Monroe Country Club – Played March 2020
- Rankings: None of my four lists
- Location: 1680 Pageland Highway, Monroe, North Carolina
- Year: 1936
- Original Architect: Donald Ross
- Additional Work By: Tom Jackson & Rich Mandell
- Course Access: Public
- Walking Rules: Carts Available
Score Card Information:
- Blue: 6,725 yards, Par 72, 73.1 Rating/132 Slope
- White: 6,276 yards, Par 72, 70.8 Rating/127 Slope
- Gold: 5,798 yards, Par 72, 67.9 Rating/123 Slope
- Red: 4,807 yards, Par 72, 68.2 Rating/117 Slope
You may be looking at the month I played Monroe Country Club above and have some questions. This was a get together right at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. I can assure you we took all the necessary precautions here. We were walking, didn’t shake hands, and socially distanced as advised.
Since this day, I took about a month and a half break from playing. I’ve gotten back out more but I am still taking precautions. I never thought I’d always have hand sanitizer in my bag, but I do now!
The generation of this event came from the No Laying Up message board called The Refuge. I always like to get together with the people from the board and play some golf. There’s a multitude of great people on the site and it’s fun to get to know other golf nuts.
Monroe Country Club features a front nine designed by Donald Ross in 1936 and a back nine designed by Tom Jackson in 1980. You can definitely tell a difference between the two sides but I think it gives the course a good variety.
Since I was enjoying the day with new friends, I didn’t take as many pictures as I usually would. However, I got enough to give you an idea of the course style. Let’s get into the tour of Monroe Country Club.
Hole 2 – 140 yards – Par 3
For reference on the distances listed, we played the white tees. This little hole can be tricky if you miss left. The green is not the biggest target and like many Ross greens, there is plenty of slope.
Hole 3 – 328 yards – Par 4
You can use less than driver here but the real challenge comes around the green. It is mega-sloped and has a menacing bunker on the left side. I dumped one in there and it was downhill from there!
Hole 4 – 447 yards – Par 5
I didn’t look at the scorecard and legitimately thought this was a long par four. I was pleasantly surprised to learn otherwise.
The landing area will launch your drive forward but the approach plays uphill to the angled green. Anything missing the green will result in tricky chips.
Hole 6 – 456 yards – Par 5
A good drive here can set you up with a great chance at birdie. The hole is straight but you must avoid the fairway bunkers on the left.
Hole 7 – 395 yards – Par 4
The shape of this hole calls for a draw from the tee. The further left you can be in the fairway, the better angle you will have.
Hole 8 – 394 yards – Par 4
I hit a poor drive here and had a long way in. I ended up in the bunker you see below and almost scraped out a par. Oh well!
Hole 9 – 185 yards – Par 3
I probably made my best swing of the day here with a long iron. I was able to put my tee shot to a few feet and convert the birdie putt.
Hole 10 – 407 yards – Par 4
On the back nine, we get into a different architectural style. What you see is what you get here.
Hole 11 – 167 yards – Par 3
I grew up playing a Tom Jackson course and this hole reminded me of that. With a mid-iron, you’re just trying to avoid the bunker.
Hole 12 – 471 yards – Par 5
This one is fairly wide open and is straight as an arrow. You can unload on the driver here.
I had a chance for a big bird with a short putt but couldn’t get it to drop!
Hole 14 – 388 yards – Par 4
With trouble down the left, finding the fairway is the primary concern here. A good drive can leave a short approach into the large green.
Hole 15 – 347 yards – Par 4
This hole doglegs right and then goes uphill dramatically as you can see below.
Hole 16 – 180 yards – Par 3
You don’t want to miss long on this par three. A safe shot into the middle of the green is just fine.
Hole 18 – 535 yards – Par 5
The preferred line on this tee shot is up the right side. With the length, you want to hit it as far as you can. On most days, this is a three-shot hole for me.
Monroe Country Club was a really fun course! I think we paid around $40 which was a great value for early spring. As you can see, the fairways were still coming out of dormancy. The greens were rolling nice and smooth though. Couple that with great company as it was an awesome day!