Enjoy a look at Donald Ross’s design work at Whitinsville Golf Club in Whitinsville, MA by Donald Ross Society Board Member Steve MacQuarrie with a comparison to his own words found in essays from Golf Has Never Failed Me: The Lost Commentaries of Legendary Golf Architect Donald J. Ross. 

Ross: “A sandy loam is by far the best golfing soil. Brush, trees and rocks can be more readily removed, bunkers more easily dug and greens more easily built. Drainage problems are reduced to a minimum.”

MacQuarrie: “The US Department of Agriculture says that is exactly the content of Whitinsville’s soil and identifies the predominant types of sandy loam: Merrimac (39%), Montauk (22%), Scituate (6%), Canton (8%), and Whitman (5%).”

Ross: “There is no such thing as a misplaced bunker. Regardless of where a bunker may be, it is the business of the player to avoid it. Furnish a line of play on every hole that can be taken without ever having to negotiate bunker carries, but at the same time will force the player to sacrifice one or more strokes should he choose to take the easy way.”

MacQuarrie: “The risk/reward tradeoffs that Ross described are at the heart of Whitinsville’s strategic experience.”

Ross: “Do not have the line of fairway always straight from tee to green. Swing it a bit to the left or right. Zig zag the holes. Two or three consecutive holes in the same direction is far from desirable. In fact, it’s monotonous.”

MacQuarrie: “Starting at the 1^st, Ross turned his holes (the par threes excepted) to follow his own advice perfectly: left, right, left, right, right, left, right.”

Ross: “The out-of-bounds line should be carefully considered in relation to the first hole so as to avoid the possibility of an opening tee shot being played outside the club’s property as is certain to occur when out-of-bounds runs parallel and close to edge of the first fairway. It’s beastly nuisance, when starting off play and before getting limbered up, to drive a ball out-of-bounds. It generally means delay, loss of a ball, vexation and even profanity.”

MacQuarrie: “Whitinsville’s 1^st hole may still induce profanity, but Ross placed the fairway far enough from Fletcher Street that out of bounds is not the most common cause of foul language.”

Ross: “Every course should have at least one long hole. By long, I mean at least 500 yards or over. These long holes require much thought to make them attractive. Essentially, they must have natural golfing features, each one making the most of it.”

MacQuarrie: “Whitinsville’s 1^st hole fits Ross’s bill.”

Ross: “Make all the short holes difficult.”

MacQuarrie: “Whitinsville’s 2^nd hole follows this principle—the only hole on the course that requires an aerial approach, increasing the difficulty of the course’s shortest hole.”

Ross: “Do not make undulations so severe that that the stroke becomes more chance than skill.”

MacQuarrie: “The 3^rd green might be the course’s toughest. The undulations are subtle, but quite challenging.”

Ross: “When rocks are plentiful and have to be removed, they can be used in building mounds. They are not, however, always desirable in front of greens, particularly if they prove to be so high as to make the shot blind.”

MacQuarrie: “The mounds to the left of the 3^rd and 4^th holes consist of rocks removed from the fairways, a less expensive practice than hauling them away. Ross placed them where they’d impact a stray shot, but not hinder the approach.”

Ross: “The drive-and-long approach hole is a pleasing length and must have its place on every first-class layout. By this I mean one that demands a long second to the green, a hole say of 425 to 450 yards. I favor at least two holes of this length in each nine.”

MacQuarrie: “Ross’s field sketches called for a 442 yard 5th hole, the longest par four on the course. At 425 yards on his sketch, the 9th provided the second hole of his suggested length.”

Ross: “We must also provide at least one or two drive-and-pitch-length holes.”

MacQuarrie: “The 4^th and 8^th holes, at 366 and 353 yards, respectively, were Ross’s version of the drive and pitch.”

Ross: “Deep grass ravines are truly a delightful type of hazard. I lose no opportunity to use them in every possible way.”

MacQuarrie: “Imagine Ross’s delight at finding hollows to front the 7^th and 9^th greens.”

Ross: “A dogleg hole is really one of the most delightful type on any course. It affords pleasure to all classes of players. It is an easy matter to bunker it successfully. Another proposition that we are now taking advantage of is adjustable tees. This means having two or more tees for every hole.”

MacQuarrie: “The 8^th is Whitinsville’s sharpest dogleg. Ross’s field sketch called for three tee boxes. Ross expert, Brad Becken, says Ross was the first architect to employ multiple tee pads on a single hole.”

Ross: “Water hazards always lend welcome variety and test of skill to a course. Too many water hazards are not desirable, as the loss of balls becomes a serious detraction from the joys of the game. Limit the number of water hazards to three.”

MacQuarrie: “Limiting water hazards may explain why Ross chose to pipe the brook under the 1^st fairway. He would have considered liquid hazards on the 6^th, 8^th and 9^th to be enough.”

Ross: “Select your putting green locations, if possible, to give desirable undulating surfaces. Nature does this sort of thing best.”

MacQuarrie: “Ross must have made quick note of the desirability of a number of Whitinsville’s green sites. The 1st and 9th gave him two particularly fine opportunities.”

Now, the only thing left for you to do is to come see it for yourself!