Chicago Golf Club

[Chip Gaskins]

Chicago Golf Club

Last week I was lucky enough to play Chicago Golf Club.  We were fortunate enough to have Bill Shean walk around the entire round with us.  The man is a walking encyclopedia of golf.  Two time US Senior Amateur champion as well as one time British Senior Amateur champion.  I have had very few better days (if any) on a golf course.  Bill and CGC are treasures of the game.  It is hard to find a lot of information about Chicago so Bill was invaluable as a historian.

Originally routed at its current site in 1895, Chicago Golf Club was rebuilt by Seth Raynor (according to Bill under close direction from Macdonald) in the early 1920s.  I am not sure who actually gets architecture credit for it, but it doesn’t really matter.  It is beyond great.

Chicago Golf Club instantly established itself in my top 10 I have played in the world.  It has some of the scariest and at the same time fun green complexes in golf.  Second only behind Prairie Dunes probably.  Like Piping Rock the course is massive in scale.  It is routed around a central pasture area in a clockwise fashion (Macdonald was a chronic slicer)



Charles Blair Macdonald's house off left of the Cape Hole #14 where the out-of-bounds rule was created.


Hole #3 Biarritz

Like Piping Rock, Chicago does not mow the front pad to green height.  Without the course being extremely firm, running the ball through the swale isn’t really an option.



Hole #7 Redan

Wow, a Redan of massive scale.  223 yards!  In my opinion the play is to hit it long and left and putt back up the hill because at that length anything with a hybrid or a wood comes in too hot to stay on the green.  Such a fun hole.



Hole #12 Punchbowl

One of my new favorite holes in the world (RCD #4, Oakmont #3, SHGC #14, and PV #17 being the others).  It is great to see the fairways mowed directly into the bunkers here.  A true 1/2 shot penalty that I quickly come to realize...







Hole #13 Eden

I continue to scratch my head on the creative liberty needed to view some the Edens I have seen recently with the real thing.  I can’t see the Strath bunker on this hole (or at St Louis) really?



If you care to see the rest of the course I did a short write up at: www.golfcourseclassics.com

[John Foley]

Chip,

Great review. Thanks for the details.

Who did the routing map you have posted on your site?

Was it Raynor?

[Mike_Cirba]

John,

The map reads;

OG Simonds & Co.
Landscape Gardeners

Chip,

Man you play some dog tracks! 

[David Stamm]

The Redan looks unreal. Wow!


Mike, Chip and Mayhugh play a game with which I am unfamiliar.

[Adam Clayman]

Chip, Apparently, information appearing in your thread is contrary to facts previously known about the club. i.e. It's current location?

Your opinion about fun greens is also quite the gem.

Have a great day.

[Jason McNamara]

Chip, since you're getting to travel so much, I have a cool idea:  Tell us where you're going (give us some destinations) with some advance notice, and we'll pick a course for you to review.  Instead of a magazine to guide your way to a course, you can use the collective wisdom (!) of GCA.

Edit:  Obviously we won't pick a dog for you.

[Chuck Brown]

I was there for the Walker Cup, and these fine pictures do real justice to this fabulous, historic corner of the golfing world.  Many, many thanks for sharing them, Chip!

[Tim Pitner]

Looks like CommonGround in Denver . . . or perhaps it's the other way around. 

[Chip Gaskins]

Adam-

I always look forward to your posts.

According to Bill Shean's stories as well as George Bahto's book on page 17 "In the spring of 1893 the course was increased to 18 holes and by July 18, 1893, the charter of the Chicago Golf Club was granted" "By 1894 the popularity of the game increased, and the Chicago Golf Club's membership increased to outgrow the modest course in Belmont.  At Macdonald's urging, the club voted to purchase another tract on which they would build an improved golf course, one that would equal the best inland courses in the British Isles."  I took Bill and Bahto's book at face value which was that the original course was at a site in Belmont but moved in the mid 1890s to the current Wheaton location where Macdonald laid out the course which was later changed in 1922 to what it is today.


Jason-

I played 8 times in the last week....that is probably it for me until the Fall.


David-

The Redan is absolutely amazing in scale.  It is huge!  I should meet this Mayhugh guy :-)


Mike & John-

It is the original Macdonald routing in the clubhouse.  It has 2-3 of the same holes that exists today.  The other 15-16 were changed in 1922 by Raynor.


Tim-

I have not seen CommonGround, I have heard the green complexes are great.  It is on a smaller piece of ground, no?

[Tim Pitner]

Chip,

I don't know the acreages involved but, yes, Chicago GC would have to be much bigger--CommonGround is certainly not massive in scale.  The greens at CommonGround are very cool, especially for a moderately-priced public course. 

After seeing these photos, I went back to an old thread and, sure enough, Mr. Doak talked about the bunkering at CommonGround being inspired by Chicago GC.  What's interesting to me is that the roughs look similar as well.  Both sites are quite flat (from what I understand of CGC) so the overall similarity in appearance is striking.  Thanks for posting the photos. 

[Adam Clayman]

Chip, "Originally routed at its current site in 1895" threw me as implying it was the original.

[Jason McNamara]

....that is probably it for me until the Fall.

Well that's perfect - plenty of time to sort things out.  Just give us some advance notice if you're interested.

[Wayne_Kozun]

What's the rationale behind the very short cross bunkers on the par 3s?

[Mark Luckhardt]

I have installed our XGD System on several of their greens over the past few years. As have many of you, I have been on many of the finest putting surfaces in NA. This place is top 5 on the list I have seen. Maintained to perfection by superintendent Jon Jennings.

[Kevin_Reilly]

Is the decision to cut the grass height of the front section of the Biarritz at fairway level a result of wear (ball marks) if it were cut to green height?

Is it ever cut to green height?

[Roland Waguespack]

I am curious to know if mowing the fairway into the bunkers in this fashion is an attempt to get back to an original design feature of Raynor?

I belong to Metairie CC which is a Raynor design from 1922 (I think same year according to Bahto timeline) and would love to see that feature on our course, especially since our course is very similar in topography (FLAT).
From an upkeep perspective, does this technique add to labor/costs?

(inaugural post, so please take it easy on me!!)

[Phil McDade]

What's the rationale behind the very short cross bunkers on the par 3s?

Didn't Macdonald object to holes in which a player theoretically could putt the ball from tee to green in par? I may be wrong, but I think that accounts for some of that fronting bunkering, also known as top-it bunkers, just in front of the tees. I could be entirely wrong, of course...

[Michael Dugger]

While seeing more and more images of this course, I cannot help but wonder sometimes, what's the big deal?

What am I not grasping?  History and conditioning aside, this land looks far more dull than Fishers, Yale, Shoreacres or Piping Rock.

[C. Squier]

Chip, not only did you play a fantastic course, but you played with a legend.  His name graces the Club Championship boards in some of the US's finest clubs.  Not to mention his stellar amateur record in competition.

Any club trying to grow fescue needs to visit Chicago GC.  It plays absolutely perfectly.  Not too thick, not too light.  Just right.  Momma bear, if you will.

[tlavin]

While seeing more and more images of this course, I cannot help but wonder sometimes, what's the big deal?

What am I not grasping?  History and conditioning aside, this land looks far more dull than Fishers, Yale, Shoreacres or Piping Rock.

It surely pales by comparison with Shoreacres, if only because of the superior landforms at Shoreacres.  Having said that, there's no doubt that Chicago Golf Club is an absolute classic.  It is a shining example of the genius of a great architect working on a nothing piece of land.

[Dan Moore]

Chip,

Great review. Thanks for the details.

Who did the routing map you have posted on your site?

Was it Raynor?

John,  The Simonds routing map is from around 1915 before Raynor redesigned the course.  The club does not have any Raynor drawings.  O. C. Simonds was a prominent landscapre architect in the Chicago area who designed the grounds (not a golf course architect) for a variety of Chicago's best clubs in the early days.  Bahto's book feature's a copy of that map.  Only a couple of the original Macdonald holes survived 1,10, part of 15, 17 and 18.  All of the greens were redone by Raynor.  

[Chip Gaskins]

Adam-

I see how what I typed can be confusing.  I will change it.  Sorry


Clint-

You are correct.  Bill, is such a great guy.  He took half his day (the day after the Butler Cup no less) to walk around with us.  Then we had an hour long lunch talking about everything we talk about on here...Bandon's success, Sand Hills, Fazio at Pine Valley, who built Merion (Just joking) technology, etc


Michael-

I suppose in the grand scheme of things it is fairly flat, but it certainly didn't feel like that.


Roland-

I also played Shoreacres and Blue Mound on this trip (both Raynor courses) and neither mowed their grass directly into the bunkers like that.  With that said, they certainly were not 40 yards in the rough as many US Open courses look now either.


Kevin-

There was no Biarritz at NGLA so Piping Rock was the first one (I think) and they don't mow it at green height either.  Blue Mound in Milwaukee doesn't mow theirs at green height either.


Wayne-

I have heard Macdonald didn't want the thin/skulled shot to be rewarded at all (or allow to progress toward the target) but maybe George Bahto, Jim Urbina, Tom Doak, or Brad Klein can chime in with the real history on his thinking.  I do know those little cross bunkers are all over the place at St. Louis, Piping, and Chicago though.

[Adam Clayman]

Michael Dugger. While I could only dream about playing at CGC (believe me I've tried) It is dangerous to judge from photos.

With that said ...

Dan, Phil and you Lawsonia lovers.

I can't help but speculate after seeing some similarities in the pictures that L&M must've been highly influenced by this course.

What say you?

If that has that been postulated before, just ignore me.

[Bill Brightly]

Kevin,

It took 3 years but we gradually converted Hackensack's (Banks) front section to putting surface height. Forsgate (Banks, NJ) has also done the same. Obviously Yale has been green height for many years. I think the Creek Club and a few others also are short.

Having studied this topic for 5 years, I believe that NONE of the original Biarritz's were green height but they ALL should be now, and the pin should almost NEVER be placed on the front section. Here's why:

The originals were built before irrigaton systems, so the fairways played fast and firm. Balls could not fly very far, so the required play was a low running shot between the bunkers, down the swale with enough force to make it up the swale, yet still stay on the green.

No fairway (in the US...) will be as fast and firm as a putting green, right?

The play on our Biarritz is so much fun now. Balls roll up the slope and back down, which never happened when it was fairway. In our club championship qualifying yesterday, the pin was cut close to the swale. My playing partner putted from the swale, watched it roll back down, and almost had the next one do the same, and was thrilled at making double. Another guy putted from beyond the pin, hit it too hard, and ended up down the swale...then barely escaped with his double... The Met Am will be played at Hackensack in 9 days, and I'm bringing a chair to watch the guys on this hole!

Chip, I wonder if you asked if Chicago was considering lowering their front section?

[Wayne_Kozun]

What's the rationale behind the very short cross bunkers on the par 3s?

Didn't Macdonald object to holes in which a player theoretically could putt the ball from tee to green in par? I may be wrong, but I think that accounts for some of that fronting bunkering, also known as top-it bunkers, just in front of the tees. I could be entirely wrong, of course...

Didn't MacKenzie say pretty much the exact opposite - that one should be able to play any hole with a putter although it may be a much longer route - like 16 at CPC.

And I believe that Tilly called these types of bunkers "Duffer's Headaches" as they didn't penalize a good player, only a very weak player.