Similar to Chautauqua Golf Club’s Lake Course, Conewango Valley CC has plenty of history going back over 100 years and there was no one better than Phil Simmons, club historian, to show me around Thursday when I played with him and fellow member Al Conarro.

Simmons began his time with the club in 1961 as a caddy and even with all that time there I’m sure his round with me he saw shots where they have never gone before in the 108-year history of the course. The golfers this weekend will be hitting them into much more familiar spots and hopefully face much better weather that will not cut the round short like mine Thursday.

I was glad to begin the round on the back nine where seven of the nine holes are the original Donald Ross design before the course was expanded into a full 18 holes in 1971.

Starting with No. 10, I already needed the advice of Simmons and Conarro for my approach shot navigating the short par 4 that drops into a blind green which is guarded by two front bunkers. Naturally, I left the approach short of the green and the bunker, but I opted for a pit stop in the sand for the full experience and it only cost an extra stroke.

Times Observer Photo by Christian Storms No. 11 is an elevated par 3 at Conewango Valley Country Club originally designed by Donald Ross.

After hitting blind into the green on No. 10, I could see the green on the following par 3, but it was going back up the hill onto a punishing dance floor. I chose the correct club this time and avoided landing short on an impossible bank, but the golf gods had other plans as I was bounced beyond the green for a difficult chip that required the right amount of touch.

Holes Nos. 10 and 11 required trust in your clubs — of which I have none — then on No. 12 it was bombs away on the 512-yard par 5 that ends on the original elevated green for the Riggs Memorial Champions. Hitting to the lower green both times I have traversed the course, I have not experienced the true struggle of reaching the summit of Conewango Valley CC, but the approach shot this Sunday should feel 20-30 yards longer with the elevated green.

No. 13 was my favorite hole of the day despite a horrific tee shot, coming back down the summit and towards the clubhouse you are treated to a great view of the holes already conquered or in my case that just beat me up.

With many great designed holes it is either uphill, out of sight or guarded well and with No. 13 bunkers punished errant shots on the sides of the fairway and the sides of the green. Naturally, I lost a ball to the left and then made my way into the sand on the right of the green.

The next two holes are part of Edmund Ault’s 1971 expansion plans with a 451-yard par 4 on No. 14 that can be gettable if you are able to keep it straight and can putt, both of which are not in my arsenal. Then that is followed by the longest par 5 on the course at 558 yards with two water hazards on the right side of the hole including one right along the green requiring some planning on approach.

Times Observer Photo by Christian Storms Pictured is the clock on the first tee box at Conewango Valley Country Club.

This Storms was having a rough go on the course so more disappointing storms came rolling in and washed the golfers into the clubhouse. The sun came back out just long enough to allow Al and I to finish the par 5 and squeeze in the last Ross par 3 on the course at No. 16. We both stayed dry, landing past Valentine Run which guards the green on the 182-yard hole, but my chipping and putting tortured me one last time.

Our group made it through only seven holes, leaving me eager to come back and finish the final two holes.

No. 17 is the one we all see driving along Route 62 and perhaps the bad weather saved a windshield from a tee shot Thursday. The 406-yard par 4 has a difficult green that is guarded by two bunkers in the front and another two in the back, once again forcing the golfers to be accurate.

Then No. 18 is the par-4 version of No. 11, going 343 yards from the tee below onto a blind fairway and difficult green in front of the clubhouse.

I played the front nine in a round this past fall and my revenge will have to wait until my rain check with Phil at a later date. The front starts and finishes with Ross designed holes, No. 1 which is a 417-yard par 4 and No. 9 a memorable 533-yard par 5 that has a beautiful finish between the trees and of course the bunkers.

The front boasts three par 3s and depending on pin placement at No. 2 your round can begin poorly. The other par 3s are on Nos. 5 and No. 7, first 140 yards and then 190 yards.

Before you finish the par 3s, you must take on one of the more difficult holes at No. 6 which is similar to No. 10 going on a dogleg left with a blind approach to a bunker-protected green. However, No. 6 is about 120 yards longer at 465 yards, making it more difficult for those who hit short.

Whether it is a Donald Ross hole or Edmund Ault expansion the Riggs Memorial Champions field will be treated to a challenging round of golf at one of the area’s best courses with plenty of history.

Inside the clubhouse you can see the correspondence between Horace A. Crary and Donald Ross in March of 1915, discussing designing the course. The two previously met when Crary and fellow members of the old Warren Golf Club, Marshall Parshall and C.T. Conarro went to Southern Pines, North Carolina, for their annual quail hunting expedition.

Parshall was already familiar with Ross as a member of The Tin Whistle Club in Pinehurst, North Carolina, in 1904, as the first captain and the first matchplay champion. The Warren native Parshall later went on to become Conewango Valley CC’s first champion in 1918.

This Sunday, the area’s best golfers will have an opportunity to win a tournament where golf legends made home over 100 years ago.