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Phil McDade

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The virtues of nine-hole courses have been discussed in many forums, most notably in Anthony Pioppi’s book “To the Nines.”  A recent Discussion Board thread included debate about whether a nine-hole course belonged on any list of the nation’s best golf courses.

Wisconsin has several notable nine-hole courses: The Eagle Springs Golf Resort, home to the famed “Volcano” par 3 2nd hole; the funky Plum Lake GC, deep in the Northwoods, with a blind punchbowl green and its charming clubhouse; and the Robert Trent Jones Sr. nine-hole (18 with two sets of tees) course on Madeline Island, in Lake Superior near the Apostle Islands (you get there by boat).

Many of the state’s nine-holers, as is common elsewhere, have been expanded to 18 holes, sometimes to their detriment. One expanded nine-holer that held faithful to the original designer’s intent (and is quite good) is Tom Bendelow’s Old Hickory GC, in Beaver Dam, WI, reviewed here:

http://golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,36792.msg752829/

In revisting Old Hickory after several years, I was struck by how well Bendelow laid out the original nine holes there. While doing some research on Bendelow’s other work in Wisconsin, I came across another Bendelow nine-hole course, built in the Depression era. It’s called Country Club Estates GC, a highfalutin name for a modest course designed in 1929. Having played it recently, I’d suggest it deserves a spot among the very best of the state’s nine-holers. Quite simply, it’s a lot of fun to play.

The course is squeezed in between two better-known neighbors in Walworth County in southern Wisconsin: Bendelow’s well-regarded Big Foot CC is a few minutes up the road, near the Lake Geneva resort town of Fontana. A long-iron east of Country Club Estates is the Killian-Nugent Abbey Springs GC, set on rolling land with views overlooking Lake Geneva. Country Club Estates has neither the cache nor the views of its neighbors, but it does offer some terrific routing over very good terrain. Its most notable feature is a hallmark of some Golden Era courses – several blind shots. On the course’s seven non-par 3s, the golfer is potentially faced with blind shots into nearly every green, or off the tee.

Course details: The nine holes play to a par of 35, at 3,011 from the tips (2,829 from the whites). The course was originally owned by a local homeowner’s association, and for much of its life had little in the way of public play. But it’s been available for everyday public use for about five years.

Holes (yardages from the tips):
No. 1 (par 4, 298)

From a slightly elevated tee, the play is to a fairway that gently doglegs right and rises to a crest 200 yards away. You’d think on a sub-300-yard par 4, you could see the green from the tee. Not here.


Near the crest of the hill, the green remains unseen.


Move a little to the right; there it is.


Only from the very crest of the hill can the golfer see the entire green below.


The green sits in a beautiful, natural amphitheatre; imagine Bendelow first seeing this property and coming upon this landform -- a perfect spot for a green. The green itself is well-bunkered, and tilted somewhat from back to front. It’s a green that the long hitters can reach from the tee, perhaps with some help from the natural roll of the terrain. Those less sure of their swings on the opening tee will be left with an awkward pitch – perhaps blind or semi-blind, and more than likely from an uneven lie. A nifty opener, and one that meets the definition of a very good hole – when I putted out, I wanted to go back immediately and play it again.



No. 2 (par 5, 497)

The longest hole on the course doglegs right to a very wide fairway.


From 200 yards away, the green remains unseen. It’s straight ahead, and the golfer is helped by a tall aiming pole with flag that sits in a grove of oak trees.


Here’s what awaits – the green sits in a small valley, although it’s perched up from the nearby fairway and has significant falloffs on the back and sides, especially left. The too-bold golfer risks losing his ball in the deep woods no more than 10 yards beyond the green.


This is a tough bunker shot, especially to a back pin. The green here, like most at Country Club Estates, tilts from back to front.


No. 3 (par 4, 350)

A long walk back from the 2nd green to the 3rd tee yields this tee shot – the row of pine trees middle-right of this photo, along with the mowing patterns, depict the line of play. The sandy mound (middle) is a new tee being built. The play is toward the modest ridge line above the newly built tee box.


This is from 150 yards away – a directional marker, visible on a line past the fairway/rough border, points the golfer in the right direction toward the green. The top of the ridge is more than 250 yards from the back tees – a decent drive. Anything shorter will leave a blind approach into the green.


Here’s the green – small, surrounded by mounds and steep falloffs all around, a bunker right, and a nicely placed bunker 30 yards in front of the green that, from further back in the fairway, looks like it guards the front entrance to the green (it doesn’t; there is a good 30 yards between it and the green entrance.)


The approach shot into this green, although it won’t be long, must be precise, because trouble surrounds the green. Here’s a look at what awaits the golfer who tugs an approach shot slightly left. Hitting the mounds that surround the green on the wrong side will cascade the ball into further trouble.


No. 4 (par 4, 373)

The only non-par 3 on the course that doesn’t feature a blind element, this par 4 moves over the course’s least-interesting terrain. An offset tee creates a hole that doglegs gently to the left. The play is toward a green that sits in front of the row houses in the distance (middle-left of photo).


Bendelow compensated for the less-compelling terrain here by creating an interesting greensite, surrounded by mounds and traps. Here’s a look at three views near the green – left, back, and a deep bunker on the right side of the green. Bendelow made his bunkers at Country Club Estates play deeper than built by frequently placing mounds directly between the traps and the green.




No. 5 (par 4, 336)

From an elevated tee, the player takes aim at a wonderfully terraced fairway – Bendelow laid out the fairway so that level portions of the staircase fairway can be found near the 200-, 150-, and 100-yard marks.


Another look at the fairway – ideal land for a golf hole.


Approaching the 100-yard mark (red stake), the green remains unseen. It’s slightly offset to the left of the fairway, between the two large trees (middle of photo) and the castle turret peaking out above the ridge line.


A complete look at the green isn’t available until the golfer is 75 yards from the hole – more than 250 yards from the tee. The green here is one of the better ones on the course, titled from back to front, and from both left and right sides toward the middle, with some subtle breaks.


No. 6 (par 3, 180)

The golfer’s first reaction upon reaching the 6th tee might be: “Huh?” But remember that the golf hole was here well before paved roads (in what is still a decidedly rural part of the state) and universal electricity and phone service. The green sits on a line past the tree and telephone pole; the flag on this day was directly between them. The play is actually directly over the tree, to a large green surrounded by mounding.


Thanks for the reminder.


A closer look at the green.


Again, Bendelow effectively used mounding to create a more problematic recovery shot around the green. Why do I find mounding on courses from this era appealing, and modern-day mounding contrived? (I don’t have a good answer…)


No. 7 (par 4, 423)

The best hole on the course, and a terrific par 4. The hole doglegs right around a wooded area to a rollicking, contoured fairway – a real roller-coaster ride.



A closer look at the fairway, from the top of the crest where the fairway turns right. Isn’t this wonderful land for a golf hole? The small green sits atop a plateau – the highest point on the course (middle of photo).


The golfer on this hole, depending on the outcome of the tee shot, could be left with a downhill lie to a green above him, an uphill lie, or a completely blind shot into the green. Here’s the approach shot from near the 150-yard mark – the green sits just to the left of the V-shaped tree.


Here’s a look from near the 100-yard mark, and then a look at the green itself, which features something of a false front and Bendelow’s trademark mounds. A really good golf hole; I’ve played plenty of 18-hole courses (at price ranges well beyond this one) that don’t have a hole as compelling as this one.



No. 8 (par 4, 373)

From a high tee adjacent to the 7th green, the golfer takes aim at a ridge line about 150 yards away. I hit one of my best drives of the day, and watched my ball carry the ridge line on the fly and simply disappear -- how cool is that?


Here’s what awaits the golfer past the ridge line – a sharp dogleg to the left, to a narrowing fairway, with a green perched upon another plateau.


From 150 yards away, the golfer must contend with a marsh and trees left and hold an approach shot to a green that sits well above the fairway.


Looking back toward the ridge line, Bendelow again uses the terrain on this hole to great effect, as the golfer will more often than not have a lie for the approach shot that’s uneven. The fairway at the ideal landing spot also tilts from the woods left to the marshy area right.


This depicts the narrowness of the fairway at the 8th hole. Just past the 150-yard marker, the fairway narrows to 17 yards wide, and it’s not more than five yards beyond the fairway edge to either a red-staked marsh or deep woods. The first-time (or forgetful) golfer on the tee has no idea of the trouble lurking beyond the ridge line that makes for such a tempting target.


No. 9 (par 3, 181 yards)
The final hole is a strong one, a long, slightly uphill shot to the largest and widest green on the course.


Mounds frame the opening to the green.


The green here tilts sharply from back to front.


Tom Bendelow, dubbed the Johnny Appleseed of golf courses, is sometimes criticized in golf architecture circles for his 18-stakes-on-Sunday approach to design and layout. The criticism implies that Bendelow’s approach was perhaps less thoughtful than those architects who labored over their courses for months (and years) on end. But maybe Bendelow knew something we sometimes forget – that for all the attention paid to greens and bunkering and length, the most interesting part of any golf hole is the journey from tee to green. Perhaps Bendelow was most interested in how the golfer got from point A to point B. At Country Club Estates, that journey is both fun and makes for good golfing. Bendelow took a very good piece of land and designed (or more precisely, routed) nine holes of merit – all with at least some degree of interest and/or uncertainty, and a few (the 1st , 7th and 8th) that are true standouts. It’s worth seeking out.

Chris_Blakely

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Phil,

Thanks for the pictures - I wanted to get out to this 9 holer and play it the last time in Wisconsin, but time did not allow.  The green complexes look similar to other quality Bendol courses that I have played.  I have always felt that Bendelow was unfarilly given 'the 18 stakes on Sunday' label as several of the Bendelow courses I have played show a quality routing with intricate green complexes.

Chris

Phil McDade

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Chris:

I actually think the routing is the highlight of the course. The greens are good, pretty traditional from that era, with a few good ones, and all could of course be improved if the course stoked up the speeds a bit. But to me, Bendelow did a really good job of routing the course in a way that yielded some uncertainty, or "un-comfortableness," on a bunch of holes. A neat little course.

David Harshbarger

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Phil,

This looks like quite fun course, that by conventional standards, would not turn a head.  The blind shot has to be one of the most fun and economical hazards ever.  3 looks like a classic Alps, with the bunker protecting the down slope into the green.

Did you get a sense of how well received the course is?  Are there folks on the course who get it, that they have a strategic and fun gem, or is the course attracting folks for price/convenience (not that lower cost courses should mean lower quailty).

Dave


The trouble with modern equipment and distance—and I don't see anyone pointing this out—is that it robs from the player's experience. - Mickey Wright

Melvyn Morrow


We are perhaps to prone to criticise past designers based upon the contents of our modern golf bag full of the latest technologically enhanced clubs and ball, which was not the original design intent of the customer or Architect. To struggle to make Par or unable to achieve a birdie shows the design content of the course. That does not mean one has to love the course, but like a good well positioned bunker it has stood the test of time.

My point is how fair is it to comment on courses that have out seen the equipment they were original designed to combat. Even tweaked over the years these courses still offer the golfer a challenge, which is what Golf is meant to be all about.

Should we not give credit where credit is due, these courses modified or not are still in play, outlasting generations of new technology, yet still at home with a set of Hickory shafted clubs.

Melvyn

Phil McDade

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Phil,

This looks like quite fun course, that by conventional standards, would not turn a head.  The blind shot has to be one of the most fun and economical hazards ever.  3 looks like a classic Alps, with the bunker protecting the down slope into the green.

Did you get a sense of how well received the course is?  Are there folks on the course who get it, that they have a strategic and fun gem, or is the course attracting folks for price/convenience (not that lower cost courses should mean lower quailty).

Dave




Dave:

From what I can tell, CCE flies well below the radar of most golfers in the state; I've mentioned it to quite a few folks, and none had heard of it, including some well-traveled golfing friends. I follow the sport pretty closely here in Wisconsin, and I'd never come across it until reading up on Bendelow's courses. A few reasons might explain why:

-- It was private -- sort of -- until not that long ago, perhaps within the last decade. It wasn't built as part of a development, but the small neighborhood around the course assumed ownership of it somehow, and play was largely restricted, as I understand, to local residents and their guests. Maybe not the hardest place to get on, but it certainly didn't promote itself as a course open for public play. My sense is that they went fully public for financial reasons -- they needed more play to keep the course going. (You can still get a discounted membership to the course if you live in the neighborhood.)

-- It's in a part of the state rich with other, more resort-oriented courses. Walworth County and the Lake Geneva area is rich in golfing tradition, with some classic old courses (Lake Geneva CC, Bendelow's Big Foot -- which is right next door practically) and those associated with resorts. My sense is that a little 9-holer just doesn't get that much attention in an area with alot of other high-end courses.

-- It's quirky and short, by today's standards. Thus, I think the low handicapper probably doesn't think much of it, and truth be told it's not all that difficult. But it's a blast to play, and what I really like about it is that it's largely untouched, from what I'm told (with the possible exception of some bunker work), from Bendelow's original design. It's a nice piece of land, and Bendelow really got a lot out of it. It's also ridiculously cheap to play -- again, another factor for the uninformed golfer who equates price with quality.

I have yet to find a better 9-hole course in the state, and I play them frequently. Holes #1, 3, 7 and 8 are really fine holes (7 especially), and the rest all have some level of interest. I hope to head back this spring when the weather improves around here. :D
« Last Edit: March 22, 2011, 10:27:44 AM by Phil McDade »

SBendelow

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Phil,
Enjoyed your review of Country Club Estates GC as you did with Old Hickory.  Great pictures too.
Thanks for the postings.
Stuart

RJ_Daley

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Maybe we ought to have a Bendelow tour of the 9s.  We could make it a walking only, must have GCA sunday bag and only allowed 5 or 6 clubs in the bag.  We play 9 at CCE early morn, then hustle up to Old Hickory, play that Bendy 9, run over to Tescumbia and do 9, and twilight at Quic Qui Oc's Bendy 9 that I'd argue is the best of the 9 hole loops, although it is close with Old Hickory.  Then a big late dinner and libations to celebrate our Johnny Appleseed's achievments... ;D
No actual golf rounds were ruined or delayed, nor golf rules broken, in the taking of any photographs that may be displayed by the above forum user.

SBendelow

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What Great Fun!
I think you are playing (and enjoying) golf the way it was meant to be played: for fun, for recreation and for socialization.
You are setting a trend.  Now, are you playing with hickories?  Love the fact that you're WALKING!!
Keep it up.
Stuart

Phil McDade

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RJ:

Great idea! Although the Old Hickory Bendelow 9 is now part of both nines -- I think if memory serves the original 9 there was the current 1, 10, 11, 12, 7, 8 and 9, and 18, which used to be two holes and was lengthened to the finishing par 5 it is today.

DJohnson

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Phil, I ran across this when searching for Eagle Springs.  I had never heard of this course, but it is now on my list for next year.  Probably 9 at Eagle Springs followed by 9 here.  I'm thinking of a photo tour of Eagle Springs too.

Phil McDade

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Phil, I ran across this when searching for Eagle Springs.  I had never heard of this course, but it is now on my list for next year.  Probably 9 at Eagle Springs followed by 9 here.  I'm thinking of a photo tour of Eagle Springs too.

Great idea -- Country Club Estates is definitely worth a round -- easy to walk, some interesting stuff out there. I think in some ways it's a better and more consistent round of golf than Eagle Springs, but ESprings is definitely worth a look, esp. the natural volcano hole that I believe is the par 3 2nd. Also maybe worth a look near Eagle Springs is Kettle Moraine CC, just south of Oconomowoc, in true kettle moraine country, that was self-designed by the course owner and has several decent holes and one truly great green. I mentioned KM on Pat Craig's "courses that never get mentioned" thread.

The one course in that area that I really want to get to -- and just haven't found a way yet -- is Big Foot CC (private), literally 200 yards away from Country Club Estates. It's an original 18 by Bendelow that I understand is relatively un-touched in terms of routing and his use of some very interesting landforms. A really interesting course -- par 73 among other things -- that flies well below the radar of courses in southern Wisconsin.

J_ Crisham

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Phil, I ran across this when searching for Eagle Springs.  I had never heard of this course, but it is now on my list for next year.  Probably 9 at Eagle Springs followed by 9 here.  I'm thinking of a photo tour of Eagle Springs too.

Great idea -- Country Club Estates is definitely worth a round -- easy to walk, some interesting stuff out there. I think in some ways it's a better and more consistent round of golf than Eagle Springs, but ESprings is definitely worth a look, esp. the natural volcano hole that I believe is the par 3 2nd. Also maybe worth a look near Eagle Springs is Kettle Moraine CC, just south of Oconomowoc, in true kettle moraine country, that was self-designed by the course owner and has several decent holes and one truly great green. I mentioned KM on Pat Craig's "courses that never get mentioned" thread.

The one course in that area that I really want to get to -- and just haven't found a way yet -- is Big Foot CC (private), literally 200 yards away from Country Club Estates. It's an original 18 by Bendelow that I understand is relatively un-touched in terms of routing and his use of some very interesting landforms. A really interesting course -- par 73 among other things -- that flies well below the radar of courses in southern Wisconsin.
Phil,  Nice post on CCE- I slap it around there once or twice a summer. Next Spring shoot me a message and I'll get you over to Big Foot- it's the best course in the Lake Geneva area by far.

Dan Moore

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I used to play CC Estates with my father-in-law quite a bit 25-30 years ago.  What does it say that I hardly remember a thing about it?  Is the 2nd water hole on 7 blind from the tee?  I was not as enamored with quirk back then so should give at another try.  I did like Bendelow's Big Foot nearby and also liked David Foulis' course on Hwy 50 as you enter Lake Geneva quite a bit more.  The back nine had a hole where the entire fairway was littered with moguls.  It was crazy and clearly man made, probably a homage to St. Andrews. Sadly Hillmoor is now a weed patch.  My father-in-law was the caddie master in the 1920's at Lake Geneva CC, one of the oldest 18 holers in the midwest, but I never played there. 
"Is there any other game which produces in the human mind such enviable insanity."  Bernard Darwin

Phil McDade

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I used to play CC Estates with my father-in-law quite a bit 25-30 years ago.  What does it say that I hardly remember a thing about it?  Is the 2nd water hole on 7 blind from the tee?  I was not as enamored with quirk back then so should give at another try.  I did like Bendelow's Big Foot nearby and also liked David Foulis' course on Hwy 50 as you enter Lake Geneva quite a bit more.  The back nine had a hole where the entire fairway was littered with moguls.  It was crazy and clearly man made, probably a homage to St. Andrews. Sadly Hillmoor is now a weed patch.  My father-in-law was the caddie master in the 1920's at Lake Geneva CC, one of the oldest 18 holers in the midwest, but I never played there. 

#8 is the hole you maybe thinking of -- a dogleg left with an elevated tee shot where a ridge line disguises the outcome of any modestly well-struck drive. But the landing area is quite narrow, and water/wetlands lie close to the fairway left. Right is deep woods. The approach is uphill and plays longer than it appears. A hole the one-time visitor might think unfair, but one of those features I think can be attacked properly upon repeated play. As I mentioned previously, I think there is some really enjoyable stuff out there -- not a hard course by any means, it's probably what most in the UK would refer to as holiday golf. But there is some very good use of the rolling terrain on several holes.

Hillmoor's demise was a sad event, no question.

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