The Must Plays: 2013

This is happening right now:

That means two things: (1) no golf for me any time soon, and (2) more blog posts for you!

So let's review last year's "must-play" list and delve into the courses I'm looking to get to this year.

First up, the courses from last year's list that I made it out to.  It was good year as "must-plays" goes, as I made it to 3 of the 5 courses on the 2012 list, plus one from the 2012-2016 list.

MUST PLAYS 2012: COURSES PLAYED

1. Wintonbury Hills Golf Course, Bloomfield, CT.  I played this one very early in the season, just after opening.  I really can't say enough about this course, a varied design that plays fairly open on the front side, and more tightly through the forest on the back.  It's the perfect stop half way between Boston and New York.

2. Meadow Brook Golf Course, Richmond, RI.  I ended up here on a last minute decision -- I had spent a night in Providence and was thinking of heading down to the Connecticut casinos for some poker, but at the last minute decided play 18 instead.  The course comes as advertised: "7400 yards from the back tees with rolling fairways and multiple elevation changes throughout, allowing golfers to use every club in their bag."  It still needs a little bit of maturing, and there is one notable oddity -- the first tee is quite a distance from the pro shop -- but it has the potential to be the prime choice for golf and gamble trips in the future.

3. The Ailsa Course, Turnberry Resort, Ayrshire, Scotland.  As perfect a place as I've ever been.  If you haven't read about it yet, click here.

4. The Oaks, The International Golf Club & Resort, Bolton, MA.  I had put this one on the 5-year list, but suggested that I would try to get there in 2012 because it was newly semi-private, and there's always a chance it would go back to full-time private.  I actually ended up playing there twice, 10 days apart.  It immediately vaulted to one of my favorite courses, a perfect mix of challenging but still fair, with fantastic conditioning and a tremendous hole variety -- not to mention some of the best views of the Worcester Hills and Mt. Wachusett around.  I cannot recommend this course enough.

Although it was an awfully good year for courses played, there will still be some carry-overs this year.  Before we get to the this, let's review the rules again:

• "Must plays" for the year (or the next 5 years) cannot be courses that I played last year.
• "Must plays" for this year should all be fairly local so that it's realistic; must plays for the 5-year list can be a bit more extended.
• I want to be somewhat pragmatic.

MUST PLAYS FOR 2013

1. The Springfield Country Club, West Springfield, MA.  As I mentioned last year, my friend Kevin (of Asher Invitational fame) joined here last year, but unfortunately I didn't get a chance to play.  That will change this year as I have been invited to their member-guest, a 5 day (!) affair.  Can't wait.

2. Shaker Hills Country Club, Harvard, MA.  Shaker has long been one of my favorite courses (and still features my favorite hole, the par-5 16th).  That's why it was shocking to hear that the course was shuttered and sold at auction last spring.  Fortunately, the buyers didn't decide to turn it into a movie production studio, and instead have been at work renovating the course and clubhouse.  I'm looking forward to getting back there this year to see the updates.

3. Taconic Golf Club, Williamstown, MA.  Golf.com ranks it as the #39 on their "Top 100 You Can Play" rankings; Golf Digest has it ranked as the #19 course overall in the state of Massachusetts.  I was fortunate enough to play there back when I was about 18 years old, and really I was too naive to appreciate it then.  But, lo and behold, when I looked at the schedule for The TOUR of Greater Boston, there it was, marked down for October 7.  I'll be there.

4. Acushnet River Valley Golf Course, Acushnet, MA.  Another carry-over from last year's list.  It's too good a course to go ignored, and now that I know there's a pro-level Titleist fitting facility nearby it's a no-brainer -- I think it's time for new wedges.

5. The Black, Bethpage State Park, Farmington, NY.  In the words of Jack Shephard, "We have to go back!"

MUST PLAYS FOR 2013-2017

1. Chambers Bay, University Place, WA.  I've said it once, and I'll say it again -- this course is #1 on the list until I play it.  It seems like some of the buzz for the course has died down recently, but I'm sure it will pick up again soon enough with the U.S. Open coming in 2015.  My post-Scotland obsession with links-style golf has only enhanced my desire to get there.  It will happen.

2. Cabot Links, Inverness, NS.  The only new course on the 5-year list this time around; this one is my newest obsession.  Not only is it Scottish-links, its in Nova Scotia ("New Scotland").  And the early reviews are spectacular.  Unfortunately, it turns out to be more difficult to get to than I had hoped (apparently there no longer is a Boston-to-Halifax ferry), but I'm convinced that the wife can be swayed to go away for another "unique" vacation.  

3. Pine Barrens, World Woods Golf Club, Brooksville, FL.  Too close to my parents' house to not get there.  It's only a matter of time.

4. Ballyowen Golf Course, Hamburg, NJ.  This is the 3rd course on this list which advertises itself as being born "in the Scottish tradition" or to actually have a picture of a man wearing a kilt playing the bagpipes on its website.  I may actually have a problem.

5. Boston Golf Club, Hingham, MA.  The reviews (ranked in the 70s on both the "top 100" courses lists).  The secrecy.  The proximity.  This: 

If anybody knows a way to get on there (or any members who want to invite me), just let me know!

The Asher Invitational | Turning Stone

This past weekend was the inaugural Asher Invitational,* a 54 hole event played out on 3 courses over 2 days at Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, NY.

*Despite the tremendous rhetoric suggesting this was an actual big-time invitational tournament, it was basically a golf weekend organized by my friend Kevin, and the field consisted of 4 guys.  But it was fun to play along.  We even had shirts made up.

There certainly was nothing close to even par played over the course of the weekend -- the weather conditions were prohibitive, with temperatures in the low 40s and "heavy mist" on Saturday, and then downpours for the first 5 holes on Sunday.  But I write this not to tell you the ups and downs of my game.  I write this with one simple message:

IF YOU LIKE GOLF, YOU SHOULD GO TO TURNING STONE.

First, let's run through some of the stats:

There are 3 courses at the resort: Atunyote (which hosted the Turning Stone Resort Championship on the PGA tour from 2007-2010), Kaluhyat, and Shenendoah.  All 3 clock in at over 7000 yards from the tips (Atunyote is the longest at 7,482) and have slopes and ratings in what one might consider the "extreme" range (Kaluhyat is rated the toughest at 75.5/150).  In the course rankings world, Golf Digest ranks Atunyote as the #76 public course in the country, with Kaluhyat not far behind at #84; Golf.com/Golf Magazine actually puts Shenendoah higher than the others, coming in at #59 on their "Best Courses You Can Play" list, with Atunyote next at #65.  (In their in-state rankings, golf.com puts Shenendoah #2 and Atunyote #3 behind Bethpage Black in New York; Kaluhyat ranks 16th.)

So I'm not exactly breaking new ground by saying this, but in the immortal words of Sidra on Seinfeld, "They're real, and they're spectacular."

Shenendoah and Kaluhyat are actually located on the resort grounds and share a clubhouse and practice facility; Atunyote is about 5 minutes down the road.  Both sites feature top-notch staff who were there to service our every need -- and they still had a smile on their faces despite the fact that we were literally the only people playing on Saturday afternoon.  The practice range and putting green at the main site are both immaculate, and probably the best I've used other than TPC Boston (we didn't use the facilities at Atunyote, but I'm sure it was of similar quality). 

The first course we played was Kaluhyat, and it's a beast.  We played all the courses from the blue tees, and it would probably be insane to play this one from the blacks.  The par 5's are probably the toughest set on any course I've ever played; other than the very 1st hole there are no birdie opportunities among them.  You can really tell a lot of thought was put into each hole -- and most of that thought was how to make it challenging.  Despite all that, it's the type of course that you marvel at it's challenge, even while it's kicking your ass.  I loved it.

Atunyote was second on our list.  Everything is long there.  Even from the blue tees there are 5 par-4's over 420 yards, and it closes with a 580 par 5 that is all uphill.  Compared to Kaluhyat the course is wide-open, with a more links-style layout.  Fairways are generally wide, but there are ample bunkers that make the navigation difficult, and the dominating feature of the course is a beautiful running brook that comes into play on many of the holes.

Shenendoah was the last course we played, and I have to say I agree with golf.com -- it's the best of the bunch.  The hole variety is impressive, and the course is definitely fair but challenging, with holes that could be played any number of ways bringing both birdie and double bogey into play.

Ultimately, though, it's the conditions that separate Turning Stone from other sites I've been to.  All 3 courses are in perfect shape, with razor-mown fairways, thick punishing rough, and greens that are smooth, fast, and apparently have the greatest drainage in the world.  We were awed standing on the 1st tee on each of the courses -- and still in awe by the 18th each time.

Let's put it this way: the weather was terrible, probably the worst it can be without the course closing, and we had an awesome time.  I can't wait to go back.

The Kid

Golf.com's latest list of the "Top 100 You Can Play" recently came out, which lead me to a few interesting discoveries:

1) I've only played 2 of the courses on the list (#6 Bethpage Black and #41 Taconic Golf Club).  This is vaguely unsettling.
2) On the state-by-state list, the #5 public course in Massachusetts is Shining Rock Golf Club in Northridge.  I've never heard of it!  (Or at least I hadn't until this list came out.)  Apparently it's new this year.  This flabbergasts me.  Obviously it vaults immediately into this year's "Must Play" list.
3) The #2 course in Connecticut is Wintonbury Hills Golf Club, which is a municipal course in Bloomfield.  This is notable because it's almost exactly 1/2 way between Boston and New York City, which makes it the perfect meeting place for my brother and I.  Here's what unfolded when we met there this past weekend....

The Ocean City Swing

Welcome to the 2009 golf season!

With the weather up north not exactly ideal yet, it became almost mandatory to get somewhere where it's a bit warmer -- this year my brother planned a little trip to Ocean City, MD, which we just completed this past weekend. Here's a quick rundown:

4/4/09: First, A Detour -- The Golf Course at Glen Mills, Glen Mills, PA

We were originally scheduled to play a warm-up round of sorts in New York, but with a forecast of steady rain and high winds, we decided to get a jump start on the trip and headed south to Glen Mills, which is just outside Philadelphia. We weren't entirely sure what to expect from the course, having chosen it somewhat last minute based on it's ranking as the #2 public course in the greater Philadelphia area according to ESPN.com's travel website. In short, it was spectacular. The conditions were fantastic for this time of year. The layout was unique, challenging, with hazards that were obviously well thought-out and punished bad shots, but if you hit it where you are supposed to, you would be rewarded. It immediately vaulted to my short list of favorite courses.

Unfortunately, 2 things conspired against scoring: (1) we avoided the rain but not the wind -- balls were literally blowing off the green... from a standstill; and (2) I sucked. Badly. Can't say I did much of anything right. I hit just 5 fairways (with 3 of those coming on holes 2-4), and 4 greens. I made a 9 on the 9th hole. The final tally: 94. Ugh.

4/5/09: Welcome Cheerleaders -- Glen Riddle Golf Club (Man O' War), Berlin, MD

We arrived in Ocean City to find that there was some sort of national cheerleading competition in town that weekend, and it seems that all the 10 year olds were staying in our hotel. That meant we got a bit of an early wake-up call when one of the mother hen's knocked on our door thinking it was a cheerleader room (probably since every other room on the floor was), and then had to endure about 2 hours of a screaming/running/make-up/hair session across the hall. So that was fun.

Eventually we escaped to our first scheduled round, at The Beach Club. We knew in advance that it was the weakest of the courses we were scheduled to play... but my God, was it bad. When we arrived there were about 50 people just milling around in the parking lot, which turned out to be due to the fact that they were out of carts and the starters were so flumoxed they had no idea what to do with everyone. Then we saw the putting green, which was mowed to a length I would normally associate with the 1st cut of rough. After a few quick phone calls we were able to transfer to our scheduled course for the next day (Glen Riddle Golf Club), and we fled The Beach Club like a trio of cockroaches when the lights turn on.

Best decision of our lives.

We played the Man O' War course at Glen Riddle, which is a links-style track with impressive rolling dunes that interweave with pristine fairways. It clocks in at an impressive 7163 yards (par 72) with a rating of 74.9 and slope of 137 from the tips. (A quick confession here, though: it wasn't playing anywhere near that slope/rating as the fescue that covers the dunes hadn't grown in for the season yet, and even the rough wasn't expected to really bloom for another month). This was the round of the weekend that came closest to even par, shooting 77. Some of that was a bit fluky (I holed out from 115 yards on the par-4 12th), but my play was infinitely better than it was the day before, hitting 9 fairways, 8 greens, and making just 27 putts.

4/6/09: Rained Out

We were supposed to return to Glen Riddle for 36 holes (at Man O' War and then their soon-to-be private course, War Admiral). We ended up playing 11 before thunderstorms and torrential rains poured in. Oh well.

4/7/09: On the Coast -- Rum Pointe Seaside Golf Links, Berlin, MD, and The Links at Lighthouse Sound, Bishopville, MD

The storm was gone, but the winds were not, and both our rounds on the final day of the trip were on coastal, relatively unprotected courses, and it seemed that every long hole played directly into the wind -- not an easy day to score.

First up was Rum Pointe, which is at Pete Dye design, suppossedly without the typical Pete Dye bite. At 7001 yards, though, and especially with the wind, it played to considerably more difficult than it's 72.6 rating/122 slope. It's definitely a scenic course with gorgeous bayside views, but overall a little repetitive; in fact, the best holes were probably the ones that headed away from the shore and briefly into the woods, which was a little disappointing. Despite hitting 71% of fairways, I shot 89, which tells you all you need to know about how hard it was to hit and hold greens in the conditions we had. Either that or I'm an awful iron player.

The final round of the weekend was at The Links at Lighthouse Sound, #89 on the Top 100 You Can Play. They claim it's been called the "Pebble Beach of the East," and I have to say it mostly delivered. The stretch of holes that runs directly along the coast (4-5-6, especially) is gorgeous; both the 4th and 5th greens are on precipices with the bay directly behind them (a la number 7 at Pebble), and the black and gold tees on 6 are seemingly in the middle of the bay itself. It's also incredibly challenging (73.3/144, 7031 yards), and, according to the guy in the pro shop, "unbeatable with a west wind" (which, of course, is exactly what we had). The 7th hole, in fact, has a forced carry that was quite literally impossible into the wind ("I've never seen anyone do it," said the pro shop guy). Statistically I had a good round -- 71% of fairways again, 6 greens, 33 putts, 9 pars -- but big scores on a few holes (3 triples) doomed the round and I shot 88.

All in all, I highly recommend the Glen Riddle courses and Lighthouse Sound if you're in the Ocean City area.

And now that I'm officially warmed up, it's time to get back to the task of reaching even par.

The Black (The Back)

After getting torched for a 49 (+13) on the front, I had to turn things around on the back -- though a 22 to get to even par was not in the cards....

10 A relatively flat hole in comparison to most of what we'd just seen, and the start of a string of ridiculously long par 4's (it's measures 502 yards from the tips). Fortunately, the tees were up a bit -- it was probably "only" playing 450 yards for us. I hit my best drive in a while, a low trajectory 300 yarder down the left side, into the 1st cut of rough. From there I hit an 8-iron to the green, leaving my first real birdie oportunity of the day, about a 15 footer -- uphill with a little right to left break. I reached the hole (!), but just underestimated the break, and tapped in for par. Score: 4 (+13).

11 Another relatively flat but long par 4, this one comes in at 435 yards. There are maybe 4-5 large sand traps lining either side of the fairway, so it's pretty initmidating off the tee. I pulled my drive left and somehow found a spot in between 2 bunkers, with a pretty clean lie, though the ball was a bit above my feet. I tried to hit a choke-down hybrid but didn't compensate for the lie enough and got a lot of draw spin. The ball came down somewhat about 25-30 yards left of the green, close to the 10th tee, deep into the fescue -- I never found it. After a drop I was able to flop a 60 degree wedge onto the green and 2 putt (again) for double bogey. Score: 6 (+15).

12 A monster dogleg left 501 yard par 4. Read that again. Honestly, this is where the memory of the round gets a little murky. I know I popped up my drive short of the trap that guards the corner of the dogleg; if memory serves, I slashed the ball around 3 times before hitting a lofted wedge onto the green and making 2 putts for another double. Ouch. Score: 6 (+17).

13 The first hole on the back side that wasn't a monster par 4... instead it's a 600+ yard par 5. Despite the length, this is a very playable hole, relatively straight and flat without much trouble. I again pulled my drive into the left rough -- and that was trouble enough. I was able to get a 5 iron through the thick stuff but carried it too far and found the thick rough again on the right side of the fairway. Now I had both rough and a tree to contend with -- I went for a cut 8 iron that came up just short and spun into a deep bunker on the right front of the green. I had a good lie and was able to get onto the green with only about 10 feet for par... but missed and made another bogey. Score: 6 (+18).

14 By far the easiest hole on the course, a straightforward 161 yard par 3. We were dead into the wind, and after watching my brother come up short with 7 iron, I went with a 6. I pushed it a bit right, but found the edge of the green just over the bunker. I left my 1st putt about 6 feet short, but made the 2nd for a rare par. Score: 3 (+18).

15 Now we come to what some have called the toughest 4 finishing holes in golf. I have to agree. The 15th is the number 1 handicap hole, and it deserves it. It's a "paltry" 478 yards, but plays more like 500+ with a severely uphill aproach shot that is all carry over some menacing looking bunkers -- and, as it turns out, the green slopes pretty severely off the back. I hit a terrible drive, pulled dead into the thickest of the thick rough and only a bit more than 200 yards off the tee. The ball was beyond buried, and I hit the hardest 53 degree wedge of my life just to get back to the middle of the fairway -- honestly, it was probably my best shot of the day. I had about 185 left, and had to hit a real good 4 iron to carry the bunkers, and I actually found the right side of the green. I had a real putt for par, but left it way short, then missed the follow-up to end up with a 3-putt double. (I hate 3-putts.) Score: 6 (+20).

16 The 16th comes right back at you with 490 yards of dogleg left par 4 action. This time, though, the tee-box is elevated up above the fairway, and the green for once is on relatively level ground; if there's any chance to score on the last 4 holes, this is it. Having hit my last several drives poorly and to the left, I tried to play more of a fade of the tee and ended up crushing it well right -- making this a very long hole. I tried to advance the ball and get back to the fairway with an 8 iron out of the fescue, but the face closed up in the tall grass and the ball shot almost 90 degrees to my left, all the way across the fairway, and back into the very thick rough. From there a 6 iron stayed a bit too far right and found yet another bunker; a sand wedge and 2 putts later left me with (yet another) double bogey. Score: 6 (+22).

17 One of the prettiest holes on the course, and the touchest par 3 I've ever played. 207 yards, all uphill, with tall fescue all the way to the green -- except for the mown walkway down the center. The green is very shallow, though relatively wide for The Black, and of course is protected by 5 bunkers. I hit a 3 iron and left it just right of the green, somehow finding just about the only spot of grass available between the traps. I had a decent lie and hit a soft SW pitch that settled just a foot left of the hole; a tap-in par I have to say I'm pretty proud of. Score: 3 (+22).

18 If I remembered any one hole from the Open in 2002, this was it. Just 411 yards, but steeply uphill for the last 150-200, this is the hole that has a whopping 11 different sand traps, and (of course) they're all in play. I hit a decent drive, about 280 yards down the right side; unfortunately, the fairway narrows down to maybe 15 yards at that point and I found the inside edge of one of the bunkers; I had almost no shot to clear the lip, but it was the 18th so I had to go for it anyway. I blasted an 8 iron... and predictably clipped the top of the lip, ending up in (where else) the thick rough about 105 yards out. The lie wasn't bad, though, and I was able to hit PW to about pin-high. That left about 20 feet for par on the 18th at Bethpage -- something I'm sure many pros will be envious of in 2009. At least I reached the hole; bogey would have to do. Score: 5 (+23).

Suffice to say, The Black got the best of me. But all-in-all, I actually think that I could have been about 5 shots better with better putting (which should have been easy -- the greens are all actually very flat) and a little luck -- mostly notably on the 5th hole where twice being one foot to the left would have changed things dramatically. It was, to say the least, quite an experience.

Final Score: 94. (See the scorecard here.)

The Black (The Front)

I lived in New York for 4 years, including 2002, when Bethpage Black hosted the US Open. I made it out to Bethpage probably a dozen times, but never was able to get on the Black.

Well, it finally happened this week...

Everybody knows it's a challenge, but the sign on the 1st tee really does drive the message home.

If that doesn't do it for you, though, maybe the course stats will: 7468 yards from the Blue tees, with a rating of 76.6 and a slope of 144 (for a par of 71).

The Black was just recently rated as the #7 course "you can play" by Golf Magazine, which makes this theoretically the best course I've ever played. And last year, Golf Digest ranked it as the 6th toughest course in America -- again, theoretically that makes it #1 on my list. So in the spirit of this blog, it wasn't all that likely that I would shoot even par. Here's how it went, hole-by hole...

1 The 1st tee is beautifully elevated and looks out onto a sturdy-looking dogleg right, measuring at 430 yards. It's probably the best example of the signature greenskeeping style at Bethpage -- fairways mowed such that the left half looks dark green and the right half looks light green. I was surprised that I didn't feel any jitters on the tee, and was even more surprised when I smoked one down the middle with just a little draw. Unfortunately, it went through the fairway and left me with about 155 yards out of the 2nd cut of rough.

A quick aside about the rough -- if you haven't played there, then you can't even imagine what it's like. There is about 3 feet of shorter, first cut rough on either side of the fairway, and it's very playable from there. But beyond that your ball disappears into the thickest, darkest, 4 inches of grass you've even seen. As you'll see, most of the time you can't do anything better than punch out back to the fairway. And if you get past about 15 yards of that -- well then you're in the fescue, and you have no chance.

Anyway, I actually had a decent lie, maybe even a flier, so I decided to go for the green. I hit a high, arcing 7-iron which was tracking right at the pin... and landed over the green almost up to the fence guarding the road. There my ball did disappear into the rough, but I was able to flop a 60 degree wedge onto the green, and I 2-putt from about 15 feet. Score: 5 (+1).

2 A more gentle dogleg left, measuring a benign 389 yards. I hit another good drive, right to the center of the fairway, leaving about 110 yards to an elevated green. I bladed a PW a bit and pushed it right -- ended up on the back right fringe (with the pin front and left). I was able to putt from there, but didn't get it very close, then left an 8-footer just short on the lip of the cup. Score: 5 (+2).

3 The 3rd is a visually intimidating par 3, which is essentially all carry to a well-bunkered green that falls off the back side to the woods. The tees were up, and so it wasn't playing at it's full 230 yards (thank God), and instead came in at about 180. I hit 5-iron, but much like the wedge on the previous hole, I bladed it and actually carried over the bunker on the right side of the green. It ended up on the edge of the woods, and I hit a blind SW that (I'm told) landed near the pin but then rolled off and into the rough on the front side of the green. From there I chipped to about 4 feet and... missed the putt. Yuk. Score: 5 (+4).

4 517 yards of all uphill par 5, wonderfully framed by bunkers down the left side, then across the fairway about 1/2 the way home, and again surrounding the green (a common theme). Really a beautiful hole from the tee. I hit my drive into the right rough, but again was surprised to find a decent lie. I managed to carry the cross-fairway traps with a muscle 5 iron that left me with about 70 yards to the green. A nice soft SW and 2 putts led to my first par of the day. Score: 5 (+4).

5 The first of the real monster par 4's, measuring 478 yards from the tips, and starting with about 250 yards of carry over an enormous series of bunkers. I hit what I though was a good drive, but just barely made it over, and I would have been better off to have stayed in -- my ball was nearly buried in a tangled mess of long grass. I still had about 200 yards and tried to hit my hybrid (2-H) but only managed to run it forward about 90 yards -- in truth, probably about the best outcome I really could have gotten.

And that's when it really started to fall apart.

I pulled a PW a bit, and figured based on the way it was hit that it had flew the green. But when I got to the top of the hill, it was no where to be found. There were a couple of guys from the greens crew off to the left, and they told me it was in the bunker on the long side of the green -- but it wasn't in there either. After a few minutes I did find it -- and just like my shot off the tee, it was right on the edge, but not quite in the bunker, and completely buried in what must have been 10 inch, incredibly thick rough. To make matters worse, I had to stand in the bunker, and the ball was at about waist height. I took one hack with my 60 degree wedge... and the ball only went in deeper. I took another hack... and could no longer see the ball at all. Took a drop, chipped on, and made the putt for a snowman. Score: 8 (+8).

6 After a hot dog from the particularly grumpy snack bar attendant, I hit a cautious drive on this downhill 408 yard par 4. With about 165 from the right side of the fairway, I felt pretty good about an easy 7 iron to the green -- but had a bit too much draw spin and didn't catch it completely clean. I somehow managed to avoid the array of bunkers and was able to pitch onto the green, but again had to settle for a 2 putt bogey. Score: 5 (+9).

7 The 7th is a par 5 for us amateurs (read: hackers), but we were told it plays as a par 4 for the pros (read: still hackers on this course, if memory serves). I can't really imagine they play from the real tips, though, because it's listed at 553 yards; but was playing at closer to 490 where the tees were for our round. Much like the 5th, there's a forced carry over a bunker off the tee, but you could play it safe(r) to the left side of the fairway. I popped my drive up a bit and ended up in the bunker and somewhat blocked out -- the hole doglegs to the right, and there are tall pines that stand in the way if you're still in the bunker. I managed to pick a 7 iron clean and cleared the trees, giving myself a shot at the green; but again I mishit my wedge, had to pitch out of the thick rough around the green, and 2-putt for bogey. Score: 6 (+10).

8 The only water hazard on the course is a small pond in front of the green on this 210 yard par 3... and I found it. I actually hit a decent 4 iron, but clipped a tree branch that overhangs the green on the right side, and my ball shot straight back and into the water. After dropping in the drop zone on the short side, I flopped a SW to about 15 feet and 2 putt for a double, again leaving the putt just short (another theme for the day). Score: 5 (+12).

9 The finishing hole on the front is unique for the course -- most of the fairways are pretty flat, but this one is severely sloped from right-to-left. The hole itself is a monster dogleg 460 yard par 4 -- you could cut the corner, but there's naturally a hefty-sized bunker right in the driving zone. I ended up a little short and right of the bunker, with the ball a little above my feet -- a position I actually liked because it allowed me to hit my favorite shot, a sharp low draw. My 4 iron found the back-right part of the green, and I thought I was about to make a really good par. But 3 putts later I was staring at another bogey, and an abysmal 49 on the front side. Score: 5 (+13).

13 over obviously wasn't going to cut it -- I didn't have much chance at even par at the Black, but I had hoped to play better than that. I had a bit of bad luck (see the 5th hole), but I also left a number of shots out there -- most notably some wedges out of the fairway, and 2-3 putts I should have made.

I'll go through the back nine with the next post.