After a quick nine holes at Wabaunsee Pines, we made the forty minute drive back to Topeka, KS for a 10:00 a.m. tee time at Topeka Country Club.
As I mentioned in the initial post, TCC was originally a nine hole course designed by Thomas Bendelow in 1905. By the early 1930s the club was ready to expand to 18 holes. They hired Perry Maxwell, fresh off of his time at the famed Prairie Dunes Country Club two hours to the south. In 1938 he added nine holes along with completely redesigning the original course. The course routing is below.
Topeka Country Club sits on a great piece of rolling property. As Jason, Daryn and I talked during the round we agreed that there are some really good golf holes on the ground at TCC. There is great use of the undulating terrain with greens that fit the surrounds perfectly. We also discussed what a little tree clearing and some renovation work on the greens and bunkers could do for this classic course. As you’ll see from some of the pictures below, greens have shrunken on their pads and bunkers no longer seem as if they fit. While there are a ton of trees on the course, I found it to be playable even off of the fairway. The club has kept them trimmed up and recovery shots are definitely possible.
I won’t be doing a complete tour, but a few of my favorites are below. I’m sure Jason and Daryn will chime in with their thoughts, as well.
The first hole is a gentle left to right opener that measures 372 yards from the back tee. I was surprised on our visit to find the majority of the holes flow this direction. The only other Maxwell I have played, Prairie Dunes, features mostly holes that go the opposite direction, right to left.
The third hole, 427 yards, features a semi blind drive over the top of the hill.
The second shot was one of my favorites on the course. The approach is downhill to a green that sits just beyond a shallow valley in the fairway, which definitely affects balls that are played along the ground.
The tee shot on the fourth hole, a 205 yard par three, must be played over a small creek fronting the green.
Once there, a two putt may not be guaranteed due to the severely sloping back to front surface.
This tee shot starts your back nine. Another left to right hole, but this one to a sloping left to right fairway. I loved the way that Maxwell incorporated the rolling nature of the property in different ways. There are side slopes and shots both uphill and downhill all incorporated throughout the course.
The twelfth hole is a 555 yard par 5, with an uphill shot off of the tee. This was my favorite of the three shot holes.
Unless you hit it as far as Daryn does, this is most likely your view for your second shot. The fairway works downhill and to the right once over the ridge.
Your third shot into the twelfth hole is to a well guarded green that sits perfectly with the rest of the landscape.
The final par 3 of the day comes at the thirteenth. A long hole, measuring 230 yards, that flows to a green that rolls right out of the fairway.
The sixteenth, a short par 4 measuring 332 yards, may be my favorite on the course. It is one of the few right to left holes on the course and gives the player on the tee the option of bailing out right or hitting a ball over the trees on the left.
The green features a well guarded left side and a sloped right side that will propel anything not hit on line farther down the hill.
The final hole is a short uphill par 4 that plays right towards the clubhouse and pool. This is another hole with a lot of options off of the tee. I hit 3 wood here not wanting to maim any members milling around the pro shop, especially since every tee shot I missed had been way right!
All in all, it was a great day at TCC. It is a fantastic walk and as I said earlier, there are definitely some good golf holes there. A little nip and tuck and maybe a couple of chainsaws could really turn this place into something extra special.