Temple Terrace G&CC - Course Critique

If we took a poll asking our members to name their favorite courses, what do you think would top the list? I'm guessing Southern Hills, The Ritz MC, and maybe ChampionsGate CC? Lakewood National perhaps? Conditions would obviously play a big part in the responses, but all of those are wide open off the tee with large and interesting green complexes.

In an effort to get more people thinking about WHY they like certain courses, I'm going to hop on the "Golf Architecture Resurgence" bandwagon from time to time, talking about the courses we play. I honestly feel our 20+ handicappers would instantly improve if they thought more about strategy and course management. Golf is a good walk (spoiled) through a park, and should be viewed as a maze needed to be traversed, instead of a straight path on which you whack your balls. Sadly, American courses usually dictate the path you must play.

And that's what is a little disappointing about Temple Terrace G&CC. During the past 96 years, tree over-growth and green shrinkage now force you to play mindless golf. Many holes aren't wide enough to allow a curved tee shot. You can also find the fairway on 12, 13 or 14 and STILL have overhanging oak trees blocking your approach to the tiny greens. Literally (not figuratively) every hole is protected by front bunkers on both sides, so the angle from which you approach the green does not matter. If you don't have a short iron in your hand, you'd better thread the ball through the narrow strip of grass in the front. Quail Hollow (RIP) also had this problem.

But was this always the case at Temple Terrace G&CC? It was built by Tom Bendelow in 1922, an architect who was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, and constructed over 600 courses in 35 years (mostly in America). Some of his designs include The Country Club of Orlando, East Lake Golf Club, Medinah (#1, #2 and #3), and Palma Ceia. Most of those have been re-designed by architects like Donald Ross and Tom Doak.

Bendelow helped lay the foundation of American golf. But the Scotsman didn't come over here and build narrow tree-lined tracks. That style of golf was offensive to the old guard. So let's compare some imagery of Temple Terrace G&CC from 1950 and 2017. Keep in mind, the 1950 images were taken 28 years after the course was constructed!

Front Nine:


Hole #1 is on the far right of the image ( North --> ). You'll see in 1950 it was a par 5, with the tee box sitting where the clubhouse is today. The scale of the images isn't quite perfect, but the comparison does a great job showing 67 years of allowing trees to overtake a course. Take a trip counter-clockwise around the front nine. Trees now vastly encroach on both sides of every fairway. The changes in width to #5 and #6 offend my sensibilities. And Bendelow's design usually had one side of the green open, allowing pitch shots to be used.

Back Nine:


Hole #10 is at the bottom left ( North ^ ). While I've already complained about 12 through 14... look at #16 and #18. Both are sharp doglegs which require a lay-up or a Gary-hook. In 1950, however, the trees were absent along the road, with fairways widened allowing you the option to take on OB without leaving a punch-out 2nd shot. Basically, you weren't punished for hitting a good ball off the tee, but were vastly rewarded if you could bend it from right to left.

Today, Temple Terrace G&CC has money and membership issues, so none of my analysis is of any help to them. But I'd argue that the loss of original course strategy plays a part in declining membership over the past century. The layout is a complete grind, which makes a hard sell to potential members who don't live in the neighborhood. Nobody plays it and says: "That was fun! I want to play here 20+ times a year!"

They can brag about being "one of the oldest private courses in Central Florida" and "the only 18-hole course on Florida's National Register of Historic Places." But those distinctions imply a historical value that honestly no longer remains. Tom Bendelow would not recognize nor be thrilled about the current layout. And we're only playing a shell of a classic-era design.

Chandler's Fix:
Because I'm a self-proclaimed expert on fixing all problems you didn't know you had, here's what I would do with an unlimited budget and no government regulations (these basically apply to every course on the planet):

1) Oak tree removal and trimming. I'm sure the city of Temple Terrace has laws in place making this difficult. But there are many smaller oaks, that are not 50+ years old or "grand" status, that can be cut down tomorrow. Stop the problem before it gets worse. Trim back any and all limbs overhanging existing fairways. All the tee boxes without grass (#4 is offensive) is due to lack of sunlight, and those nearby trees need to go. Trees on the edge of roads serve as protection for the community, but the inner rows should be drastically thinned and fairways expanded.

2) Bunker removal and reshaping. Their average member is an elderly player who doesn't have a high ball flight. Allow the return of bump-and-run shots by removing a few greenside bunkers. Go ahead and reshape the ones that remain, making a clear spot to avoid which also protects certain pin locations.

3) Green reshaping. They should have done this when they re-sodded the greens a couple of years ago. Expand and make them more interesting. Perhaps build a few template greens like a biarritz, redan or punch-bowl. Some of the green sizes today are laughable. If done correctly, larger greens are not necessarily easier for good players (ie: Shinnecock).

The Winter Park Golf Course outside of Orlando recently did all of these things to their 9-hole municipal last year, and it re-opened up with rave reviews across the country. In just their first year after the renovation, they turned a profit for the first time in decades. Many cities are now studying what they did in hopes of replication. I'm going to go check it out during one of our off weeks if anyone wants to make the trip.

It's always bothered me that Tampa really doesn't have any "great" courses within the immediate city and suburbs. And I know I just wrote 1,000+ words seemingly shitting on Temple Terrace... but it's a nice course that could be vastly improved. Membership was also very pleasant to us on Sunday, so I'm rooting for them.