Holein1
France |
Posted: Thursday, April 28, 2022 @ 9:14:04 AM at |
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Three days after playing the pretty 2009 North Coast Country Club fantasy course, back to reality with another nice design from Bobby Bolin, with this par 70, tougher than it looks, with quite a few water hazards and plenty of strategically-placed bunkers around the greens, and a prettier and more challenging back 9. On the front 9, my favorite holes are the par-4 2nd, with a blind and downhill tee shot landing beyond a meandering creek, dividing the fairway midway, and a second shot to the slightly-elevated green, the left dogleg par-4 3rd hole, with a creek along the tree-lined fairway on the left and a second shot over it, as it crosses the fairway, to reach the slightly-elevated green. Standing on the tee box of the left dogleg par-5 5th hole, you can forget about getting an eagle, despite its wide fairway, divided halfway by trees in the middle, as its elevated green (with three bunkers on the left) is 673 yards away (with pro tees !), but you might birdie the next par-3 6h hole if your downhill tee shot can fly over a creek diagonally in front of the green, and avoid the small bunker, on the right. Another noteworthy hole is the right dogleg par-4 9th, with a beautiful uphill approach to the green, surrounded by plenty of fans, and with a very nice clubhouse behind. The back 9 starts with the pretty right dogleg par-4 10th hole, with a downhill tee shot landing near a small creek, dividing the fairway midway (and merging into another creek on the left), and an uphill approach over it to reach the green, and is followed by the par-3 11th, with a big pond on the left, not too far from the green, surrounded by four bunkers. Then, after the left dogleg par-4 12th hole, uphill all the way, with a little creek running past the green on the right, you will face the long left dogleg par-5 13th (more than 600 yards), uphill all the way again, where reaching the green, on your second shot, might be a big gamble, with two small ponds in front (on both sides) and 5 bunkers around ! The par-3 14th hole is not easy either, with 6 small bunkers around the slightly-elevated green (with 3 of them, in front on the left), before moving on a little bit later to the right dogleg par-4 16th, with a downhill tee shot landing near a few trees on the right (and a big bunker on the left), midway, and an uphill approach to the green, with plenty of bunkers around. You will finish with the short and risky par-4 17th hole where, with a lot of luck (and some tail wind !), you might be able to reach its slightly-elevated green, a little bit to the right, hidden by trees, two-thirds of the way, and with a small creek in front (and to the right), before heading for the right dogleg par-4 18th, slightly-uphill all the way, with a serpentine creek, splitting its wide fairway, midway, and its nice approach to the green, with all those fans cheering you up ! Well-designed as usual by Bobby Bolin, this Southern Hills Country Club will definitely challenge you on your approach shots. But if you manage to avoid all those water hazards and bunkers, you should have fun, and be ready to go for the upcoming 2022 PGA Championship course...
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