Bring back the crannies (LOL) !
Formerly known as “Nooks and Crannies” in 2006, this course has been updated somewhat and the end result is a pure delight to watch and play, but you will have to be very patient with your shots, especially on the back 9, if you want to finish with a decent score, as this par 72 has plenty of elevation changes, tight and slanted (or sloped) fairways, lots of water hazards, well-placed bunkers and trees, and a few tricky and challenging greens.
The par-4 1st hole sets the tone for what you will be facing, with a tee shot over a meandering creek and an uphill approach over a multi-tiered terrain to reach the elevated green, slightly to the right, and is followed by the par-4 2nd, with another tee shot over the stream and a tough second shot toward the green, with a lone tree, partially hiding the green on the right.
After a similar approach on the par-3 3rd hole, you will face the scenic par-4 4th, with a tee shot onto a slanted and undulating fairway, with a big serpentine creek on the left and over which you will have to hit your second shot to reach the green, before continuing with the par-5 5th, with another tee shot along the creek on the left and a blind and long second shot toward the elevated green, with more water down on the right to watch for.
On the right dogleg par-5 6th hole, you will be going back the other way with a blind and downhill tee shot landing near a big creek on the left and an elongated bunker on the right, and another blind approach to the green, guarded by deep rough and a wide bunker in front.
My favorite hole is the short (around 255 yards) and spectacular dogleg par-4 7th, sharply to the left, with a tee shot over a wide and deep lake to reach the other side of the hill and a blind and very risky approach downward to the beautiful elongated island green, but the downhill par-3 8th hole is quite nice too, with its panoramic view, with a small pond in front of the green.
The par-4 9th hole is no pushover either, with a downhill tee shot landing onto a tree-lined slanted fairway, followed by an uphill shot to the elevated green, with more trees, partially hiding it on the right.
You will start the back 9 with the very pretty par-4 10th hole, with a downhill tee shot over a wide lake landing onto a narrow fairway, with bunkers on both sides, before hitting another downhill tee shot over the water (and an island green) on the right dogleg par-5 11th, and a long second shot toward the elevated green.
The right dogleg par-4 12th hole is very pretty too with a tee shot over a few short trees on the edge of a wide lake on the right landing onto a winding "bowl-shaped" fairway and is followed by the very scenic par-3 13th, with a downhill tee shot over a wide lake, with a big puzzle-shaped bunker below guarding the green in front.
The other right dogleg par-4 14th hole is quite spectacular too, with its downhill tee shot landing near trees on a hilltop going around the corner, and over which you will have to hit your blind and uphill approach toward the green, with more water flowing behind on the left.
You will then go back the other way on the right dogleg par-4 15th hole, with an uphill tee shot over some water, landing onto an undulating fairway (set on a plateau) before hitting another blind and uphill shot downward to the green.
Then, after the downhill par-3 16th hole and its nice tee shot over the valley, you will head for the sharply-to-the-right dogleg par-5 17th, quite nice with its panoramic view and its creek below on the right, where you will need to hit one (or two) uphill approach(es) to reach the steeply-elevated green, before finishing with a downhill tee shot landing onto a narrow fairway on the par-4 18th hole, with water below (on both sides) and a blind approach above some trees to reach the green.
A few hours after playing his Second Nature course, Engineer surprised me again with this gorgeous layout, even better and nicer and quite challenging with its tough four or five-hole finishing stretch, leaving me wondering what the 2006 Nooks and Crannies must have been like...