A Tale of Two Nines: A Round at FDR Golf Club

Franklin D. Roosevelt Golf Club
Philadelphia, Pa.
Yards: 5720, Par: 69
Score: 44/49 = 93
Date: July 14, 2007

I made one of my annual trips to South Philadelphia for a round at Franklin D. Roosevelt Golf Club, another of the courses owned by the City of Philadelphia, located in the shadow of Philadelphia's stadium complex. I usually try to get a couple of rounds in at FDR each season. One of the things I particularly like about FDR is they actually have a starter at the first tee who often pairs me with another twosome or threesome, so I rarely play this track by myself. On this Saturday I was paired with another couple, Joe and Mary, and a single Ralph. Ralph is a native South Philadelphia, which he gave away by referring to FDR as "The Lakes," which it used to be called.

Saturday's round was a tale of two nines: very steady play on the front, extreme grinding on the back. The front nine at FDR is pretty straight forward golf. The only tricky hole is #4, where marshy wetlands cross the fairway about 250 yards from the tee, often creating a blind second shot. I managed to par #2, a short 265-yard Par 4 and birdied the 464-yard Par 5 3rd hole. After lost balls at and double bogeys at holes 4 and 5, then had all 5s on my scorecard throughout the rest of the front nine.

The back nine at FDR is a very different story. Hole #10 is a 418-yard Par 4 with a small canal crossing the fairway at 240 yards off the tee. The second shot then plays about 260 yards uphill to a smallish green. No wonder it is the #1 ranked hole on the course. After making a 6--I have done much, much worse on this hole in the past--I took another 6 on the 11th hole, which again crosses that small canal, this time in front of the green. My nightmare happened at #12, a 384-yard Par 4 that plays straightway. I hit three---yes, three!--balls out of bounds and when I finally tapped in, I had an 11 of the card. Not exactly the start I looking for on the back nine. Suddenly, this round was looking like it was going to be a disaster!

At #13, FDR really bares its teeth:

Hole #13: Although it is listed at 153 yards on the scorecard, the hole usually plays around 125-130 yards and there always seems to be wind. The green is deceiving as it sits behind a very large bunker and a swale of about 15 yards. The green itself slopes from left to right and away from the tee. I tried to knockdown an 8-iron from 129 yards, but left it short in the swale. I chipped to six feet and made my par putt.

Hole #14: A 376-yard sharp dogleg left that has a grove of trees on the left and out-of-bounds on the right. A tee shot of at least 225 yards is required to have an open look at the green, which sits atop a small plateau and slopes from front to back. After hitting the trees on the left, I had to pitch out and then knocked my pitching wedge on the green from 118 yards. Two putts and a very grateful 5.

Hole #15: This Par 4 is only 370 yards, but the sharp dogleg right plays extremely uphill from just inside 150 yards to a green that is well protected by bunkers on the right. If you don't get your tee shot out far enough, the second shot is blind. I hit my 19 degree hybrid off the tee and hit the 150-yard marker. My blind second shot was pushed right, hit and tree and was out in the 16th fairway. Although I had a look at the green between two trees, I half-skulled my pitch to the other side of the green and then chilli-dipped my fourth shot. I finally chipped on and made a 25-foot putt for a 6.

Hole #16: A 362-yard sharp dogleg right in which the fairway slopes from left to right and the second shot plays slightly uphill. Since I typically hit a draw, this is one of the hardest driving holes at FDR for me. I decided to try and hit a fade, which didn't cut quite enough and hit the trees on the opposite side of the fairway where the dogleg begins. I did have an opening to punch the ball up the fairway to at just outside 100 yards, they hit my gap wedge to about 20 feet left of the pin. Two putts and another grateful 5.

Hole #17: A long, 192-yard Par 3 that plays downhill to a rough green that is guarded by the cartpath on the left and large willow tree on the front right. The tees were up and it was playing at 182 yards, so I hit my 4 hybrid, which the wind knocked down just short of the green. I chipped four feet past the hole and made the putt for par.

Hole #18: The closing hole is a straight-away, 283-yard Par 4 that has a wide fairway lined with trees up both sides. The green is protected by bunkers front and back on the left side. I hooked a 4-wood--the wind was blowing right to left--in the trees, but I had a good look at the flagstick. I pitched just short of the green, then chipped to two-feet and made par.

After starting 6, 6, 11 on the back nine, I managed to grind through the last six holes, parring three of them. Although I believe I could have done better, I pretty happy with the way I hung in there on the back and managed to salvage a 93.

By the way, FDR is one of only two city courses, Cobbs Creek is the other, that have driving ranges. FDR also has a putting green and a chipping green, so it is definitely a facility I should take more advantage of using. I hope I get down there for at least one more round before this season ends.