Course Layout

I-696 Freeway borders the left Out of bounds fence to start off the day.  Long hitters can reach the green in two shots. If you are laying up, you must hit past the 150-yard marker to avoid the trouble of the long grass and fairway bunker.  Two large bunkers also guard the green. The best miss to make a good score is short and on the right side of the fairway.

Short hole, you can choose any club off the tee that gives you the yardage you are most effective with. Willow trees block your shot on the left and large fairway bunkers guard the right side of the fairway. The green is severely sloped from back to front. The miss is below the pin.

Dog leg left par 4 gives you a couple options here. You must pick a club that covers the turn in the fairway to not be blocked out from the trees. Avoid the left fairway bunker at all costs! Best aiming point is the small pot bunker at the end of the fairway. If you hit the ball long you will be able to try and cut the bend in the fairway. If you miss left, you are in jail. Green is sloped from back to front also. Note – Donald Ross designed the course and back to front greens are his signature.

Dogleg right Par 4, If you hit straight down the fairway you must keep it under 235 yards or you will run through the fairway and be in the rough possibly behind trees. If you are going to try and cut the corner either via left to right shot or just going straight over trees, you will need 250-280 off the tee. If you miss right of the trees you are still in fine shape and closer to the hole, but you may be  blocked out. Aim for the middle of the green to avoid falling off the side of the green and having a very difficult chip or going into a greenside bunker. Both #3 and 4 are risk/reward holes.

Not a long Par 3 but no walk in the park. Green is very sloped and has run off on both sides of the green, your only miss that won’t totally penalize you is going to short of the green. Play for a two-putt by paying close attention to break and speed. One of the toughest greens on the course. Aim for the middle of the green every time as all sides are protected by bunkers and slopes.

Slight dogleg left Par 4. Just right of the tree line on the left side of the fairway is a good safe target. A straight drive is needed on this hole. You will be rewarded if you can keep the ball on the left side of the fairway. There is a lot of room on the right until you get about 100 yards from the green. Long hitters can go for green. Tough green side bunker on the right. Going long will leave you a difficult chip onto the green.

Slight dogleg left Par 5, keep your tee shot on the right side of the fairway. Not a very long hole so you can attempt to hit the green in 2, but you must hit it well. If you go left of the green at all you will have an extremely difficult up-and-down due to the number of trees. The smartest play would be to give yourself a wedge with a comfortable distance for your pitch on to an elevated green that slopes from back to front. Fairway bunkers don’t come into play unless your layup is between 100-135 yards out. If your inside of 90 yards the approach will be very straight forward. The green is protected by greenside bunkers on both the left and right side. This green is very small and will normally give you a firm bounce, short is the best place to miss this green.

Take enough club for this hole. The green is protected by bunkers all around the green. Your miss is going to have to be short but avoiding the bunkers. Left is huge trouble because your ball most of the time will kick left under trees, requiring a chip up to an elevated green while under a tree. Missing right won’t kill you but still no easy up-and-down. Once on the green you won’t have to worry about much as the green is one of the flattest on the course.

Longest par 4 on the front side requires you to hit a well struck drive to have a manageable 2^nd shot in to a small but flat green elevated back to front. There are 2 large bunkers that are in the right rough the aim point is just left of these to have the closest angle to this green. Long grass guards the left side of this fairway, do your best to avoid this because you will lose your ball 99% of the time.

Longest Par 4 on the course and one of the hardest as well. Small fairway is hard to hit but there is a lot of room to miss in the rough. You must hit a solid tee short or you face a very long shot into the green which is guarded by 4 pot bunkers, 2 on each side of the green. The miss is short of the pin in the fairway to give you the best chance at par. This green is reasonably flat and doesn’t break as much as you think.

Another straight away, man size par 4. Not much trouble and a lot of room to miss but must hit solid shots to get the ball to the green in two. Green is tricky with a large run off on the left side of the green with a well-placed large bunker just right of the green to keep you honest. Missing long is death.

Looks easy but green side bunkers guarding an elevated green make up and down’s hard. Keep approach shot below the hole as this green is sloped severely from back to front.  If the pin is in the front half of the green you might want to think about taking less than a driver off the tee to give you a full shot.

Large green protected by a huge bunker on the right side. Key is to aim for the middle of the green. The green is “turtle” shaped and won’t hold any shots near the edges. Make sure you take enough club on this hole, anything over the big bunker gives you a decent chance at a par.

Out of bounds along the entire left side, but missing right won’t hurt you. Keep your second shot in the fairway if you are planning to lay up because of trouble on both sides. Keeping the ball below the hole is a must on this green, if you are above this hole you have a very tricky shot to get close to any pin on the green. Give yourself a shot that you have the best chances to hit this green, it’s a tough up and in if you miss anywhere but short in the fairway.

Zoo views of the train and giraffes draw your eye to the left, which is OB. Hit to right side of fairway, while long hitters can aim at cell tower and hit a draw. There is a massive bunker in the middle of the fairway that blocks your view of the fairway, the best aim point is the 150-yard marker. This green is elevated back to front with deep bunkers on all sides. Another green if you miss it you have a tough up and down in any spot.

Another long Par 3 with a tough green. Sloped back to front is the course’s theme and it holds true on this hole with steep drop off on all sides with bunkers all around the green. Par is a great score here, make sure you pay attention to the wind on this hole, it comes in play due to the lack of trees.

Hole 17 has some character, you will need to take advantage of this hole due to the lack of distance. Left side of the fairway is the best spot to attack this green. The green has run offs on both sides and is very narrow in front. Once on the green you won’t have more than 25 ft from the stick.

One of the tougher holes on the course especially while trying to finish with a good score. If you cannot safely reach the green in two, avoid the bunker 80 yards in front of green. You must hit a solid tee ball here to have a chance to reach the green on your second shot. The hole looks to be uphill but plays its true yardage. You are better off short of the green then anywhere long of this pin.