In Forestville, a grape-rich area, lies Tri-County Country Club, a gem of a golf course that has aged like a fine wine.

A weekend ago, Tri-County Country Club celebrated its 100th anniversary with its members and chose a Roaring ’20s-themed event. There are many reasons why the course, now open for a century, has stayed open for so long.

“To have a course that is 100 years old is truly an extraordinary achievement.” “There are a lot of golf courses that have opened and closed over the years, so where we are in terms of our location really proves that we have a unique loyalty and a family feel that holds this club together,” said Daniel Rettig, Head Professional at Tri-County Country Club, regarding the club’s centennial.

“I think the golf course speaks for itself when you’re out there, the facility — we lost our clubhouse last year — but people rallied around the fact that we were able to do a temporary solution and they embraced a lot of what we did this year,” Rettig continued: “A lot of courses have opened and closed over the last 100 years, and for one of them to survive is a testament to the success of the golf course.”

Pictured is the scenic green at No. 17, a 415-yard par 4 at Tri-County Country Club in Forestville. OBSERVER Photo by Christian Storms

Through its ups and downs over the years, with the help of A. W. Tillinghast (designer of Bethpage Black) in August 1935, and having survived a fire that destroyed the clubhouse the year before, TCCC stands out today as one of the best-rated courses in the area. The course is a semi-private club that offers members privileges but maintains championship quality at affordable prices.

“I think we’re conscious of where we are, we’re in a rural area, we try to keep prices as consistent and reasonable as possible.” Rettig said: “We have a lot of players who are here because of the affordability, whether it’s a membership or a daily fee. The membership here is very affordable, there’s no entrance fee, there’s no waiting list right now, but we understand that not everyone can do that. So we try to keep things affordable to keep people playing here and using this facility and not wasting time. … There are a lot of golf courses that are priced in the $80-$100 range, I wouldn’t price it that high just because I want people to be able to come and play, I don’t want to leave everyone else in the game behind.”

In addition to hosting club events and tournaments in the area, TCCC has been successful in bringing golfers to high-level tournaments, such as the Buffalo Regional Golf Association Qualifier held last month and the high school championship held earlier this season.

“Apart from general aid trips,” Rettig said the following about tournaments at the club: “… Even the Buffalo Area coming here multiple times, the UnderArmour Junior Tour kids events that are there. We try to support them as much as we can, keeping in mind that our members want to play as well. The Buffalo Area events are something special to us because it proves that we are on the right track here and a lot of our people who come here once or twice a year come from Niagara Falls, Canada, Pennsylvania, we have a lot of people who come here and try this golf course and make special arrangements to do it. I would love to see more WNY PGA Tour events come here, but I think if we can get these guys to come back, they will see what we have to offer in terms of the quality of the golf course.”

The par-72 course features 14 par 4s and a pair of par 3s and 5s, all with unique views that require good strategy from any of the four teeing grounds. Only two golfers made it to par in the final round, and both shot 72s. Those two golfers represented the TCCC, with Daniel Weimer and Lewis Markham both shooting 72s to tie for the top spot.

View of the green from tee 4, where three water hazards are located, at Tri-County Country Club in Forestville. OBSERVER Photo: Christian Storms

The front 9 is 3,063 yards from the tips and shorter than the back, but each hole offers its own unique challenge on the way to the green, all of which are uniquely shaped. Then the back, which is 3,482 yards from the tips, totals 6,545 and has a 73.1 rating and a slope rating of 139. The whites are 6,319 with 71.9 and 135, the hybrids are 5,622 with 68.3 and 128 rating, the golds are 5,310 with 66.6 and 119, and then the reds are 4,786 with 64.9 and 121.

“Tri-County is an interesting golf course,” Rettig said of the difficulty of the course: “It’s definitely not flat, everywhere you look there’s a hill, a slope, you have greens that are pretty tough at times, you have very fast greens, there are certain places you can miss and places you’re safe even if you don’t hit the green. Long story short, there’s a lot of great players that have come out of Tri-County, and that goes back to Danny Wimer, who has a son, Jamie, who’s playing college golf. Four of the six players we brought in that qualified went on to play the Buffalo District Individual Championship at Park Country Club. If you get used to playing on a relatively difficult golf course, you’re going to get better. A lot of our players talk about how easy it is when they go somewhere else, but we love it. We love the challenge, being able to play a tough round of golf every day and not get bored with our course.”

A course can be shaped in many different ways, but what sets TCCC apart is the beauty of its maintenance and design. Superintendent Peter Gilray has long been responsible for keeping the course in pristine condition.

“Most of that goes to our Director, Peter Gilray.” Rettig said the quality of the course was appreciated. “Peter has been here for over 30 years, he has family ties to this area, so if there’s anyone other than me who wants this golf course to survive, to grow and to be everything it can be, it’s Peter. He’s been the one constant in this facility, when you think about a 100-year-old golf course, he’s been here for almost a third of its life. When he took over, we had no irrigation, no water on the fairways, he basically took this club to the next level in terms of quality, consistency and daily playability. We were able to really create something special out of this blueprint that we had.”

With all the positive reviews and quality of Tri-County Country Club, a visitor would expect to pay a hefty fee to play the course, but that’s not the case. It’s $55 to play 18 holes with a cart during the week, $33 to walk all day, and $49 with a cart for seniors/military/member guests.

Tri-County Country Club has established itself as one of the region’s premier golf destinations and is now looking ahead to the next 100 years.

“I just think we’re constantly trying to improve this golf course for the people who play it, we’re constantly trying to do things,” Rettig said: “The clubhouse project that we’re working on right now is in the final stages of planning, and we’re going to build everything responsibly. I hope people take advantage of this place being on the rise. I think it’s a facility that will grow over time, and we’ll try to future-proof it as we go. We’re getting it ready for the next 100 years.”