Four Seasons Golf & Country Club Review

Five thousand one hundred and twenty-seven yards to a par of 69 badly undersells this one. Four Seasons is cut into a valley outside Claremont, and the elevation change does all the defending that length cannot: crest-blind tee shots, approaches played into or away from slope on nearly every hole, and landing areas narrow enough that driver is frequently the wrong club off the tee. The fifth is the standout, a downhill hole where the correct line looks nothing like the obvious one.

Conditioning is steady rather than special, with greens that putt true at moderate speed and fairways that hold up through August better than most Durham courses on heavier soil. The valley setting is quietly the best thing about the place, mature trees and water with no houses in the frame. It is a hilly walk and most players take a cart. At fifty-two walking midweek it is priced like a much longer course, which is the only thing keeping the grade below an A.