Holes to Note

1^st hole, 440 yards; The first tee is in the only appropriate spot: directly beneath the clubhouse windows and balcony and has been in continuous use since 1896. The chocolate drop mounds to the left of the green are an effective hazard and became a Ross trademark.

The view from behind the 1st green shows it all: the tee beneath the clubhouse, a wide fairway
uncluttered by trees, fescue grasses, chocolate drop mounds, and an open green 
which accepts running shots that have been kept low, out of the wind.

3^rd hole, 625 yards; The bathtub green with its famous sunken depression caps off this mammoth hole. The creative bunkering prevents this hole from feeling like it is just a long slog. 

8^th hole, 420 yards; One of four blind tee shots on the course, the fairway is split level. Kriksceonaitis has perfectly integrated the bunkers into their surrounds.

Kriksceonaitis's natural presentation of the bunkers on the 8th hole
is as impressive as Ross's split level fairway.

11^th hole, 170 yards; A superlative uphill one shotter and an obvious inclusion in Michael Fay's electic Ross 18 course in his book Golf, As It Was Meant to be Played. 

Short left is no place to miss on the 11th...

...nor is right, where these massive 5,000 square foot bunkers guard the green.

12^th hole, 415 yards; This hole plays equally well for all players despite being over rugged ground. From the men’s tee, a tee ball of 180 yards will carry Sheep Hill and safely reach the tumbling fairway below. Since such a carry is beyond some, there is a set of tees a full 120 yards away, this time to the left of the 11^th green. From there, it is a more straighforward shot that any player can succesfully tackle. The two tee shots meet in roughly the same area in the fairway, despite being hit from tees on opposite sides of the prior hole's green.

13^th hole, 375 yards; A perfect golf hole. Though set through dense New England trees, the corridor is plenty wide and the golfer soaks in the view from the tee. The green has perhaps the finest interior contours on the course as it falls away from the golfer in the middle and the sides. The approach needs to go past certain front hole locations, for only in such a manner will the golfer obtain a favorable uphill putt. 

The 13th green is bathed in shadows but the beauty of the hole remains evident.

16^th hole, 410 yards; This hole also is a clear indication of what Ross thought of trees on a golf course: keep them out of play. A hole originally ran in this general direction and the fairway was bordered by trees immediately on the left. Ross accepted the basic hole routing but quickly cut the trees. This hole is the start of a grand finish: the authors have rarely, if ever, seen three more diverse par fours in a row.

What if trees still crowded in from the left instead of the fescue grass? The
16th hole would be less appealing.

17^th hole, 330 yards; An Alps hole if ever there was one, with the hidden green seemingly at the top of the Matterhorn. This hole climbs a full 140 feet from tee to green.

The uphill approach to the 17th green.
The tip of the flag is barely visible.

18^th hole, 410 yards; The perfect closing hole for such a unique course, and yet, interestingly enough, Ross always had this as the 4th hole. Not until his departure was the sequencing of the holes altered to how the course plays today. Though the tee ball is highly dramatic, the approach shot offers its own subtle difficulties. The fairway is uneven and the approach is often from an awkward lie, usually slightly downhill. The stream that meanders ten yards in front of the green is the logical resting place for a golf ball from a poorly struck iron.

The ideal line off the 18th tee is over the fescue-covered hill on the left.

What would Ross think of such natural golf? Of seeing the fairways brown and the course buffetted by the wind from the nearby ocean? He would be delighted, of course. In fact, we can only imagine that he would head here for a game before some of his more famous courses like Scioto or Inverness. The golf at Essex County is more engaging than at such tampered with 'championship' courses.

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