GOLF COURSE

Front Nine

Hole #1 – Par 5 – 500 Yards
The tee shot here is very important. On the left side are two pine trees that tend to swallow golf balls and a row of out of bounds stakes. If you can find the fairway, reaching the green in two is fairly simple and birdie is the usual score. If you drive the ball in trouble, forget birdie and start worrying about par.

Hole #2 – Par 4 – 420 Yards
One of 2 crucial holes on the front 9(3 is the other). The tee shot, usually a fairway wood, needs to be in the fairway to set up a chance to hit the green. Since prevailing breezes are cross winds on this hole, hitting the fairway can be a chore. If the wind is out of the south, the out of bounds to the left looms very large. From the fairway, the player is usually between 150 and 200 yards to the green. Par is a very good score.

Hole #3 – Par 3 – 218 Yards
This hole isn’t very tricky, just extremely long. With out of bounds left, the players tendency is to bail out to the right of the green and leave a very difficult chip. Bogies will be plentiful.

Hole #4 – Par 5 – 465 Yards
#4 is more of a par 4 than par 5. A solid drive should leave the player with a middle iron to the green unless the wind is out of the south. Even then the green should be reachable in two if the drive finds the fairway.

Hole #5 – Par 4 – 395 Yards
A definite birdie hole. With very little trouble off the tee, expect to see some big swings off this tee and a lot of wedges into the green. The field will probably average under par.

Hole #6 – Par 3 – 180 Yards
A middle iron to a big green results in a large number of pars on this hole unless the wind is out of the south. Even a small southerly breeze makes the hole considerably longer and scores will give up in proportion to the strength of the wind.

Hole #7 – Par 4 – Dogleg Left – 420 Yards
While the average player has a bit of trouble with this hole, the better players should chew it up. A drive over or just to the left of the fairway bunker on the corner of the dogleg leaves a short wedge to the green. The large lake on the left should not be in play. With the pin on the front of the green, making birdie will still be difficult. If the pin is middle or back, there will be many 3’s.

Hole #8 – Par 4 – 397 Yards
One of the harder Par 4’s on the course. This narrow fairway leads to one of the biggest greens on the golf course, but the green has a lot of slope from back to front and making birdie is pretty tough. Expect to see a majority of pars.

Hole #9 – Par 4 – Dogleg Right – 409 Yards
Players are faced with 2 options from the tee. A long iron down the center of the fairway leaves a long iron to the green. If a player elects to hit driver and cut the dogleg he could have a very short shot into the green. Unfortunately, hitting driver brings the trees to the right and the water left into play. Since the green is very severe, many of the players will try to get within short iron range of the green and avoid a long difficult putt. They may find trouble in this attempt.

 

Back Nine

Hole #10 – Par 4 – 405 Yards 
In a calm condition or a north wind, #10 is a relatively easy hole. A driver or fairway wood from the tee should set up a short iron or wedge to the green. The out of bounds to the right is not a major concern and players will be looking to make birdie. Into a south wind #10 is a bear. Now the player is faced with a middle to long iron to a relatively small green. If his drive does not find the fairway, he may face a lie that brings the water hazard in front of the green into play. Par becomes a very good score with a southerly wind.

Hole #11 – Par 4 – Dogleg Right – 440 Yards
Par is a wonderful score on #11 in any condition. Rated as the hardest hole on the course, the player is faced with a narrow landing area on the tee shot and a long iron to a difficult green. Since the driving range is out of bounds, the tee shot is difficult. After hitting a long iron off the tee, players will make a careful evaluation of the pin position before hitting their second shot. Missing the green to the short side will result in a bogey nearly every time. For example, if the pin is on the right side, a second shot to the right of the green will leave a chip from heavy rough to a pin position where the green is sloping steeply away from the player.

Hole #12 – Par 4 – Dogleg Right – 400 Yards
Time to start making birdies. A drive over the large tree on the dogleg or slightly to the left of the tree will leave the player with a little wedge to the green. The out of bounds to the right is a bit close, but shouldn’t panic anyone too much. A drive to the left may result in some tree trouble, but most of the time a ball in the left rough has a clear shot to the green.

Hole #13 – Par 5 – 505 Yards
Because of the elevated tee, #13 is more of a par 4 than a par 5. Only a strong southerly wind forces the player to lay up in front of the water hazard on their second shot. With no wind, a solid driver to this wide fairway leaves the player with a middle or long iron to the green. Birdie is the expected score on this hole.

Hole #14 – Par 4 – Dogleg Right – 350 Yards
A wide variety of clubs will be used off #14 tee as players decide how much of the dogleg to bite off. For the aggressive (perhaps reckless) player a high driver could reach the green. Unfortunately, a miss struck driver could hit trees just off the tee box, near the green or through the fairway. Scores on this hole tend to go up dramatically once the golf ball encounters any of these obstacles. Generally, a 4 or 5 iron off the tee leaves a short iron to the green and a makable birdie putt.

Hole #15 – Par 3 – 155 Yards
There are two rules for success on this turtle top green: If the pin is in the back, don’t miss the green short. If the pin is in the front, don’t miss the green long. If you enjoy watching frustrated golfers, spend your day at #15 green.

Hole #16 – Par 5 – Dogleg Left – 540 Yards
The tee shot here is extremely important. Unless the wind is out of the south, a solid drive over the bunkers on the corner of the dogleg puts you in position to reach the green in two. Unfortunately, a drive to the right can get out of bounds in a hurry and a drive to the left can get tangled up in a number of trees. Players will be expecting a good chance of birdie as they prepare to tee off, but a poor tee shot could lead to scrambling for par.

Hole #17 – Par 3 – 180 Yards
A good solid par 3. Any wind makes club selection tough, but the usual score will be par because of the lack of trouble around the green.

Hole #18 – Par 4 – 395 Yards
Players who can curve the ball from left to right love #18. A tee shot starting down the left rough and moving back to the fairway stays clear of the trees and water to the right and leaves a short iron to the green. A north wind makes the hole more difficult, but the green is big enough to accept a long iron. The water on the right side of the green shouldn’t come into play very often.