And we're back. The tenth hole is another member of the Piney Apple Par 4s that dogleg nearly 90 degrees club. There's a ridge in the background. That's pretty much it, but actually, the course is about to get slightly interesting!
The eleventh hole is definitely the hardest hole on the course. It's a par 4, and at 400 yards, is a pretty long one, at least as far as this course is concerned. The first thing you may notice, and it was certainly the first thing I noticed, is that this is a very narrow hole. This is the sort of tee shot you would normally want to pull out a long iron just to get the ball in play, and you can certainly do that, but it has the effect of turning this into a three shot hole. Unless you hit that long iron onto the very right side of the fairway, you won't have a shot at the green. The further you hit your drive, the better look you'll have with your second. I'll admit, it's not the most compelling strategy in the world, but it is strategy, and I can appreciate that, even if it does rely on dense trees.
The twelfth hole is without question the best hole on this course. At 440 yards, this is listed on the scorecard as a par 5, but I like it more as a really tough par 4, and that's how I approached the hole when I played it. The fairway initially doglegs sharply to the left, and there is a marshy area about 250 yards from the tee. Again, there's nothing stopping you from hitting a long iron, then laying up at the corner of the second part of the double dogleg. That's the safe way of doing it. It is far more fun to try and hit a big draw with a 3 wood as far around the corner as possible so you can attempt to fade a mid-iron around the pair of trees sitting very close to the direct route between the green and the tee. I don't imagine too many golfers who play here are capable of that combination of shots, but I had a lot of fun trying. It's not complicated, but it was very enjoyable.
The thirteenth hole is a hundred yard par 3 played to a very elevated green. It would be much better if it were surrounded by intimidating bunkers in the true Postage Stamp spirit, but at the same time, it would likely be too difficult for the sort of golfers who play here regularly. Moving on.
The fourteenth hole is a member of the class of hole I like to call "Oh crap, we're out of room but we only have 17 holes what do we do?" The green is actually about 50 or 60 yards away from the previous green, but the hole is 260 yards. Clearly, the solution was to make the golfer trek that entire way to a tee, then play back along that path. Yeah, this isn't an excessively walker-friendly golf course. Anyway, if you've got the length to go for this green with your tee shot (and I do), there's no reason not to. Get past 200 yards, and the hole is completely open.
The fifteenth hole is a 370 yard par 5. That's not a typo. It says it right on the scorecard. I had a sand wedge into the green. Of course, I proceeded to airmail the green into the pond behind, so I couldn't take advantage of the world's shortest par 5.
The sixteenth hole is a 300 yard par 4, and unless you have enough length to actually get to the green, laying up about a hundred yards back is the better option. It's a tough green to hit from 50 yards away, the pitch is uphill to a shallow green, and you have to fly it all the way there because of the front bunker.
The seventeenth hole is another big dogleg. The bunkers to the right and short of the green mean you want to be coming at this hole from the left side, but since it doglegs left, you'll probably want to be on the left side anyway, since it shortens the hole. A bunker at the corner of the dogleg would improve the hole.
The last hole is yet another big sweeping dogleg, but at least this one goes right. You can hit your drive up over the trees to shorten the hole, and while you can't see them in my pictures, there are bunkers left of the green. I guess this is better, at least the trees give you something to think about off the tee. They present a mild challenge.
This is not a golf course that's going to win any awards. I'm not going to pretend it is and say, "Gee, what a wonderful golf course, 10 out of 10." It's not that. It's a simple, understated course for non-serious golfers that you don't even need a collared shirt to play. It was $28 dollars for 18 holes and a cart, and that's not bad. The course in general was solidly maintained, considering the cost, it was very good. And since the course is only 5,500 yards, the round didn't take too long. Also, the twelfth hole was a genuinely fun hole, way beyond the general caliber of the course. I played with a friend, and we had a very good time, more so than if we'd played somewhere more serious. That's the kind of course this is, and the golfing world could use more courses like it. Simple, understated, and inexpensive.
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