CC of Spartanburg Photo Tour (hole #18 posted)

[Bruce Wellmon]

    The Country Club of Spartanburg (SC) was founded in 1908. Speculation is 9 holes were designed by Donald Ross and the second nine was finished later. However, there is no documented proof of Ross' involvement. Kris Spence reworked the course several years ago and his work has taken the course to a new level. CCS is ranked #34 in SC by the South Carolina Golf Course Rating Panel. It is a wonderful walking course that plays much longer than the 6648 yards on the card.
     The Bobby Chapman Junior is a national event held at CCS each fall. Past winners include Lucas Glover and Peter Uihlein.
     CCS hosted the LPGA Peach Blossom Invitational from 1963 to 1966.



Hole #1, par 5, 516 yards from the tips. Plays downhill off the tee and then uphill to the green.

Two bunkers, one grass, guard the right side of the fairway.

The second shot. Longer hitters can get home in two.

To a well guarded unique green.

I struggled to capture the contours of the green. A back tier, a front left tier. A small front right shelf and a Biarritz contour running obliquely.





Looking back and illustrating the severe penalty for being long.

[Robert Kimball]

Bruce, thank you for starting this tour.

Being born and raised in Spartanburg, this course is of great interest to me. We were never members, but I have gotten out there a couple of times in my golfing life. One thing I am interested in is the work Kris Spence did to the property. He did a great job at Furman and, from what I hear, also at Forsyth CC in Winston-Salem.

Did all the greensites and surrounds get a redo? Was any length added? This first green sure looks different from my memory (about 5 years ago).

I look forward to the tour.

Rob

[Bruce Wellmon]

Bruce, thank you for starting this tour.

Being born and raised in Spartanburg, this course is of great interest to me. We were never members, but I have gotten out there a couple of times in my golfing life. One thing I am interested in is the work Kris Spence did to the property. He did a great job at Furman and, from what I hear, also at Forsyth CC in Winston-Salem.

Did all the greensites and surrounds get a redo? Was any length added? This first green sure looks different from my memory (about 5 years ago).

I look forward to the tour.



Rob

Rob,
      Yes, length was added. There is no room behind #1 tee as it is within 20 feet of the pro shop's door. Spence moved #1 green uphill and to the left by perhaps 20 yards. The old green sat basically at the location of the bunker to the right of the present green.
So, yes, all greensites were redone.

[Bruce Wellmon]

Second hole, par 4, 403 from the tips.
30 -40 yards was added as the tee was moved back and shifted to bring the lake more in play.
From the back tees.

And a lower tee view.

Too far right, and the trees come into play. Note the false front on the green. One of many to come.

Bunker guarding the left side of the fairway.

Looking back.

[Bruce Wellmon]

#3, The first par 3. 203 yards.
Again, Kris Spence increased length and shifted the green perhaps 15 yards closer to the lake, which is most certainly in play.
Note the backside of #2 green to the right of the shorter tees, where the ball can easily slide off long.

Short of the green can allow running it in.

To a slanted rectangular green.

[Michael Moore]

Bruce -

I try to refrain from just posting "golly gee willikers" but I must say that this course looks magnificent. I can't wait to see the rest.

Great photos of previously unheard of courses help make this site what it is.

P.S. As a Yankee whose last visit to the Carolinas was in 1993, I will never get used to the yellow fairways. I hear the ball sits up perfect.

[Bruce Wellmon]

Hole 4, par 4, 396 yards, dogleg left.
Quite an interesting hole, with quite a few "Ross" qualities. Little land moved for one.
A stout par 4.
A new back tee was added.
From the tees.

Does your drive carry the hill? Or hit into the hill, and stop, leaving a blind second shot to the green?

If you carry the hill, a clear view of the green.............

BUT, what is not visible is the swale between the tee shot landing area and the green.
Shots that hit short can run well back down the hill. Another false front.

To an expanded putting surface with chipping areas.

Looking back.

[Kris Spence]

Bruce, thanks for posting these pic's.  I haven't seen the course fully mature in person which I hope to rectify very soon, it looks really good. Harold Burns the supt is one of my favorite people in the golf business, he does a great job making my work look good.  

Spartanburg is a fun course with tons of variety and personality, I'm looking forward to playing it soon.  

Kris

[Michael Whitaker]

Bruce - thanks for starting this thread. CCS is a course that would get rave reviews from the GCA crowd. Kris did a fabulous job and now CCS is one of the stellar old school courses in the state.

[Jerry Kluger]

Bruce: Could you be more specific about moving the green on #3 - where exactly was it before - were the trees added - was there any reason to move the green other than to make it a more difficult hole?  Jerry

[Bruce Wellmon]

Bruce: Could you be more specific about moving the green on #3 - where exactly was it before - were the trees added - was there any reason to move the green other than to make it a more difficult hole?  Jerry

I can't speak for Kris Spence, but IMO it was a combination of factors.
No trees were added.
First #2 was a rather weak hole previously. It needed length and an expansion of the second green.
#3 was maybe 155-165 yards to a very quirky green. So, length was easily added and the green was made more playable and fair. You had to shift the tees and change the angle of 3 to avoid teeing off over 2 green.  It is a much better hole now.
Kris please feel free to correct me if need be.

[Terry Lavin]

Bruce,

Thanks for this thread.  It is yet another example of the amazing amount of fun and architecturally interesting golf courses that get discussed on the site.  I like the moving of the green on #3 closer to the water to provide a more difficult shot to the green.  The pond may be artificial or it may be real, doesn't matter to me, it just seems like the hole is more challenging and more scenic if the green is tight to the pond.

To think that this course is #34 in South Carolina!  Keep the photos coming, and good work, Kris.

[Peter Sayegh]

As a former resident of the Upstate, CCS was never on my radar. The pic behind the first green? Really? That would have me wondering what the next seventeen had in store. As an aside, I didn't know Kris tweaked Furman. Haven't seen it since.

[Bruce Wellmon]

#5 is a par 5, 494 yards.
From the tees.
Can you carry the very large tree? There is alot of room to the right beyond the tree.
Note, the bunkers to the left of the cart path are for a practice area/green.

A closer view. The cluster of bunkers is very reachable. The old green site was in line with the three middle bunkers and at the smaller cedar trees in the distance.

The green is reachable in two. But a blind second or third shot is certain.............

Unless you are well left on your third.

I love the banked fairway which allows for the ground game. Kris moved the green perhaps 40 yards. I am standing right of the old green site. The old green was narrow and the slope of the fairway unreceptive to getting there in two. Visually, the lake is now present as well. Again a definite improvement.

[Roger Wolfe]

Hey Bruce,

Did Spence ask to remove some of the trees that block half of several holes at Spartanburg and get vetoed?  I know the one on #5 is right in the line of play as are the ones on #13 and #17.  I hope everyone realizes they will die eventually... some sooner than later due to the construction.  Why design a hole around a tree instead of taking it down now and letting Kris design the "permanent" layout?  His tree removal on the par 4 on the front... I think it is #7... was absolutely brilliant.

- Tree Hater #1

[Bruce Wellmon]

My good friend Roger of Carolina Golf Club and I have had this conversation for 3 or 4 years. Carolina Golf Club and Spartanburg have reciprical play as they are located perhaps 75 miles apart. Carolina is, of course, a Donald Ross. Both Carolina and Spartanburg have been renovated/restored/polished by Kris Spence only months apart. There were 4 massive 100 year old trees at Spartanburg that Roger is referencing. Carolina, literally, has undergone THE best tree removal program I have ever seen. You can sit on the veranda at Carolina and see a part of probably 14 holes. Roger has enough firewood to last forever, or mulch.

Me (3 or 4 years ago): "Roger, can you cut down a 100 year old tree?"
Roger: "Yes."

[Bruce Wellmon]

#6, par 3, 231 from the back tees.
A tough tough par 3.



Yet another false front.

[Bruce Wellmon]

Hole 7, par 4, 444 yards.
From perhaps the second highest point on the property to the lowest. A small wetland left of the mounding in the left rough.

Dramatically downhill, looking back.

The approach to a partially hidden green.

Well bunkered left.

Looking back.

[Bruce Wellmon]

Hey Bruce,

Did Spence ask to remove some of the trees that block half of several holes at Spartanburg and get vetoed?  I know the one on #5 is right in the line of play as are the ones on #13 and #17.  I hope everyone realizes they will die eventually... some sooner than later due to the construction.  Why design a hole around a tree instead of taking it down now and letting Kris design the "permanent" layout?  His tree removal on the par 4 on the front... I think it is #7... was absolutely brilliant.

- Tree Hater #1

Yes, some sooner than later. From a picture taken last year, the big tree guarding the corner has died. The trunk, now gone, is visible. To be replaced with? A bunker? Bunkers? Mounds?

[Bruce Wellmon]

#8, par 3, 185 yards.
Still on the low part of the property.
The tee shot to a green guarded by 4 bunkers.

To an elevated green.

A side view.

[Mark Pritchett]

Great thread Bruce, thanks for sharing your pictures and thoughts.  I am looking forward to the rest!

[Bruce Wellmon]

The next 3 holes are a rollercoaster ride.
Hole #9, par 4, 370 yards.
From the lower part of the property #9 plays all uphill.
The tee shot.

The approach with the putting surface not visible.

A side view of the green complex.

The back view of the green shows the potential for a wide variety of lies and different chip shots needed if you are long.
And quite a bit a movement near this pin location.
Totals for the front 9, 3242 yards, par 35.

[Bruce Wellmon]

Hole 10, par 4, 463 yards.
The tenth plays over the crest of a hill and then all downhill to the green.
You can not see the tee shot landing area.

I am standing on the crest of the hill. Most drives will hit the downslope and run or completely carry the hill.
From this point it is perhaps 220 yards to the flag.

The swale short of the green will catch most balls hit short.
And note the back right tier of the green beyond the corner of the bunker.

Looking back.

[Bruce Wellmon]

Hole #11, 274 yards, par 4. Yes 274.
A unique risk/reward hole.
Straight uphill. And I mean uphill.
This hole gives you a chance to make a very good score or a very bad score.
Off the tee, hitting the fariway is paramount.
I have seen players hit anything from a 6 iron to a driver.
It is drivable for long hitter certainly.
The sand containers in the fairway are about 90-100 yards from the pin.

If the pin is on the left, or your tee shot is left, then the tree standing guard comes into play.
And it is a blind shot.

From the center of the fairway.

From the right side of the fairway.

To an elevated green.  With a false front. The most devilish green on the course.

A deep bunker on the left. Lots of contour on the green.

Side view.

Miss it long and left and you trickle down on #12 tee.

Even long presents trouble.

Looking back.

[Terry Lavin]

Bruce,

#11 looks like a feast or famine sort of a hole.  I would guess that there may have been some discussions about removing the "left goalpost" tree.  What's your thought on it?  I'm an inveterate chopper, but it's hard to tell from a photo.