10 Ross Designs on Your Wish List

[J_ Crisham]

The other Ross thread motivated me to spend a couple of hours this morning rereading Discovering Donald Ross. Over the years I've tried to see /play a variety of his designs . I identified 10 of his courses that I hope to visit in the next year or two. Which ones are on your radar and why?
1) Pinehurst 2  -I look forward to seeing what may be Ross's finest.
2) Northland in Duluth - I've been blown away by his other MN work especially WBYC
3) Holston Hills - said to be one of Ross best preserved
4) Sakonnet - appears to be fun , seaside golf
5) French Lick -  I've heard the greens are a blast putt
6) Brookside Canton - again the greens are reputed to be amazing
7) Whittensville - never seen a 9 hole Ross and this I supposed to be a dandy
8)Augusta CC -  my pals that have played it just rave about how good a test of golf it is
9) Shennecossett - drove by it 2 yrs ago on the way to Metacomet - wish I would have squeezed it in
10) CC of Buffalo - those holes around the quarry and the visible rock outcropping just look fun

[Ed Brzezowski]

Already play Aronomink?

[Mark McKeever]

The one's that are not on people's lists that definitely should be.   

Shennecossett GC, Groton CT
Warwick CC, Warwick RI
Charles River CC, Newton MA
Vesper CC, Lowell MA
Schuylkill CC, Orwigsburg PA
George Wright GC, Boston MA

[Chris DeToro]

Worcester CC in central Mass is one that I would highly recommend

[Ronald Montesano]

These are the doable Ross for me:

First five are all in Rochester, NY, all within about ten minutes of each other.
1-Oak Hill East
2-Oak Hill West
3-CC Rochester
4-Monroe
5-Irondequoit

These are in Massachusetts
6-Charles River
7-Oyster Harbors
8-Wianno
9-Winchester

10-Rosedale in Toronto

[J_ Crisham]

Already play Aronomink?

Ed, I have had the good fortune to play about 40 of Ross's designs over the years. One of my pals was at both Charles River and AGC- pretty solid Ross designs IMO .  I have great memories of visits to Aronimink that weren't diluted by post round hours spent on the best patio in all of golf:) Aronimink is one hell of a club from the course to the clubhouse - one of my top 5 Ross designs so far.

[Chris DeToro]

Winchester is a great one too.  I've been able to play a lot of Ross courses especially in the last several months living in New England, but the photo tours and things I've heard about Teugega and Glens Falls moves those to the top of my list, in general, let alone Ross list

[J_ Crisham]

The one's that are not on people's lists that definitely should be.   

Shennecossett GC, Groton CT
Warwick CC, Warwick RI
Charles River CC, Newton MA
Vesper CC, Lowell MA
Schuylkill CC, Orwigsburg PA
George Wright GC, Boston MA

Mark, Of the 40 I've played, Charles River was the one that blew me away- so many pretty , fun holes with rock outcroppings . When you get on the first tee you see that it has the makings of something special. Vesper was really cool as well - with the velodrome remnants on the island portion if the course being a very unique feature. You East Coast guys are spoiled with the bench strength of Ross courses- it's amazing.

[Ed Brzezowski]

Already play Aronomink?

Ed, I have had the good fortune to play about 40 of Ross's designs over the years. One of my pals was at both Charles River and AGC- pretty solid Ross designs IMO .  I have great memories of visits to Aronimink that weren't diluted by post round hours spent on the best patio in all of golf:) Aronimink is one hell of a club from the course to the clubhouse - one of my top 5 Ross designs so far.

Sorry  for the misspelling, yes it is a killer setup and club. One of the best in Philly.

[BHoover]

Because Brookside is my favorite both based on the design and because it's my hometown, it will be the one against which I compare other Ross designs. Among his lesser known works, I'm also always going to be partial to Springfield as my former home course (and, IMO, a hidden gem). But if asked to come up with a list of ten I'd want to play, then here's my list in no particular order, except for #1 because I want to see how it compares to Brookside:

1. Plainfield
2. Northland
3. White Bear Yacht Club
4. Minikahda
5. Wannamoissett
6. Essex County
7. Pinehurst #2
8. Sedgefield
9. Aronimink
10. Holston Hills

[Cory Lewis]

6 Ross courses to go to get to 100 played!

1. Highland-Fayetteville, NC
2. Benvenue-Rocky Mount, NC
3. Wilmington Muni-Wilmington, NC
4. CC of Asheville-Asheville, NC
5. Athens-Athens, GA
6. CC of Birmingham-Birmingham, AL
7. Congress Lake-Hartville, OH
8. Hyde Park-Cincinnati, OH
9. Hawthorne Valley-Solon, OH
10. Shaker Heights-Shaker Heights, OH

[Kyle Harris]

6 Ross courses to go to get to 100 played!

1. Highland-Fayetteville, NC
2. Benvenue-Rocky Mount, NC
3. Wilmington Muni-Wilmington, NC
4. CC of Asheville-Asheville, NC
5. Athens-Athens, GA
6. CC of Birmingham-Birmingham, AL
7. Congress Lake-Hartville, OH
8. Hyde Park-Cincinnati, OH
9. Hawthorne Valley-Solon, OH
10. Shaker Heights-Shaker Heights, OH

Come visit and add Dunedin and Bellevue to your list. That'd be a very good 36 hole day!

[jim_lewis]

May I assume that everyone who has responded so far has already played Seminole?

[Ronald Montesano]

No, but the odds of me playing Seminole don't hearten anyone.

This is a wish list, not a "celebrities you'll never bang" list.

[BCowan]

No, but the odds of me playing Seminole don't hearten anyone.

This is a wish list, not a "celebrities you'll never bang" list.

 Also my bet is Ron doesn't like courses that allow 5somes.   

[Ronald Montesano]

Rick James-style 5somes? As long as there's funk.

5somes that move? They can play on my course any time.

[jim_lewis]

Ronald:
You mean its not OK to wish to "bang a celebrity"?  If you don't have Seminole on your wish list, you are not likely to ever play it. So, how about Wannamoisett? I'm going to assume you have played #2. I judge the three courses mentioned here to be the best of the many Ross courses I've played. I hope everyone gets to play them some day, but they will need to be on the wish list.

Jim

[Ronald Montesano]

Jim, I understand what you are saying.

When I bang out the ten I listed, I'll begin my next list with Seminole and Wannamoisett.

[Brett Wiesley]

How about Mid Pines, Inverness, Southern Pines

[Sean_A]

Pinehurst 2 - need a good green fee deal though...I am not paying top whack
Holston Hills
French Lick
Whitsinville
Charles Wright
Wannamoissett
White Bear Yacht Club - is this a Ross though?
Essex County
Glen Falls
Seminole

Could easily just play whichever (proper) Ross happens to be nearby.  Like Colt's courses, its rare I think a day was wasted on a Ross course.

Ciao   

[Ronald Montesano]

The two Ross courses that I would encourage people to visit are Mark Twain golf course in Elmira, New York and Triggs in Providence, RI. Both courses were designed for municipalities. Both are on terrific pieces of land. We normally don't associate Ross courses with daily fee play (and Pinehurst #2 doesn't count.)

They are different from Southern Pines b/c SP was a members club initially, correct? These two were never meant to be such.

[Brian Finn]

Old Elm
Carolina GC
Augusta CC
Idle Hour
Wannamoisett
Charlotte CC
Seminole
Worcester CC
Essex County
Aronimink

[Kevin_D]

Brian Hoover,

Good choice for #1. Plainfield is terrific, and after Pinehurst #2, is probably my favorite Ross. I'm surprised I don't see it mentioned more often so far on this thread.

Gulph Mills should also be on everyone's list.

I don't have a particular order, but I want to play everything mentioned here! Other than the obvious (Seminole!), I would say that one that sticks out to me as particularly interesting from what I have read/seen is Wannamoisett.

[Ronald Montesano]

I saw Carolina GC very early in my GCA apprenticeship, so I can't say I took full advantage of understanding its nuances. It was a great tour of a reborn course and I would encourage folks to see it.

[John Mayhugh]

Anyone that has Holston Hills on their list (especially Jack & Sean) have only yourselves to blame.  Would be glad to have you out there sometime.