Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2008 - Player Comments about TWP Forest Grove Lakes GC

A challenging course, quite pretty to look at, but with plenty of thick trees (sometimes in the way of your shots) making you think twice before aiming your approaches to the greens, often guarded by water hazards.
This par 72 starts with the beautiful risk/reward par-5 1st hole, along a lake, starting midway across a tree-lined fairway, with a blind tee shot landing short of the water (don’t gamble, believe me !), leaving you with a very long second shot over it, if you want to reach the green (next to the lake, on the right) for a potential eagle.
Then, after a nice view of the mountains behind the green, surrounded by trees, on the straight par-3 2nd hole, you will move on to the straight but tough par-4 3rd, a little bit similar to the 1st hole, but with the lake (on the right), branching out twice across the fairway (to the left), once in the middle and the second time, in front of the green, making your approach quite risky.
The dogleg par-4 4th hole is not a piece of cake either, bending sharply to the right around a wide lake, over which you will have to hit your approach to reach a large green, just like the dogleg left par-4 5th, with a couple of big trees, right in the middle of the fairway, two-thirds of the way, blocking the view of the green, further behind.
More headaches are on the way on the short (around 320 yards), but very difficult, dogleg par-4 6th hole, again bending sharply to the right, all along a serpentine big creek, ending next to the green (on the right), before getting a “break” with the straight par-4 7th, with a fairway quite narrow in the middle, with trees (on the left) and a big pond (on the right) and a slightly-elevated green.
However, the very tough and long (around 270 yards) par-3 8th hole, with a blind tee shot over a small mound, midway, with trees behind and landing past a small pond, in front of the green, and the straight but challenging par-5 9th, with a very narrow fairway, framed by trees, midway, leaving you with a very long second shot to reach the green (guarded by a v-shaped big pond in front), will keep you on your toes...
The back 9 starts with the par-3 10th hole, with a blind tee shot downward to a green, surrounded almost entirely by sand (and with a nice panoramic view of the woods and the mountains), and is followed by the pretty but tough par-5 11th, with a lake, splitting the fairway, midway and diagonally, lengthwise (with a tiny island in the middle), over which you will have to hit a long approach toward the green for a another eagle opportunity.
Thankfully, the next few holes (par-4 12th, with a tee shot over a lake, par-4 13th, with an approach to the green over a small lake - with a tiny island in the middle), are a tad easier, just like the straight par-4 14th, with a winding fairway and trees, left and right.
But another tricky hole, the par-4 15th, awaits you with water across the fairway, midway (and flowing to the right), leaving you with a tough choice : if your tee shot lands shot of the water, you will have trees in the way blocking the view of the green, but if your ball lands past it, then you will have a clear shot to the flag.
Water is again a factor on the last three holes : the par-3 16th has a big pond, diagonally in front of the green, and is followed by the straight par-4 17th, along a lake, starting midway (on the right) and ending near the green, before finishing with the scenic par-5 18th, along a big elongated lake, starting midway (to the right, and with a tiny lengthy island with small trees and flowers, splitting it in the middle), and a long second shot to reach the green and its clubhouse, nearby on the left).
Overall, if this TWP Forest Groves Lakes GC (one of the 8 TWP courses, designed by thekid1435), is pleasant to the eye, with its small mountainous panorama and its tree-lined fairways, it is definitely not made for the... kids, with plenty of tough shots awaiting you on this par 72, where patience will be the key if you want to break par.