Routing at Fairfield CC

[Wayne Freeman]

I played CC of Fairfield yesterday and loved it. Interestingly, I noticed that the routing was reminiscent of Muirfield in that the front nine went around the outside of the course, with the back nine totally on the inside. The only other course I have played like it (although not on the water)  in the U.S. is Brentwood CC in L.A. Is this type of layout very unusual for our courses?

[JDoyle]

Redanman,

I have a soft spot in my heart for this course.  I caddied there for six summers and I don't think I missed playing the course on Mondays more than a handful of times.

I have always felt that this course could easily be a perenial top 100 course if the membership decided they wanted to return the course to its original Raynor roots.  When I asked George Bahto about Fairfield at the winter meeting at Alpine last year he said the course suffered from "too many cooks in the kitchen".  We all know that the course has been touched by many hands over the years, but if we had the power to perform a restoration there - what would be the first things to be corrected?

Here is a short list of the changes I think would improve the course:

1. enhance the punchbowl green on #2
2. widen the fairway to the right and restore the redan aspects of the 7th green.
3. strengthen the left side bunker on #9
4. Rebuild the Biarritz green on 10.
5. Bunker work on 14, 15 and 16.

I did see that they removed all the trees to the right of 10 - with fantastic results.

Interested to hear how you would improve the course.

Thanks, JD

[GeoffreyC]

Quaker Ridge is another course with a counterclockwise outer front nine routing and an inner routing for the back nine.  

It works very well but those right side OB's for a lefty who draws the ball does not make for an easy driving course.

[Pat Sisk]

JDoyle’s comment attributed to George Bahto is right on the mark.  There has been a tremendous amount of work done to the course and a true restoration in inconceivable.  That being said, I never had a bad day in the 10+ years I worked on that course.

The 1957 R.T Jones plan implemented the following changes:

Current  #1: lengthened to a par 5
Current  #2: shortened to a par 4
Current  #5: Elimination of the “Alps Hole” to create a sharp dogleg right, approach played over a small portion of the lagoon.
Current  #6: Originally #14, the tee was moved north and the optional fairway, left of the fairway bunker, became obsolete and removed.
Current hole #7: was originally #15, slightly shortened and the tee moved closer to #6 green
Current hole #8: was originally #16, small greenside bunker added (note: additional changes made to the approach in 1988)
Current hole #9: was originally #17
Current #10: This is a “new hole.”  The Baritz, par 3 was originally in the middle of this fairway.  The hole, at one point, was lengthened by going up the hill and was recalculated to a par 4.  The Baritz green was eliminated and the new #10 green was constructed west approximately 150 yards and tucked slightly behind the new lagoon expansion.
Current #11: The green is the original #13.  The hole played in from the north (the current fairway nursery is a portion of the old fairway) with the tee being placed east of the old #5 green (currently the green nursery)
Current #12: Originally #12 “Raynor’s Prized Dogleg” This hole was shortened to accommodate the new 10th fairway as well as the new 17th green.  The dogleg was strengthened and par was changed to 4.
Current #13: Originally #6 the green was moved south approximately 50 yards.
Current #14: Originally #7 the tee was moved slightly left and back.
Current #15: Originally #8
Current #16: Originally #9
Current #17: This is a “new hole” created to help the routing finish at the clubhouse.
Current #18: This is a “new hole”

Original greens no longer used:
#5 (now the green nursery), #6 (green eliminated for the new #13), #10 (abandoned), #11 (Baritz), #18

There were other minor alterations to the course before 1957, primarily the elimination of bunkers and movement of some tees.

All that being said, it is a wonderful golf course!  No two days are the same out there; conditions change daily, depending on the wind direction.  Superintendent Dave Koziol has done a fantastic job with Bruce Hepner’s master plan.

There is an overlay drawing of the Jones plan out there.  Perhaps Dave Koziol could scan that and post on this site.

If you have the opportunity to play this course consider yourself fortunate.


Pat Sisk

[Scott_Burroughs]

Pat,

Could you post that routing plan you sent me awhile back?  
That would be interesting for all to see and to compare to
this aerial of CCF, which was AOTD #248:

[George_Bahto]

Pat: I have that overlay at home and when I get back I'll have one of the guys post it.

Bare in mind RTJ recommended a lot but really did nothing himself - some of his work was done in house years ago.

Cornish only did hole 10 himself (I spoke to him about it myself) and that was because of the relocation of the clubhouse .... that Biarritz could never be put back because it would mess up the entire rerouting that was done when the clubhouse was relocated years ago.

TREE REMOVAL !!!  brother what a great job is being done on a course that really was not overloaded.

Clubs should go there and take a lesson.

Chicago Golf: same thing!!!  not a lot of trees to begin with and now many of those are gone.  The place looks so great!!

Green expansion at CCF is fantasic ..... it is a showcase for expanding greens...... ANOTHER PLACE CLUBS AND SUPERS SHOULD VISIT!!

[Pat Sisk]

George,

Mr. Cornish is one of THE fine gentlemen in this world.  Although he only admits to #10 I've always suspected that he, at the very least, consulted on #'s 17 & 18.  #18 is fantastic; really kept in the "Raynor Spirit."

So far as green expansion, or reclamation as I prefer to call it, is concerned.  We've reclaimed no less than 3,000 sq. ft. at MCC in the past two years and I'm looking at about another 5,000 minimum next year alone.  Kind of goes along with the shrinking thread.

Scott,
I'll look for the Raynor drawing on my computer and either send it to you or post it myself (yikes!)

Pat Sisk

[Pat Sisk]

 
Scott,

Please forward your E-mail address.  I'm not having much luck posting the drawing this morning.

Pat
 

[Scott_Burroughs]

Pat,

I still have it, but I'm just trying to save my rapidly diminishing web space, as it's going to be a tight squeeze getting the remaining AOTDs in.

Maybe I'll post it temporarily tonight.

[Craig Disher]

It's hard to see how the Biarritz could be rebuilt without a major reroute. Comparing Scott's aotd with a late 30s view of the course shows that it'll have to remain a dream.

Points A and B are in the same position. The new B (Biarritz swale) is in the middle of what I assume is the 10th fairway.





Anyone know how to force these pix to be viewed side by side?

[George_Bahto]

Craig: the location of the old Biarritz green is about at 150 from the 10th green.

No way to reclaim that hole (I would say

....and I have never seen another Biarritz bunkered like that one was

gb

[Forrest Richardson]

A 9-hole routing surrounding a second 9-holes is not that uncommon. The reason is simple: In instances where an initial 9-holes is built before a second 9, the only option less integrating the nines is the "surround" approach or a second nine off in an entirely separate direction. Thus the case when a nine is added.

On complete 18-hole layouts the nine-within-a-nine is often a solution which works. We sometimes call this a sprial.

[Tommy_Naccarato]

The overlay