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)