The Country Club

The Country Club was formed in 1889, the second club in America so named.Six years later, golf was introduced to the club which was originally organized for equestrian, boating, and swimming activities. The club retained its original nine-hole course until 1913, when an additional nine holes were added. This golf course proved to be outdated as a championship design by the invention of the Haskell golf ball by Club member, Coburn Haskell.

The new ball, consisting of a solid rubber core with windings of elastic rubber, had a smooth surface and was hard to control.The next prototype had a mesh marking and proved to easier to control. Over the years, the improved golf ball relegated nearly all golf courses obsolete. Along with factories and residential congestion, the Country Club decided to move to a new 300-acre tract of land in the village of Pepper Pike.

William Flynn, the golf course architect of neighboring Pepper Pike Club, was hired to design a modern course for the Club with Toomey and Flynn engaged to construct the course in the spring of 1928. The course formally opened in the summer of 1930. Flynn took full advantage of the ample grounds for golf. Though there is only sixty feet of elevation change, Flynn routed the holes brilliantly to incorporate the most interesting landforms and water features for golf.

There are no weak holes, with several world-class golf holes. As with all Flynn designs, the par 3 holes are all very strong and memorable, particularly the medium length par 3 ninth hole with a stream along the right side, the uphill par 3 eleventh with its elevated green and numerous attractive bunkers, and the long and well-bunkered fourteenth with a right to left slope to the green.

Other holes of particular note include the short par 4 third hole where the ideal angle of approach is from the outside of the dogleg to a green benched into a hillside, the uphill par 4 fourth hole with outstanding internal green contours, the long par 5 twelfth, the long par 4 fifteenth hole requiring a good drive and an approach to an elevated second fairway with intervening bunkers, and the memorable short par 4 seventeenth where Flynn incorporated the natural movement of the ground to great effect. The offset fairway requires the golfer to accurately execute the proper line and distance in order to avoid driving through the fairway. The strength of the remaining holes ensures the golfer is enjoyably challenged throughout the round.

The Club is currently undergoing a historic restoration under the expert guidance of golf architect Gil Hanse with construction overseen by his Caveman Construction crew. The goal is to restore the course to its Flynn roots which includes tree management to restore the long views that highlights the ground movement; restore playing angles and strategic shot demands; and the recovery of lost green space that returns lost hole locations near falloffs, water features, and bunkers back into play.

The Club decided to move and replicate the eighteenth green complex back an additional 40 yards to the site Flynn originally intended but was not constructed. Gil’s artistry, craftsmanship, and attention to detail will be transformational for the Club where it will likely garner recognition and attention long-deserved.

The Country Club hosted the 1935 US Amateur a mere five years after opening, such was the esteem in which the Club was held. Lawson Little completed his “Little Slam”; winning both the British and American amateur titles as he did in 1934. Little defeated Walter Emery, 4 and 2. Bobby Jones was in attendance at the championship and said that Little’s performance was one of the finest he had ever witnessed in an amateur championship. A national championship returned to the Country Club in 2012 when Lydia Ko, 15, of New Zealand defeated Jaye Marie Green 3 and 1 for the US Women’s Amateur title.

The above article was supplied by Wayne Morrison.