East at Country Club of Birmingham

The West course is the only course in America that can claim the architectural fingerprints of Donald Ross, Robert Trent Jones and Pete Dye.

Ross was commissioned in the late 1920s to add a second course at the CC of Birmingham. Ross’s excellent routing is all that is left. In the 1950s, RTJ came in and built all of the greens up in his trademark fashion. Then, in the mid-1980s, Pete Dye dug down to all of the original Ross green levels, though he did not restore them. He merely massaged them with his own contouring.

The result is quite magnificent. Visually, the West Course is marvelous when you take in the routing of Ross’s holes and see the juxtaposition of RTJ’s signature scalloped bunkering against Dye’s signature pot bunkering and giant mounding.

There are some brawny par 4s, particularly in the closing stretch. The 16th hole, is as fine a golf hole as you will find. It is also home to one of the more interesting greens on the course. It is divided by a four-to-five-foot shelf, which can feed balls to lower pin placements if used properly. A back left pin on this green would be a nightmare par.

There are equally as many tight-driving holes as generous ones. Yet, this is a second-shot course.

The greens are chock full of subtle break and local knowledge is worth a ton.

Even the holes that at first blush seem a little lackluster contain some hidden architectural quality that make them play better than they look. A good example is the seemingly mundane par-4 17th hole. Two bunkers guards the right side of the landing area in the fairway. There is plenty of room to the left, however, and is the preferred line because a large tree extends into the window of entry just short of the green on the right. The tendency would be to stay middle to left side of the green with your approach. Yet, unseen from the fairway, is a nearly undetectable ridge running through the center of the green that deflects and funnels approaches to the left, off the green and into a closely mown, “coffin-like” collection area that makes up-and-down a tall order. It is a brilliant feature.

This is an old-style blue-blood private that has great bones and is a must-play if ever afforded the opportunity.

The East is a Ross design and pre-dates the more prestigious West course by two years. When I think of Ross, like most I think of turtle back greens. I didn't find that here. These complexes are flatter, with more subtle break and five greens with distinctive, multiple shelves. They rolled very good and the bent surfaces were not suffering from the mid 90s temps we're encountering. Two things struck me as keys to successful rounds on the East: 1. You must drive it in the fairway. This parkland style layout means tree-lined fairways throughout. Miss the fairway and you are likely facing a punch recovery. Miss the fairways slightly and the rough produces shots that will not spin, making approaches difficult to play correct yardages. 2. Clubbing properly. All of the greens are slightly elevated, a Ross hallmark, and eight holes harbor dramatically-elevated greens. Adding half a club to a full club is fairly common. My favorite holes were the short, par-4 second, the reachable par-5 11th and the par-3 15th set beautifully around a small pond. The views on the tees and approaches on 16 and 18 that play back toward the lovely Tudor-style clubhouse gives you a Westchester County feel. CCoB is home to one of the finest practice ranges I've ever seen. What a fine facility. Bottom line: the West course may get the big USGA tournaments, but the East is a fantastic course that I surely would not tire of playing.