Ever since I caught the golf bug last summer, I’ve had my eye on the course, but never made the trip.

A week ago, the club celebrated its 100th season with a Roaring 20s-style party to commemorate its opening in April 1924, so it was a perfect time for me to write a story about it this week.

Unfortunately, I am a poor planner and decided to make the 50-minute drive from Jamestown on a Friday when the area was experiencing monsoon weather. However, the course did not disappoint despite the gloomy weather.

I know my photos don’t do the course justice, but when you reach the parking lot off NY-39 the window shopping begins and even from the road you can see that high level golf can be played on the holes leading from the front 9, which happen to be numbers 8 and 9, back to the clubhouse.

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

I left the golf clubs in the car but took my camera and an umbrella to tour the course, and ended up cursing Mother Nature for failing to make a fool of myself by three-putting on each of the tricky greens.

To start, you have a 390-yard par 4 from the white tees on hole 1 that climbs and descends through the hills, but the real fun starts on hole 2. On paper, the 430-yard par 5, the only par 5 of the first 9 holes, seems to be the hole to score on.

Then you have to actually play it.

Your tee shot goes back and to the right of the opening hole and you hit where you came from, over the hill and into the valley, finally seeing the green. A precise shot with elevation is needed to get ahead and small mistakes can get you in trouble.

The few people I have been able to teach about golf know that I love elevated greens that are protected by bunkers or water and that require some precision to get to. No. 2 was just the first of several greens that are difficult to get to and require some skill in putting.

The view from the tee box on No. 9. PJ photo by Christian Storms

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

The first is the 247 yard hole #4 from the whites, but you can’t just hit it, you really have to pick your spots or you can kiss the ball goodbye. There are three different water hazards on hole #4, the best option would be to hit it onto the green if you think you have the distance or lay up to the second fairway before hitting it onto the green.

No. 5 is considered the most difficult hole on the entire course, but the red tees are 366 yards behind the white holes and require a flight over the first hill before heading up and down to a green guarded by two bunkers at the front.

Each hole of the first 9 needs to be said, but my favorites are the ones at the end that I had my sights set on as I drove to the parking lot. No. 8 is another shorter par 4 at 294 yards from the whites where you have to stay straight and avoid the trees on the right side downhill before shooting onto the bunkered green in front.

The way home is then the 284-metre number 9, which you start downhill again with a dogleg to the right, but once you pass the bridge it’s uphill until you arrive home on a sloping green.

The view of the green from tee box No. 4 with three water hazards at Tri-County Country Club in Forestville. PJ photo by Christian Storms

The back 9 are a little longer at 3,357 yards from the whites and 3,482 yards at the tips.

Again, there is only one par 3 and one par 5 on the back 9 holes, and the shorter of these is the first at No. 11. While No. 3 was only 150 meters downhill from the white, No. 11 is 150 meters uphill from the white, with bunkers on the sides of a long green.

At 546 yards from the white and 580 yards from the tips, hole #15 is the longest hole on the course, but you have more room to fight your way to the green.

After the long journey to No. 15, these are now my favorite holes on the back 9 in a row.

Hole #16 is considered the easiest hole on the course, which is probably why it caught my eye, but if you’re a left-handed slicing player, I wish you luck. The 294-yard dogleg right is a right-handed slicer’s dream. I can just picture myself hitting a shot straight off the tee and it landing exactly where I want it. Those who dare could try to clear the trees and hit straight onto the green, but the safe bet is to try to hit the fairway and then go up and down to catch a birdie.

The straight view from the tee box to the pin on No. 16. PJ photo by Christian Storms

Jake Eckley, the first assistant PGA golf professional at Tri-County Country Club, told me I would like No. 17, and he was absolutely right. The second hardest hole and the hardest of the back 9, No. 17 is 415 yards and heads downhill before reaching a green with a significant slope, with trees in the background and the beach in front left.

The quality of the layout was not surprising when Daniel Rettig, head golf professional at Tri-County Country Club, showed me a letter from AW Tillinghast dated August 27, 1935. In the letter, Tillinghast writes to the president of the Professional Golfers’ Association about his consulting with Tri-County Country Club at the request of PGA member Howard Swanson.

Tillinghast mentions a few small facts about the TCCC in 1935 in the letter, such as that there were 75 members who paid dues of $22 per year and the club earned about $3,000 per year, which paid the pro’s salary and two groundskeepers. Importantly, however, Tillinghast decided that the club needed new greens rather than rehabilitating the old ones, which he said were a mass of chickweed and clover. In addition, he changed the plan of the course, keeping most of the fairways and choosing new locations for the greens.

For those who don’t know, Tillinghast has worked on over 265 golf courses over the course of his life, including as a consultant to Bethpage Black, both courses at Winged Foot Golf Club on Long Island, and the San Francisco Golf Club.

I’ve spent more money and driven further at courses half as nice, like Tri-County Country Club. At $55 for the full 18 holes with a cart, I’d say you should take on the challenge whether you make the 67-minute drive from Warren, the 50-minute drive from Jamestown, or the 20-minute drive from Dunkirk.

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