Golfing With Shawn: Plum Brook Country Club

100 Years!! Plum Brook has been in existence since 1914, and I had the pleasure to play it this summer as it turns a century old. I looked thru a lot of records and unfortunately I was not able to find an architect of record. That's too bad because this is a fun course to play and I thought it was well designed.

Arriving there I got the feeling Plum Brook is a laid back country club. The parking lot is a small and holds only a handful of cars. The practice green lies next to the clubhouse and has a chipping/pitching fairway attached to it as well as a sand trap. I can see members showing up late in the afternoon and getting a little short game practice in before playing cards.

The ground game is very evident at Plum Brook. Many greens are at fairway level with traps guarding the entrance ways to the putting surface. Playing short and letting the ball bounce on is a very viable strategy here. A few holes have elevated greens that will test the aerial game, but even those have entrance ways to run it in.

This is not a difficult golf course. A lot of short to mid length par fours. The fourth however is not one of them. This tough par four demands a long tee shot to carry the creek before the fairway ripples uphill to the green. Slotted atop a little knoll, the putting surface is difficult to find with the approach. It's one of the elevated greens here and has more slope than the others. The par three fifth is a good example of a "short" par three. The architect simply leveled off a ridge and placed the green there. The dramatic bunkering makes this one of the more exciting shots on the course. It's a hit or miss, and miss can lead to a big number.

Nine and ten are a couple picturesque short par fours. A driver is not required to to score well on them so a club that puts you in the fairway is the best bet. Hardwoods frame both holes. The eleventh is a beast! The green on this long par four sits way atop the hill and deep traps are cut short n left to catch the player who fires carelessly at the pin. I found the bailout out to the right to be a good place to salvage par with a reasonable chip. The pond at the base of the hill is really pointless in my opinion. It distracts from a really good hole, especially since there's a fountain in it.

The final three holes all offer the player a chance to make birdie. Sixteen is a beautiful downhill short par three. A horseshoe bunker guards the front and left side. If it wasn't for the fact that there are two other short par threes proceeding this hole, I would probably love it. Seventeen and eighteen are back to back par fives. Seventeen is a cool hole. A huge hill dominates the second shot, and the player must carry it to leave himself a good opportunity for a birdie. Failure to do so will mean an awkward stance and lie for the third shot. Eighteen then plays downhill and then up over a smaller hill. This hole is reachable with a good drive as there is a runway on the left side to the green. It's a fun way to end your round, and chance to shoot a good score. I really enjoyed the course and looking forward to playing it again. I rate it 5 (good).