San Francisco Golf Club

San Francisco Golf Club – Played May 2018

• Rankings: Golf Digest #32, Golf Magazine #18
• Location: Junipero Serra & Brotherhood Way, San Francisco, California
• Year: 1918
• Architect: A.W. Tillinghast
• Course Access: Private
• Walking Rules: Walking Only, Caddies Available

Score Card Information:

• Championship: 6,836 yards, Par 71, 73.6 Rating/133 Slope
• Regular: 6,415 yards, Par 71, 71.3 Rating/130 Slope
• Legacy (Red): 6,022 yards, Par 71, 69.5 Rating/127 Slope
• Forward (Green): 5,426 yards, Par 71, 67.0 Rating/122 Slope

Like a step back in time.  That is the feeling I got when entering San Francisco Golf Club.  But let’s take a step back and see how I got here.

Baltimore Country Club (Five Farms East)

Baltimore Country Club (Five Farms East) – Played April 2018

• Rankings: Golf Magazine #94
• Location: 11500 Mays Chapel Road, Timonium, Maryland
• Year: 1926
• Original Architect: A.W. Tillinghast
• Additional Work By: Brian Silva & Keith Foster
• Course Access: Private
• Walking Rules: Caddies & Carts Available

Score Card Information:

• Black: 7,181 yards, Par 70, 75.1 Rating/141 Slope
• Blue: 6,664 yards, Par 70, 72.9 Rating/136 Slope
• White: 6,201 yards, Par 70, 70.6 Rating/129 Slope
• Gold: 5,948 yards, Par 70, 68.8 Rating/128 Slope
• Red: 5,725 yards, Par 75, 73.6 Rating/140 Slope

The second of my Maryland double dip was the East course at Baltimore Country Club.

I was really excited to play here due to the Tillinghast design and the competition history of the club.  The club has played host to a murderer’s row of tournaments including the 1899 US Open, 1928 PGA Championship, 1932 US Amateur, 1965 Walker Cup, 1988 US Women’s Open, 2007-2009 Senior Players Championship.  BCC is one of only two clubs to host this lineup of events.

Colonial Country Club

Colonial Country Club – Played November 2017

• Rankings: Golf Magazine #86
• Location: 3735 Country Club Circle, Fort Worth, Texas
• Year: 1935
• Original Architects: John Bredemus & Perry Maxwell
• Additional Work By: Robert Trent Jones Sr, Bob Cupp, and Keith Foster
• Course Access: Private
• Walking Rules: Carts & Caddies Available

Score Card Information:

• Black: 7,204 yards, Par 70, 75.1 Rating/138 Slope
• Blue: 6,837 yards, Par 70, 73.5 Rating/134 Slope
• Gold: 6,527 yards, Par 70, 72.0 Rating/131 Slope
• White: 5,971 yards, Par 70, 68.8 Rating/124 Slope (Men’s), 76.2 Rating/139 Slope (Women’s)
• Red: 5,700 yards, Par 72, 74.8 Rating/137 Slope

I love it when a plan comes together!  I’ll explain a little bit more of what I mean.

Back in July I was in Orange County, California for my brother-in-law’s wedding.  This is the one I mentioned in the Pelican Hill post.  Our table set up for the reception included one of his work buddies who lived in Dallas named Robert.

Robert and I talked a bit about my quest and we all had a fun night at the reception.  Fast forward a few months later and I reached out to Robert about playing at Colonial and if he had any connections.

Luckily, a good friend of his is a member.  Plans were made and the wife and I made travel plans.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a connect for Dallas National this time, but it’s a good reason to go back.

With all this planning, I had time to invite my buddy Lance who lives in Oklahoma.  The drive was much easier for him than it was for me from South Carolina, but I love to drive.  Lance is a good dude so I was happy to help him out with this one.  Other than his OU fandom we get along great :).  Sorry buddy!

Aronimink Golf Club

Aronimink Golf Club – Played August 2017

• Rankings: Golf Digest #80, Golf Magazine #82
• Location: 3600 St. Davids Road, Newtown Square, Pennsylvania
• Year: 1928
• Original Architect: Donald Ross
• Additional Work By: Robert Trent Jones, Ron Prichard, and Gil Hanse
• Course Access: Private
• Walking Rules: Walking Only, Caddies Available

Score Card Information:

• Back: 7,190 yards, Par 70, 74.7 Rating/134 Slope
• Middle: 6,522 yards, Par 70, 72.3 Rating/129 Slope
• Forward: 6,115 yards, Par 70, 70.3 Rating/126 Slope
• Front: 5,769 yards, Par 70, 74.6 Rating/136 Slope

I still never get over the excitement of being invited to top-tier private clubs.  There is a “kid on Christmas morning” feel to it that I just can’t shake.  So when I got an email from my buddy Alex that he had an extra spot in his group I jumped at the chance.

Now, our tee time was on a Saturday afternoon.  Aronimink is outside of Philadelphia and I live in SC.  So I did what I do on this crazy quest.  I hopped in the car and made my way towards Philly.  As an aside, Go Pats but still congrats to the Eagles.  They played great.

Funny enough, a lot of the quest goes like this.  I would love to tell a super interesting story every time or play 10 courses in a row.  Life doesn’t always work that way though.  Many times I get an invite, play, and head home.  Sometimes, depending on the situation, I will check out the clubhouse or eat.  It really depends on my host and the group I am playing with.  I am definitely one to go with the flow and if that includes skipping the frills so be it.  I’m here for the golf!

So after a pretty uneventful drive that was full of anticipation I arrived at the course.  You are greeted with the wonderful looking clubhouse seen below.

Eastward Ho!

Eastward Ho! – Played July 2017

• Rankings: Golf Magazine #78
• Location: 325 Fox Hill Road, Chatham, Massachusetts
• Year: 1922
• Original Architect: Herbert Fowler
• Additional Work By: Keith Foster
• Course Access: Private
• Walking Rules: Carts & Caddies Available

Score Card Information:

• Black: 6,437 yards, Par 71 (Men’s) Par 72/73 (Women’s), 72.4 Rating/139 Slope (Men’s), 78.2 Rating/143 Slope (Women’s)
• Blue: 6,168 yards, Par 71 (Men’s) Par 72/73 (Women’s), 71.0 Rating/137 Slope (Men’s), 77.1 Rating/142 Slope (Women’s)
• Gold: 5,843 yards, Par 71 (Men’s) Par 72/73 (Women’s), 69.4 Rating/136 Slope (Men’s), 75.4 Rating/138 Slope (Women’s)
• White: 5,378 yards, Par 71 (Men’s) Par 72/73 (Women’s), 67.4 Rating/121 Slope (Men’s), 72.7 Rating/131 Slope (Women’s)
• Composite: 4,940 yards, Par 71 (Men’s) Par 72/73 (Women’s), 65.7 Rating/117 Slope (Men’s), 70.1 Rating/126 Slope (Women’s)
• Green:4,468 yards, Par 71 (Men’s) Par 72/73 (Women’s), 62.7 Rating/113 Slope (Men’s), 66.8 Rating/116 Slope (Women’s)

I was pretty excited about this course.  Little did I know that I was not excited enough!  This one came together through some social media work and I was happy we could work out while I was in New Hampshire to see the family.  My host couldn’t have been nicer and more easy going.  Additionally, we were paired up with an older member and his guest who were a riot.  One of them owned the Seattle Mariners for a time!  I never know who I’ll meet on these trips!

Eastward Ho! enjoys a rich history.  It was established back in 1922, but the area’s history obviously goes back much further to the times of the Plymouth Colony.  I learned that the remains of Squanto most likely are within the current club grounds from a mission in 1622.

During World War I a Naval Air Station was set up near the course.  A plane from that station engaged with an enemy submarine that had sunk a few barges.  Interestingly, this is the only combat that took place in the US in WWI.

National Golf Links of America

National Golf Links of America – Played July 2017

• Rankings: Golf Digest #11, Golf Magazine #8
• Location: 149 Sebonac Inlet Road, Southampton, New York
• Year: 1911
• Original Architect: C.B. Macdonald
• Additional Work By: Seth Raynor, Perry Maxwell, and Robert Trent Jones
• Course Access: Private
• Walking Rules: Carts & Caddies Available

Score Card Information:

• Championship: 6,935 yards, Par 72 , 73.9 Rating/136 Slope
• Regular: 6,505 yards, Par 72, 71.9 Rating/130 Slope (Men’s), 77.0 Rating/142 Slope (Women’s)
• Short: 5,771 yards, Par 72, 68.1 Rating/123 Slope (Men’s), 72.7 Rating/133 Slope (Women’s)

Some days on the golf course are just better than others.  This was destined to be one of those days.  To say I was excited as I was driving up to NGLA would be an understatement.  My heart was racing as the clubhouse and iconic windmill below came into view.

Ballyneal Golf Club

Ballyneal Golf Club – Played June 2017

• Rankings: Golf Digest #78, Golf Magazine #40
• Location: 1 Ballyneal Lane, Holyoke, Colorado
• Year: 2006
• Architect: Tom Doak
• Course Access: Private
• Walking Rules: Walking Only, Caddies Available

Score Card Information:

• Various: 5,210 – 7,147 yards, Par 71 , Not Rated

After the fun was over in Nebraska, I hopped in the car and made my way into Colorado.  I was on my way to Ballyneal!  You can tell from the scorecard information above that this place is a little different.  No set tees and and situated in the middle of nowhere.  The experience is set to be memorable.