The Country Club of Columbus--Columbus, GA
The Country Club of Columbus was formed in 1909 and the golf course was built by Donald Ross in 1925. It was
renovated by Drew Rogers of Arthur Hills in 2002.
Right from the start of your round, the green complexes jump out and grab you. Below is a picture of the #1
green.
Nothing like a false front and severe undulations to get things crackin' on the first hole! Oh yeah...this green
appears at the end of a 548 par 5...Baby!!!
As the round progresses, the greens don't get any easier. The following is a picture of the backside of the 12th
green. As you can see, It is on a plateau, it slopes steeply in the front and any shot that is long will roll right off
the back. Obviously, you will need to bring your "A+" short game to the CCC.
In reference to other Ross courses I've played (to date East Lake and Inverness), this one seems to have just a
little bit more pizazz.
For example, there is a nice bunker at the bottom of severe greenside slope on the 243 yard par 3...by severe
slope I mean one that will take your ball straight down 20 yards...and yes I did say 243 yard par 3.
Hole 11 is a short par 4 that is protected by a pond in front of the green with an elegant and understated stone
wall between that pond and the green. This wall and pond add a much needed line of defense to the 315 yard
par 4. In addition to their strategic sense, these items make the hole and the course even more attractive.
Perhaps the most understated but eye-catching item of pizazz is the cross bunker on the 182 yard par 3 14th
hole. Once again, strategically important and attractive to the eye.
Frankly, I wish I had snapped a few pictures of these holes...but I was too engrossed in the round.
Despite the extra pizazz, this course is the most unheralded Ross course I have ever played. And on my drive
home from the course, I began to ponder why? The course has all the beauty of these other courses and then
some. Ross' courses are known for their demanding greens. Not only are the greens at the CCC demanding, but
they might be the most demanding of the Ross greens I've played...I think this can be attributed to Rogers'
genius.
One of the things I came up with is that the course might be too short to be regarded as a truly great
championship course. From the tips it measures 6,515 yards. That type of yardage might be considered too
short in our current day and age.
Additionally, this course doesn't seem to have the history of the other Ross courses I've played. East Lake is the
home course of Bobby Jones and is the current host of the Tour Championship. Inverness has been the host of
many, many big time tournaments. Remember Bob Tway's sand shot to beat Greg Norman in the 1986 PGA
Championship? It happened at Inverness.
Despite the CCC being founded in 1909, being originally designed by the great Donald Ross, hosting many
prestigious amateur tournaments, and being renovated by a designer whose work has been ranked by Golf
Magazine as some of the greatest design work of all-time, it is too easy for this course to be overlooked when
compared to some of these other historically great Ross courses.
Okay, okay...I get that. But it doesn't change the fact that this golf course is a top-notch golf course. Every hole
presents a unique challenge and the variety of these challenges varies widely from hole to hole. There are 240
yard par 3's, 315 yard par 4's, holes that play way up hill, and holes that play severely downhill. The only
constants are the quality of the holes and the difficulty level as you approach, and finally reach, the greens.
Given all this, I consider the Country Club of Columbus a hidden gem and I anxiously await playing it again!
The Country Club of Columbus was formed in 1909 and the golf course was built by Donald Ross in 1925. It was
renovated by Drew Rogers of Arthur Hills in 2002.
Right from the start of your round, the green complexes jump out and grab you. Below is a picture of the #1
green.
Nothing like a false front and severe undulations to get things crackin' on the first hole! Oh yeah...this green
appears at the end of a 548 par 5...Baby!!!
As the round progresses, the greens don't get any easier. The following is a picture of the backside of the 12th
green. As you can see, It is on a plateau, it slopes steeply in the front and any shot that is long will roll right off
the back. Obviously, you will need to bring your "A+" short game to the CCC.
In reference to other Ross courses I've played (to date East Lake and Inverness), this one seems to have just a
little bit more pizazz.
For example, there is a nice bunker at the bottom of severe greenside slope on the 243 yard par 3...by severe
slope I mean one that will take your ball straight down 20 yards...and yes I did say 243 yard par 3.
Hole 11 is a short par 4 that is protected by a pond in front of the green with an elegant and understated stone
wall between that pond and the green. This wall and pond add a much needed line of defense to the 315 yard
par 4. In addition to their strategic sense, these items make the hole and the course even more attractive.
Perhaps the most understated but eye-catching item of pizazz is the cross bunker on the 182 yard par 3 14th
hole. Once again, strategically important and attractive to the eye.
Frankly, I wish I had snapped a few pictures of these holes...but I was too engrossed in the round.
Despite the extra pizazz, this course is the most unheralded Ross course I have ever played. And on my drive
home from the course, I began to ponder why? The course has all the beauty of these other courses and then
some. Ross' courses are known for their demanding greens. Not only are the greens at the CCC demanding, but
they might be the most demanding of the Ross greens I've played...I think this can be attributed to Rogers'
genius.
One of the things I came up with is that the course might be too short to be regarded as a truly great
championship course. From the tips it measures 6,515 yards. That type of yardage might be considered too
short in our current day and age.
Additionally, this course doesn't seem to have the history of the other Ross courses I've played. East Lake is the
home course of Bobby Jones and is the current host of the Tour Championship. Inverness has been the host of
many, many big time tournaments. Remember Bob Tway's sand shot to beat Greg Norman in the 1986 PGA
Championship? It happened at Inverness.
Despite the CCC being founded in 1909, being originally designed by the great Donald Ross, hosting many
prestigious amateur tournaments, and being renovated by a designer whose work has been ranked by Golf
Magazine as some of the greatest design work of all-time, it is too easy for this course to be overlooked when
compared to some of these other historically great Ross courses.
Okay, okay...I get that. But it doesn't change the fact that this golf course is a top-notch golf course. Every hole
presents a unique challenge and the variety of these challenges varies widely from hole to hole. There are 240
yard par 3's, 315 yard par 4's, holes that play way up hill, and holes that play severely downhill. The only
constants are the quality of the holes and the difficulty level as you approach, and finally reach, the greens.
Given all this, I consider the Country Club of Columbus a hidden gem and I anxiously await playing it again!
The approach to 10