Review: Rock Spring Golf Club (Part 2)

It's time to take a look at the back nine at Rock Spring, go here to see the front.

The tenth hole is a short par 4, but not one you can think about driving. It's 330 yards and most of that is straight up the hill. The best way to play this hole is to go down the left side, clearing the pair of fairway bunkers and skirting along the trees. That leaves a favorable angle into the green, which is small, guarded by a cluster of three small bunkers to the right, and has a dramatic false front. If you hit driver and end up on the right side, you'll have a very awkward half wedge over those bunkers to a very shallow target. It's the shortest par 4 on the course, but it's definitely not the easiest.

The tenth hole.

This is the better place to approach the tenth green.

The tenth green, with its false front.

The eleventh hole is 430 yards, but it plays downhill the whole way. It's a very wide hole, and the three bunkers on the right side are fairly easy to carry completely. They were made for golfers in an era when the ball went a lot shorter. The trees are more of an issue, and they can get in the way if you stray a little too far right. The green is long and very narrow, falls away at the back, and there are bunkers to the right and short left, with the bunker left being pretty deep. The back left hole location I saw was an especially tough one, since you couldn't even effectively bail out short, since you'd have to chip over the bunker. 

The eleventh hole.

The eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is another short but not quite driveable par 4 that plays a bit uphill. The bunker in the middle of the fairway catches the eye, but it's pretty close to the tee. The bunker further up and to the right is much more of a threat, since that's where the eye is naturally drawn, and that's the direction you'll probably want to hit, so you can get close to the green. That would be a mistake, however. Going right means you'll have a wedge over a very deep bunker to a shallow green that has another bunker behind it. If you lay back on the left side, you'll have a much simpler shot. Just be aware that the front of the green is pretty severely sloped, and when the hole is cut there, putts from above are extremely tough. Yes, this happens a few times at Rock Spring.

The twelfth hole.

Approaching the twelfth green.

The twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is 415 yards, but since it's uphill it effectively plays longer than the eleventh. The fairway is pretty wide open, with just a single small bunker on the left side. So while you can hit it anywhere, you'll have a better angle going down the left, as the green is protected by a bunker on the right side. But that will lengthen the hole, so the choice is yours. There's another fairly sharp dropoff on the front of the green, but for once the hole wasn't placed there. Otherwise, this isn't the most exciting hole on the course.

The thirteenth hole.

Approaching the thirteenth green.

The thirteenth green.

Looking back down the thirteenth.

The fourteenth hole is the only par 5 on the back nine, and while it's not hugely long at 530 yards, it requires two big shots to get to the green in two. There's a lot of space to the right, and two bunkers left, along with O.B. that runs down the entirety of the hole. Overall though, this is a pretty open fairway, so you can feel free to swing away with the driver. It won't matter how far you get though, since you'll be able to see only the very top of the flag. If you're laying up, the big objective is to get the second at least to the top of that little hill, so you can have a full view of the green, which is flanked by sand and sloped from back right to front left. 

The fourteenth hole.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is a mid-length par 4 that plays along the side of a hill, so the fairway's got quite a bit of right-to-left slope to it. Like the eighth, drives that draw are normally at risk for rolling through the fairway into one of those bunkers left, but that risk is lessened when the course is waterlogged. You're better off hitting a fade that stays on the right side. You'll have a better angle into the green, which has bunkers left and right; that left bunker is particularly deep. I think this is the last time, but the front of the green is very severely tilted, so it's best not to be above the hole.

The fifteenth hole. 

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is a bit of a mystery. On the surface, it bears a passing resemblance to the Eden, being the right length (185 yards is a bit long, but it's downhill) and having a green that slopes sharply from back to front with a hazard beyond, but the bunkers left and right aren't quite right. Maybe this was an Eden but has evolved through the years into something else. The bunker right is shallower, but it wraps all the way beyond the green. The bunker left is deeper, so neither is a good place to be. The green is decently sized at least.

The sixteenth hole.

The seventeenth hole is about the same length as the thirteenth, and it also plays uphill the whole way. Also like the thirteenth, the tee shot is pretty wide open, though O.B. in the form of a road is in play if you hit a big hook. The green is bunkerless, but that doesn't mean it isn't interesting. For one thing, it's really big, and it's got a false front big enough to be its own green at some other golf courses. The rest of the green has lots and lots of undulation to it, so even hitting the green is no guarantee of a two putt.

The seventeenth hole.

Approaching the seventeenth green.

This is only half of the very large seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole is yet another shortish par 4 that goes uphill to an elevated landing area. There are no fairway bunkers, but there is O.B. left and a couple of pine trees right that will catch out slices. The second shot, provided you've made it to the top of the hill, is over level ground to a small green protected in the front by two bunkers. It's not an easy wedge shot, but the hole is nice and short, so you still have the opportunity to finish with a birdie.

The eighteenth hole.

Approaching the eighteenth green.

The eighteenth green.

I don't think Rock Spring was ever Seth Raynor's best work, but it's still a pretty solid course. Some restoration work was undertaken in the past 20 years, but only for parts of the course. For example, the fourth green had shrunk but has been reexpanded to its original size, and the hole is better for it. There are a few too many trees in awkward places though, and the course could use the removal of a couple hundred. Will it happen at a municipal course? Probably not. For the moment, I think it's more important that the course continues as is for the future. While it's not the best Raynor course in the world, the fact is it exists in roughly original form and is available to the public. The third hole is a very good Redan and writing this review made me look more favorably on a few of the par 4s, such as the fourth, tenth, and eleventh. I wasn't in the best mood immediately after the round; I finished with a triple, the round took about an hour too long, and it was pouring rain for the last four holes. Looking back now, I can see that Rock Spring is a step above a place like Triggs or Mark Twain and is closer in quality to a course like Shennecossett. It's a worthy addition to the world of municipal golf.

As for value, it's not the cheapest course in the world. Even in the offseason, you'll pay $35 to walk during the week, and it goes up to $65 on weekends. Keep in mind that this course is only 15 miles from Manhattan, and that's obviously going to drive up the price. The weekend price is a bit steep, but $35 is perfectly fine for what you get. Not a steal, but not bad. And the golfers of the New York metropolitan area have clearly responded: On a Tuesday that was admittedly warm but was otherwise cloudy and then rainy, Rock Spring was still completely full. It made for slow going, but the course's bottom line has to be solid thanks to all those golfers. I'm sure it's making money for the town, and I'm confident Rock Spring will continue on for years to come.