I played an early morning time here on 09/06/12 and ended up playing from the black tees (72.8/142/6824). I got to the course and expected to be golfing in farmland, but the course is on some hilly tree lined property which made for an interesting layout. It was a beautiful morning and the staff was very helpful so that got the day started out correctly. The 1st hole is a mid length par 4 that required an accurate tee shot and then a mid or long iron over a valley to the green. I found out as I went along that this type of setup would be how most of the holes were laid out. The 2nd hole had a blind downhill tee shot and then a tough to judge uphill layup and approach while the 3rd hole had another blind downhill tee shot to the fairway in the valley. The 5th hole had one of the blindest approaches that I have ever played and there was another fairway in a valley on the 9th. This pattern continued on the back side too. The elevation change and the valleys made it tough to see where the ball came down and on many holes I was searching for my golf ball because I never could see it land. Add in the longer rough and I was starting to get upset trying to find my tee shots. Because of the valleys in the fairways all too often I had an uneven (sometimes downhill) lie to an elevated green which made it really tough to hit any solid shots. I currently play to about a 4 handicap and I just do not see how any average golfer could have any fun playing here, especially with the crazy high slope rating of 137 from the white tees (two tees up from where I played). Any shot off of the rough line was a lost ball because of the dense vegetation and there were some very narrow parts of the fairways, I just did not care for the design. I can take some elevation change and blind shots, but this was pretty much a nightmare to play for the first time with these design features on every hole. Some other weird features were on display with #14, a short par 4, that had a narrow fairway that got a little wider closer to the green. This almost required hitting driver on a short hole to hit to the fat of the fairway. I like options on shorter holes and did not feel like I had any off the tee there. The 18th hole played out of a chute and then went straight left out of that chute, just another odd feeling hole to play. On the plus side the course maintenance was very good with the greens, tee boxes, and fairways all in good shape without many burnt out patches. Each hole was separated by heavy vegetation so there was a secluded feel and there were very few homes on the course. The course was green and many holes were aesthetically pleasing. The par 3s on the front were very good holes and I really liked playing them, but all four of the par 3s were between 179 and 204 yards which did not vary the club selection much. If passing through the area I certainly would try elsewhere as this is a “one and done” course for me even with its good maintenance. I could play here a dozen times and still shoot the same thing as a wayward shot is just penalized too harshly. I paid $58 which was not a horrible price for as it was a quality course, but just too frustrating to play for me.
#1:
#2:
#2 from the fairway:
#3:
#4:
#5:
#5 approach:
#7:
#8:
#9 green:
#14:
#15:
#17:
#18 green:
