One in a 100: Inverness continues ascent in golf course rankings

May 12—It took but one glance at Golf Digest's latest list of America's 100 greatest golf courses for Brian Cairns to express exasperation.

"How can these other courses be ranked ahead of Inverness?" said Cairns, a member of the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame who's played in multiple U.S. Senior Opens. "You can put USGA tee markers down there today and play the U.S. Open. You don't have to do anything to the course."

Inverness Club, still basking in the glow of Andrew Green's lauded 2017-18 restoration, is continuing its climb up course rankings in golf's most prestigious publications.

—No. 33, up from 44th, in Golf Magazine's Top 100 courses in the United States

—No. 47, up from 50th, in Golfweek's list of the Top 200 classic courses in the United States

—No. 65, up from 88th, in Golf Digest's ranking of "America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses"

—No. 81, up from 98th, in Golf Magazine's ranking of the Top 100 courses in the world

The celebrated Dorr Street course, founded in 1903, hosted its first of six major championships in 1920 and has been ranked on every Golf Digest Top 100 list since the magazine began its rating system in 1966.

Twenty-one other courses share that honor, a group that would make even the most ardent course collector green with envy: Augusta National, Baltusrol, Congressional, Cypress Point, L.A. Country Club North, Medinah, Merion, Oak Hill, Oakland Hills, Oakmont, Olympia Fields, Olympic Club, Peachtree, Pebble Beach, Pine Valley, Pinehurst No. 2, Riviera, Scioto, Seminole, Southern Hills, and Winged Foot.

Inverness was ranked as high as 17th in 2001 before a precipitous decline, bottoming out at No. 89 in 2017. The downturn occurred because of a multitude of factors: the elimination of Golf Digest's "Tradition" category, a building boom of high-end golf courses over the past two decades, and the scarlet letter of the botched Fazio brother renovation prior to the 1979 U.S. Open.

"It's really a story of how the course has risen at times and fallen. It's had an up-and-down stock market-like trajectory," said Derek Duncan, Golf Digest's architecture editor. "It's been a club that's always tinkered with its design. Trees were beloved. They were considered an asset for a golf course. As many people in the architecture business realized trees were not only destructive to turf but could also impede playability, tree-clearing became something most historic golf courses needed to do.

"Inverness had always been tree-lined. The shapings that [George and Tom] Fazio and [Arthur] Hills did gradually became out of step and out of time. It really wasn't until Green got there that they took the golf course and peeled it all the way back to this vintage golden age look that's so popular right now."

But it's not as if Inverness turned into a craggy muni with weeds in the fairways and greens that resemble shag carpet.

"Anything in our Top 100 is a golf course you would jump on an airplane to go play," said Jason Lusk, Golfweek's travel editor.

Green brought the course back to what Ross envisioned. Thousands of trees were removed, creating spectacular vistas while eliminating unnecessary maintenance and playability issues. The audacious undertaking features a new third, fourth, and fifth hole, all butchered during the 1979 renovation, with the par-5 eighth green finding a new location and shape.

The third hole is a replica of the original par-3 No. 8, the fourth is a remake of the par-4 No. 7, birdied by Ted Ray in all four rounds during the 1920 U.S. Open, and No. 5 is the old par-3 No. 13.

"It's really been a remarkable transformation," Duncan said. "It highlights the property's attributes."

Green, a voracious reader, discovered a cornucopia of photos dating back a century of Ross' original holes and layouts, some of which Inverness members didn't even know existed, allowing Green to add hummocks, expand greens, and reshape bunkers is the spirit of Ross.

The par-71 course can be stretched to 7,700 yards.

"It's a championship golf course that everybody can play," said Cairns, a PGA professional at Fox Hills Golf & Banquet Center and Edgewood Country Club in Michigan. "To me, that's what Donald Ross intended. If Mr. Ross came back and walked around the property, would he be scratching his head saying, 'Yeah, I get it. Balls are going 75 to 100 yards farther off the tee than when I built this. Nice update.' I think so. He'd be very happy.

"The mystique of Inverness is incredible. They didn't fancy it up. They left it raw and normal. It's not pretentious. You aren't going to Winged Foot or Baltusrol where you have to button-up your shirt and act a certain way. Inverness is a very cool place."

Of course, a respected design isn't the only element that nets positive reviews. A golf course must be superbly conditioned, and all Inverness did when superintendent Chad Mark was plucked by Jack Nicklaus for Muirfield Village was hire the acclaimed John Zimmers from Oakmont.

Since 2017, Inverness' Golfweek rating has risen from 7.39 to 7.57. An increase of 0.18 is infinitesimal in most walks of life. Golf course ratings is not one of them. If Inverness were to experience a similar increase in the magazine's next rankings release, it would be No. 34, up 13 spots.

Golf Digest and Golfweek base their rankings off of hundreds of evaluations by panelists over a 10-year period. Golf Magazine starts with a clean slate each year.

Dozens of Golfweek raters played Inverness last year, according to Lusk, and 40 of 90 ratings in the current 10-year cycle have been post-restoration. As the older ratings drop off, Inverness will continue its ascent in Golf Digest and Golfweek.

"The restored Inverness is extremely impressive," one anonymous Golfweek rater said. "When playing the restored/redesigned front nine, a player would have no idea that new holes were built on previously unused property. The holes fit together seamlessly, and both the course and the venue have a distinctive look and feel that make them exceptionally memorable. The restored bunkering is world class, the conditioning is impeccable, and while there is some slight redundancy in some of the par 4s, the course has high shot values and calls for players to test nearly every facet of their games."

"Hard to believe that Fazio, [Dick] Wilson, and Ross didn't see the new holes [Green] created," another rater said. "Best use of a plains area that I can think of."

Inverness hosted the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2019 and the LPGA Drive On Championship in 2020, with each event receiving overwhelming praise. In September, the Solheim Cup will be played at Inverness, bringing more international attention and creating discussion about the course.

"As a board member, it makes things a little easier because there are expenses involved," Inverness president Greg Kasper said. "When you get that positive reinforcement from national and outside audiences, it helps the message of, hey, it's a mission of Inverness to maintain national relevance and host national championships. That's not always easy on a membership, and it can be a cost burden. But it's easier to discuss when you get that type of recognition and reinforcement."

The inevitable question is when will Inverness return to the major championship rotation, a utopian world that hasn't come to Toledo since the 1993 PGA Championship? USGA brass has extended compliments, golf fans have voiced their support, and the course is up to present-day standards.

"There should be a USGA event there," Cairns said. "They have done their due diligence, beefed it up, and made it a U.S. Open-style golf course. It's ready for a U.S. Open."