shot , a bunker on the left side of
the landing zone, trees close left and a fairway sloping toward the trees close on the right.

The approach, with the ball below your feet, is to a green flanked by bunkers and a pinnable semi-false front.


#16: par 5 525 yards

My favorite hole on the course, this drivable, dogleg right par 5 has several thing going for it.  The
landing zone is the widest on the course, yet blind off the tee.

The hole can be shortened by driving as close as possible to the tangent of the dogleg on the right,
which includes driving over a fairway bunker, but you run the risk of going too far right, where trees and a creek lie.

 From the landing zone, it’s straight uphill to the green.:


The green is well-sloped, with a shallow upper back tier.

 Along with #7, the best chance for birdie.  Looking back down the hole:


#17: par 3, 188 yards

The club’s version of the Road Hole, only because this slightly downhill par 3 plays alongside busy 4-lane U.S. highway 1:

Though downhill, it always seems to play it’s yardage, and the green is flanked on four corners by bunkers.

#18: par 4, 438 yards

Only the third hole on the course where the back tee is much different than the next tee up.  From the
next up tees, you can cut much of the dogleg left, but from the tips, cutting the corner can only be
done with a hard draw/hook around the corner.  Also, the fairway bunker on the inside of the dogleg
is harder to see and clear from the tips.

The hole doglegs awkwardly, at about the 215-yard mark (left to the middle of the green!), so cutting
the corner is necessary.  Also, the condos lining the right side off the landing zone were put in about
5 years ago, creating OB hard right on an early-doglegging left hole.  The approach is to a large green
where front left is the only sloped section.

Looking back:


The course was never a destination course, as most travellers to the region headed to Pinehurst or
more well known publics in the immediate area such as Finley or Duke or others who did heavier
advertising.  While not an architectural masterpiece, Wake Forest Golf Club was at least routed well
enough to create some strategy and interesting holes.  Easily walkable on rolling terrain with about
half of the greens challenging, there was at least enough there for me to not grow tired after 12
years and hundreds of plays.  RIP.

[Scott_Burroughs]

Numbered aerial and final scorecard:

[Jason Topp]

Thanks Scott!

I take it you liked the back much more than the front. 

[Rory Connaughton]

Thanks for taking the time to post Scott.  I'll bet WFGC was a fun place to be.

[Scott_Burroughs]

Thanks Scott!

I take it you liked the back much more than the front. 

Yes.  More rolling land, better (and more contiguous) holes, and none of the 2 long walks.

Notes upon revisiting this a year later:

I never noticed in all those years that the forward tee box on #14 pointed well to the right of the line of play.

After these pics were taken in 2004, the trees behind the 15th green were taken out to build
homes.  The uphill approach then had somewhat of a skyline green effect.

That 'mulligan' on #7 where I drove the green was only the 2nd of 2 or 3 (I believe) times I ever
drove that green (all from the tips).  Was on the fringe a couple of times and green-high off the
green a few times.

My oldest daughter was so little then.  She loved riding in the cart (had to let my ego go to get
her out on the course) more than playing.  Now, she's 9 and already 4' 9".  Now we all walk (they
use pullcarts) on the practice course of my new home club.

[Max Schechter]

Scott,

Thank you for the post. Did the WFU golf team use the facility at all when it was open? Do you know where they play now?

Cheers, MJS.

[John Moore II]

Scott,

Thank you for the post. Did the WFU golf team use the facility at all when it was open? Do you know where they play now?

Cheers, MJS.

So far as I know, WFU, did not. I think they had all ready left the town of Wake Forest for Winston-Salem by the time Wake Forest Golf Club opened for play. While Arnold Palmer went to WFU they practiced at Paschal GC in town, which is a real dump. I think they played matches at Carolina CC in Raleigh.

As for my opinion of WFGC, the first hole would not have been bad if you covered up the creek. But otherwise, its a wierd hole with no good way to play. As for the rest of the course, it had fallen into very poor conditions and I generally did not like it. I said the first time I played there I would never return. For some reason, I went back, and from the first tee until the 18th green, I asked myself over and over "Why did I come back here?" I just thought it was not so good. I thought the par 5's were generally good, but the rest of the course, I didn't care for.

[Allan Long]

Thanks for posting Scott. It's amazing that just in the last 5 years or so how many courses in the RDU area have become NLE's.

Max, the University moved from Wake Forest, NC to its current location in Winston-Salem in 1956, so the team would have never played at WFGC. John mentioned Paschal GC located on what used to be the campus of Wake Forest. About the best part of a visit there was seeing all the pictures of Arnie in the Pro Shop from his Wake Forest days.

[Scott_Burroughs]

Max,

As Allan and John mentioned, WFU has been in Winston-Salem for over 50 years now, and
they play out of Old Town Club (in W-S), featured on GCA in the My Home Course section (irony not intended).

I believe Palmer was known to also play (at least occasionally) at the newly opened (in 1948)
Raleigh CC (Ross' last design).

Rory,

Like all clubs (w/members), there were regular groups out there, most of whom I knew
through club tournaments and just seeing/playing with them there.  Many of them (including
me) took the deal and joined the newly-opened Olde Liberty G&CC in Youngsville.

After a few plays (it didn't open until April this year), I realized that OL was not an
accomodating course for my wife and kids (esp. to walk) to play, with numerous long walks
and several large ravines to hit over.  None of the ravines/creeks had walking bridges, either,
so I quit OL and joined another club nearby that has an additional 9-hole (shorter) family
walking-only course.


BTW, as detailed in another thread about the demise of WFGC, the owner was never able to
sell it to be developed into housing, as the local homeowners associations around the course
had bylaws that required the land to be open space or a golf course, so it now just sits there,
weeds-a-growin'.  One of the rare times that developers didn't get their way. 

[Ed Oden]

Scott, thanks for posting this profile.  Having never played WFGC and judging solely from your pictures, the course itself looks uninspirational.  Then again, most of my lasting golf memories have their genesis in similar places.  Great golf architecture does not hold a monopoly on great times.  It is clear that WFGC meant a lot to you and your family.  If so, then I'd call the club a success even if it didn't survive.

Ed

[A.G._Crockett]

Scott,
Thanks for posting this.  As I've told you before, I played WFCC once, and was fortunate enough to play most of the round with Tommy Byrne.  Considering that I had several of his baseball cards, it was a very cool day.  My dad sent me the obituary from the N&O when he passed away.