Course Tips

Course Tips

#1	#1 Handicap hole…It is a long par 4 with trouble on the left. With the rough cut down, a slice here doesn’t hurt you too much, except cutting distance. It is only about 180 yards to carry the fairway bunker on the right, 205 yards to carry the left from the white tees. The green is well protected from the left and right, so being right in the middle is your aim. Getting there is another, because you need a very solid drive to have a medium iron to this green, otherwise you are looking at a wood!
#2	The tee shot is the easy one on this medium length par 5. Again, trouble on the left (out-of-bounds). The right is open unless it’s too big of a slice! It looks tight ahead, and don’t let that fool you, it gets a lot tighter! Being in the center to center-left is ideal, because you want to hit the second shot to the center to center-right of the fairway. If you get too far left, the tight trees block your wedge to the green. Distance is not the problem here. Hit it straight. Owner, Dick Groat, says of this hole, three really good 7 irons & you are home free.
#3	This Par 3 plays about 165 yards from the whites. Green slopes back to the front, so you do not want to be too long. Sand traps left and right protect the front of the green so you don’t want to be short. Just hit your 165 yard club right down the middle and you will be putting for birdies.
#4	This is the first of several really tight tee shots. From the whites, it plays down hill so the ball carries better than you think, having the hole play significantly shorter than what the card says. A 3 or 5 wood hit solid to the right center of the fairway is ideal. A big drive must have a draw on it or it will tend to go through to the right side of the fairway and overhanging trees will give you fits. The green is large, with undulation in the front…easy to hit if your tee shot agrees.
#5	This is a short par 5 than can be a good risk-reward hole. A big drive with a slight draw will put you in position to put a medium iron on the green. The hole is a gentle “S”, first bending to the left then back to the right. The safe play is to hit a long iron or 5-wood to the center of the fairway, then two short irons around the “S”. On both shots the fairway tends to slope right to left, so aim slightly more right than you would plan. Another well protected green with bunkers surrounding it.
#6	This is an easy, short par-4 with a well protected green. A well-hit drive will leave you with less than a full wedge. If the pin is in the front, hitting a long iron or 5 wood off of the tee may be a good idea so that you can hit the full wedge. If the pin is in the back, there is lots of room to run a pitch back to the hole, so hit away!
#7	This is a long par-3 with a well-protected green. Ending up right is harmless and leaves a fairly easy chip if you are past the sand trap. Going left is trouble with trees and hardpan giving you fits.
#8	The drive here is out-of-a-chute of trees. Aim for the big tree that looks to be in the center of the fairway. The fairway doglegs slightly left, but you likely won’t drive through it unless you really catch it. A hard draw will leave you in a deep valley with a tough second shot. The second shot is slightly down hill so will play shorter than the advertised distance. This is a really tough green sloping back to front. A back pin placement here is a real bear. Going over the green leaves you with a “pro chip” to get it close. Left of the green is real trouble, so bail right if bailing is needed.
#9	This is a fairly open par 4 with a crowned fairway. Again, with the rough cut down, bring out the driver and swing away. In the summer with the rough grown up, the crown fairway is enough to make a 4 letter word a common thing. On your second shot, right again is better than left. The green is large and inviting and not well protected on the right Watch out for a left bunker & one behind the green. If you hit the left bunker, be thankful, because missing it leaves you with either a lost ball or an uphill chip from trees.
#10	A long par 4, this is a hard hole… 400 yards plus, into the wind. You might as well hit away, because if you hit it short, it leaves you no chance to reach the green in two. Big hitters may find this easier than some of the tighter holes, but even they will need to hit two good shots to reach in regulation. Green is large and inviting, luckily.
#11	There it is, right in front of you. A down hill par 3 over water. You are either on the green in one or are looking at bogey or worse. The tee shot plays at least one club length shorter than the distance, depending on the wind, which is typically in your face. A very pretty hole!
#12	The scorecard calls this the number 2 handicap hole and it is a tough one! You want to hit your drive about 220 to 230 to be just short of the water. The second shot plays one to two clubs longer that the distance because of the up hill. The green is anything but level, and tends to slope right to left. Hitting the second shot left leaves you in a world of hurt while hitting in right leaves you with a downhill chip to a green sloping away from you. Hitting just short beats both of those options hands down. Be happy with a bogey on this hole!
#13	This is the “Lakes” signature hole. It takes a precise tee shot to get it home in regulation. The good news is it does not have to be a monster drive, just a well placed one. There is trouble left and right. With the greater trouble left. If you hit it right, you will be faced with a punch- out shot back to the fairway. You need to be in the center-left side of the fairway to have a clear shot to the green. If you are on the right, tress will block your path to the green and you will never get there. A 3 iron or 5 wood with a slight draw is your best bet.
#14	Fairly easy par 3. Hit an extra club as it is all up hill and the green is back slightly from the front bunkers. The green is very large and deep, so take enough club.
#15	Another risk-reward par- 5. A big drive to the right side of the fairway will allow the big hitters a shot at the green. Shorter hitters should lay up on the right side as there is a water hazard behind the trees on the left. The water hazard is a pond, half way up the slope leading to the green, and you may not know it’s a hazard until you are in it. It’s about 50 yards in front of the green.
#16	This is the third par-3 on the back nine and a long one. It is about 215 yards down hill, but into the wind. Thus, it plays just short of that 215 yards but over 200. Leaving it short gives you a fairly easy chip toward the green but don’t be far left or right, as you will see that even though this hole looks pretty open, it can close up fast.
#17	Fairly straight forward par-4 with a slight dogleg left. Try and put your drive to the right side of the fairway as it leaves you with a better angle to the green. Don’t be fooled by the sand traps, they are short of the green and you must completely carry them on your second shot.
#18	This is a bear of a par-5. Big hitters will easily clear the water hazard with their second shot but the average hitters will have a decision to make. Laying up means you will be left with at least 140 yards uphill third shot which is never easy. Going for it means you will have a solid long iron or fairway wood, depending on your drive. Laying up or going for it, you want to be left on your second shot to give yourself a good angle to the green. Being right gives you problems with trees.
	Sand, water, woods….makes this a top notch course. Remember, enjoy yourself & think “sunshine & birdies”.