Updates for CCNC, Old Town, Forest Creek, and Chechessee Creek…and 2016 summary
Country Club of North
Carolina—Dogwood: About five weeks ago, I posted an update on CCNC’s
Dogwood course (note…I have been a member of CCNC since mid 1998). Since Dogwood reopened, I have played over 10
rounds on Dogwood including rounds after heavy rains and relatively dry
conditions.
When it is playing firm and
fast, it is lots of fun, and requires players to understand the nuances of
ground slopes. CCNC’s Member-Pro last
month showed the new Dogwood at its best.
It certainly looked easier than the pre-renovation version, but its new
fangs are far subtler and by any measure the course is better. The long-term question will be ongoing
maintenance. If it is properly
maintained, it will regain its status as one of Pinehurst’s better tracks
(right now, to my mind, the best within 25 miles of Pinehurst are Pinehurst #2,
Mid Pines, and Tobacco Road, in that order).
If not, a major investment will have been wasted. Time will tell but I am cautiously optimistic.
Old Town Club, November 17,
2016: If one looks at the history of the USA’s great courses, most were
built either in the first “Golden Age” (approximately 1895-1929), or during the
last 20-25 years. With the start of the
Great Depression (followed by World War II), golf course construction ground to
an abrupt halt. Very few great tracks
were completed between 1930 and 1959. Specifically,
if one looks at the opening date of the courses listed on Golf Week’s USA Top
100 Classic Courses (defined as being built before 1960), the distribution by
decade is as follows:
1890-99
4
1900-09
4
1910-19 22
1920-29 58
1930-39
9
1940-49
1
1950-59
2
The 1930-39 group includes a Shinnecock Hills
re-build/renovation (12 all new holes and one all new hole that utilized a
previous green) and Crystal Downs; in these cases, the work commenced in 1927 and 1928 respectively but both were completed in 1931. Additionally, this group includes Skokie CC,
which renovated after the acquisition of contiguous land in 1938. The other six include:
1 public
works effort (Bethpage Black)
2 built
with oil money (Southern Hills and Colonial)
1 built
with salt money (Prairie Dunes)
1 led by
Bobby Jones, the best and most admired US golfer to that date (ANGC)
1 led by
RJ Reynolds tobacco money (Old Town).
An economist would note that
this reflects the inelasticity of demand for oil, salt, and cigarettes. A golf architecture enthusiast would note
that six of these nine involved extensive efforts by Perry Maxwell (Crystal,
Southern Hills, Colonial, Prairie Dunes, ANGC, and OTC).
Old Town Club is generally
considered the old money “Waspy” club of Winston-Salem, has always been very
low key, and generally shunned publicity.
In terms of Top 100’s, Old Town was never listed prior to the 2013
renovation. Since 2013 there have been 7
USA Top 100 lists published and Old Town had been included on 6 of these
7. Its highest rating to date has been
#42 on Golf Week’s merged list. Among
World Top 100 lists, it was on the “raw unadjusted data” (too long and
complicated to explain) version of a list published on golfclubatlas.com.
I first played Old Town
(Winston-Salem, NC) in the summer of 2006 while trying to qualify for the US
Senior Amateur Championship (I did not qualify). That was about a year before Bill Coore (of
Coore Crenshaw) met with Dunlop White III, who was head of OTC’s Golf
Committee. Dunlop understood the great
bones that Perry Maxwell built into OTC, and Coore loved the course going back
to his days playing it as member of Wake Forest University’s golf team in the
1960’s. Dunlop eventually received Board
of Governors approval for a major restoration that was completed in 2013.
The land on which OTC is built
is almost ideal for a golf course. Creeks
are prevalent throughout the property (and today impact play on 10 holes) and
the land tumbles in every direction.
Flat lies are rare outside of the practice range. Coore restored fairway width (in some cases
60 yards wide), eliminated 25 acres of rough while almost doubling the fairway
acreage, increase green size by an average of almost 1500 sq ft/green, tripled
the square footage of OTC’s bunkers, and removed trees when they blocked
playing lines or severely impacted turf quality. The result is jaw dropping. Fairways run into each other making it
possible to walk across eight fairways without walking through rough. Playing angles are now wide and varied,
presenting a player with a wide variety of options on almost every shot. Finally, the greens are wonderful examples of
“Maxwell Rolls”…small mounds and undulations in the interior of greens that can
leave players with mystifying putts.
Total yardage is 7037 yards (par 70)
During the brutally cold
2014-2015 winter, OTC’s fairway grass was severely damaged by winterkill. It
was sad seeing the course in spring 2015, but great to see it back in top shape
last month.
I have had the privilege of
being able to play OTC four times since the 2013 renovation and learn more
about the course with each visit. Put
simply, if you are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to play it, do not
pass it up.
Chechessee Creek Club,
November 22-26, 2016: I first saw this Coore Crenshaw gem in March 2011
when we belonged to The Outpost Club.
This recent trip was our 7th visit (including the last five
Thanksgivings at CCC with our friends and hosts John H. and Cathy C. of Toronto
and CCNC) and brings my completed rounds at CCC to 21.
Starting with our first visit,
one aspect of CCC struck Pat and me more than any other, and it was not
specifically regarding the golf course.
There is a wonderful feeling upon entering the club property at a small
number of clubs of stepping back 80-130 years.
Obvious examples in the USA include Yeamans Hall, NGLA, Shinnecock
Hills, Maidstone, Merion, San Francisco, Chicago, and Brookline. Chechessee opened in 2000 and has that same
feeling, and that is remarkable given the Club is all of 16 years old. The clubhouse is small, intimate, and fits
like an old shoe. And the staff is
wonderfully welcoming to members and guests.
Now to the golf course. Situated in South Carolina Low Country (on
the mainland near Hilton Head Island), CCC totals 6641 yards from the tips, par
70 (three par 5’s and five par 3’s).
This land was totally flat and Coore Crenshaw added 2-4 feet of fill to
raise the fairways and capped the fill with 6” of sand. Unlike most modern courses, the tee boxes are
not raised and instead blend into the fairways.
The greens are pushed up, slope from back to front, and have very
definitive slopes to the right or left which, along with pin positions, dictate
playing lines. Not understanding these
lines can be very expensive when it comes to settling your golfing wagers. The greens are also loaded with numerous (and
often deep) false fronts and false sides.
With tees located close to the
previous greens and relatively flat land, CCC is simply a pleasure to
walk. Caddies are mandatory
Fridays-Sundays before noon and are very knowledgeable and professional. While the property is relatively flat, most
of the fairways have a gentle slope, and since the course plays fast and firm,
these slopes heavily influence lines off the tees.
Last year CCC completed a
renovation that included a regressing of fairways and greens. The conditions on this trip were close to
perfect…firm, fast and fun.
It is possible to score well on
CCC (remember…this is where I almost shot my age on November 23), but you do
not do it by attacking the course.
Playing short of pin positions is a wise strategy given the back to
front slope of the greens…and being on the wrong side and pin high is no
picnic. Bombers might be frustrated but
that is fine given my current game (I might not have said that 40 years
ago). Golf is a game that requires the
player to play the course as presented…playing smart can be more important than
playing well.
CCC has never made a USA Top 100
list. It was included on GW’s USA Top
100 Modern lists 2002-05 with a highest rating of #59 in 2002, but that was not
close to high enough to make the GW merged list I created and use. I believe with the recent renovation and
regressing it is time for CCC to take its place on the USA Top 100 lists of all
three major magazines.
Forest Creek Golf Club—South,
November 30, 2016: Forest Creek is a development near Pinehurst with two
Tom Fazio courses—North and South. The
South course opened in 1996 and the North course opened about 9-10 years
later. I was a golf member of Forest
Creek from 2000-2010 and then a social member for another four years until I
was able to sell my lot.
I played a lot of golf there
from 2000-2008 and really liked the courses, especially the North. Around 2008, the club started building a
clubhouse and I strongly believed it was way too large for the club’s
needs. The financial crisis hit later
that year which had a major impact on membership and real estate sales,
creating real problems for the club. Pat
and I were married in 2008 and with us spending 4+ months per year in Boston,
it was clear that having two clubs with four courses in Pinehurst made no sense. In part because we were living at CCNC, we
changed our Forest Creek membership to Social and eventually resigned two years
ago. I retain many fond memories
especially of a bunch of first class folks (the best of whom is Lou Walker who
runs the Men’s Locker Room)…and I always enjoy my return visits.
In 2012 or so, the members
bought out the developer and took control of the club. I believe this was a positive development but
continued reductions in membership roles have strained the club. The condition of the South course was
disappointing but plans are in place to redo the green surfaces of both courses
over the next two years. I am hopeful
that this will start a turn around.
The South course is par 72, and
totals about 7000 yards. It was on the
merged GW USA Top 100 from 1998-2002, peaking at #30 in 1998.
2016 in Review
This will probably be my last
post of 2016 (no tears, please). It is
December 6, 2016 and I have no plans for any more golf trips this year (we are
going to Boston December 16-29 but the weather up there in December is rarely
conducive to golf even with global warming).
Pat and I had some wonderful
golf trips this year. The Australia/New
Zealand/Hawaii trip in February was the highlight with Tara Iti (NZ North
Island) and Cape Wickham (King Island, Tasmania, Australia) the real new course
standouts. And our trip to Ireland in
September for Karen and Fergal O’Leary’s wedding was very special as well.
During 2016 I played 127
different golf courses…of which 95 were for the first time and 32 were repeats. To date I have played 201.5 rounds this
calendar year…I would like to get to 208 (4/week) but that will be determined
in part by the weather for the next 9 days.
In terms of goals, finishing the
World Top 100 Ever was for sure the highlight.
And finishing all the US Open venues comes in second.
I now have played 894 courses in
my lifetime and getting to 1000 would be fun…need to stay healthy to do it as
it will take at least another two years.
My game had its ups and downs
but repeating as Brookline’s Super Senior Champion was very satisfying. Pat has been reining Woman’s Super Senior
Champion at Brookline for three years…as no one entered to compete against her
this year. Coming close to shooting my
age at Chechessee last month was exciting and getting there will just take more
work and patience, and gives me something to work for in 2017!!
Sooo, to you all yours…have a Happy Holiday Season, Happy Hanukkah, Merry
Christmas, and Happy Healthy New Year.
