Congressional Country Club: Blue
Bethesda, MD • Private
James Lewis
James Lewis
James Lewis
James Lewis
James Lewis
James Lewis
James Lewis
Overview
Congressional's Blue Course had been an icon of traditional American parkland golf since the 1964 U.S. Open. Prior to that event, Robert Trent Jones combined nine remodeled Devereux Emmet holes with nine new ones of his own to create the modern Blue, and those holes were remodeled and reshaped several times by son Rees Jones for the 1997 and 2011 Opens. All the while, the trees around them matured, creating dense, shadowy corridors of wood. Drainage issues and declining course conditions motivated the membership to considier a major overhaul in 2020, and that's what they received when architect Andrew Green reimagined the course as somethiing that Emmet might have originally designed, denuding the property of its forests and creating broad, rollicking fairways that tumble through meadows of long fescue punctuated by fearsome bunkers and bold, segmented greens. Parkland golf Congressional is no more, and the remodel, which included a new, drop-shot par-3 10th hole, earned the course our Best Transformation award for 2021 and a jump of 18 spots in the 100 Greatest ranking.
About
Awards
100 Greatest: Ranked since 1966.
2023-'24 ranking: 73rd.
Previous ranking: 91st.
Highest ranking: No. 50, 1985-'86.
Best in State: Ranked first, 1985, 1993, and since 2005. Ranked inside the top 5 since 1977.
Current ranking: First
Panelists
Ratings from our panel of 1,900 course-ranking panelists
100 GREATEST/BEST IN STATE SCORES
Shot Options
Character
Challenge
Layout Variety
Fun
Aesthetics
Conditioning
Reviews
Review
“Fantastic renovation by Andrew Green. The front nine used to be inferior to the back, but both are equally great now. Four great par 3's, highlighted by #2. Also, a good mix of short and long par 4s. Very walkable and the removal of trees really opens up the views. Strong finishing stretch with two demanding par 4s in 17 and 18."
Read More2022
Review
“The course is quite expansive to the plain eye and appears to be wide open with nearly 1000 trees removed from the area off the fairway known as the rough. Few times when playing from the rough will you have tree trouble and with the exception of the 4 inch thick rough that will without a doubt grab your club face you will not have trouble getting back to the fairway on par 5’s and on many par 4’s can still go for the green. Nearly every par 4 and 5 on the course required you to navigate bunkers on both sides of the fairway at landing zone distances. If you look at the 395 yard par 4 hole #1 you have a left side bunker at 240-260 yards and a right side bunker that measures 280-305 yards. The same is repeated on the Par 4 440 yard hole #3 with a left side bunker at 284-295 yards and a right side bunker at 280-307 yard distance. This is once again repeated on the 605 yard par 5 9th hole with left side bunkers 262-293 yards and right side bunkers 287-307 yards and there are many more examples of bunkering in the landing areas. There are numerous holes that you have a blind shot into the green even when hitting from the fairway. If you look at the par 5 hole #6 you can hit a great tee shot in the fairway with thoughts of going for it in two but when you get to your ball you realize you can not see the green. When you walk ahead to get a target line you see that the green is surrounded by trouble with 4 bunkers short left and water covering the entire right side of the green making you think about club selection to go for it or lay up as well ball flight depending on conditions. The greens are very fair with numerous flat landing areas for safe wedge shots. All greens are reasonably large and have a good bit of undulation that can making putting treacherous depending on pin location."
Read More2021
Review
“Redesign of the classic Blue course. Still a very playable course with only a few forced carries and hazards that cannot be negotiated around. Still long in yardage, but definitely not a round that one would be losing a lot of balls on. The change to hole 10 is welcomed and adds to the flow of the round. The addition of many new bunkers, as well as a small hazard left of the fairway on 18 adds to decision making, both on the tee and for your approach. Options for play have increased, as exemplified by the tee shot on 1 - Challenge the bunker on the left to better the approach angle or play safer toward the bunkers on the right which leaves a more challenging approach. Another is the 17th where if one can carry the fairway bunker, they can take advantage of a huge down slope and shorten the hole considerably. "
Read More2021
Review
“Andrew Green transformed this course. It had become a long boring golf course. It was difficult bc of heavy rough but usually soft and playable only through the air. He brought the ground game back into play and made the course fun! It's the same basic routing but with wider corridors, more strategic fairway bunkers and more dramatic green side bunkers. The greens complexes are big and feature much more movement. You've got options. You can fly the ball or play the slopes into greens. And the course is gorgeous!"
Read More2021
Review
“Andrew Green did a fantastic job making this a memorable walk. The new bunkers with significant faces throughout the course along with multiple great tiers on many greens allow the golfer to ponder many shot options. The new greens are larger and well protected by bunkers and tight lie runoffs along with a ruff without a first cut. The new down hill green on #5, the new 10th hole and holes 14 thru 18 are spectacular. The changes to # 6 with removal of trees near the green and 7 tee make it a special 2nd and 3rd shot."
Read More2021
Review
“This is truly a remarkable transformation of what was already a great piece of land. Green's rerouting of certain holes (such as the 10th) adds shot options, challenge, and distinctiveness to the course, and the tree removal greatly improves the aesthetics and conditioning of the course. "
Read More2021
Review
“Friendly staff, great members, absolutely fantastic clubhouse. The design of the course is certainly reflective of the US Open style. Great to be able to play a course like this once in a while. And the alteration of the holes on the backside (18th now 10th, and 17th now 18th) was a massive improvement. Soak in the history."
Read More2018
Review
“This historic club has one of the top 100 courses in the country, but it is a brute for mere mortals. The rough is generally long and thick. Bring your straight ball or stay home."
Read More2018
Review
“A difficult test that is generally in very good shape. Late summer they generally have some conditioining issues. The course gets alot of play and the pace can sometimes be slow. The overall club setting is great and the clubhouse is one of the largest in the U.S."
Read More2018
Review
“True test of golf. Some nice holes, but it is more about the challenge. One of the largest clubhouses you will ever see."
Read More2018
Review
“A first class course and one of America's best clubhouses. Lots of historical golf events took place here. The course is a pretty traditional layout that can be made very difficult."
Read More2018
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