Moraine Country Club

Favorite Hole

No. 7, par 4, 295 yards

Many holes at Moraine are filled with strategy and demand answers to uncomfortable questions. No hole highlights that better than the short par-4 seventh. The first decision is whether or not to try and drive the green, a very achievable goal for those who can carry the cross bunker and use the kicker to bound their ball forward. For those who lay up off the tee, your best course of action is to hug the left side and get as close to the cross bunker as possible, allowing a full view of the green. The green is relatively subtle, but missing it to any side with your approach brings a big number into play.

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Overall Thoughts

Not only did the restoration work put Moraine back on the map, but the course is now in the same conversation as some of the best in the country. Today, Moraine is a far better golf course than many found in typical Top 100 in America lists.

Four aspects make Moraine’s design shine:

1. Campbell’s minimalist approach that uses the land to defend par
2. Terrific green complexes
3. The course’s playability for average golfers and beginners
4. Wide openings to the fronts of greens on long holes that allow for the ground game

Minimalist approach

Moraine has a spectacular property for golf. Its rolling topography gave the architect a beautiful canvas over which to paint his holes, so Campbell let the property do the talking. Instead of forcing elements that fought the land, he embraced simple principles of design brought over from his home country of Scotland and married them with the property’s natural features.

Of course, Campbell’s work became an afterthought over the years as trees overshadowed the beautiful land forms and greens shrunk. Keith Foster’s restoration work had impacts at both the macro and micro levels, returning the grand scale of the course while highlighting its minimalism. Now, players are treated to a series of dramatic reveals as they make their way up and down the ridge that cuts across the property.

A few quibbles you could make with Campbell’s design are with the routing. Of the 18 holes, 15 of them play either south to north or north to south. The property’s awkward shape facilitates this dynamic much like the recently profiled Creek Club. Another quibble would be how Campbell chose to navigate the property’s most severe feature, the giant hill on the par 5 fourth. This is an extremely awkward hole, and it’s impossible to know what Campbell was thinking, but there are two options presented off the tee. You can bomb it up to a narrow blind area or hit something to the base of the hill and leave an awkward blind second shot over a massive hill. This hole is memorable, but perhaps a more elegant or efficient manner to get over this hill could have been created.

Green complexes

While the views are stunning, the most memorable aspect of a day at Moraine is without a doubt its green complexes. More subtle than severe, these surfaces offer intricate finales to every hole while still allowing the most dramatic landforms to pop. Campbell matched some of his boldest greens and contours with the holes on the flatter sections of the land (Nos. 8, 10, 11) while also capturing the character of some other holes in his green designs, notably the riptide par-4 third and rollercoaster par-5 13th.

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Playability

Moraine is a stout championship test that remains exceptionally playable for the average golfer. I played the course in competition for a U.S. Amateur qualifier; the field consisted of top amateurs and collegiate players. Despite soft conditions, the course proved quite challenging. Over two rounds, only one player in the field recorded an 18-hole score under par. Still, due to its forgiveness off the tee, lack of forced carries, and firm-and-fast conditioning, players who don’t possess elite traits are still more than capable of enjoying themselves.

Wide openings to greens on the longest holes

Lending a hand on the theme of playability, Campbell (and Foster’s new holes) took all skill levels into consideration when designing approaches into each hole. The holes that can require the longest approaches (Nos. 2, 4, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, and 18 among them) all have plenty of room to run the ball up and use the slopes. The shorter approaches (Nos. 1, 5, 6, 7, 15 among them) have more contour short of the green or play uphill to protect the surface. The short par-3 fifth is the only shot on the course that really requires a forced carry over a bunker. Approaches into No. 10 do have to carry a creek, but more than 40 yards of fairway on the other side allows players to still bounce the ball in. So while the top players won’t be utilizing these areas, they come in handy for the average member.

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1 Egg

(How We Rate Courses)

With or without championship fame, Moraine never fails to blow away first-time visitors. Campbell might not have been the most prolific architect of his day, but Moraine proves that his skills were on par with the greats of the Golden Age. This is a strong one-egg course thanks to the property and design. If not for a couple of less-than-memorable flatland holes and more variety in the orientation of the holes, Moraine could be creeping in on two eggs.

Course Tour

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Additional Content

The Course Next Door: Moraine (Article)

Tempted by Nipper: The 7th at Moraine (Article)