With glowing tributes such as "faultless" and "stunning" being applied to The Country Club this week, it is clear that the famous stretch here at Brookline has changed appreciably from the time when golfers and horsemen often clashed over the right of way. The notion of hoof prints on these putting greens seems like the gravest sacrilege.
But that was the way things were, even after 1913, when the US Open victory by local amateur Francis Ouimet, effectively put The Country Club on the map. By that stage, the original six-hole layout of 1892, had been increased progressively by the Scottish designer, Willie Campbell, until it became 18 in 1910.
From the special, Ryder Cup telephone directory, it can be seen that the corporate services within the grounds include the Curling Club, the New Tennis Club, the Tennis Club and the Putterham Meadows Club. And we are informed that no fewer than 41 US ice-skating champions were club members, including Tenley Albright, winner of an Olympic gold medal at Melbourne in 1956.
A dramatic development at Brookline came in 1927 when William Flynn, whose classics include Shinnecock Hills and Cherry Hills, added an additional nine holes while upgrading the Campbell layout. Then, English architect Geoffrey Cornish revised four holes in the 1960s.
But the most significant changes were wrought by Rees Jones, in preparation for the 1988 US Open. "It was most exciting because we brought the course back to William Campbell's original design style," said Jones. "We rebuilt and expanded the greens and relocated the bunkers, rebuilt the tees, lengthened the course and incorporated different types of grasses."
According to Padraig Harrington, the overall effect has been "a course, European in character and designed in what we in Britain and Ireland would consider as the old style. I'm sure if you studied design textbooks of 50 or 60 years ago, you would see these small, round greens and lots of bunkers, all sloping in. It's really a beautiful golf course."
The course for the Ryder Cup employs the same configuration of holes as in both the 1963 and 1988 US Opens. It means that 15 holes are from the club's regular course and four are borrowed from Flynn's "Primrose" nine. That total of 19 holes is explained by the fact that the 11th is a combination of the first and short second holes on the Primrose.
"It's a little different from the way the USGA set it up," said Justin Leonard. "We want to go out there and make birdies and win holes and guys are going to be able to take chances and provide some pretty aggressive play. That's what people enjoy watching." Endorsing this view, Ben Crenshaw said: "It's a very interesting course which lends itself beautifully to matchplay."
