This is the master list of all course reviews done on this site, organized by State.
Alabama
Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Lakewood Golf Club (Azalea)
Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Magnolia Grove (Short)
Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Oxmoor Valley (Ridge)
Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Oxmoor Valley (Short)
Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Oxmoor Valley (Valley)
Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Ross Bridge
Spring Hill Golf Course
Alaska
Anchorage Golf Course
Eagleglen Golf Course
Fishhook Golf Course
Moose Run Golf Club (Creek)
Moose Run Golf Club (Hill)
Palmer Golf Course
Settlers Bay Golf Course
California
Pebble Beach Golf Links
Florida
Scenic Hills Country Club
Georgia
Peachtree Golf Club
Maryland
Maryland National Golf Club
North Carolina
Old Town Club
Tobacco Road
Tot Hill Farm
South Carolina
Arcadian Shores Golf Club
The Dunes Golf & Beach Club
Virginia
Cahoon Plantation Golf Club
Golden Horseshoe Golf Club (Gold)
Mattaponi Springs Golf Club
Royal New Kent Golf Club
Stonehouse Golf Club
Tuesday
Tobacco Road Golf Course-Sanford, NC
Mike Strantz is one of the most original designers of the past 25 years or so. In many ways, it is that originality that keeps him from being recognized in the same light as designers like Pete Dye and Tom Doak. Strantz was at his wildest and most original here. And sadly, that might have hurt the course. This course has a large number of blind or mostly blind shots, as many as 9 depending on how one counts. This has led many to characterize the course as unsafe, and it some ways, it may be. But that notwithstanding, the course is fantastic. Strategic and/or heroic options exist on nearly every hole. But too often people look at this course as something of a freak show. That is sad. While this course is not a top 100 design it is certainly in the upper crust of public courses and one that people should certainly attempt to see.
Ranking
Variety of Design: Very good. Par 3's have solid variety in the middle and lower ends of the spectrum, only lacking a long hole. Par 4's are also greatly varied, from driveable to over 450 yards. And the par 5's all have strategic interest, with holes 1 and 13 potentially being full 3 shot holes depending on manner of play. For directional variety, the course has 7 holes playing to the left, 5 holes playing to the right, and 8 holes playing straight; 1 hole can be played either straight or as dogleg left and 1 is a double-dogleg, so numbers don't add to 18. 8 out of 10
Flow of the Course: One drawback to the course's originality is that it can provide a visual overload for the player. The blind shots, massively contoured greens, hazards, and such does a bit to take away from the flow of the course. The player is at something of a high point for the entire round. It does flow from the point of view of shot types, but never builds to that "big finish." 6 1/2 out of 10
Conditioning: Good. While it was nothing spectacular, the conditioning was on the same level as the comparable courses in the area, which was very good. 7 1/2 out of 10
Ease of Walking: Difficult. The course can be walked, and the course does allow it, but it is not easy. Some of the holes are spread out, many of the holes have substantial hills, and the summer temperatures (if you decide to play during that time) are oppressive. 5 out of 10
Atmosphere: There is no country club aura here. This place is a golf club, plain and simple. There will likely be some level of anticipation for the golfer playing here, but overall, this is just an average club. 4 out of 10
Total: 67.5
Holes to Note
*Note* On this review, the holes to note will be a more detailed description of those holes mentioned as CB Macdonald Template Holes in THIS article, with two additional holes.
All images taken by and used with permission from The Buffalo Golfer
Hole #1: Par 5, 558 yards
This is the Alps hole of the course. In fact, it is something of a Double Alps hole given that the tee shot must be played over a mound to a blind fairway, as must either the second or third shot, depending on hoe one chooses to play. The large hills flanking the fairway determine play. A conservative golfer can play out to the visible fairway off the tee and then lay short of the hills on the second shot, leaving a mid-iron to the green, or he can play directly over the left hill and then play over the center of the mounds for his second shot, leaving 50 yards or so to the green. This is one of the most visually intimidating first holes you will ever play and certainly not a "gentle handshake" to start the round...more like a handshake twisted into a chokehold.
Hole #2: Par 4, 377 yards
This hole bears similarity to the Road Hole template. Certainly the length is 'wrong' but the characteristics of play are quite similar. From the tee (where the shot in general resembles the Sahara), the player is given two options, play safely out to the left to the flat portion of the fairway, or play to the right, blindly over the large hills that guard that side of the fairway. Not all that dissimilar to playing over the hotel. From the fairway, the player who played to the left will be hitting a middle iron into the green, the player hitting to the right will be left with a pitching wedge or perhaps less (oddly enough, those are the same clubs used by tour pro's on the real Road Hole these days). Into the green the player is confronted with a deep scar bunker directly centered on the green waiting like a magnet to collect balls and the green is guarded long by a sharp drop-off to a bunker and brushy waste area.
Hole #3: Par 4, 152 yards
This green, having a mostly flat area in front, a depression in the center, and flat plateau in the rear strikingly resembles the Biarritz green complex. The length of the hole prevents the rolling approach in most cases, but that does not take away from the green having the necessary form.
Hole #4: Par 5, 525 yards
This is a template hole, but not of the Macdonald School. Mike Strantz started out working for Tom Fazio. Many of Fazio's designs have this basic hole form. The Quarry, Boomerang, Fishhook (my choice), whatever you want to call it, these holes all offer the player to play two aggressive shots and reach the green in two shots. On this particular hole, the player needs to play his tee shot down the left side of the fairway in order to have a reasonable shot to the green in two shots. Then he must play his second over a sandy waste area that butts up to the green on the left side and long.
Hole #13: Par 5, 573 yards
This hole could be considered a Cape from the tee, but that is likely not visible to the player on the initial play. As it is, this hole is a Punchbowl due to the location of the green, though a case could be made for Alps as well. In some ways, this hole showcases everything that people find wrong with Tobacco Road. The Cape is a good hole. The Alps is a good hole. The Punchbowl is a good hole. Mixed together like they are here and it simply becomes too much for a player to take in within such a short span of time. As far as the hole goes, the simple, safe and common play is to go straight out off the tee to the large fairway, playing 220 +/- yards. The aggressive player can play out over the trees to the right at an angle of up to about 75 degrees from the front and be left with 150 yards or less to the green, assuming he hits a perfect shot. From the fairway, the player must pick a yardage to hit the second shot in order to leave himself with a preferred yardage into the green. The green is sunken inside a deep bowl and there is no possibility of a ground approach. This is not a bad hole, but it really just has too much going on, too many moving parts.
Hole #18: Par 4, 432 yards
The tee shot plays over a massive sea of sand that rises up and obscures the fairway from view. The Sahara. This hole has more room than the player might think. Beyond the trees to the right, the fairway is very deep, extending perhaps 50 yards into the trees. But the best play is to favor the center of the fairway. Too far to the right will leave a significant distance to the green and too far to the left will almost certainly be a blind shot and may even be blocked out by trees. The green then gives players no easy finish being multi-tiered and sloping from front to back.
Ranking
Variety of Design: Very good. Par 3's have solid variety in the middle and lower ends of the spectrum, only lacking a long hole. Par 4's are also greatly varied, from driveable to over 450 yards. And the par 5's all have strategic interest, with holes 1 and 13 potentially being full 3 shot holes depending on manner of play. For directional variety, the course has 7 holes playing to the left, 5 holes playing to the right, and 8 holes playing straight; 1 hole can be played either straight or as dogleg left and 1 is a double-dogleg, so numbers don't add to 18. 8 out of 10
Flow of the Course: One drawback to the course's originality is that it can provide a visual overload for the player. The blind shots, massively contoured greens, hazards, and such does a bit to take away from the flow of the course. The player is at something of a high point for the entire round. It does flow from the point of view of shot types, but never builds to that "big finish." 6 1/2 out of 10
Conditioning: Good. While it was nothing spectacular, the conditioning was on the same level as the comparable courses in the area, which was very good. 7 1/2 out of 10
Ease of Walking: Difficult. The course can be walked, and the course does allow it, but it is not easy. Some of the holes are spread out, many of the holes have substantial hills, and the summer temperatures (if you decide to play during that time) are oppressive. 5 out of 10
Atmosphere: There is no country club aura here. This place is a golf club, plain and simple. There will likely be some level of anticipation for the golfer playing here, but overall, this is just an average club. 4 out of 10
Total: 67.5
Holes to Note
*Note* On this review, the holes to note will be a more detailed description of those holes mentioned as CB Macdonald Template Holes in THIS article, with two additional holes.
All images taken by and used with permission from The Buffalo Golfer
Hole #1: Par 5, 558 yards
This is the Alps hole of the course. In fact, it is something of a Double Alps hole given that the tee shot must be played over a mound to a blind fairway, as must either the second or third shot, depending on hoe one chooses to play. The large hills flanking the fairway determine play. A conservative golfer can play out to the visible fairway off the tee and then lay short of the hills on the second shot, leaving a mid-iron to the green, or he can play directly over the left hill and then play over the center of the mounds for his second shot, leaving 50 yards or so to the green. This is one of the most visually intimidating first holes you will ever play and certainly not a "gentle handshake" to start the round...more like a handshake twisted into a chokehold.
From the tee, the player is confronted with two giant mounds. The hills in the distance are reachable from the tee for longer players. Those players must play to the left over hill to a blind fairway.
From the center of the fairway, the player is confronted with another blind shot. From here, the player can lay short of the hills or go over them. The green is located on a line opposite the sandy area on the hill in the background.
From the left side of the fairway, the approach to the green is obscured by this set of bunkers.
Hole #2: Par 4, 377 yards
This hole bears similarity to the Road Hole template. Certainly the length is 'wrong' but the characteristics of play are quite similar. From the tee (where the shot in general resembles the Sahara), the player is given two options, play safely out to the left to the flat portion of the fairway, or play to the right, blindly over the large hills that guard that side of the fairway. Not all that dissimilar to playing over the hotel. From the fairway, the player who played to the left will be hitting a middle iron into the green, the player hitting to the right will be left with a pitching wedge or perhaps less (oddly enough, those are the same clubs used by tour pro's on the real Road Hole these days). Into the green the player is confronted with a deep scar bunker directly centered on the green waiting like a magnet to collect balls and the green is guarded long by a sharp drop-off to a bunker and brushy waste area.
The safe line off the tee is to play a bit right of the left tee marker visible here. The aggressive line is over the right tee marker, or even a bit right of that. This is the blind Road Hole tee shot.
Into the green, the player can play a draw to the green, but must avoid the bunker centered on the green. Players going long will be confronted with a shot from a deep, vertically faced bunker.
This green, having a mostly flat area in front, a depression in the center, and flat plateau in the rear strikingly resembles the Biarritz green complex. The length of the hole prevents the rolling approach in most cases, but that does not take away from the green having the necessary form.
The flat front level, the center depression, and the back tier can be seen here. The back is elevated slightly above the front on this green and the right side is elevated allowing balls to run back.
This is a template hole, but not of the Macdonald School. Mike Strantz started out working for Tom Fazio. Many of Fazio's designs have this basic hole form. The Quarry, Boomerang, Fishhook (my choice), whatever you want to call it, these holes all offer the player to play two aggressive shots and reach the green in two shots. On this particular hole, the player needs to play his tee shot down the left side of the fairway in order to have a reasonable shot to the green in two shots. Then he must play his second over a sandy waste area that butts up to the green on the left side and long.
From the tee, the shot should be played as close as possible to the bunker down the left if the player wants to go for the green in two.
This is the shot facing the player who chooses to go for the green in two shots. Not visible here is the run-up area that the player can use if playing slightly out to the right with a draw, roughly over the small bush that can be seen in the center of the image.
Hole #12: Par 4, 419 yards
The Cape hole. This hole gives the player the chance to play his shot out over the bunker down the left side as far as he wants. The fairway narrows down greatly at one point, but beyond that, there is enough room for any shot to land. The safe player can play straight down the fairway short of where it pinches in and then go to the green from there.
Standard Cape tee shot. The player can play short of where the fairway pinches at the trees, roughly 235 off the tee. The aggressive player can go left of those trees to however far left he is wishes to go.
This is the shot to the green for the player hitting short of the trees. As you can see, the bunker gets deeper the farther left the player goes off the tee.
This hole could be considered a Cape from the tee, but that is likely not visible to the player on the initial play. As it is, this hole is a Punchbowl due to the location of the green, though a case could be made for Alps as well. In some ways, this hole showcases everything that people find wrong with Tobacco Road. The Cape is a good hole. The Alps is a good hole. The Punchbowl is a good hole. Mixed together like they are here and it simply becomes too much for a player to take in within such a short span of time. As far as the hole goes, the simple, safe and common play is to go straight out off the tee to the large fairway, playing 220 +/- yards. The aggressive player can play out over the trees to the right at an angle of up to about 75 degrees from the front and be left with 150 yards or less to the green, assuming he hits a perfect shot. From the fairway, the player must pick a yardage to hit the second shot in order to leave himself with a preferred yardage into the green. The green is sunken inside a deep bowl and there is no possibility of a ground approach. This is not a bad hole, but it really just has too much going on, too many moving parts.
This is the view for the player playing out straight off the tee. The fairway runs out at roughly 240 yards from here. The aggressive player can try to go over the trees on the right, as mentioned above, anything up to about 75 degrees to the right of this view will be safe if played with enough length.
From the main fairway, the second shot should be played towards the silo in the distance. Anything left of that will be unplayable.
This the shot to the green. Unlike most Punchbowl greens, this one is bowled off in the front. Only the short walk path keeps the green from being completely surrounded. This shot is also taken from just forward of the tee shot location for those players going over the trees.
The Punchbowl green is clearly visible in this image. It would be a better Punchbowl is the love grass around the green was removed and replaced with a standard turf grass.
The tee shot plays over a massive sea of sand that rises up and obscures the fairway from view. The Sahara. This hole has more room than the player might think. Beyond the trees to the right, the fairway is very deep, extending perhaps 50 yards into the trees. But the best play is to favor the center of the fairway. Too far to the right will leave a significant distance to the green and too far to the left will almost certainly be a blind shot and may even be blocked out by trees. The green then gives players no easy finish being multi-tiered and sloping from front to back.
This is the Sahara tee shot. The shot must carry the sandy waste area and the cliff. Going down the center of the opening is the preferred line. Going over the trees may leave the player a shot, depending on how far right it is, but the shot will be longer.
This is the approach to the green. Even from the center of the fairway, the flag is obscured if placed back left like it is here.
The multi-tiered green slopes from front to back.
Overall, this is a very solid golf course. It does get a bit too extreme in spots, but typically walks the line between conservative and out-of-hand very well. Certainly this is a course that everyone should see at least once. You might love it, you might hate it, but you will certainly come out with some different thoughts on golf. 6 out of 10
Friday
Peachtree Golf Club- Holes 10-18
Front Nine review HERE
Holes #10: Par 5, 519/503 yards
This is the only hole on the course that has a feature which can be considered somewhat unfair for lesser golfers but not in play for the better player, i.e. a bad feature. But that will be looked at in a moment. This hole is a generally straightforward par 5. As with many holes here at Peachtree, hole location will determine which side of the fairway is correct. In normal fashion, if the hole is cut front right, the left side of the fairway is preferred. From here the hole differs from the previous holes. Center hole locations are best approached from the right side of the fairway. The right side will yield a straight shot to the center of the green. However, holes cut in the far left portion of the green are very difficult to access with an aerial shot. For this hole location, either side of the fairway can be used, but the left side of the fairway will require the player hit a severe draw to the center of the green and let the fall roll down to the hole; the right side of the fairway will let the player hit a normal draw to the center of the green and, again, let it funnel back to the hole.
The above options are based on the golfer being able to go to the green in two shots and having to avoid the large bunker short of the green and the greenside bunker. The player laying up had better be able to pick a preferred yardage for the approach shot because the bottom of the flag will be obscured from the player and on left side locations, the entire flagstick may be out of view. The shot to the green will likely play two clubs uphill.
Hole #14: Par 3, 183/166 yards
There is little to be said about this hole that can not be seen in the pictures. Hit the green, or very close to is, or you will likely be in the water or playing a bunker shot towards the water. Certainly this hole fits the bill for a Heroic Shot.
Hole #15: Par 4, 470/411 yards
This hole starts off a fantastic closing stretch. As seen before out here, hole location determines which side of the fairway is preferred. Left hole locations are best approached from the right side; right hole locations are best approached from the left side. The creek visible in the image below is possibly in reach from the tee for the longest players due to the significant slope downhill towards the creek.
Hole #15: Par 5, 577/510 yards
This is a solid par 5 that might be reachable for the longest players, but it right at the range that will have all the better players scratching their heads. The player must have in mind off the tee if he intends to go for the green in two shots. If so, the better play is up the right side of the fairway. If not, the play is the left side of the fairway. The left side of the fairway opens up the second fairway, across the creek, more to the player. The right side will give the player going for the green in two, or trying to get very close, a better angle around the two fronting bunkers.
Hole #17: Par 4, 420/391 yards
For one of the few times in the round, the best line of play off the tee is dictated to the player. The green angles away from the player left to right and has bunkers in front, making the preferred side of the fairway the left side. The left side will give the player a longer part of the green to work with and can also yield a run-up option for the player.
Hole #18: Par 4, 420/394 yards
The final hole of the day is one of only three holes with a fairway bunker. However, unlike the bunkers on #1 and #9, the usefulness of this one is not clear. The left side of the fairway does not seem to yield a better line of approach to the green over the right side. As it stands now, the final hole comes in as a hole where the entire protection for the hole is at the green. The green has a huge fall off short and will cause balls to roll back 10-20 yards off the green. This is a great hole to close out the round, giving the player a great chance to close with birdie if he can hit two solid shots.
Holes #10: Par 5, 519/503 yards
This is the only hole on the course that has a feature which can be considered somewhat unfair for lesser golfers but not in play for the better player, i.e. a bad feature. But that will be looked at in a moment. This hole is a generally straightforward par 5. As with many holes here at Peachtree, hole location will determine which side of the fairway is correct. In normal fashion, if the hole is cut front right, the left side of the fairway is preferred. From here the hole differs from the previous holes. Center hole locations are best approached from the right side of the fairway. The right side will yield a straight shot to the center of the green. However, holes cut in the far left portion of the green are very difficult to access with an aerial shot. For this hole location, either side of the fairway can be used, but the left side of the fairway will require the player hit a severe draw to the center of the green and let the fall roll down to the hole; the right side of the fairway will let the player hit a normal draw to the center of the green and, again, let it funnel back to the hole.
The above options are based on the golfer being able to go to the green in two shots and having to avoid the large bunker short of the green and the greenside bunker. The player laying up had better be able to pick a preferred yardage for the approach shot because the bottom of the flag will be obscured from the player and on left side locations, the entire flagstick may be out of view. The shot to the green will likely play two clubs uphill.
From the tee, the bottom of the fairway is blind to the player. The creek visible in the above aerial is not in play from the tee. The fairway is basically flat and the player will be able to aim down the correct side and not have to worry about the ball rolling into the rough.
From the left side of the fairway, the opening to the right side of the green can be seen. The difficulty in accessing a left hole location can be seen here; were the hole cut far left, the flat would actually be to the left of the clean-up stripe on the fairway.
The semi-unfair feature mentioned in the beginning is the creek that cuts through the fairway. This creek provides no hazard at all for better players. But for average players hitting 225 yards or so off the tee, the creek is a significant hazard in trying to get across. Perhaps this is how Mr. Jones intended the hole to be played in 1948, have distance off the tee determine if the player can carry the creek or not and have a short shot to the green. Either way, in the modern game, this feature provides a potentially large penalty to the average player and virtually no penalty to the better player. This is the only feature this writer would change on the course.
Hole #11: Par 3, 220/180 yards
This is a very simple, though long, par 3. There is the slight chance to roll the ball onto the green, but the slope in front of the green makes that difficult. Overall, on this hole, the player will simply be asked to pick a yardage, pick a target, and hit a shot. This is a good rest hole prior to the difficult stretch upcoming.
Playing through a valley, the roll-up option is there, though is would likely be a difficult shot to pull off in normal conditions.
Hole #12: Par 4, 486/431 yards
This is the longest par 4 on the course and may well be the best. This sharp dogleg must be played different ways depending on how long the player can hit his tee shot. The back tee is located at the single purple spot at the very bottom of the picture below. A 275 yard tee shot will wind up at the double purple dots; a 300 yard drive will end up at the two orange spots. As you can see, if the 275 yard player hits his shot up the right side of the fairway, his approach will be blocked out by the trees. This player must play to the center or left side of the fairway, leaving another 225+ yards to the center of the green. The 300 yard player can hit his tee shot down the far right of the fairway, cutting down to perhaps 175 yards to the green. However, both of these shots will play one club longer due to the approach being substantially uphill. On top of all this, the setting of the green is exceptional.
This shot taken from the 431 yard tee shows the blind tee shot down to the fairway. The downhill nature of the hole will help the player, but not greatly. If from the back tees, the 300 yard player could play directly down the right treeline, the 275 yard player will need to play directly over the tee boxes or slightly left of that.
Playing uphill to the green, the opening to the green is open enough to accept running shots, but the bunkers are there to provide penalty for shots hit off line. Players will need to take one extra club to get to the green.
Hole #13: Par 4, 470/385 yards
This is a solid and difficult par 4. Length off the tee is always a determining factor in how to play a given hole, but here it is key. Longer players, those that hit the ball out to 290 yards or more off the tee can play to any given point in the fairway and have a simple shot to the green with a middle iron. For these players, the bunkers in front of the green merely force them to guard against being short. Moderate length players, those hitting over 260 or so off the tee, have a different approach shot given that they will be playing from over 200 yards. These players should play up the left side so that they may use the kick-slope on the left side of the green in order to funnel the ball to the hole using ground contours.
This is a solid and difficult par 4. Length off the tee is always a determining factor in how to play a given hole, but here it is key. Longer players, those that hit the ball out to 290 yards or more off the tee can play to any given point in the fairway and have a simple shot to the green with a middle iron. For these players, the bunkers in front of the green merely force them to guard against being short. Moderate length players, those hitting over 260 or so off the tee, have a different approach shot given that they will be playing from over 200 yards. These players should play up the left side so that they may use the kick-slope on the left side of the green in order to funnel the ball to the hole using ground contours.
From the middle tee, the plays are simple. Down the treeline will leave the player with a shorter shot, up the left will give the best line if one is trying to use the kick-slope.
From the fairway, the kick-slope is visible on the left side of the green.
There is little to be said about this hole that can not be seen in the pictures. Hit the green, or very close to is, or you will likely be in the water or playing a bunker shot towards the water. Certainly this hole fits the bill for a Heroic Shot.
Hole #15: Par 4, 470/411 yards
This hole starts off a fantastic closing stretch. As seen before out here, hole location determines which side of the fairway is preferred. Left hole locations are best approached from the right side; right hole locations are best approached from the left side. The creek visible in the image below is possibly in reach from the tee for the longest players due to the significant slope downhill towards the creek.
The left to right slope of the fairway can be seen here. Hugging the treeline is necessary for those players wanting to hit in the left side of the fairway.
The cluster of players on the green marks the hole location here. The line from the left side of the fairway is clear, avoiding the bunkers. From the right side, the player would be forced to play over the greenside bunker.
Hole #15: Par 5, 577/510 yards
This is a solid par 5 that might be reachable for the longest players, but it right at the range that will have all the better players scratching their heads. The player must have in mind off the tee if he intends to go for the green in two shots. If so, the better play is up the right side of the fairway. If not, the play is the left side of the fairway. The left side of the fairway opens up the second fairway, across the creek, more to the player. The right side will give the player going for the green in two, or trying to get very close, a better angle around the two fronting bunkers.
This fairway slopes right to left off the same hill that slopes the 15th hole. Shots played to the right side of the fairway should be started near the treeline in order to stay on the right side.
From the left side of the fairway, roughly 240 yards from the green, the second fairway can be seen along with the small pond. The large bunker short of the green makes going for the green from this side of the fairway problematic.
This is the view from the right-center of the fairway, perhaps 175 yards from the green. This is roughly the angle that would be seen from 250+ yards out. From this angle, the bunkers can be more easily navigated, but the pond and secondary fairway angle would make the lay-up shot more difficult.
For one of the few times in the round, the best line of play off the tee is dictated to the player. The green angles away from the player left to right and has bunkers in front, making the preferred side of the fairway the left side. The left side will give the player a longer part of the green to work with and can also yield a run-up option for the player.
The fairway lays out nicely in front of the player. A play right towards the overhanging limbs of the pine tree will be perfect.
From the left side, the bunkers can be avoided and, although uphill, the player can attempt to roll the ball onto the putting surface if he wishes.
The final hole of the day is one of only three holes with a fairway bunker. However, unlike the bunkers on #1 and #9, the usefulness of this one is not clear. The left side of the fairway does not seem to yield a better line of approach to the green over the right side. As it stands now, the final hole comes in as a hole where the entire protection for the hole is at the green. The green has a huge fall off short and will cause balls to roll back 10-20 yards off the green. This is a great hole to close out the round, giving the player a great chance to close with birdie if he can hit two solid shots.
From the tee, the bunker sits there staring at the player. Typically, that means the preferred angle is near there, but in this situation, that does not appear to be the case.
From over the bunker, this approach awaits the player. The bottom of the flagstick is not visible to the player making the shot more difficult.
The front roll-off area is visible here.
Overall, this course is very, very good. The shot making requirements from start to finish are high but not to high as to keep the course from being fun for the average golfer. It might be noted by the reader that there was little mention of the greens. As a rule, the greens had great features, but not the kind that come out well in photographs. The features were small and sweeping with the majority of the green being sloped as opposed to modern greens where the slopes are huge and bold and the rest of the green is virtually flat. These are some of the finest greens this writer has seen. That coupled with the shot requirements and flow in the round yields a fantastic golf course. 8 out of 10
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