Another very pretty course from Micko, with small mountains as a backdrop and a lovely English countryside, with beautiful homes, nice plantings, slight elevation changes, quite a few doglegs and some well-placed streams, ponds and lakes to keep you on your toes until the 18th green.
You will start your round with one of my favorite holes, the very scenic dogleg par-4 1st, with nice houses, streets, lamp posts and small wooden fences on the left side, and a blind and downhill tee shot, followed by an uphill approach to the slightly-elevated green, before moving on to the right dogleg par-5 2nd hole, with its undulating fairway and a very long second shot to the green, hidden by trees on the right side.
Then, after the par-3 3rd hole, slightly downhill with a tee shot over a little stream, crossing the fairway midway, and the right dogleg par-4 4th, uphill all the way, with a blind tee shot landing near some bunkers around the corner, you will reach the pretty left dogleg par-4 5th hole, with trees on the left and a wide stream, starting midway and running all along the fairway on the right and ending near the slightly-elevated green.
I also like three other holes on the front 9 : the very scenic and challenging par-5 6th, with a meandering creek all along starting on the left of the tee box and crossing the fairway three (!) times (and ending to the right of the green), the par-4 8th hole, with a very narrow fairway, surrounded by deep rough as you get close to the elevated green, and the gorgeous left dogleg par-9th, with a blind tee shot over a big lake (with a small island covered with trees in the middle and with a nice fountain, a little bit further), and a beautiful mansion-like clubhouse behind the green.
The back 9 starts with the left dogleg par-4 10th hole, with a blind and downhill tee shot and an uphill approach to the green, and is followed by the right dogleg par-4 11th, with a tree-lined fairway, narrower in the middle (with two small bunkers on the left facing a small pond – with weeds in - in the right corner), and a blind approach to the slightly-elevated green.
The left dogleg par-5 12th hole is nice but not easy, with a downhill tee shot landing onto a sloped tree-lined fairway near three bunkers on the right (lined up a little bit apart), and a long and slightly-uphill second shot toward the green, hard to reach, with deep rough on the right in front of a small downhill slope leading to it.
Then, after the par-3 13th hole, slightly downhill, with a big pond across (with weeds in) not too far from the green, you will have an eagle opportunity on the dogleg par-5 14th, if you can avoid, on your second shot, a small pond to the right of the green, hidden by trees in front.
You will then reach the left dogleg par-4 15th hole where, with a creek crossing the undulating fairway, midway, you will have to be careful choosing your club as you tee off, before hitting a blind approach to the downhill and sloped green.
Finally, after the par-3 16th hole, with a tee shot over a big pond, mostly on the right, and the right dogleg par-4 17th, with a tee shot over the tip of a big pond, landing near a couple of bunkers facing each other, midway, and a steeply-uphill approach to the green, you will head for another one of my favorite holes, the picturesque par-4 18th, with a big lake on the right, ending in a little stream, midway across the fairway (making your tee shot quite risky if you want to fly over it), and a very long approach to the green, slightly to the right and close to the lake and with that nice clubhouse behind.
With beautiful textures used for the fairways and greens, nice "dirt-color" paths, this par 72 is delightful to play and quite challenging, thanks to Micko's talented design and imagination !