Old Town Golf Club Review

Thanks Matt, I said as I hung up the phone finalizing the date and time of our rendezvous at the Old Town Club in Winston Salem. I had been trying to play there for a while, as it is one of NC's most exclusive and hallowed golf addresses. The date was 1938 when Charlie Babcock asked Perry Maxwell to design a golf club for the Twin City elite. Perry had designed a few greens and approaches at a little course Bobby Jones used to entertain friends at in Augusta, GA. (That is right - Augusta National).

I followed the understated driveway off Coliseum Dr. into a conservative entrance to the club. As I circled around the beautifully manicured lawn adorned with flowers that danced to the cadence of the American flag as it rippled in the breeze, I knew I was going to have a great day and a wonderful experience.

The 1st and 10th tees hugged the foundations of the clubhouse in opposite directions as the pro-shop resided away it and was shaded by very large oak trees. I am sure if you listened, these centurions would tell us stories of Wake Forest greats, like Curtis Strange, Jay Haas, and Billy Andrade, who sat under them during their prelude years to the PGA Tour. No tee times here. Just check in, and off you go. Let's begin on number 1.

The outward nine begins with a good opening hole. A creek at approximately 140-yards from the green bisects the downhill fairway. Players will have to have to decide what they want to hit off the tee. The approach shot is at least a club uphill to a green sloping from back to front. Above the hole is not good here. We stood on the second hole at the 160-yard par 3 that is slightly downhill. Mr. Maxwell paid homage to his design at Augusta National's 7th, as the green is guarded by bunkers and a ridge that dissects the green into halves. Negotiating a putt from the wrong side here will leave a very difficult 2 putt. Standing on the tee at the third hole, whose sloping fairway runs opposite the hole's shape of left to right, the clubhouse entrance decorates the backdrop of the green. I could just picture patrons in their Sunday whites watching folks play up to the green as they conversed about the price of gasoline going up to 19cents per gallon or Roosevelt being elected to a third term as our nations president.

After the par 5 4th and dogleg left par 4 5th, golfers come to the par 3 6th. This hole runs slightly downhill to a saucer-top green (a la Donald Ross). At 186 yards the teeth of this hole are bared at the putting surface. Subtle slopes throughout the green make reading borrow and judging distance a premium.
The 8th hole is a par 4 that doglegs sharply to the left, leaving players with a semi blind approach to a double green shared by # 8 and #17. The green is canted from back to front with a creek looming in front that is sure to provide a watery grave for miss hit or miss clubbed shots. The ninth hole finishes at the clubhouse along side its neighboring 18th. These two holes are classic designed finishing holes with elevated greens and tree-lined sloping fairways common among coursed designed when players wore knickers and vests.

The final 9 holes begin with a tee shot shaded from the clubhouse that stands like a spectator observing players passing through. The 11th and 12th holes are two of the best on the course. The 11th is a 225-yard downhill par 3 with a hazard down the right and bunkers on the left guarding a generous green. The tee shot is crowded by trees making golfers hit out of a shoot. This also hinders the awareness of any wind that may be whirling around. Players can bail out left and short and play for par with a well executed up-and-down. The 12th hole also requires the tee shot to be fired out of a barrel of trees to a dogleg left par 4 tipped at 450 yards. This will leave an approach shot to a blind green. The 13th and 14th holes are two short par 4's but made difficult by very small greens and sweeping fairways. Precise approach shots are a must. Putting from the wrong side on either of these holes may leave you with a 20-30 yard pitch shot back to the green as your ego shatters into pieces while the ball travels off of the green and back down the fairway. The 15th hole is another long par 3 240 yards from the back tees, but flat compared to the rest of Old Town. The 16th hole contours extremely from left to right off the tee to an elevated green with slopes similar to an ice cream scoop perched atop a sugar cone. The only par 5 on the back nine is a wonderful stroke of golf design. The tee shot plays to a recessed landing area guarded by a fairway bunker on the left and creek down the right side, which stretches its reach the length of the hole crossing the front of the green and to the left. The second shot is an uphill lay-up that hides the green from view. This is a key shot to play this hole successfully so that players do not leave themselves a severely downhill lie for their third, which plays into a double green that makes up the 17th and 8th holes.

I walked off the 18th hole and looked back across the canvas where Perry Maxwell painted his masterpiece. I felt as if I had journeyed back from the time when golf was played for the enjoyment of a good walk and the spirit of friendly competition. Old Town Golf Club is a course you could play again and again and never grow tired of like Renoir paintings hanging in the Lourve that people travel from all over to experience time and time again.