Walking in Tiger's Shadow
We didn’t think we were going to get the chance to play the famed Blue Course at Congressional…and then, just as things tend to do with us, the stars aligned and we were offered the opportunity. We’d like to take a moment to thank Teresa Hinton for introducing us to Rick Brown, who made dozens of phone calls to track down Chip (a full golf member to play with us) and then talking to John Lyenburg (the head pro) who comped our greens fees. And this all happened in the span of about two days.
So…needless to say, we got to play! And it was a day we won’t soon forget!
For those of you who don’t know, the Blue Course at Congressional has been host to some of the biggest events in golf, including the famous U.S. Open in 1964, won by the heat-exhasted Ken Venturi and currently hosts Tiger Woods’ tournament, the AT&T Invitation.
Opened in 1914, Congressional Country Club has always played host to the highest office in the land. Located in Bethesda, just a short distance from the White House, nearly every President has walked the grounds of Congressional.
Walking the halls in the newly renovated, but old-feeling, clubhouse should come with an audio tour. It would be tantalizing to hear all the back-stories to all the pictures that line nearly every hallway. Rick Brown let us in on several of the stories, which only left us with more curiosity!
Just after four o’clock on the afternoon of June 2nd we headed to the first tee.
Truthfully, looking back at the course after playing it, you realize that the beauty of the Blue course is in the simplicity. There’s no railroad ties or intense mounding that hides fairways or greens from plain view, there’s just one beautifully carved hole after the next. When I say carved, I mean carved. Some of the holes resemble canyons cut through the massive trees that line most every hole. The undulation on the entire property is used masterfully to provide some elevation change, but also just enough to provide some subtle and some not-so-subtle side hill lies in the fairways.
The greens, for the most part, are large and inviting to iron shots played from the short grass. The whole key to success at Congressional is getting the tee ball in play. There’s not much demand for one side versus the other side of the fairway to set up a better approach angle, any old part of the fairway will do just fine.
The green, while large and inviting, are also only moderately sloped for a U.S. Open golf course. When I think of the typical Open set up, I think of Oakland Hills, or Oakmont, which has greens so treacherous that three and four putts are likely. There was only a few extremely tough spots at Congressional that might warrant that kind of defensive attitude. Obviously we didn’t see the famed Blue course at it’s toughest, as the greens were only running a nine or so on the Stemp-meter, but even still you could easily tell that there are plenty of makeable putts to many parts of the greens.
I think one of the key elements to breaking down a tough golf course is to look at the par 5’s and how birdie-able they are. The par 5’s at Congressional certainly offer good opportunity to any play, of any length, to make fours. This is why the USGA will have to find someway to keep scores around par, as they like. They will surely convert the 11th to a long par 4. Currently is reaches only 507 yards, and even though the second shot plays uphill it will still only be a long iron for most players, and a middle iron for the long-knockers.
I think they might also convert the 16th to a par 4, to make par an even 70. The USGA seems to be obsessed with have 280 strokes be par, and likely a winning score.
The 16th doesn’t make a good par 4, and it will be a shame is they do convert it. But, after all, par is JUST a mythical number that is put on scorecards so we have a measuring stick. The best players in the world will not worry much about the number on the card, they’ll worry much more about the numbers on THEIR scorecards.
The facility at Congressional couldn’t be more pristine. It features a large driving range and several practice chipping and putting areas that would keep even Vijay Singh happy for his ever-lasting practice sessions.
We did hear, however, that when the course gets a make-over before hosting the 2011 Open they will build new practice areas that give more options for shots to hit.
They will also resurface all the greens to get rid of all the sprouting Poanna that has infested the otherwise smooth bent grass greens. As most courses that have bent grass, Poe will start growing and there’s just no way to stop it. So, once every decade or so, courses will just completely resurface their greens to start fresh. It will provide a smooth, perhaps firmer, putting surface for the Open, something that the players will surely appreciate.
Our favorite hole on the golf course was the par 5 sixth. We felt that this hole provided a fair but stern test that can produce anything from eagle to an eight. It’s reachable for the longer hitters, but it’s a serious gamble to get a fairway wood to stop on the putting surface. Water guards the front and right of the greens, with a deep bunker looking over the front and left. It’s a nerve racking shot with the pin cut on the right side, which is were is was for us. A poor drive forced me to lay up and attack the green with a 190 yard five-iron. Needless to say I guarded against the water and left myself a difficult up and down from the bunker. But more than the overall difficulty, it’s the sheer beauty of the setting, with the stone walled pond, the large looming trees that line the left side, and the fairway bunkers that pinch the tee shot landing area. It’s a majestic hole that will provide drama at any level of play.
The overall experience at Congressional can be described as completely nurturing. You are pampered from the get-go and we never got the feeling that, even as guests of the club, that we were at all un-welcome. Which is not uncommon around the hoity-toity upper-echelon country clubs.
We can’t wait to get back and try our luck a second time at the Blue Course. I don’t think Bailey will be able to one-up her experience on the 18th however, as she managed a round-ended birdie our first time around. A drive and a sweet seven wood left her a uphill 15 footer, which she calmly poured right in the center. It might have been her only birdie of the day, but it was a memorable one!
