Signature Hole
Go to the Scorecard to view original 1923 Donald Ross blue prints.
14th Hole
Picking a signature hole at Monroe Golf Club is a difficult task as there are so many fantastic holes and no weak holes on the course. Over the years most members have considered the 14th hole as Monroe’s finest due in large part to the 100’ + red oak tree guarding the right side. The magnificent tree makes playing the hole from the right side a daunting task. Several years ago a number of scotch pines were removed from the left side of the hole revealing another spectacular oak tree – this time a black oak. John Purcell, a long time Monroe member and former Club President, brought in the New York Historical Tree Preservation Association to evaluate the tree. In 2004 the tree was named the Black Oak Tree of the Year. The black oak is tall and extremely wide with limbs stretching out 50’ and more. The hole sweeps gently right and back to the left for the second shot. The green is set amongst another set of towering oaks that overhang the green on both sides requiring an extremely accurate second shot in order to reach the putting surface. An elevated approach to the green and a severe slope from left to right make pitching and putting a true test on this long and beautiful par four. The 14th is a great test for both tournament and member play.
13th Hole
Many Golf Course Architects have visited Monroe over the years. Most of these experts consider the 13th hole to be one of the finest examples of a “horizon” green amongst Donald Ross’s innumerable great par three holes. They concur that Mr. Ross just laid the green out on top of the ridge that was already present and cut five “deep pits” into the green surrounds.
Monroe Invitational Championship players have had the most difficulty with the Monroe's 13th hole over the 70 year history of the amateur tournament. Shots not reaching the putting surface on the fly spin all the way back down the steep, closely mown approach leaving an awkward lob shot back up the hill. This hole seems to draw shots to the front, right green side bunker and gnarly rough adjacent to the right side of the putting surface. Right is dead - few players get it up and down from here, especially if the hole is cut near the crest of a severely sloped false front. The green has been expanded both right and left adding more difficult hole locations.
A Case for the Finishing Holes as Candidates for Monroe’s Signature Hole
Number 15 - Par 4
Donald Ross and God teamed up to give us one of golf's most natural looking holes. A classic par 4 which gently works its way between pines both, left, right and uphill past bunker-faced ridges. The bunker on the right has been moved out to 270 yards. A new pot bunker has been added in the left side of the fairway further narrowing the landing area. The elevated and smallish sized green sits like a crown jewel amid a backdrop of Monroe's tallest white pines.
Number 16 - Par 3
Each par 3 at Monroe can be curiously troublesome and #16 is no exception. A player trying to finish a good round must play solidly here. The wind typically
is in your face and to the left. Shots landing short pull back all the way down the steep approach to the green. A large bunker right gets its fair share of play as does the rough left of the green. The green is severely sloped and one of Monroe's quickest.
Number 18 - Par 4
Buckle your seat belts for a bumpy ride. The finishing hole is the longest par four on the course and cer
tainly the most difficult. The uphill tee shot almost always plays into the wind and the rough is as thick as anyplace on the course. A new pot bunker has been added on the right, tight against the fairway. Also, a bunker at 280 yards on the left has seen a lot of action in past MIC tournaments. The second shot is played from an awkward uphill-sidehill lie to a two tiered green over 100 feet in length. Donald Ross was noted for his contoured greens and mounded approaches which he explains “makes possible an infinite variety of nasty short shots that no other form of hazard can call for.” A two tiered green, a swale that runs diagonally through the middle of the green, bunkers left and long and a combination of gentle and severe mounding at every turn make the 18th green at Monroe a Ross classic.