Pin Hunting Amongst History at the Chevy Chase Club
Tearing through morning DC traffic, the boys and I were certainly cutting it fine for what constitutes an appropriate amount of time elapsing between arriving in the club parking lot and balls in the air. Our expected departure time had been pushed back somewhat, firstly, by a lengthier breakfast, of which we were all responsible, and secondly by some liberties taken in how much time a man is allowed for his morning shower; Stuart falling asleep in the latter was not at all anticipated.
We arrived at Chevy Chase Club with little than 5 minutes to spare. Scrambling to put our golf shoes on in what can only be described as a mass exhibition of ‘trunk scratchers’ was apparently embarrassing to our host. Given his involvement in our present lateness, however, he quickly rest his case. We threw our Mackenzie’s over our backs, locked the car and ran to the starters hut. The soft wave of chaos we brought to an otherwise blissfuly calm June morning in Maryland was extremely apparent. The friendly starter looked rightly confused at our attempts to run onto the tee box as a group of members lined up to let drives fly. As it so happened, we had mixed up our tee time for a time some 20 minutes before our turn at bat. Woefully apologetic and to calm our nerves, we actually had an extremely productive 20 minute practice session on the putting green. Sometimes red lights turn green.
Organised in the fall of 1892 by a group of men from the Metropolitan Club of Washington, D.C., the Chevy Chase Club emerged as a haven for those with a growing passion for horses, sports, and recreation. It provided a much-needed escape from the rapidly expanding city's hustle and bustle, offering a tranquil social centre for members and their families. By 1894, the Club secured its first permanent location on a historic tract that included the Bradley Farmhouse, a pre-revolutionary frame guest house. Golf made its debut at the Club in 1895 with just six holes, coinciding with the founding of the USGA. By 1897, the Club had acquired the 9.36-acre tract where the Bradley House stood. Today, the Chevy Chase Club boasts an impressive array of amenities: an 18-hole golf course, a golf practice facility, 17 outdoor tennis courts, four indoor courts, seven paddle tennis courts, a fitness centre, three swimming pools, an outdoor ice rink, an eighteen-room guest house, a nature trail, and greenhouses. Dining options are equally abundant, with three clubhouse dining rooms, full banquet facilities, two seasonal sports canteens, and a casual dining Winter Center.
In 1924, Charles “Hugh” Alison, a key figure in Harry Colt’s design firm, left his mark on the course during his nine-year tenure in the United States after the Great War, where he designed and revised over twenty courses. Chevy Chase Club was one of his notable revisions. Following World War II, Robert Trent Jones introduced further modifications, with additional changes made by Tom Clark in 1990.
The famed Top 100 website entry for CCC included two excerpts which I could not leave out of an honest write up about Chevy, and they are thus:
“Chevy Chase is known locally for its charming clubhouse, unhurried atmosphere, and pleasant golf course set on gently rolling topography. The reachable par-five 10th, with its fairway leaning towards a hazard along the left side and cutting in front of the green, is one of those rare holes that technology has improved. More people can now reach it in two, making the second shot from the slightly hanging lie over the water exhilarating.
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J. Drew Rogers, a golf course architect, also added that:
“In the early ‘90s, Arthur Hills was brought in to address the course’s irrigation storage issues. Together, we aimed to restore the course more in the Ross style, making it cohesive. Squared tee boxes, refined green surfaces, and restored bunkering were key elements of our effort. We also planned a storage lake at the back of the property to collect surface runoff, reducing reliance on costly city water for irrigation. This lake’s placement required reconfiguring several holes, including omitting the par-three 10th, but it also introduced dynamic, strategic, and aesthetic elements to the course.
Today, the course retains some echoes of its past, though it has certainly evolved. The bunkering style could be more authentically restored if the Club so desired, which would go a long way toward recapturing its original character. Nonetheless, this golf course is a true classic in every sense, one that was love at first sight for me. The Club maintains a relatively low profile, making it a rare gem that you must experience if invited.”
Our turn at bat had finally arrived. With the speed of the greens firmly etched into our minds, we headed for the first tee, which lies adjacent to the practice green and alongside a quaint little tree. I forget of which type it is, but glancing back toward the clubhouse, with its grandiose and imposing oak tree that, unmoved, stands watch similarly alongside, over the course and its happenings, it is acutely evident that this little tree, adjacent to the first tee, has the very same function. Though small, it grants the first tee box some welcomed shade and privacy, as if you are teeing off from under some colonial veranda. A soft nod of good luck from the property, for the adventure ahead. A calm and piercing tee shot is sure to follow, and away we went.
The journey begins with three difficult tee shots down the chutes of three equally challenging par 4 holes. The first bends left, with an ominous bunker looming to the left of the fairway that narrows in the likely landing area of well hit drive. Downhill to a green, finding the dance floor is an imperative. The second is a straightaway drive over a blind ridge. A confidence for the correct line is mandatory, and a bailout to the right will leave you in a shallow fairway bunker, complete with blindingly white sand. The third plays just plain difficult; from the narrow tee shot to a right-to-left sloping fairway, to an inevitable awkward lie in said fairway, if at all you find it, to a raised, fast green with severe run-offs, bunkering and thick rough standing guard. If you get through these holes, unscathed, you are not out of the danger zone just yet.
The boys and I bombed and gouged. Warming up slowly but surely, and prepping ourselves for the challenge ahead. With the first 3 holes behind us, we ventured to the 4th tee box in need of water and a match update. A friendly 1-up was the state of play, yet what lay before us was set to at least rock the tables. Out of the frying pan and straight into the fire. The 4th hole at Chevy Chase Club, a magnificent par 3, might be one of the very best I’ve played in recent memory. With hints of the 11th at St Andrews, aptly named ‘High’, with a blend of Augusta National’s 12th hole, ‘Golden Bell’, which sits steadfast in the middle of the acclaimed, and locally inspired, Amen Corner, this 4th hole is as tricksy as it sounds. A flighted tee ball over a pond is required to carry the hazard, yet distance control is mandatory, for a player must hold an otherwise impossibly shallow green to avoid the heavy bunkers that lie behind. If the picture I am describing seems overly dramatic, let it be known that if offered a bogey on the tee box, we would’ve all taken it without question. If you make a par on the 4th, you’ve played it exquisitely. If, god forbid, you make a birdie, you better quit while you’re ahead. Lightning doesn’t strike twice.
Dropped shots, shattered egos and grief for lost golf balls can be well and truly rectified on the memorably short 5th hole, the lengthy par 4 6th and 7th hole and, if played strategically, the par 5 8th hole. Each with their own offering of challenge, be it a sharp dogleg to the right off the tee, or a punishingly angled green site.
We walked through the woods toward the ninth tee box with all the glee of little children. The match was being contested with trading blows, and the fun was far from over. A long par 3 back toward the clubhouse and its huddling adirondack chairs closes out the nine. Curious mothers, fathers in conversation and golfers finished for the day all watch on as tee shots are sent sailing toward the green, which sits nervously close to members having a quiet spot of lunch. Golf balls have been known to reach the fine china and glasses of sweet tea that sit upon the al-fresco tables, being savoured by those who, without casualty as of yet, sit so daringly close to amateurism.
The back nine starts in a lower paddock below the practice area, Winter Center and Padel courts, in a small nook at the side of the property nestled by trees. Tom Doak’s remarks about this hole are indeed true. The tee shot is unassuming and wide to the right, which grants you some time to build yourself up for the approach shot, which should be described as nothing less than utterly petrifying. It asked a question of us this day, a question that, if I recall correctly, only one of us firmly answered. I pounded a 4-iron, centre screws, off a hanging draw lie which sent the ball sailing high into the blue sky above. It came down with purpose, and, helped along by a healthy skip forward off the right fringe, nestled up to 20 feet. Never has a 3 putt been more regretful, yet a hole so fondly looked back upon.
Fresh from the starting challenge on the back side, the remaining holes at Chevy Chase are a tour-de-force of par 4’s that require the steadiest of nerves, as if gently placing the ball in the fairway off the tee. It need not be overpowered and it will bite back if you try. Despite the par 4 11th sending you back up the hill to the left toward the clubhouse, the 12th abruptly interjects and swiftly sends you back out toward to the outer left paddock of the property for the remaining holes. For the 12th, a par 3, with a seemingly square-green that sits just past a ridge-line of thick fescue grass, only a committed tee ball will land home true. A brief lapse in judgement, coupled with the obvious surrounding danger, can lead to the beginnings of a swing in the momentum of the match. My partner and I found this out the hard way.
If you’ve found a groove on the front nine, with its characteristic dog legs, blind tee shots and gentle nudges to stay patient, you will enjoy yourself immensely on the closing holes. The 16th hole bends to the right so drastically that it almost looks like it comes back on itself, with a green that eyes the tee box at an angle that has to be seen to be believed. The daring golfer might attempt to cut off some of this shape with a driver. In most cases, however, this strategy leads to a golf ball in the creek or worse, behind a tree hitting over a creek. Looking back, it is obvious that the correct strategy is a sensible swing to the edge of the dog leg with a fairway metal. From there, it is but a punch of a long iron to the left side of the green, where, by the mercy of the course and her gentle hands, you will find your ball being pulled to the hole by the natural contouring of the green.
The 17th and 18th favour the fader of the golf ball. But more importantly, those that have a steadfast iron game when faced with the inevitably hard approach shots to similarly angled greens that are found on the front side. From the crest of the 17th fairway, you are finally adorned with a full view of the main clubhouse and all of its plenteous amenities. The towering chimney, crested with the wickedly simple CCC logo, frames your walk up the last and appropriately guides you into the bar for a post round debrief. With a match tied up, and a morning adventure sealed in the record, the Eden boys couldn’t get enough of this place. Chevy Chase Club is currently undergoing a multi-year course renovation by the same firm that recently redid Congressional’s Blue Course. We didn’t think it could get any better, but given 18 months, it might just.
