Seth Raynor And The Chicago Golf Club

Biarritz At Chicago Golf Club

While golf course architecture has ebbed and flowed over the last 125 years, it’s interesting how the work of the great architects such as Donald Ross, Alister MacKenzie, CB Macdonald, and Seth Raynor have stood the test of time. I am a big fan of Seth Raynor who designed the Chicago Golf Club course. Accepting the invitation of John Moran, club historian of the Chicago Golf Club, I ventured to see the recently completed renovation of the course and club house. 

“CB Macdonald built the original course in 1892,” John Moran told me. It was a traditional Scottish design with the first nine holes going out and the second nine running more or less parallel to the first nine coming in. 

“In 1918 there was a major problem with the grass and Seth Raynor was brought in to consult,” said John. Golf course design had evolved in the interim and at the urging of many, including Raynor’s mentor CB Macdonald, the course was redesigned. 

Like all club historians, love of the club and its history are infused John’s  words. “Raynor designed nearly the entire course to what it is now,” he said. “The new course incorporated a large piece of adjacent land once used as a polo field.” 

Trained as a civil engineer at Princeton, Raynor met CB Macdonald when he was hired to survey the property that was to become National Golf Links on Long Island in 1908. He so impressed Macdonald that Raynor went on to head the construction of Macdonald courses until 1914 when Raynor started out on his own. 

Both Raynor and Macdonald used a template method for golf course architecture. Macdonald believed there were only about 25 great designs for golf holes in the world. The great holes were found on courses in the British Isles. Thus on all Macdonald and Raynor courses there are template holes such as the redan, biarritz, road hole and the cape hole. 

Raynor was one of the first architects to move larger amounts of dirt to shape holes and greens. Template holes were not identical to the originals but by moving soil they could be built with a similar look. Thus a redan, a green with a high bank on the right that swings the ball into the front left of the green, looks different at each Raynor course where it is found  but has redan features. Many of Raynor’s greens have squared off corners, and are elevated with edges and swales causing the ball to tumble into deep bunkers. 

Many greens have defined sections. Thus a ball not in the section where the hole is located will have to navigate slopes down and back up or other challenges with mounds and dips.

Raynor worked relentlessly designing about 100 courses in the 11 years he was on his own. Raynor was a poor record keeper and as a result some of his works are still being discovered today. He died at age 51 of pneumonia in 1926. Some say his exhausting schedule contributed to his early death.

Many Raynor designed clubs revere the man. Design features such as square greens are meticulously kept in place. At Blue Mound Country Club in Milwaukee a bust of Seth Raynor stands next to the first tee. 

Chicago Golf Club has always worked to keep the original Raynor design intact. However, after over 100 years, subtle changes creep into the course. Rated as the number one course in Illinois, Chicago Golf Club recently completed a renovation of the golf course and club house. The work on the course involved restoring the Raynor designs that had been lost over the years. Bunkers that had been removed were put back in place. The already large greens have been restored to original design and the fairways widened. 

“I talked to a shaper working on the bunkers asking him how he knew exactly where to put a bunker back in,” said John Moran. “‘Seth Raynor put down cinders to outline a bunker he wanted,’” the machine operator told him. “‘I just dig until I find the cinders and follow them around.’” 

Raynor designed wide fairways, generally 60 yards or more. However he always had positions on the fairway that presented an optimum approach to the green. Perhaps there would be a bunker fronting a narrow portion of the green or mounding on the green that makes it difficult to keep the ball on the green when approaching from certain positions.

Bluegrass rough has been removed from around all bunkers and replaced with bent grass. Thus a ball rolling toward any bunker will not catch in front of it.  On nearly all greens the ball will roll off the edge with few shoulders to keep a ball on the green. It appears to be a maintenance mowing challenge, but somehow the staff gets it done. 

There are few trees on the course making way for wonderful vistas across many fairways. Gazing out from the first tee I imagined golfers in the 1920s and 1930s playing with hickory shafted clubs, walking with a caddie on a bluebird day just like I am experiencing.  

Wispy fescue grows outside the rough line. The tall golden brown grass swaying in the breeze is well suited to the sandy soil. A ball finding the fescue can generally be found and played back toward the fairway. The fescue is the best I have seen in the Midwest. The sandy soil keeps it from becoming gnarly and thick.

The ribbons of green fairway have a hint of brown announcing that they are firm and running. 

While the course looks flat, it’s an illusion. The holes move gently up and down long slopes. When combined with the false fronts and elevated greens, selecting the correct club is challenging. 

Great old courses such as Chicago Golf Club, Seminole and Pine Valley have wide fairways with challenging green complexes. Architecture over the decades had fairways becoming narrow, down to under 30 yards wide. The trend now is back to wide fairways and challenging greens, just like the great courses of the past. They have stood the test of time. Chicago Golf Club has stood the test of time and stands near the top of my list of favorite courses. 

Following our round we toured the newly remodeled clubhouse. Reclaiming the history at golf clubs has become a popular undertaking. Identifying, duplicating, reframing and displaying the collected pieces is a major project. John Moran has done that at Chicago Golf Club. Photos of the many USGA events, along with evolution of the club itself have been organized and displayed.  

It’s an interesting old building, white with a red roof, standing three stories tall. It contains four sleeping rooms on the third floor, one once occupied by Chick Evans, winner of the 1916 US Open at Minikahda in Minneapolis. The lore of Chick Evans lives on at the Chicago Golf Club. Fire regulations no longer allow the rooms for living. 

Chicago Golf Club was one of the five founding members of the United States Golf Association and early host to four US Open Championships. The displays are a fascinating walk though nearly 130 years of golf at Chicago Golf Club. As one of the first clubs in the country, the feel is Scottish from the architecture of the course to the nearby rail line which brought members out from the city, as it did in Scotland. 

Playing Chicago Golf Club is a special experience. The challenging golf course is true to the distinctive Seth Raynor design. The members honor the history of their club.  I feel privileged to play the Chicago Golf Club in A Life in Golf.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Seth Raynor