The Dunes Golf & Beach Club- Myrtle Beach, SC

This is a classic Robert Trent Jones designed golf course, opened in 1949. It is also one of the oldest golf courses in Myrtle Beach. This course shows what Jones could do when given good sites, though it is not up to the level of Peachtree, which opened one year prior. The Dunes lacks the width and overall strategic value that Peachtree has, but features variety, walkability, and flow that many of his later courses lack. Overall, this course is quite nice and deserving of the Top 100 ranking it once had.

Ranking
Variety of Design: The par 3's have modest variety. The longest is 245 yards, which is certainly among the longest a golfer will ever see. However, the shortest is 185 yards, with two in the middle playing 205 and 200 yards. Add in the normal summer wind from the south and the variety decreases even more with both of the 200 yard hole playing the same direction and the 185 yard hole playing exactly opposite. Par 4's have solid variety, ranging from 465 to 365 yards, though the lengths are concentrated more at the upper end around 425 yards. The par 5's have solid variety as well, from the reachable in two 4th hole to the solid 3 shot 13th. Directionally, the course has 3 holes playing left, 2 holes playing right, and 13 holes playing straight, however, only once do two holes play in the same direction back to back, so the wind will come into play differently on every hole. 7 3/4 out of 10

Flow of the Course: Very good. The course starts off gently, before the par 5 4th hole provides a high point early. The front nine continues steadily from there before the back nine starts off with the finest 4 hole stretch of RTJ holes that I have seen. The course then ends with fantastic holes on 16 and 18, with a good par 3 17th sandwiched in between. 7 1/2 out of 10

Course Conditioning: Good. This course was played during the late fall season, after the course had been seeded with rye grass. However, the fairways were still solidly grassed and the course played nicely firm. The bent grass greens were quite nice and ran very true. 7 1/4 out of 10

Ease of Walking: Very good. Most holes have very short transitions to the next tee and the course is not very hilly. 6 1/2 out of 10

Atmosphere: Solid, but nothing special. The course gets a bit of a boost due to being a private club that allows outside play and because it is one of the oldest courses in Myrtle Beach. 4 1/4 out of 10

Total: 71 out of 100

Holes to Note
Hole #1: Par 4, 425 yards
This solid opening hole has a fairway bunker guarding the right side of the fairway. However, the bunker only guards the hole when the hole is cut on the left side of the green. When the hole is cut right, the preferred play is down the left. This is a fair opening hole and with two quality shots, the player should have a reasonable chance to make birdie to start the round.

 From the tee, the fairway bunker is visible as are the greenside bunkers.

 From the right side of the fairway, the flanking bunkers are visible short of the green. This side provides the best angle of approach to holes cut on the left side of the green.

Hole #4: Par 5, 505 yards
This is a fantastic hole with strategic options on all shots. From the tee, the player must decide if he wants to challenge the bunkers and try to go for the green in two shots. If the player desires to lay short of them, a shot of not more than 240 yards is needed. Shots between 240 and 265 yards can be played into the narrow fairway to the right of the bunkers. A player who wants to play over the bunkers will need to hit a shot that carries at least 275 yards. Players who play short of the bunker will certainly be laying up but those who played to the side, might try to go at the green, needing a shot of 240-250 yards to make the center of the green. Players who carried the bunkers are looking at 190-210 yards to the center of the green. This hole provides a great chance to make a birdie early on to the player who plays within his limitations.

 From the tee, the options are clear to the player who is able to see them.

 This is the view from over the bunkers in the fairway, roughly 200 yards from the green. The water short of the green will make even the best player think about going for the green in two.

Hole #9: Par 3, 200 yards
This par 3 surrounded by bunkers provides the player the only view of the ocean on the golf course. Almost a shame, really, that this course wasn't able to be played down in the dunes. The hole itself is a quality end to the front nine, mandating the player hit a quality shot with a helping wind.

 There will certainly be no roll-up shots played here.

 Looking right from the green, the Atlantic Ocean is visible beyond the club.

Hole #10: par 4, 380 yards
This mid-short par 4 starts off the back nine. The hole plays straight off the tee towards a water hazard that cuts the fairway short. The fairway also narrows significantly at around 260 yards from the tee, bottlenecking down then widening out prior to the hazard. The hole then plays significantly uphill to the green. The way the hole is laid out, flat from the tee, fairway the runs out, large, undulated and well defended green, reminds me of the second hole at Pine Valley in New Jersey. This hole is a great starter for the back nine.

 The pond up close in this image is only 75 yards from the tee. The bunkers in the distance are protecting the green. The best play is towards the pair of bunkers in the center of the image.

 From roughly 135 yards from the green, the pond fronting the green is visible, as is the pinch in the fairway. The player must add roughly one club given the uphill nature of the hole.

Hole #11: Par 4, 430 yards
A very solid dogleg right that plays with water down the entire right side. The fairway bunker can be reached from the tee and is there to keep the player from bailing out far left. To the green, the player must be mindful that the green is virtually on a peninsula and that any shot not struck well will likely find the water.

 From the tee, the best line is slightly right of the bunker, but the player has to guard against fading the ball too much off that line, otherwise he will find himself in the water.

 From 200 yards out, the green provides a very small target and the water is especially in play.

 This view, from around 140 yards, shows how exposed the green is.

Hole #12: Par 3, 245 yards
Long par 3, all carry over the water. This hole is very solid and incredibly difficult. A score of 3 here will draw no complaints from any golfer.

Hole #13: Par 5, 590 yards
This is a very difficult par 5 with water coming into play on the tee shot and second shot. From the tee, the player needs to be mindful that any shot to the right will find the water and that the fairway narrows down significantly for players who are capable of hitting tee shots over 300 yards. On the second shot, the hole is basically a Cape hole, giving the player the chance to play as far out to the right as he desires in effort to cut down the length of approach shot to the green.

 The fairway is visible from the tee. Any shot right of the cluster of trees on the right will certainly find the water.

 From the fairway, the player can go as far right as he desires. From here, a shot played directly over the hazard stake will need to carry 180 yards to find the fairway on the other side. Ultra aggressive players who choose to go over directly towards the left greenside bunker will need to carry the ball around 230 yards to find the fairway.

Hole #16: Par 4, 365 yards
The shortest par 4 on the course is also one of the better ones. A fairway bunker 235 yards off the tee pinches down the fairway to only 15 yards wide. Beyond the bunker, the fairway dips down into a fairly deep depression before rising back up to the green. The green is heavily bunkered, being surrounded by 7 bunkers and the greensite strongly resembles the 7th at Augusta National, a course that Mr. Jones renovated just three years prior to the opening of The Dunes. This hole provides a great opportunity for birdie late in the round for the player who knows his limitations.

 From the tee, the bunker is visible in the distance on the right side of the fairway. The safe play is to lay back short of it, possibly 225 yards off the tee.

 From just beyond the bunker, you can see how the hole dips down prior to rising back up to the fantastic green complex. There will certainly be no rolling the ball up onto this green.

Hole #18: Par 4, 430 yards
This is a great closing hole. It is one of the few real dogleg holes on the course and one that will be played into the summer prevailing wind. The player should try to get his tee shot into the left side of the fairway so that he can have a shorter approach shot. From the fairway, the player will need to play a shot to a green surrounded by bunkers with a fronting water hazard. The player must retain his concentration until the final shot here.

 The spot where the trees begin to get shorter in the distance, just left of the center of the image, is the perfect aiming spot from the tee with the right to left summer wind.

The scenic green can be clearly seen here, around 125 yards from the green. This is no easy approach shot with a middle or long iron in your hands. 

Overall, this is a very good course. It has quality in the routing and design features that are sadly lacking from many of Mr. Jones's later courses. It would likely not take much work for this course to find the American Top 100 yet again. 6 out of 10, and a strong 6 at that.

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.

 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.

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.

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.

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.

 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.

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.

 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.

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.

 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

Mattaponi Springs Golf Club-Ruther Glen, VA

This is a fantastic course located a fair ways off of the beaten path north of Richmond, Virginia. The routing, in most places, makes great use of the terrain and even where it does not, the holes work out quite well. For the course to be located so far out of the way it gets fairly good attention, being ranked in the Golf Digest Top 100 Public courses. Based on other courses played, both on and off that list, this writer feels the course is deserving of such ranking. It is a very solid course. The only real weakness the course has is three holes in the middle of the back nine, 13, 16 and 17, that are routed over very flat land, surrounding a man-made lake, on top of a hill at the highest point on the course. But those have solid strategic value, even if they do feel a bit out of place.

Ranking:
Variety of Design: Very solid. The par 3's have variety as good as can be expected, as to par 4's and 5's. Variety in length among all holes is very good. Directional variety is as good as any, having 6 holes going Right, 5 going left, and 7 going straight. 7 3/4

Flow of the Course: The course does a very good job of taking the player up and down through the course of the round. Difficult holes are typically followed by breather holes and mundane holes followed by good ones. Adding in the fact that the course mixes up playing uphill and downhill, the course does a good job, though not a perfect one, of telling a story through the round. 7

Conditioning: The course was played during the spring season, Master's weekend, in fact, so the course might not have been as "green" as during high season. But the course had very firm fairways with solid turf cover to go along with a solid set of greens. Could have been fractionally better, but still very good. 7 3/4

Ease of Walking: Given the hilly site the course is a difficult walk, but not impossible. Generally the holes are routed somewhat close to each other, allowing for moderate to short walks between green and tee. 5

Atmosphere: Good. The club tries to be nothing more than it is, carries no amount of snobbery or the like. The club lives up to the standards set by the rankings and that adds to the history of the club. It also doesn't hurt that the course is privately owned, not owned by some huge corporation. Good, "throwback" type operation. 4

Total: 67 3/4

Holes to Note
Hole #1: Par 4, 446 yards
This is no bargain for an opening hole. Hole plays significantly downhill and has a pond awaiting the player at the end of the fairway. It is possible to reach the pond off the tee if the player hits the ball more than 300 yards from the tee, which given the downhill nature of the shot is quite possible. It is unknown why the pond is here, it certainly seems manmade. Perhaps is was needed to control run-off from the course. From the fairway, a semi-difficult shot awaits the player, coming over the pond to a slightly elevated green. This hole certainly does not give the golfer a "gentle handshake" to start the round.

From the tee, the golfer is afforded a great view of the hole and the surrounding country side. The best play is towards the right edge of the green with a slight draw if able. The farther left one is in the fairway, without being blocked of course, the better the angle for the approach shot becomes.

From the center of the fairway, the shot is rather simple, though not incredibly easy.

Hole #11: Par 4,413 yards

This hole features a double fairway set-up that allows the player to pick a side depending on how much rish he wishes to take. The left fairway is wider, but leaves a longer play to the green. The right fairway is narrow, and has disaster waiting down the right side, but will leave the player with a shorter shot to the green. The fairways are split by a cluster of trees, though they should not be in play for the golfer. The approach to the green changes little depending on side are far as angle and so forth. The left fairway is slightly more elevated giving a more level approach to the green.

From the tee, the two fairways wait. The better player, of course, can pick the fairway he wishes to play down and play to that point. The lesser player might simply aim for the trees, playing the percentages that he will not hit straight and will then find the fairway no matter which way he misses. Strategic for the best players, easy to play the the lesser ones? Seems to be a winning combination.

From outside the fairway down the left side, the green lies in wait on top of the hill. As seen here, the approach angle or difficulty would not be significantly different from either fairway, only change would be the yardage.

Hole #14: Par 3, 236 yards

The longest par 3 on the course plays over a large ravine and back up to a generous green. The design of the hole seems to prefer an aerial approach to the green since any ball landing short would have to be coming in quite fast to avoid getting stopped on the slope or, worse, coming back down the slope.

Hole #16: Par 5, 494 yards
This hole, while being out of place playing around a man made pond, it a solid hole strategically. The hole plays blind off the tee to a wide fairway. But being that it is blind, the player who has never played here does not know exactly how wide the fairway is, if is has significant slope or if it is heavily bunkered. This is the only blind tee shot on the course (it could be argued that the tee shot on 9 is blind, but that is only the case for the very longest of players) and that feature is used to full effect. Once arriving in the fairway, the player finds a very accomodating fairway with very little slope and no bunkering. From here, he must determine if he wants to go for the green in two or lay-up. Going for the green certainly brings the water right and short of the green into play. Laying up will bring the bunker that lies about 75 yards short of the green into play possibly. This is a solid risk-reward par 5 this late in the round.

The hole doesn't give the player much help from the tee. He simply must pick a line and hope it is the best (not knowing what lies in the fairway, of course)

This image, from the lay-up area, shows the flat nature of the fairway and gives a closer view ot the green site with the bunker and pond in play. This hole is very solid strategically, but the odd nature of the pond takes away from it, sadly.

Overall, this is a solid course. It certainly will not bore anyone from start to finish. The holes are solid and come together to form a very good course. The course is certainly deserving of it's ranking and very fun to play. 6 out of 10



Golden Horseshoe Golf Club (Gold)-Williamsburg, VA

This older Robert Trent Jones design features many of the design ideas that made Mr. Jones famous. Aircraft Carrier/Runway tees. Solid par three's. Forcing the player to work the ball both ways. Mr. Jones takes heat in some circles due to his later work, much done by associates, but his earlier work where he was most involved is generally very high quality. That is certainly the case here.

Ranking:

Variety of Design: Very good. Great variety in yardage for all holes. Par three's range from well over 200 yards to 169 yards playing significantly downhill. Par five's from from the reachable sixth playing 485 yards to the fifteenth playing 634 yards. Par four's are also solid, ranging fron the 466 yards tenth to the 337 yard eighth. Directional variety is perfect at six right, six left, and six straight. The course also does a great job routing the course up and down the hills. The only negative is that all the par 3's play over water. 8 1/4 out of 10

Flow of the Course: This course does little to really invigorate the golfer on the front nine. The holes are solid, but there is just "something" missing. On the back, the course keeps plugging along, nothing bad, until one gets to the fifteenth tee. From there, the course builds to a very good finish. Fifteen is a very difficult long par 5, followed by a short par 3 to an island green. The view from the sixteenth tee of the green below the player and the seventeenth fairway spanning up the hill in the distance is extraordinary. From here the player is faced with two difficult par 4's to finish out the round. So the finish is top tier, but the rest of the course lacks a bit. 7 out of 10

Course Conditioning: The course was maintained very well. Played in mid-March on the winter rye overseeding, the fairways were solid throughout and not overly damp. The night before play, there had been a large rain storm pass over, but the course still played rather firm and fast. The greens were also as firm as could be expected given the rain and ran nicely fast and true. 7  1/4 out of 10, likely 1/2 point or so better in peak season

Ease of Walking: This course gets downgraded on walking due to the hilly nature of the site and also the small size of the site results in some odd transitions. But for a person of reasonable fitness, this course should not be difficult to walk. 6 out of 10

Atmosphere: Very good atmosphere here. The course is old and traditional and seeing horse drawn carriages on the way in gives it a slight boost. The reasonably high ranking of the course also does not hurt, being top 50 public according to Golf Digest. 4 1/2 out of 10

Total: 70 3/4

Holes to Note

Hole #1: Par 4, 402 yards

This hole is not an exceptionally difficult opener, but it's no cake walk either. The hole doglegs to the right and the player can choose either side of the fairway, depending on the second shot he desires. The play down the right side will leave a shorter approach over a greenside bunker while the play down the left will yeild a slightly longer shot but will open up a longer angle of the green and allow for a possible run-up shot, depending on conditions. Solid opening hole.

From the tee, the player may be tempted to go over the tall trees in the distance. While it would be possible to carry these trees, there is little value to be had in that with additional trees lining the fairway beyond that. The RTJ aircraft carrier tee is visible here.



This player chose to play down the right side for the shorter shot. The opening left of the bunker is visible and flat enough to accept running shots, should the player decide that is the best option for him.

Hole #2: Par 5, 498 yards

This hole gives the player a chance to make a birdie early in the round. 498 yards is very reachable even for modest hitters and with the hole doglegging to the right, some of that can be cut off. The best play for all golfers, going for the green in two or otherwise, is down the right side or the fairway.

From the tee, the player is again confronted by trees down the side of the fairway. The best play is to hit the tee shot as closely to them as possible and even perhaps attempt to fade the ball around the corner a bit.

In a perfect world, the golfer can end up here. This will leave roughly 200 yards to the green. As you can see, that is over water. The shot is also complicated by being played off a downhill lie. Players had better have full confidence in the shot before pulling the trigger here.

Hole #7: Par 3, 206 yards

Mr. Jones seems to have learned from his early partner, Stanley Thompson, how to work par three's into the routing. Mr. Thompson is known to have said he liked picking the par three sites first and working the course from there. That certainly seems to be what Mr. Jones did here. This is a fantastic par three playing over water, though the water should not come into play being 60 or 70 yards short of the green, to a generous green. Depending on the hole location, the player may be able to play conservatively towards the center of the green and fade or draw the ball either way in order to avoid the bunkers fronting the green.

Hole #12: Par 3, 188 yards
Another fantastic par 3. This one truly plays over the water out to a green and angles left to right away from the player. This hole simply gives the player limited options to make an aggressive play because poor execution will result in another shot over the water only slightly shorter than the one before.

Hole #15: Par 5, 634 yards
By far the longest par 5 on the course and the only one not reachable in two shots. Two bunkers flank the fairway in the landing area. From the tee, the player simply needs to hit the fairway. No attempt to the green in two shots is possible (even Bubba Watson would have great difficulty cover 634 yards in two shots) but the player will find himself at a significant disadvantage is playing his second shot from the rough. The second shot needs to be played down the right side of the fairway in order to open up the length of the green and take the green side bunkers out of play as much as possible.

From the tee, there is little that can not be seen. Simply play the tee shot down within the confines of the fairway and move along.

Obviously this player did not know how to play a shot to the fairway. From the bunker it becomes difficult to advance the ball down the fairway far enough to leave a short to mid-iron into the green.

This shot is coming into the green from the preferred angle, but from the rough. The two front greenside bunkers are visible here. This is a very difficult hole and the start to a difficult closing stretch.

Hole #16: Par 3, 169 yards

This hole is one of the earlier island green designs, being done before later designers turned the hole into a cliche. The green is large and well defended with bunkers. In truth, the bunkers likely as as much to save the player from finding the water with slight misses and hazards. This hole certainly allows the player to attempt something aggressive and make a birdie. The seventeenth hole works it's way up the hill in the center of the image below.

Hole #17: Par 4, 435 yards
From the tee, the hole does not appear to work uphill as much as was evident in the view from the sixteenth tee. The best play off the tee is up the right side of the fairway. The hills that are visible in the right side of the image below can be used as kick-slopes if the player desires. From the right side, the length of the green is open to the player. This hole will not give the player any breaks on the incoming stretch, he will need his best here.

From the tee, the green is visible in the distance and the hole looks decievingly flat. The best play is up the right, possibly using the hills to propel the tee shot forward.

From the fairway, the uphill nature of the hole is more evident. There is a small opening between the bunkers if the player wished to run the ball onto the green, but that is likely not the desired option for players who are playing the correct tees.

Hole #18: Par 4, 444 yards

The closing hole here plays level off the tee then downhill to the green and doglegs significantly to the left. The player can choose to play right or left off the tee. The play to the left will open up the length of the green, but the green is not very wide and any shot missing the green left will quite likely result in a ball in the water. Playing right off the tee leaves the player with a longer approach to the green, but gives more directional cushioning.



From the tee, the fairway spreads out in front of the player nicely. He must choose between right or left depending on what he desires to leave for his second shot.

This player chose to play down the right side. From the right-center of the fairway, the green angles away from the player left to right and the steep hill long of the green will filter balls down to the pond between the green and clubhouse. Very solid closing hole with potential for great play and disaster.

Overall, this course gets off to an average start. Though the holes themselves are very solid, there is little flow, little excitement, early in the round. However, the stellar finish makes up for that somewhat and in the end you have a very, very solid golf course here. 6 out of 10.