A Donald Ross Classic

The ideal tee shot here is straight away, down the middle. Trees and O.B. are to the right and left, making par a chore from the ill-placed drive. After an ideal tee shot, the approach here is severely uphill, usually requiring an extra club. A false front repels any shot not carrying into the green’s belly. A large green that slopes back to front allows for a variety of pin positions.

The first par five on the course should be attacked aggressively off the elevated tee box to a generous fairway below. One must avoid the bunker in the left landing area, and the tree grove on the right. A well struck and placed drive sets the golfer up to hit this green in two as the hole plays downhill through the green. A false front, back, and right at the green reminds the player not to fall asleep with regard to distance and direction. A word of caution: homeowners down #3 on both sides are well-stocked with ProV1s from errant tee shots.

Guests typically call this the longest 398 yard par four in North Carolina. The perfect tee shot is right center as the fairway slopes from right to left. There is a severe slope downward just past the 150 marker down to about the 100 yard marker. Trees right and left of the fairway, with OB looming in both directions just beyond, make this a nervy drive. Another large green awaits one’s approach with a long greenside bunker right and a false back that abuts the O.B. North Road. The green is sloped from back to front, is two-tiered with a false right in the back part of the green. When the pin is in position #1, on the back tier, this is regarded by most as the most challenging hole on the golf course. The effective putting area back there is only about fifteen feet deep and twenty-five feet wide. A shot two yards short of the shelf will trickle back leaving a difficult-to-judge 30-40 footer and a shot two yards long can easily send the ball O.B.

A short hole for a #1 handicap, there is plenty that can go wrong here.  The perfect tee shot is down the right center of the fairway. To achieve perfection, however, one must flirt with the unforgiving North Road, which is O.B. right. Trees along North Road sometimes throw right-ward tee balls back into play, but that’s usually a bad bet. Moreover, because the fairway slopes right to left, a bunker guards the landing area left, and most ominously of all, overhanging trees from the left droop into the left fairway airspace, the effective landing area for the tee shot is only 15 yards wide. The green is large, sloped back to front, with a false front and right. A back left pin turns this hole into a real bear.

Deceptively difficult, especially for a #17 handicap hole, this downhill par 3 plays a half club short, but threading it through the trees is only the golfer’s first challenge. Greenside bunkers left, right, and short leave no bail out area. The green is one of the most demanding on the course as it slopes sharply from front to back and left to right.

The best driving hole on the golf course, this tee box is elevated and invites a left to right shot to a gentle dogleg.  O.B. loom both left and right outside the generous fairway. The green complex was designed as a run-up green with no barriers in front and a green that slopes from back to front. There is a dramatic drop off in the back which discourages over-clubbing. Many regard this green as the trickiest to read on the course, especially when the hole is in the back third of the green.

The Black tee shot requires a fade that peeks at the creek on the left as it veers back into the fairway. From the up-tees, the shot is straightway but must avoid the aforementioned creek left while also finding a spot between the bunker and tree on the left and a large tree on the right which guards approach shots into the green. #8 green has the most pronounced false front on the golf course. A shot not carrying the top can easily peel back 10-20 yards into the fairway leaving a new challenge back up the slope from a tight lie. The green also boasts false sides both left and right, with sand-traps well-placed on both sides to swallow up any shots slightly off-line. Breaks on this green tend to be subtle and deceptive and this green is exceptionally long and narrow.

Holes 11 and 12 are typically upwind and thus play as the longest par fours on the course. #11 has the most bunkers on the course and golfers must place their tee shots with care to avoid them. A well-struck tee shot leaves a mid to short iron into a green protected on the front left by a bunker and false sides, both left and right, as well as a drop off along the entire back. The green is sloped from back to front and slightly from right to left, though there are subtleties throughout this green surface.

This is one of the more difficult holes because of length. The bunkers have steep faces on both the right and left of the fairway, and are best avoided. The optimal line is left center of the fairway. Trees left and right of the fairway leave few options for recovery. The 12th green is one of the smaller greens on the course. Behind the green is a small creek that will catch most shots over the green.

The second par 5 on the course stretches out straight ahead and typically downwind, tempting longer hitters to reach it in two. Grant’s Creek runs all along the left side of this hole (as well as behind the 14th green and the 15th tee box). Two bunkers left threaten offline tee shots. Trees right require the golfer to aim right down the pipe and stripe it. The second shot must carry, or thread between, a bunker left and one (very deep) right, yet come up short of a middle-of-the-fairway bunker 70 yards short of the green. Ordinarily the second shot is a strategic lay-up to about 90-100 yards from the green’s center. A long drive can set up a second shot carry over the fairway bunker and lead to an eagle pitch into the green. This green is generous, sloped from back to front, and has a bunker on the right side. The false front, force the golfer to land the ball squarely on the green surface. A good a birdie opportunity if played wisely.

The only forced carry over water on the course, this par three has an intimidating appearance from the tee. The green, though large and generous, looks like only a thin sliver of grass because of the deceptive perspective from the teeing grounds. The bail out area is short right. Long right is an especially bad option as a hidden greenside bunker lurks under the old oak tree. Short and left is in the creek.  Pick a club that will get one to the middle left of the green. One of the more difficult greens on the course to putt, this one slopes dramatically from right to left, though near the water the breaks often fool golfers as they straighten out or even go the opposite of what is expected.

The third, and final, par five on the course invites visions of birdie. A dogleg left, the last half of which plays uphill, this hole ordinarily plays downwind. The typical golfer must avoid the two bunkers down the left.  More aggressive play from the tee would be to carry the bunkers, which may bring the rough or O.B. in play. The typical entry into this green is front left. This avoids the fairway bunker short of the green and the most generous landing area to the green. The green defends itself with a  false front. A severe backstop on the back middle/right of this green repels approach shots back down into the green. A ridge runs through the middle of this green left to right. A good rule here: never go over this green, especially right. Short left makes for a tidy up and down.

Like #5, this is not a terribly long hole for a #2 handicap designation, but it earns its reputation because of what can happen. The tee shot is to a turtleback fairway that runs off left and right. The tee shot must carry a ridge at about 230 yards, then run downhill towards the green. Left is unforgiving and easily O.B. Right is better only because there are no penalty shots, but one is rewarded for one’s over-cautiousness with a side-hill shot from the rough and under trees. A well-placed drive leaves a short-ish iron into the green, but the approach is no bargain. In fact, no approach on the course requires greater attention than here on 16. There are greenside bunkers left and right, but these are more friend than foe since an approach shot that misses the green and the bunker left will likely end up O.B. Approach shots long are almost always O.B. Best to be precise here, and if not, at least short. There is a false front, and a drop off left, back, and right. The green is sloped back to front and tends to play fast.

Don’t let the #14 handicap rating fool you; this is one of the most difficult holes on the course. The tee shot is through a chute of trees to an elevated green and quite often plays into the wind—easily playing a club longer most days. There is a deep greenside bunker right and the false front repels short shots back down the slope. The green is ample, but undulating, and a ridge runs up the middle from front to back, breaking from left to right. The slope of the green is fairly severe from back to front. Bail out left and you’ll have a tight lie and tough pitch into a downhill, fast green. There is a backstop on the back left of this green and if the pin is cut into the back left, you can get a rebound back down the slope to the hole, as well as a roll back to the right back if one catches the slope just right.