Greenville CC (Chanticleer), SC, USA

The 1960s and 1970s did not produce near the number of endearing courses as the non-war decades had previously. Lack of strategy, a false quest for length at the expense of variety, and bland green complexes became the norm as numerous green committees fell in love with the idea of pursuing 'a 7,000 yard championship course.'

One of the most notable exceptions to this bleak trend is the Chanticleer Course at Greenville Country Club. Opened in 1970 at just over 6,700 yards, this course was never one of Robert Trent Jones Sr’s longest. However, it is one of his very best, thanks to the creation of a number of strategic holes by maximizing the creek that meanders through the property and its rolling terrain.

Back in the late 1960s when the Greenville club board presented Trent Jones with seven topography maps from different potential locales, Trent Jones wasted little time in selecting today’s site. One result of that decision is that Chanticleer doesn’t have a single indifferent hole, unlike some of his other well regarded courses such as the Golden Horseshoe or the famous Dunes course in the same state.

The natural rolling terrain and the ever present creek are what make Chanticleer special.
Pictured is the long 7th from its elevated tee.

The terrain is blessed with perfect movement with 30 and 40 foot hills that are never too abrupt and give each hole its individuality. Combined with the creek, the course is a natural that is never at odds with its environment, and thus enjoys a timeless appeal to this day.

The dogleg holes in particular are well conceived and give the better player an advantage to seek off the tee. And better players have long been drawn to this course as it has hosted every major regional event at one time or another. Indeed, if not for the intervention of a very high profile PGA Tour member, this course was the likely candidate to host the 1975 Ryder Cup.

By 1970, Trent Jones was famous for building/renovating courses and making them tough. More so than any architect, he ushered in the aerial, power game. On Chanticleer's opening day of September 12, 1970, Gene Sarazen declared 'If you start spraying on this course you better have a lot of balls with you.' Mr. Sarazen went on to favourably compare the pressures on each shot at Chanticleer versus the finest courses in the South.

First, the routing is unique. Trent Jones let the holes fall where they may, atypical in 1970 when the alternate par hole theory, as exemplified by the pacing of the front nine at Augusta National with its 4-5-4-3-4-3-4-5-4 sequence, was the rage. The first hole at Chanticleer is the number one handicap hole and is then followed by pars of 3-5-3. As for the last five holes, only one is a two shot hole. This pattern gives the course a uniqueness that many modern courses with their formulaeic 5-3-4 finish will never achieve.

The other notable feature of the routing is that on more than half the holes (1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 15, and 18) Trent Jones provides the golfer with a downhill tee shot. The golfer often has a good view of the hole, where to go and where not to go. Thus, the golfer can clearly work back to the tee his strategy, given where the hole location is for that day. A course with such strategic merit never grows tiresome to play, as the longstanding members at Chanticleer will be the first to tell you.

A second attribute of Chanticleer often found wanting in 1970 era courses is the attractive green complexes. Some are angled (eg 2 and 4), some are pinched (eg 16), some have ideal natural back to front pitch (eg 6 and 7), some have great interior contouring (eg. 5, 8, and 9), others have great depth (eg 17) while still others are much more wide than deep (eg 14). The greens have required no alterations and have passed the test of time with full marks.

the narrow but deep 16th green makes an elusive target for even the best

Thirdly, the one shot holes are noteworthy as a set because of the difficulty they achieve without relying on length (none are longer than 175 yards). Rather, the angling of the greens and their slopes pose the vexing problems. The downhilll 2^nd green runs from front right to back left and slopes toward a pond; the uphill 4^th slants in the opposite direction and is fronted by bunkers; the 14^th green is more wide than deep; and finally the 16^th, which is recognised as one of the toughest in the state, runs along the crest of a hill with the front third of the green a mere 8 paces in width and is pinched in by bunkers on either side.

Length is not what makes the downhill 170 yard 2nd tricky. Robert Trent Jones Sr.
appreciated the design virtues of the 12th at Augusta National early in his
career and often created such angled, narrow greens.

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