Course Review: Medinah Country Club

The biggest week of the golf year arrives with Medinah Country Club in the western suburbs of Chicago, Illinois hosting the 39th playing of the Ryder Cup. Medinah was founded in 1924 and boasts three 18 hole courses, all originally designed by Tom Bendelow, the prolific Scots-born architect responsible for more than 600 designs, including East Lake Golf Club, home of the Tour Championship.

Medinah's Course 3 has hosted three US Opens - the last in 1990 - and two PGA Championships, in 1999 and 2006, both won by Tiger Woods. Shortly before the 2006 championship the course underwent redesign work by Rees Jones, the Open Doctor.

Although the course is normally 7012m for championship play, chances are that it will play nowhere near that length. Ryder Cup tradition holds that the host Captain is the sole arbiter when it comes to dictating the setup for the matches. The length of the first cut of rough has already been set at the lightest and most generous in recent memory and Davis Love will also be able to choose the individual hole lengths and pin positions. The final decisions will certainly be made in consultation with the US players and Captain's assistants, but general belief is that the course will play around 6600m.

Even more than regular golf tournaments, the Ryder Cup can end up as a putting contest, so an understanding and appreciation of the greens' contours will be critical. All 18 greens have been rebuilt by Rees Jones in the last decade, seven before the 2006 PGA Championship and the rest just two years ago. Before this reworking there had been a lack of legitimate pin positions on many holes. That has been rectified but there are still some downhill putts where a miss might run clear off the green.

The most intriguing hole is sure to be the brand new par 4 15th that is listed at 357 metres. Jones shifted the fairway, created a huge pond that runs half the length of the hole on the right, and an elevated green with brutal run-offs in all directions. From the forward tees this is a reachable hole for many of the players, and coming as it does late in the round we may be treated to a number of do-or-die moments if the conditions are favourable.

A Golf Weather
Editorial