| Camargo, OH, USA  6th hole, 365 yards; In the 1959 qualifying rounds for the US Amateur, the 5th and 6th holes played the hardest on the course. The reason? Both greens were brick hard and the contestants were mule-headed enough to continue to throw the ball at the flag. The green here plays much like a Redan and the golfer needs to use the slope from the right to feed the ball down to the lower left hole locations. The other neat trick to this hole is that the flagstick, which is visible from the tee, actually represents the far left edge of the fairway. Contestants who unwittingly continued to adjust their stance to the flag often found themselves trying to hold the green from the rough - and that doesn't work. 7th hole, 415 yards; A classic Alps/Punchbowl of the type rarely found on an inland course in the United States. Interestingly enough, in this version, the top half of the flag can be seen, and at Camargo that means something because a black and yellow checkered flag denotes back hole locations. Given the size of this 11,000 sq. ft. green, seeing the flag makes the shot a pleasing balance between skill and chance. 
The tip of the white flag is barely visible on the approach to the 7th.
Hidden from view, the Sahara bunker fronts the 7th green.
8th hole, 225 yards; This superb Biarritz is over level land and plays the full measure of its yardage. The construction of it is amazing; where did Raynor get the fill to create the long green complex? Any recovery shot is guaranteed to excite and the sensation of hitting the green from the tee is perhaps the single shot on the course that would linger the longest. Of course, to find out, you first have to hit the green…. 11th hole,140 yards; A wonderful Short hole, in the same class with the 6th at National Golf Links of America and the 12th at Shoreacres. Though the property at Camargo has excellent movement throughout, there is no sense of great drama. And yet when the golfer steps to the tee on this hole, there is just such a moment. Though Raynor can be accused of having an 'engineered' style, this is another example where the authors have trouble picturing a style more suited to the terrain. The back right hole location in particular is a killer with death over and a tricky step in the green to contend with for any tee ball played safely into the middle of the green. 15th hole, 190 yards; The last of the excellent one shotters, this Redan features a neat twist in that the green has a spine that runs through it. 
The right to left cant of the green is evident in this view from the 15th tee.
In judging Camargo, many people seem willing to overlook the von Hagge bunkers that are completely out of character on (in particular) a Seth Raynor course. If Doak and his Renaissance Design Firm were allowed to complete their restoration, then Camargo would indeed be worthy of the lofty praise associated with a course considered one of the fifty best in the world. However, until the restoration is complete, the authors feel a tinge of regret as to the slow progress. Still, this old fashioned Club is on the right track and the Renaissance Design Firm's success in restoring the greens to their original grandeur served as the model that Yeaman's Hall pursued with such vigor and success in 1998. Camargo now has the obligation to pursue such a full scale, professional restoration. The result might rival The Golf Club as the finest course in the rich golf state of Ohio. | 
