Claremont Country Club
Albeit this course is possibly the toughest par 68, 5,485-yard course I have ever played. Claremont Country Club is a private members club located in Oakland, California, USA. Alister Mackenzie redesigned this course back in 1926 and I understand the club has stayed true to Mackenzie’s design principles. Click here to read on about golfing in the rain!
My recent golf experience has attracted me to write about Claremont. As I really enjoyed playing this golf course and I found myself deeply thinking about what type of shot to play on every hole. In general, the greens are deceivingly difficult to play with delicate brutal breaks that will not help your putting stats. As far as I can understand, uphill or flat putts are difficult to locate on any of the eighteen greens.
The Front Nine
The front nine has a list of challenges off each tee-box, however, playing to greens 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8 requires a range of precision golf shots. May I suggest hitting those shots within 5 to15 feet of the hole! Therefore you may avoid the severe sloping putts! However, should you miss the green? You will need an excellent short game to deal with the deep bunkers and or tough chips shots.
I like holes 6, 7 and 8. The 6th is a hole that you can play a number of different ways. You can hit a 175 yard shot off the tee to the right side of the fairway. Thus leaving you with an uphill 80 to 100 yard shot depending on the flag location. Or, I like to go for the green off the tee. Missing the green short is more or less dead. The ball can roll back 50 to 70 yards or you may have to deal with the deep bunkers with high lips. The bunkers are located 20 to 40 feet below the green.
Hitting a good tee shot is not as important as playing a top quality 2nd shot to the 7th hole. The shot can be anything from 90 yards to 150 yards up the hill and the 7th green that slopes from back to front. Should you spin the ball too much from your 2nd shot. Most likely the ball will roll off the green and leave you with a very tricky chip shot.
Now the 8th hole is a par 3 that playing over 164 yards. But, really this hole plays 135 yards as the green is located significantly lower than the teeing ground. There is should be no surprise that this green visibly slopes from back to front. If you can, I recommend playing shot of the hole to give yourself a chance of an uphill birdie putt.
The Back Nine
On the whole, the back nine plays not much easier. The 10th hole is a par three that measures from a 124 tee box to 164 yard back tee. Consequently, the goal with this tee shot is a measured distance controlled precise shot. Otherwise, you may be playing a really tough chip or a hard bunker shot.
The 11th through 13th holes are probably the toughest stretch of holes to play on this course. Besides, the fact that your total golfing skills are required to deal with all three greens that are hard, difficult and extreme putting. Good tee shots played are critical to any possibility of finishing the holes with decent scores. Should you pull or a hook your tee shot left off the 11th tee? You will be greeted by a magical water hazard running amongst a line of trees and not to mention there is out of bounds and a graveyard located on the right-side.
The obstacles for the 12th tee shot are similar to the 11th but, I would say the 12th is a tighter tee shot. Again there is out of bounds to the right side of the hole and if you miss left, you may be lucky with the resulting lie. There is not much rough to stop the ball rolling off a steep slope to the 13th hole. It’s likely you can find a terrible lie or lose your ball.
Indeed, the 13th hole is a par 3 called the Devil. This hole plays 223 yards from the back tee and slightly uphill. I maintain you can play a 190-yard shot to lay up short of the green, then try to chip and put for par. Or, hit the best shot you can aiming at the left side of the green with a club that will carry the ball over a 70-foot tree with a hanging branch 210 yards. Should you miss the green right, the bunker of death awaits you! They are just three really good holes.
The Finishing line in sight, 14th – 18th
The finishing holes 14th – 18th are slightly softer than 11th – 13th. Good shots can reward you with birdie putts. The 16th hole is a tree-lined hole and again, a water hazard/creek runs along the left-hand side of the hole. A bad tee shot right is not the end of the world as the golf ball may encounter the bouncing ball off the fence trick that keeps the ball in play. Otherwise, the ball is out of bounds to the right. Should you hit the fairway, be careful as too much to the left of the green may send your ball into the creek. Equally, the 17th hole is a tough little par 3 with a lethal green. Finishing with a par 5, 501 yards, this hole is called last chance and why not give it a rip off the tee to go for the green in two.
In my opinion, the Alister Mackenzie Claremont Country Club is a fantastic challenge. Each shot requires a plan of action that is thought out with the next shot in mind.
Did you know!
Did you know that Sam Snead won his first professional at The Oakland Open hosted at Claremont Country Club; his winning scores were 69-65-69-67.
Why golfers like difference golf courses over other courses will typically depend on if the golfers liked the course or not. I have not scored at Claremont, but, I really like the challenge the course offers to golfers. Golf shots need to be accurate with distance control and golfers need a great short game to score well on this course. Notably, Claremont Country Club is an easy course to like and I hope you play there sometime. Please feel free to add comments to my review if you have played Claremont before?
Also, you might find the golf courses review of Copperhead Golf Course at Innisbrook in Florida interesting and click here for another article on Claremont.
John Dooley PGA