Every couple of years aficionados of golf course architecture get all lathered up about a new course. For the last several years that course was the Tree Farm. The Tree Farm is located in Batesburg, South Carolina, a 25 minute drive from Aiken. Their website describes the Tree Farm as, "a special-occasion club intended for discerning golfers from across the world who respect the traditions of the game, prefer to walk and play quickly." Part of the reason arm-chair architects got so excited is that the brainchild behind the Tree Farm is Zac Blair, a 34-year-old PGA TOUR player from Utah. Zac engages on social media and golf architecture forums, feeding the insatiable appetite of aspiring amateurs.
The Tree Farm scorecard and logo (which is a variation of the South Carolina flag- substituting a pine tree instead of a palmetto tree)
I played the Tree Farm recently as part of a small gathering of Global Golf Centurion Club (G2C2) members. G2C2 is a club for those who have completed playing any GOLF list of the top 100 courses in the world. It's a small group (about 40 members), but they know their golf, and more specifically, they know their golf architecture. The Tree Farm has already developed a cult following. The course is built in the Sandhills Region which stretches from North Carolina through South Carolina and into Georgia. When you can find portions of the Sandhills that have rolling terrain, as they did for the Tree Farm, it makes for ideal golf.
The finishing hole is a 265-yard driveable par four reminiscent of the sixth at Kingsbarns in Scotland. Balls hit over the bunker on the right side will feed into a slot that uses gravity to pull the ball down to the green. As should be the case on a short par four, the green is difficult: two tiers with lots of places to set the ball going in the wrong direction.
I failed to state the obvious regarding the course name. Driving around this part of South Carolina (and the Sandhills in Georgia and North Carolina) there are many many farms that grow pine trees which are then harvested and sold for lumber. Driving to and from the Tree Farm we rode on several back country roads with large logging trucks driving up and down the hilly terrain (sometimes crossing the line perilously close by) full of freshly felled trees on their way to the sawmills.
The caddies were A++ and the staff were very accommodating. Even if you aren't a golf architecture geek and can't tell a Redan from a Road Hole, the Tree Farm is a blast. Unfortunately, I can't walk a golf course anymore due to my bone marrow transplant and the resulting damage to my lungs. Even though it is a walking course they allowed me to ride a cart with a caddie. Even so, the terrain is relatively steep and it was a tough walk to and from the tees and greens at times. If you are strapping and healthy, as many of my readers are, the place is a great walk.
My initial impressions after playing two rounds at the Tree Farm:
1. It is a great golf course, built on a great piece of property
2. It has two of the best par five's I have ever played (the 13th, and especially the 16th)
3. The last three holes make for a fabulous finish (the par five 16th with a massive punchbowl green, the short, tricky par 3 17th, and the driveable par four 18th)
4. Run-up shots to greens are generally rewarded. And it is fun to watch your ball bounce around.
5. The course has wide fairways but difficult greens
The course pedigree is an interesting one. Zac Blair helped in the design, but also brought in Tom Doak to do the routing. Kye Goalby (the son of 1968 Masters champion Bob Goalby, who, incidentally I met when I played Augusta National - a real gentleman.) is a designer, shaper, and bunker-maker for golf courses. This eclectic group created a gem of a course.
The par 3 opening hole at the Tree Farm plays from hilltop to hilltop over a ravine
It's unusual to have a par 3 opening hole, but the Tree Farm is far from a conventional course. The hole plays 170 yards over a ravine to a hilltop green. Because it's the first hole and players haven't yet settled into their round, my caddie told me that majority of golfers come up short and have to chip up from below. As you can also surmise from the image, the Tree Farm is not a polished looking course. That's a compliment, not a criticism. I like the rugged feel of the course and the terrain, and how it minimizes damage to the environment. And, it makes for easier greenkeeping.
The 425-yard 3rd hole from the tee
The expansive property the course was built on has a large valley running through it, and Doak routed the course to maximize the use of the hills and low spots.
The 5th hole from the tee
When Doak asked Zac Blair what his favorite holes were, he mentioned the par-3 fifth at Pine Valley. For those unfamiliar with the fifth at Pine Valley, it is one of the most difficult par threes in the world, playing 219 yards from the regular tees over water to a green that rises up a hill. The green falls off sharply on the left and the right into brutal bunkers. It is not uncommon for scores of eight or higher for those that miss in those areas. There is fairway short of the bunkers, and a good play is to lay up (yes, to lay up on a par 3!). Although there is no water at the Tree Farm, the fifth is a very good replica of Pine Valley's fifth. Instead of water as a hazard, there is a little swale and a huge hill that challenges the golfer from the tee. It is a monster of a hole.
Note: only a PGA TOUR professional would say that the fifth at Pine Valley is one of their favorite holes. For the rest of us it is a hole to take a bogey on and rejoice.
This view of the 5th from the side shows the elevation change and the penal bunker on the right side below the green
This view of the 5th green is from the left side and also shows that it is no bargain to be in that beast of a bunker
Finally, a view of the 5th green looking backward shows how steep the approach is and it highlights the 60-foot deep valley the course was routed through
The green on the 295-yard 7th hole shows the precision required to hit the well-bunkered greens
Playing the Tree Farm was a special day for me because I got to play with one of my golfing heroes, Samm Klaparda of Los Angeles. Samm is the only woman to have played the top 100 courses in the world and she is a charming and warm person.
The par-5 13th from the tee
Derek Duncan, writing for Golf Digest, describes the Tree Farm as, "parts Pinehurst area, parts primitive Augusta National—a gorgeously secluded site full of ridges, valleys and galleries of pine accented with scrub, sand, and shades of underbrush." He captures the essence of the terrain perfectly.
The thirteenth begins my favorite stretch of holes. It is a U shaped 550-yard par five that plays around a stand of trees. The fairway is elevated above the native sandy and scrub area on the right. Although the fairway is generous from tee to green, that sandy-scrubby area is a magnet for balls because the routing of the hole temps the golfer to continually try and cut corners in the search for a shorter path to the green. The green itself is no bargain, sloping from back to front. The first day I played there was an illegal pin placement seven feet off the front of the green, making putting down the hill a terror. It's a hole you can't wait to play again.
The 13th from below. A place many golfers will become familiar with. My low handicap host seen in the image.
The 13th hole approach shot
The course reminded me a bit of Westchester Country Club because there are many shots you have to hit over ravines to reach greens, and because of the generally very hilly nature of the course. Although I would say throughout the two days I was there the course that kept coming to mind was Friar's Head. This is for three reasons: 1) It is a "big" course, requiring big shots throughout the day; There are no shots that you look back on and say, "boy, that was easy." 2) The sandy areas are very similar; 3) The similarity of how it was skillfully routed in the hills.
The 16th from the tee
If I had to pick a favorite hole it would be the 540-yard par five sixteenth. Not only is it my favorite, it is one of the best golf holes anywhere in the world, and is a real roller coaster. The adventure begins with the tee shot. The fairway looks generous, but it is a sharp hill that repels balls to the right. The heart sinks when you see what you thought was a well-struck tee shot begin to bound down the hill into the mammoth, unforgiving, DEEP bunker. Ok moron, the reader thinks, so just aim left. The problem with that is that if you strike the ball well it runs through the fairway into those trees. Net-net, you have to pick the perfect line to have the ball clear the hill and stay there. By doing so, the golfer is rewarded with a ball that rolls another 50-60 yards down the hill. A good start. But wait. More to come.
The large hollow on the 16th
The second shot has to be played over a large hollow with a small collection area running across the fairway. After the collection area the hole rises again and dog-legs to the left, so shots that aren't hit perfectly have a tendency to lose steam and roll back down.
The 16th features a blind approach to the green
The third shot on the hole is the most enjoyable of the day. It is a blind shots to a massive punch bowl green. After the difficulty of the first two shots, it is nice to have a shot that plays to a forgiving green where balls tend to bounce toward the flag. It is a perfect sequence of hard-hard-easy. Challenging and enjoyable at the same time.
This image shows the 16th's punch bowl green, looking backward from above the hole, back down the twisting fairway
Another view of the 16th green, seen from above
The 135-yard 17th hole from the tee
The par-3 17th was also a favorite. It reminded me of the 12th at Augusta National. On the surface it wouldn't appear to have any similarities. There is no creek or water in front of the green and no azaleas behind. What it does have, however, is a skinny green set at a 45 degree angle to the tee box, making the effective landing area to hit and hold the green quite small. And it has a large bunker set ten feet below the putting surface protecting the front. Balls hit long leave a difficult chip. It's a real cracker.
The Tree Farm has a lot of long par fours, of particular note for their difficulty are the eleventh and twelfth. The course also offers more than a handful of blind shots. I found it to be an easy start, a difficult middle and a relatively easy finish (providing you can get through the 16th unscathed.) The course also has many elevated greens. Not elevated in the sense that the architects moved land to elevate the greens. Elevated in the sense that they are situated at the tops of hills.
As a self identified golf snob, the Tree Farm is my kind of course. There were only six groups on property the first day I played, and only four the following day. This was in mid-October when the conditions were ideal. No doubt this will change once the clubhouse and cabins are done, but given the club's ethos of fast play with caddies accompanying each group, it is likely to remain a prized destination for the golf connoisseur.
The image below is of the "Tree Monster," the club's alternate logo. The monster is pictured on a separate scorecard for those with the skill and wherewithal to play a course of 7,310 yards with a rating of 75.1 and a slope of 138. The monster is also on the bag tag guests receive.
The tree monster scorecard - 7,310 yards
Sometimes golf gearheads get all worked up over nothing, hyping a course that turns out to be a disappointment. That is not the case at the Tree Farm. It is worthy of all the praise.
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