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Monster Media 1993 #2
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COUNTR.TXT
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1993-05-22
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COURSE: The Country Club
LOCATION: Brookline, Massachusetts
JNSE DESIGN: Scott Chesney
This old style, par 71 course has been the site of three famous
U.S. Opens. In 1913, Amateur Francis Ouimet, who lived right
across the street from the course, won the Open from legendary
greats Harry Vardon and Ted Ray in a playoff. In 1963, Julius
Boros beat Jackie Cupit and Arnold Palmer, again in a playoff.
Then in 1988, Curtis Strange defeated Nick Faldo in a playoff.
The course, just on the outskirts of Boston, is characterized by
dense trees and many blind shots. There are mounds to contend
with and several holes having highly rolling terrain.
Frequently, you will need to hit two long shots to hit the green.
The course I have constructed is the U.S. Open course as played
in 1988. It is not the course your would play if you were able
to get on to the course today. In reality, there are three nine
hole courses at The Country Club. The U.S. Open Course was a
composite of those three courses. The layout is not immensely
long, but can be very tough, again due primarily to the blind tee
and approach shots, as well as the very small and sometimes
difficult greens.
My own favorite holes are 3,9,10,11,12 and 13. Like Augusta,
this course has it's own version of Amen Corner in the middle
holes. To create U.S. Open conditions, you should use dry
conditions to simulate the extremely fast greens. Under normal
conditions, the course is quite beatable. My best to date is a
five under 66. With fast greens, it is another story altogether,
perhaps moreso here than on many courses.
Thanks to Don Ward, who supplied me with tapes of the 88 Open,
along with the course program and his personal collection of
photographs taken from various angles on the course, I was able to
duplicate many perspectives. Most often, I would freeze the VCR
when the camera was directly behind the golfer. I would then try
and recreate that view. In that sense, I am very pleased. I also
consulted with a good friend of mine who has played the course many
times.
The Country Club is called The Country Club because it was the
very first golf club to use that name. It is not a beautiful
course in the sense of Augusta or Muirfield Village. Rugged
would be a better term. I did not attempt to make it more
beautiful than it really is.
This project is unusual for me in that I did not create the
background. I have used Lee Ritze's Seminole Wind which created a
perfect backdrop and well matched the real thing. I also borrowed
a couple trees and the ball washer from the same course. All other
trees are slight variations of one's I have previously created.
While this marks a departure for me, in that I did not develop a
lot of new objects or a background. I really believe the course is
the focus here. It will test the sharks and make some others mad.
This is a tough golf course and its blind shots will frustrate some
while exciting others.
If you like this course you may wish to pick up on some other JNSE
projects I have done. All are real courses out there in the world,
most of them famous courses. They include Pebble Beach, Banff
Springs, The Links at Spanish Bay, St. Creek, Medinah, and
Shattuck.
As always, I welcome your ideas and suggestions for new courses.
Normally, I only choose to do actual PGA courses, primarily
because I enjoy the thrill and fantasy of playing on those
courses with the pros. I also enjoy the history of each course.
I have not yet decided what my next effort will be. If anyone
out there has any valuable information (photos, layouts, etc.) on
either Crooked Stick or Hazeltine, this year's sites of the U.S.
Open and PGA, I would love to do those. I just don't feel
comfortable doing it based on the minimal info provided in The
100 Greatest Courses.
By the way, Longball and Yatz on the Accolade BBS have created a
highly enjoyable fantasy desert course which I highly recommend.
Jay Johnson's latest fantasy effort (Johnson's Ranch) is a
personal favorite of mine. There are a lot of great designers
out there. I truly am warmed by the little community of sharing
we designers have developed.
Scott Chesney
27 Edgerly-Garrison Road
Durham, New Hampshire 03824
603-868-1251 (home)
603-862-1870 (work)