Diamond in the Rough / Belmont Golf Course
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Richmond,
Virginia,
United States
Friday, July 18, 2008
My original plan for this weekend was to drive down to Charlotte, NC to visit a friend, Steve. I have been friends with Steve since high school. Although we only get to see each other maybe once or twice a year (last time was June '07 at the US Open), we still keep in touch. Steve recently proposed to his girlfriend and I wanted to head down to congratulate the couple. Steve and I planned on playing some golf at Birkdale, a course designed by Arnold Palmer and the course his house is located on. My weekend plans were nullified because one of my co-worker's husband was in the hospital and chances are she will not be able to work tonight. While waiting for her decision, I drove down to Richmond to avoid the southbound traffic on I95 during Friday rush hour.
Looking for a place to play golf, I found Belmont Golf Course in my directory of Virginia courses. Belmont intrigued me because I saw the original designer was A.W. Tillinghast and that Donald Ross completed a redesign of the course in 1929. You do not normally see these credentials in a municipal golf course. Also I found out that Belmont hosted the 1949 PGA Championship won by Sam Snead. Wow!
Belmont definitely showed the trademarks of a Tillinghast design. Tillinghast valued shot placement over distance. From the white tees Belmont plays at 5818 yards, a relatively short course in today's standard. The shortness of the course came into play on the first hole, 326 yard par 4. The group behind us almost reached the green in one. Since I got paired up with two guys who do not play that often, we decided to let the group behind play through...I did not feel like constantly looking behind me for any incoming shots.
Tillinghast placed a premium on setting up for the proper angle to approach the green...it would have been nice if there was a yardage book available to help you navigate the course. If you had the wrong angle, you were punished with tree as an obstacle, daunting carries over water or small greens protected by bunkers. I immediately ran across these concepts in the three holes #3-#5. Hole #3 was a short par 4 at 267 yards with a slight dogleg to the left. I over drove the fairway and was confronted with a big tree guarding my approach to green. The tree knocked down my second shot and I finished the hole with a bogey 5. Hole #4 was a 154 yard par 3 ringed with bunkers on all sides. All three of us found a bunker, but I was able to manage a respectable bogey 4 on the hole. Hole #5 is a relatively short par 5 at 438 yards. This hole has a 90 turn to the right approximately 200 yards from the tee box. Hugh trees lined the right side of the dogleg and there is a creek which crosses the fairway hidden by the trees. Apparently Sam Snead in the '49 PGA Championship, took a shortcut over the trees and carried the creek...maybe the trees were not as tall 60 years ago. He had a easy wedge and eagled the hole. I tried the same thing and was rewarded with a lost ball and a 7 for the hole. The other two guys struggled on the hole and we were definitely slowing the rest of the course. Since there was room ahead of us and I wanted to finish before the sun went down, I left the two and played on by myself.
Another Tillinghast trademark are small greens with a lot of undulations...see Wing Foot as an example. My putting game was up to the challenge and I average less than 2 putts per green. I did not see any of Ross's touch on the course. Of course some of it would be transparent because Ross also favored angles over length. I was hoping to see at least some of the crowned greens that Ross is famous for, but did not see any. I managed three pars and finished with a 97 for the round. At the end of the round, I got the call to come in to work. So I called Steve and canceled our plans, drove back up to DC and worked from 10pm-6am.
