Country Club of Rochester Hosting Senior Championship for First Time in 28 Years
The clubhouse at the Country Club of Rochester is actually the third structure on the proprty to serve in that capacity, following a fire that destroyed the original clubhouse in 1902, and its replacement that existed until 1970. The Club is one of the oldest golf facilties in the country, dating to 1895.
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FOLLOW RESULTS from the 2017 RDGA SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP at the CC of ROCHESTER:
CLICK HERE for the leaderboard and results from the 2017 RDGA Senior Championship |
As the oldest, original private country club in the Rochester area, the Country Club of Rochester has hosted its share of major golf championships in its' 122-year history - both amateur and professional; local and national - including, most recently, the RDGA District Championship John H. Ryan Jr. Memorial in 2011.
When CCR hosts the 2017 RDGA Senior Championships on August 29 and 30, however, it will have been nearly 30 years since the top male amateurs from the Rochester area, ages 55 and above, competed on its' classic Donald Ross-designed championship golf course for the District Senior title.
What the Senior competitors will find when they return is one of the area's most well-preserved Ross designs - in a region that boasts six original Donald Ross courses - thanks to a masterful restoration project in 2004 by the reknowned modern architect Gil Hanse. The course, which features an unusual par-70 layout that includes five par-3 holes and only three par-5s, will be playing between 6,500 and 5,780 yards, depending on the four different age-based flights in the Senior Championship.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, August 29 and 30, the RDGA Senior Championship field - ranging in age from 55 to 81 - will be put to the test as the Championship returns to the Country Club of Rochester for the seventh time in the event's history, which traces its' origins back to 1938.
A Course Steeped in History
One of the oldest golf clubs in America, The Country Club of Rochester was founded in February 1895, by a group of golfers, members of the Genesee Valley Club, who wanted to form a family club. Land was purchased on the Brighton Road (East Avenue) near the corner of Elmwood Avenue in the Town of Brighton. A farmhouse on the property served as the first clubhouse until 1902, when it was destroyed by fire.
The first golf course had nine holes, laid out on either side of the Brighton Road. Each hole was given a descriptive name, in the British manner, and these names persist as designations for the guest rooms in the present clubhouse (Hub, Stonewall, Hickory, and Blue Point).
 The second clubhouse at the Country Club of Rochester, as seen in this early 20th
century image, was built in 1902. (Photo: www.ccrochester.org)
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As interest in golf grew, the original course was changed and expanded. Donald Ross, Scotsman, and pre-eminent golf course architect of his time, designed what is essentially the Club's present course, followed in later years by updates by Arthur Hills and Rochester's own Robert Trent Jones.
Between 1952 and 1969, the course routing was changed to make way for the practice area that exists today on the South side of Elmwood Ave. Three new holes were added to the West side of the Club's property to make up for those that were lost to the practice area. In 2004, a Master Plan restoration was completed by noted golf course architect Gil Hanse.
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In its' very early days, the Club's reputation was enhanced by the feats of the Thistle Golf Team, a group of Country Club members who competed in the League of the Lower Lakes. The League included teams from clubs in Toronto and Hamilton, in Canada; Buffalo, Cleveland, and Syracuse. According to reports of the day, the Thistle Team competed in great splendor, wearing scarlet jackets and white linen knickers.
During these early years, the Club became reknowned through the fame of the incomparable Walter Hagen, one of the greatest professional golfers of all time, and certainly the game's most colorful player. Hagen started caddying at the Country Club of Rochester when he was 7½ years old, eventually progressing to become the assistant club professional. In 1912, at the age of 19, Hagen played in his first U.S. Open, which was being hosted in nearby Buffalo. Finishing in 12th place, he returned to the Open the following year, where he finished fourth - and by the next year, 1914, he claimed the U.S. Open title. Later named head pro at CCR, Hagen went on to be one of the most influential figures in the history of golf, winning 11 majors, 44 official tournaments and dozens of exhibitions, while becoming one of the greatest ambassadors the game of golf has ever known.
Today, the Club honors Hagen's memory with the Hagen Lounge, which includes memorabilia marking Walter Hagen's many golfing achievements.
In 1956, East Rochester native Sam Urzetta, who won the 1950 U.S. Amateur Championship and played on two Walker Cup Teams, was named the Club's head professional - a position he held for the next 37 years, until he retired in 1993. Along with Walter Hagen, Urzetta, who passed away in 2011, is remembered as one of the finest golfers ever to come out of the Rochester area.
Today, Urzetta's eldest son, Michael C. Urzetta, serves as the Club's PGA Head Professional.
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Amateur golf has always played an important role in the history of the Club - including the annual Country Club of Rochester Invitation, which recently celebrated its' 90th year in June. One of the top amateur championships for men in the Rochester area, the event annually attracts the best players from near and far.
Speaking of amateur golf, another golfer with deep roots in the Club is long-time member Don Allen, who has compiled what is arguably the best amateur record of any golfer in the Rochester area. In addition to winning both the RDGA District Championship and the New York State Men's Amateur Championship six times each, Allen was named to the U.S. Walker Cup team twice, appeared in three Masters Tournaments (as an amateur) and won the prestigious Monroe Invitational Championship four times.
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 The fourth hole at CCR features the longest par-3 on the course, measuring 227 yards from the Black Tees,
as well as a green well-guarded by three bunkers and a creek that is mostly hidden from the tee.
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Another CCR member, the late John H. Ryan Jr., is also remembered as one of his generation's top players, winning the RDGA District Championship twice by the age of 20. Sadly, Ryan was killed just two weeks after his second District title in 1982 in a boating accident. It didn’t take long for the RDGA to honor young Ryan – renaming the tournament as the John H. Ryan Jr. Memorial in 1983, a District Championship tradition that continues to this day.
The Country Club of Rochester also has a history of hosting National Championships. On three occasions, the Club hosted USGA Championships, including the U.S. Women's Amateur Championship once (1962) and the U.S. Women's Open Championship twice (1953 and 1973).
After a fire in 1902, the Club built a handsome new clubhouse, now fondly remembered by many older members for its classic design. This building, designed by architect Claude Bragdon, remained in service until 1970, when the present clubhouse was built on the same site. Daily activities at the Club are overseen by General Manager Michael G. Smith.
Sports activities today feature golf, tennis, swimming, skating, hockey, platform tennis, fitness workouts, and cross-country skiing. An era of equestrianism, which included riding, polo, drag hunting, a widely acclaimed horse show, came to an end when the club stables were closed in the late 1950's. (Commentary provided by www.ccrochester.org)
Accuracy a Plus On a Short, Demanding Layout
Featuring more par-3s than par-5s - along with tight landing areas and strategic bunkering - the Country Club of Rochester's golf course places a premium on accuracy over distance.
Playing to a par-70, the golf course measures 6,584 yards from the Black (Championship) Tees. In all, the course offers four sets of tees, including Blue (6,206 yards), White (5,911 yards) and Gold tees (5,464 yards).
Keeping the course in peak condition is the charge of veteran greens superintendent Rick Holfoth, a Certified Golf Course Superintentent through the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. Holfoth, also a past President of the New York State Turfgrass Association, has had his hands full this year, given the cool, wet summer we've had.
Crossing Elmwood Ave. from the clubhouse to the First Tee, the front nine opens with a short par-4 played uphill and to a fairway that slopes to the left and includes staggered bunkering. The 517-yard second hole - the only par-5 on the front side - is next, sloping gradually downhill and including a creek that crosses the fairway in front of the green, providing a challenge for the approach.
The same creek comes into play on the short par-4 Third hole, which gradually rises uphill to a large, undulating green. No. 4 offers the first of the course's five par-3s - and the longest - measuring 227 yards from the Black Tees, as well as a green well-guarded by three bunkers and the creek, which is mostly hidden from the tee.
The 405-yard Fifth hole - one of the three newer (i.e., non-Ross-designed) holes - features a semi-blind tee shot played to a fairway that tilts sharply to the right, back down to the creek. No. 6 is another par-4 that opens with a blind tee shot - finishing with an approach to a very shallow, yet wide, green that features a severe false front.
The par-3 Seventh hole is long-ish(210 yards), with the creek running along the left side and bunkers guarding the right side of the green.
 stone fence bordering the property behind the par-3's green.
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The front side closes with two longer par-4s, each with blind tee shots (a recurring theme), as well as a string of fairway bunkers on one (the 425-yard Eighth hole) and a peaked fairway bunker on the other (the 446-yard Ninth hole).
After surviving No. 10, the 11th hole offers golfers a straightforward par-3, although one where water comes into play off the tee and up to the right side of the green. Complicating matters off the tee are trees on either side that force the golfer to be accurate. Holes 12 and 13 are side-by-side par-4s, each of which feature gradual uphill approaches and strategic fairway bunkering.
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No. 14 is the fourth of the course's five par-3s - and perhaps the one requiring the most attention of the golfer off the tee, with a bunker crossing in front of the green to guard short tee shots and a stone fence running along the back of the property immediately behind the green. In fact, the 14th hole offers CCR's version of the famed "Road Hole" at St. Andrews, as a cart path runs tight between the back of the green and the stone fence.
No. 15 - the third and final par-5 on the course - is a short (461-yard) par-5 that, although it includes deep fairway bunkering to trap wayward tee shots, offers an opportunity for birdie for those who find the fairway. The next hole, the 169-yard par-3 16th, is the shortest of the course's five par-3s - but accuracy here is a must, as the small green is well-protected by bunkers to the right and left and a steep drop off behind.
Golfers must cross Elmwood Ave. for a second time as they approach the last two holes on the course - the side-by-side, par-4 17th and 18th holes. No. 17 is a straightforward hole, although a fairway bunker on the left keeps golfers honest off the tee and a bunker guarding the front of the green to the right guards the approach. Turning back towards the clubhouse, the closing hole is a dogleg left par-4 with a bunker protecting the left side of the fairway and a green that is hard against the clubhouse with a false front that challenges the depth-perception - and accuracy - of the golfer.
One last observation: immediately behind the 18th green (and, in fact, connected to it) is the club's practice green - an old-school remnant of 19th century golf course architecture that seemingly becons the golfer to begin practicing all the putts that were missed during the round.
 No. 11 at CCR is the third of five par-3s on the course and features water off the tee and a narrow target area defined by trees on either side of the hole. With more par-3 holes than par-5s, RDGA Senior Championship competitors will find that the course places a premium on accuracy over length.
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A Major Championship With a Long History
Tracing its origins back to 1938, the RDGA Senior Championship is one of the longest-running annual championships on the RDGA calendar. Entries are open to all amateur male golfers age 55 and over (as of the beginning of each year's competition) who have an official USGA GHIN Handicap issued by an RDGA Member Club.
Following several changes through the years, the format of the RDGA Senior Championship today features four age-based divisions: Senior (ages 55-59), Super Senior (ages 60-64), Masters (ages 65-69) and Legends (ages 70 and over). Beginning in 2015, the RDGA Senior Championship was changed once more - shortening the competition from a three-day, 54-hole format to a two-day, 36-hole format.
Due to the large number of applicants for this year's Championship - along with the fact that the field is limited to 90 players - the starting field for the 2017 RDGA Senior Championship was determined by those players with the lowest RDGA-issued USGA GHIN Handicap Index (as of the July 15 revision), by Division, until each Division was filled. The number of players entered into the Championship, by Division, is as follows: Seniors, 25; Super Seniors, 25; Masters, 25; and Legends, 15.
Since 2008, the overall RDGA Senior Champion has been determined as the competitor with the lowest score from among the Senior and Super Senior Divisions (both will play from the 6,500-yard Black Tees during the 2017 RDGA Senior Championship). Contestants in the Masters Division will play from the 6,160-yard Blue Tees, while the Legends Division will play from the 5,780-yard White Tees.
Additionally, the top-3 overall finishers earn an exemption into the following year's RDGA District Championship John H. Ryan Memorial.
As one last measure of incentive, the top-three overall finishers plus ties (playing from the Championship Black Tees) will earn exemption into 2018 RDGA Championship John H. Ryan Memorial at Monroe Golf Club.
Continuing A Championship Tradition
As the Country Club of Rochester prepares to host many of the area's better 55-and-over amateurs for this year's RDGA Senior Championship, it will be continuing in a long tradition of hosting the event.
During the earliest years of the District Senior Championship, when it was conducted as an 18-hole, flighted, medal play competition in four age groups, CCR hosted the event four times between 1945 and 1963. Named, at the time, as the "Clint Patchen Memorial Senior Championship," honoring the long-time Durand Eastman Golf Club delegate and RDGA Board Member, Bert Kling (in 1955) and Ed Olsen (in 1963) were among the early RDGA Senior Champions crowned at CCR.
In the "modern era" of the RDGA Senior Championship, the Country Club of Rochester was again an early favorite to host the event, welcoming senior golfers three times between 1982 and 1989, with Jerry Leibel (1982), Jack Hoff (1984) and Gerry Perkins (1989) winning the title there during that period.
Although the RDGA Senior Championship has not returned to CCR since 1989, the Club has hosted the RDGA District Championship three times during those 28 years, including 1991 (won by Doug Fedoryshyn), 2000 and 2011 (both won by John Kircher).
 One of only three par-5s on the course, the 10th hole at the Country Club of Rochester is by far the longest, measuring 570 yards from the Black Tees.
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Portions of this article were written by RDGA Communications Director Dave Eaton.