TCCC Is Worth The Trip For Golfers From All Over

Since I caught the golf bug last summer I have had my eyes on the course, but just never committed to making the trip.

A week ago the club celebrated its 100th season with a Roaring 20s themed party to commemorate the opening in April of 1924, so it lined up perfectly for me to follow up this week for a story.

Unfortunately, I am a poor planner and decided to make the 50 minute drive from Jamestown on Friday when there was a monsoon in the area. However, the course did not disappoint even with the dismal weather.

I know my photos of the course will not do it justice, but as you arrive to the parking lot along NY-39 the window shopping begins and just from the road you can tell there is high quality golf to be had on the holes leading back to the clubhouse from the front 9 which happened to be Nos. 8 and 9.

Pictured is the view from the back of the green on No. 2 at Tri-County Country Club in Forestville.
P-J photo by Christian Storms

I kept the golf clubs in the car, but brought my camera and an umbrella to tour the course and by the end I was cursing mother nature that I was unable to make a fool of myself three-putting each of the tricky greens.

Getting started on No. 1 you have a 424-yard par 4 from the white tees in which you go up and down through the hills, but then the real fun begins on No. 2. On the only par 5 of the front 9, the 484-yard par 5 on paper seems to be the hole to score on.

Then you have to actually play it.

Your tee shot is back and to the right of the opening hole and you hit where you came from, going over the hill into the valley and you finally will have the green in sight. It takes a precise shot with elevation to get on and minor errors will have you in trouble.

For the few I have been able to chew on the ear of about golf, they will know that I love an elevated green which is guarded by bunkers or water and takes some accuracy to get on. No. 2 was just the first of several greens that are difficult to reach and then will be followed by some skilled putting.

The view from the tee box on No. 9.
P-J photo by Christian Storms

The par 5 is followed by the only par 3 on the front 9 which is downhill anywhere from 168 to 161, 155 and 132 yards. Then it is back to par 4s, but the shorter front 9 at 3,063 yards from the tips has several holes that appear driveable.

The first is the 247-yard No. 4 from the whites, but you can’t just go slugging you really have to pick your spots or you can kiss that ball goodbye. There are three different water hazards on No. 4, the best option would be driving the green if you think you have the distance or laying up to the second fairway before shooting over to the green.

No. 5 is rated as the hardest hole on the course from all, but the red tees as it sits back 400 yards from the whites and requires flying the first hill before going up and down again to a green guarded by two bunkers on the front.

Each hole on the front 9 deserves to have something said about it, but my favorites are at the finish having had them in my sights as I drove up to the parking lot. The No. 8 is another shorter par 4 at 294 yards from the whites where you have to stay straight avoiding the trees on the right going downhill before shooting up to the green with bunkers at the front.

Then coming home is the 313-yard No. 9 which you start downhill again going in a dogleg right, but once you clear the bridge it’s uphill until you’re home on a sloped green.

The view of the green from the tee box on No. 4 that features three water hazards at Tri-County Country Club in Forestville.
P-J photo by Christian Storms

The back 9 measures out a tad bit longer at 3,357 yards from the whites and 3,482 at the tips.

Once again there is just one par 3 and par 5 on the back 9 and the shorter one comes first at No. 11. While No. 3 was all downhill at 161 yards from the white, No. 11 is 175 yards uphill from the white with bunkers on the sides of a long green.

No. 15 is the longest hole on the course at 546 yards from the white and 580 from the tips, but you have more room to work with to slug your way to the green.

After the long trek on No. 15, it is back-to-back my favorite holes on the back 9.

No. 16 is rated as the easiest hole on the course, which is probably why it caught my eye, but if you slice as a lefty all I have to say is good luck. The 294-yard dogleg right is a right-handed slicer’s dream, I can just envision ripping a shot straight ahead from the tee box and it shanking right where I want it. The daring could attempt to clear the trees and go right for the green, but a safe bet is attempting to go fairway then up and down to catch a bird.

The straight-line view from the tee box to the pin on No. 16.
P-J photo by Christian Storms

I was told by Tri-County Country Club’s First Assistant PGA Golf Professional Jake Eckley that I would love No. 17 and he was absolutely right. The second-hardest hole and hardest on the back 9, No. 17 is 415 yards away traveling down before reaching a green on a significant incline with trees in the background and the beach on the front to the left.

There is no surprise about the quality of the layout once Tri-County Country Club’s Head Golf Pro Daniel Rettig showed me a letter from A.W. Tillinghast dated August 27, 1935. In the letter, Tillinghast writes to the President of the Professional Golfers’ Association about his consultation of Tri-County Country Club on the request of PGA member Howard Swanson.

Tillinghast notes in the letter small facts about TCCC in 1935, such as membership was at 75 members with dues at $22 a year and the club made roughly $3,000 a year and that supported the professional’s salary and two groundskeepers. However, the important part is how Tillinghast decided the club needed new greens instead of rehabilitating the old ones which he said were a mass of chickweed and clover. Not only that, but he rearranged the plan of the course in which he kept most of the fairways and selected new sites for the greens.

For those that don’t know, Tillinghast worked on more than 265 golf courses in his lifetime and that includes consulting on Bethpage Black, both Winged Foot Golf Club courses on Long Island and San Francisco Golf Club.

I have spent more at courses half as nice as Tri-County Country Club and traveled farther to do so, at $55 for the full 18 with a cart I would say whether you’re making the 67 minute drive from Warren, the 50 minutes from Jamestown or the 20 minute trip from Dunkirk that you should take on the challenge.

I know I will be back and I can’t wait to see the leaves for some golf in the fall.