“In my mind I’m goin’
to Carolina…” the lyrics from the sweet song by the great rock/folk artist
James Taylor sweep over you as you meander down the aptly named Sandy Pond Road
toward Richmond Country Club. In fact,
if the Club was picked up and dropped just a stone’s throw down the road it
would be in Carolina…Carolina, Rhode Island that is. Off the beaten path just a bit in the rural
forested expanse of southwestern RI, RCC has many of the elements you’d
experience on a trip to Pinehurst…less the trappings of tourism.
Before visiting I would have to admit my knowledge of the
Club was essentially nil. I had never
played it or even heard too much about it.
I did know that it was one in the stable of courses owned and operated
by the Hendricks family. The others
being Exeter Country Club and the recently reconstructed Meadowbrook Golf
Course. I had played each of these and
had the expectation of something very good at RCC. What I found was something
very very different than its brethren.
I was greeted at the front door by Golf Course
Superintendent Mr. Jim Studley…yeah Studley, when I asked if he went by James
or Jim he simply said most people call me “Studley”, so I said ok, we’ll go
with that. The day of my walk could not
have been more glorious; not a cloud in the crystal blue sky, temps in the mid
60’s, no humidity…probably should have played this time, but Jim…excuse me
Studley, and I set off to the first tee to take a look.
The courses’ history is fairly contemporary being built in
1989-90 and opening in 1991. Designed by
Geoffrey Cornish and Brian Silva and built by the Hendricks family themselves. The term Swamp Yankees was bantered around a bit
to describe the hard working local ethos of this part of New England as what
drove this course to be. The familiar
Cornish elements can be found throughout…soft mounding around the greens, not
overly bunkered, hazards set away from the greens and the ubiquitous “tree off
the tee” to deal with…more like trees, but we’ll get to that later.
bunker set away from the green at
the 16th
It looks as though Mr. Silva got hold of the pencil and
maybe the attention of the dozer operator when designing the greens as they are
very subtly contoured with many wonderful pinning locations. Maybe a blend of Cornish’s ere toward
playability and Silva’s strategic eye.
What was most refreshing about the walk was listening to the
passionate verse of Mr. Studley and his pride in the conditioning of the course
and how far it had come under his watch.
For the amount of public play (40-50,000 rounds) the course gets, the
turf from tee to green couldn’t have been better…especially due to the fact
that the entire course is cut through the pines. It seems the name of the course could have
been more creatively developed using the ever-present evergreens as a
base….maybe that’s been overdone…Pine Valley, Pinehurst, Pine Hills, Pine,
Pine.
The corridor of pines at the par
4 6th
The holes at RCC are essentially corridors through the
pines. The architecture is built around
these pines. Though the course could
stand to lose a thousand plus trees, they are the defining element. On almost every hole your shot shape off the
tee must consider the width of the corridor from tree to tree as well as any
overhanging, far reaching branches. And
then there is the infamous, tree off the tee that in many ways is a defining
element amongst Cornish designs. I have
had the opportunity to work on a few Cornish designs most recently at Sterling
Farms in Stamford CT where a glorious sugar maple stands guard just short left
of the 16th green…wasn’t going to touch this one and at Mohegan Sun
CC where a huge spruce pinched off the left corner of the long 9th
hole taking away most players line to the green…I had the guts to make the call
on this one.
At RCC the Cornish trees come into play on a few holes most
prominently back to back on the 9th and 10th. The 9th is a shortish par 4
playing 315 from the middle tees. A
large pine stands guard at a squirm inducing 185 yards at which point the
fairway is squeezed to 15 yards. To
further complicate the tee shot a cluster of three bunkers is bunched up along
the left side stretching from 190 to 250 yards.
As a short 4 the Cornish tree works ok here as the player is given a
variety of options as to what their game will muster off the tee.
Tree off the tee at the short par
4 9th
Quoting from the Donald Ross’ “Golf has never failed me, “As
beautiful as trees are, and as fond as I am of them, we still must not lose
sight of the fact that there is a limited place for them in golf. We must not allow our sentiments to crowd out
the real intent of a golf course, that of providing fair playing conditions. If it in any way interferes with a properly
played stroke, I think the tree is an unfair hazard and should not be allowed
to stand.”
Wouldn't that be a great quote to hang on the wall in every
clubs board room?
The head scratching strategy of 9 and 10 are more than
offset by the flowing comfort of the remaining 4’s and 5’s and your attention
is certainly required on the powerful par 3’s.
Early in the round the third wakes up your game sitting at 235 yards
from the back tee, then as you push your way home the 15th sends you
across the street with your driver in hand to tee it up at 249 yards.
You can feel the southern charm
at the par 3 5th
That said, the golf course and the feeling you have when
walking and playing is pure enjoyment. I
had a chance to walk with a group along the hard left to right turning par 5 16th
hole and the loud adulation following a well struck shot echoed amongst the
cathedral of pines.
I look forward to getting back down to Richmond to play the
course and test my screaming draw.
Next stop, North Kingstown Golf Course…to uncover some
Ross history.
Special thanks to: Jim Studley, Golf Course Superintendent
at Richmond Country Club
Robert McNeil, ASGCA
Golf ArchitectThe Northeast Golf Company
www.northeastgolfcompany.com
