CCR organized golf on its East Avenue property in 1895, initially over a rudimentary nine whose holes carried descriptive names in the British fashion. Contemporary club histories describe this early layout as “primitive,” revised and expanded multiple times as membership and play grew. A detailed bicentennial history compiled from club records notes that Donald Ross visited in spring 1912 at the club’s invitation “to design a new course on the same grounds,” and the following season (1913) he submitted a blueprint for a reorganized 18-hole plan. This early plan was not the end of his involvement. Club history further records that Ross returned in 1931 to create a new design that was “essentially the course we play today,” indicating a second and more comprehensive phase that refined or replaced earlier work and fixed many of the present-day corridors and green sites.
Subsequent evolutions layered onto that Ross framework. In 1960, Robert Trent Jones, Sr.—a Rochester native who had caddied locally—was commissioned to insert three new holes (now the 5th–7th), a change that altered the sequence but left the majority of Ross routing intact. In later decades Arthur Hills was engaged for refinements (the club acknowledges his role, though published records do not specify dates or scope). In 2004, Gil Hanse led a Master Plan restoration, recapturing original bunker forms and edges, reclaiming green perimeters, and reopening ground-game avenues that had narrowed since Ross’s era. The club credits this Hanse work with returning much of the course’s classical look and feel.
The club’s professional lineage intersects directly with these design phases. Walter Hagen, appointed assistant professional in 1912 and soon head professional, worked at CCR while the 1913 Ross plan was being implemented—an intersection of personalities that shaped the club’s early reputation and tournament ambitions.
Evidence base: the club’s official history pages and a century-history pamphlet record the 1912 visit, 1913 plan, 1931 redesign, the 1960 Jones holes, and the 2004 Hanse restoration; the 1912–13 Hagen appointments appear in the same archival summary.
Unique Design Characteristics
Ross’s hand is clearest on holes outside the Jones trio (5–7). The short par-4 3rd (“Elmwood Hill”) rises to a perched green where only the top of the flag is visible from the fairway; flanking bunkers at the right-front and left protect a surface that punishes approaches played above the hole. The downhill par-3 4th (“Overlook”) demands an exacting carry over a creek roughly 25 yards short to a green framed by deep left- and right-side bunkers—an early-round shot that, in both line and topography, matches Ross’s propensity for using modest landforms to extract precise ball-striking.
Water appears strategically rather than decoratively. Buckland Creek introduces true risk–reward at the par-5 2nd (“Buckland Burn”), where an aggressive second must clear the creek and navigate bunkers that pinch the entry, while the 11th (“Break Beware”) re-crosses the stream before asking for an accurate approach to a left-to-right sloping green shielded by a large left bunker and two small right bunkers. These holes use the property’s natural drainage to create diagonal hazards and angle-dependent carries without resorting to artificial water features.
On the inward nine, the 16th (“Gem”) is a compact “Short”-type par three: a slightly lowered green pad encircled by four bunkers and closely mown fall-offs that require either exacting tee-shots or inventive recoveries—both central to the way many Ross short threes play today. Other greens—such as the 8th (“Ross Redux”), the 13th (“Crest”), and the 18th (“Homestead”)—exhibit the club’s restored bunkering lines and recaptured putting surfaces from the 2004 work, making front-edge run-ups viable when hole locations or wind dictate.
The Jones corridor (5–7) reads differently in elevation, green posture and scale—particularly the brawny one-shot 7th (“Waterloo”)—but later restoration work softened the visual discontinuity by refining bunker placement and improving ground access into the targets. The club’s own hole notes emphasize that these greens now accept running approaches despite being slightly more elevated than typical Ross targets elsewhere on the course.
Taken together, the clearest surviving examples of Ross intent are the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 8th, 13th, 16th and 18th, where original corridors, creek diagonals, and green-to-bunker relationships are documented, named, and—in many cases—explicitly referenced by the club’s own materials.
Historical Significance
CCR sits at a notable junction in Ross’s northern work: an early 1913 plan followed by a 1931 redesign that, according to club history, largely defines the modern course. This second visit places CCR among the facilities where Ross returned to re-author or update his own work as golf technology and maintenance practices evolved between the wars. The presence of Walter Hagen on the professional staff during the formative 1912–13 period adds cultural weight; Hagen’s subsequent championship career was often linked back to Rochester, and CCR preserves his legacy in on-site displays.
Tournament history reinforces the course’s competitive pedigree. The club hosted the 1953 U.S. Women’s Open—the first played under formal USGA sanction—won by Babe Didrikson Zaharias, and the 1973 U.S. Women’s Open, amid other USGA competitions (notably the 1962 U.S. Women’s Amateur). These events chart the course’s capacity to test elite players across multiple eras, and they frame how later renovations sought to balance member play with championship standards.
Current Condition / Integrity
By the club’s account and independent write-ups, the bulk of the routing and green sites—aside from the 1960 Jones trilogy—remain Ross-derived, with the 2004 Gil Hanse Master Plan focused on restoring lost edges and hazard language rather than imposing new shapes. The club’s present course description highlights classic strategic characteristics on 1–4, the Buckland Creek usages at 2 and 11, the uphill challenge at 14, the nuanced par-5 15th, and the short 16th, all consistent with a Ross framework that depends on angle control, contour-aware approach play and short-game variety.
Integrity is high where tree management has reopened intended sightlines and ground options (a stated outcome of the 2004 work). The Jones 5th–7th remain distinguishable in green elevation and corridor geometry, but their hazards were refined to better harmonize with neighboring Ross holes. The club’s materials also recognize Arthur Hills for “refinements” in the modern era; absent published documentation, those changes appear incremental rather than wholesale.
Today the course plays par 70 at approximately 6,584 yards from the tips—yardage in the conservative, member-friendly range for a classical northeastern club—yet maintains tournament credentials through its green complexes, creek-angle hazards and restored bunkering. The property’s Buckland Creek corridor, used sparingly but decisively, remains a defining four-hole influence.
Sources & Notes
The Country Club of Rochester – “History” page. Summary of founding, early nine-hole course, Ross authorship of the present course, later work by Robert Trent Jones and Arthur Hills, and 2004 Gil Hanse Master Plan; lists USGA events (1953 & 1973 U.S. Women’s Open; 1962 U.S. Women’s Amateur).
Paul Wold, “Rochester Bicentennial – A Ross Course,” club historical pamphlet (compiled from CCR records). Notes Ross’s spring 1912 visit to design a new course, the 1913 blueprint, and the continued engagement; mentions a likely Alexander Findlay upgrade to the original course in 1898; records Walter Hagen’s 1912 appointment and 1913 reappointment.
Top100GolfCourses.com – Country Club of Rochester (NY) profile. Lists par 70, 6,584 yards; states that Robert Trent Jones Sr. replaced holes 5–7 in 1960 and that the course was restored by Gil Hanse in 2004; notes that creek waters affect play on several holes and summarizes the course’s character. (Secondary directory; yardage and historical notes corroborate club materials.)
The Country Club of Rochester – “Our Golf Course” / Course Tour. Hole-by-hole descriptions used for specific features: #2 Buckland Burn (risk–reward par-5 with creek), #3 Elmwood Hill (perched green), #4 Overlook (downhill par-3 over a creek), #11 Break Beware (re-crossing Buckland Creek), #14 Stonewall, #15 Headin’ Home, #16 Gem (short par-3 with four bunkers), #18 Homestead. Also indicates presence of practice facilities and the posting of scorecard images.
USGA – Championship records. 1953 U.S. Women’s Open (first held under full USGA sanction) won by Babe Didrikson Zaharias at the Country Club of Rochester; 1973 U.S. Women’s Open also hosted by CCR; 1962 U.S. Women’s Amateur hosted at CCR. (USGA records corroborate the club’s event listings.)
GolfClubAtlas Forum – “CC of Rochester … Restorations” (2005). Contemporary discussion of the 2004 Gil Hanse restoration, noting improved bunker work and restored ground-game access, including on the Jones holes 5–7. (Anecdotal but consistent with club attribution; treated as secondary commentary.)
Disputed/Uncertain Points Needing Verification:
Alexander Findlay, 1898: The bicentennial pamphlet suggests his involvement in upgrading the early course. Arthur Hills scope/dates: The club credits Hills with later refinements but does not publish years or a scope of work.
1912 vs. 1913: The site visit (1912) and the blueprint submission (1913) appear in different club summaries; both are treated here as sequential stages (site investigation, then plan). Access to Ross correspondence or dated drawings would resolve precise sequencing.