I never thought I would have to bring my backpack, along with my golf bags, to play on this pretty and challenging par 72, set in the middle of nowhere, with only the presence of camper vans and big tents, seen on a small plateau, as a sign of human activity !
But this Campers Club GC is not a desert by any means : in fact, it is quite scenic and green, with lots of various shapes and sizes of trees (and branches !), bushes, and water hazards that will stop you from being overconfident as you will find out playing the first three downhill holes, with a blind tee shot on the par-4 1st, landing onto a narrow tree-lined fairway and with a slightly-elevated green, the pretty downhill par-3 2nd, with a tee shot over a wide sandy area, and the par-4 3rd, with a narrow and winding fairway and a second shot over medium rough and small bushes to get to the green.
The par-5 4th hole, bending sharply to the left, is quite short (around 450 yards) but pretty tough with a blind tee shot over wide branches and trees (if you try to cut the corner) and a risky approach toward the small green, guarded by a small pond in front (and a bunker, on the left), but wait until you face the dogleg right par-4 5th : a pure beauty that you won’t... see until you hit your blind tee shot over a huge lake while praying for it to land onto a narrow fairway, split midway by deep rough, followed by a tricky approach to the green, set near the edge of the water !
Another par-5 hole awaits you with the dogleg left 6th, with plenty of deep rough and bushes around, splitting the fairway, midway (with a big tree in the middle), and a green, hard to reach on your second shot, before walking over to the very short (around 260 yards) and pretty dogleg par-4 7th hole, bending sharply to the right, with a tee shot landing short of plenty of sand, starting midway and surrounding the green, all the way.
You will then head back the other way with the straight par-4 8th hole, with a tee shot over deep rough and a small green, next to a serpentine small lake (behind and to the left), before enjoying the par-3 9th, with a blind tee shot over trees, sand and shrubs landing onto an elevated green.
Then, after two dogleg right holes to start the back 9 (par-4 10th, with deep rough and a lone tree (on the right), splitting the fairway, midway, and a slightly-elevated green, par-5 11th, with a downhill tee shot landing onto an undulating fairway and a very long second shot toward the green), you will have to hit a precise downhill tee shot over deep rough on the scenic par-3 12th hole, to land on the green, set next to a big lake behind.
After “enjoying a break” on the dogleg right par-4 13th hole, you will have to bring your A game on the tough dogleg par-5 14th, with a tee shot landing short of deep rough, splitting the fairway, followed by a downhill second shot to the right, and an approach to the left toward the green, before moving on to the pretty dogleg left par-4 15th, with a tee shot over plenty of sand and a blind approach over more trees, sand and small bushes to reach the green.
Last but not least, after the wide open par-3 16th hole, with a nice panoramic view of the small hills, you will complete your round with the picturesque dogleg left par-4 17th, with plenty of water winding its way around the fairway and the green (and with tiny islands in between and around, filled with small trees), and the nice dogleg par-4 18th, with a tee shot over a big lake (seen on the 5th hole), and an elevated green, set slightly to the right.
Needless to say, this Campers Club GC (written on the scorecard, but CG on the logo !) is a pure delight to watch (loved those trails of dust on the plateau...) and play, so much so that you might just sit down and have a picnic after completing your round since there is no clubhouse anywhere nearby !