Review: Westminster National Golf Club (Part 2)

It's time for the back nine at Westminster National. Here's the front if you haven't seen it yet.

The tenth hole looks pretty similar to the first hole from the tee. And hey, it plays parallel to the first hole, in the same direction, and you can actually see a little corner of the first fairway on the right side of the picture. But on this hole, a 390 yard par 4, you'll want to lay up. About a hundred yards from the green there is a very steep dropoff, covered in long, native grasses. The green is small and is best approached from the left.

The tenth hole from the tee.

The tenth green is not a big target.

The eleventh hole is a neat little 355 yard par 4. The tee shot is once again a lay-up, but the farther right you go, the easier the second shot is. The green is nestled up next to a pond, and shots from the left side have less green to work with, and more pond to cross. There's a bunker behind the green that I would suggest avoiding. The green is shallow from there and slopes away towards the water. So hitting the green is basically the best option.

The eleventh swings to the right significantly.

Not an easy pitch shot to the eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is the shortest hole on the course at 141 yards. The green is over a small pond (the same one we just encountered on the last hole), and is also guarded by a small bunker on the left side. Another hole where hitting the green is really the best option.

The twelfth hole.

The thirteenth hole is the latest edition of my long-running series, "Oh crap, we ran out of room to put a golf hole." What we've got is a 330 yard hole that doglegs 90 degrees to the left. The tee shot is with a mid to long iron, whatever you can hit 200 yards. Do not try to hook it around the trees, there's a pond cutting the fairway off from the green, overcook it too much and you'll be wet. There's water long of the fairway and a ditch running along the entire left side. Beyond that is the tree line. Assuming you've laid up correctly, the second shot is a fairly simple pitch to a bunkerless green.

You can't really see, but there's a lot of water in play on the thirteenth.

There's the water.

After a significant commute up the hill and past several other holes, the fourteenth is another short par 4, but a far more traditional one than the previous hole. There's a pretty decent view from the tee out to the west, and even on a humid, hazy day, the mountains 20 miles west were visible. As for the hole, don't go right. It's O.B. over there, and it's closer to the fairway than it looks from the tee. The second shot will be a short pitch to a green that you really don't want to go over. Long is dead. Still, two smart shots and this is a birdie hole.

The fourteenth is drivable, and over higher, more open ground then the past few holes.

The crowned fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is another short par 4, but while lay-ups were probably the best choice on the previous two, a full blast with the driver is recommended here. Why? Well, you want to get as far as possible so you'll be as close to green height as possible. There's a bit of a steep slope cutting across the fairway, and if you don't get up that, your second shot will be blind. The green is pretty wide open, so once again, birdie is definitely a possibility.

Getting your drive to the top of the hill on fifteen is recommended.

A fairly simple pitch to the fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is, at 405 yards, the longest par 4 at Westminster National. This really isn't a long golf course. The tee shot isn't really that interesting, it's very wide open, but obviously, the more of the dogleg you can cut off, the better. The second shot is semiblind, no matter what. But there's no trouble around the green, so feel free to swing away without fear.

The sixteenth hole.

The semiblind approach to sixteen.

The seventeenth hole is a 150 yard par 3, and is the least interesting hole on the course. No blindness, dead flat, and a fairly big green guarded by only one small bunker. Just don't go long and you'll be fine. Really kind of disappointing to have such a bland hole at the end of the round.

The seventeenth hole is not very exciting.

The eighteenth hole is the only par 5 on the back nine, and a good return to form to finish out the round. At 524 yards, it is reachable if you hit a good drive. I wouldn't call the hole narrow, because it isn't but there is O.B. left and thick vegetation right if you have a proclivity towards inaccuracy. Again, you'll want to get the drive over the top of the hill to get a view of the green, although this isn't a huge concern. This hole really encourages you to go for the green, because there is no good lay-up spot. The fairway tumbles down the hill towards the pond, lay up and you'll have an awkward sidehill lie for your third. The green is quite small, and there is the pond right, but there's plenty of room left to miss, and a pulled shot will probably bounce down toward the green.

The eighteenth hole. Another fairway disappearing over a hill.

If you can hit a big fade, you can get a boost toward the last green.

Right is clearly not a good place to miss. Guess what I did?

Last month I reviewed Little Bennett, and I compared that with its neighbor, P.B. Dye. Those two courses didn't share too much other than similar geographic locations. Little did I know that I would be soon playing a golf course that was far more appropriate for comparison. Little Bennett and Westminster National are much closer in nature. Both have incredibly severe terrain, and while you can walk Westminster National (you're not allowed to walk Little Bennett), you'll probably be glad to have a cart at both courses, especially on a juicy Saturday at the end of May.

So, of the two, which did I like more? It's not a wide gap, but I definitely enjoyed Westminster National more. Little Bennett wasn't bad, but I came off the course thinking that it could have done better. It was conventional, or at least as conventional as a course can be over the sort of terrain it traverses. This course was far from conventional. For one thing, it's shoehorned into a hundred acres, and considering the terrain, that is not really enough space. So of course, there's going to be some goofy holes. But you know what? I think there's something charming about that, I like when a golf course is offbeat and quirky. There are several holes at Westminster National that are intensely memorable. Holes I won't easily forget. They weren't examples of quality architecture, but they made an impact, and they put a smile on my face. The second hole may have been stupidly difficult, but when I walked onto that tee and saw it, I smiled. Well, it was more of a grimace, but you get my point. And the seventh? Coming around the corner of the dogleg and seeing the green on the other side of the Grand Canyon? I don't think anyone could forget a hole like that.

Now that I've talked about the quality of the course, I'm pleased to report that Westminster National is also fairly reasonably priced. I was able to make a tee time at 11:24 on a Saturday morning during Memorial Day weekend for $32. That also included a cart. At that time, Little Bennett (I keep coming back to it) would cost twice as much. Sure, it's much closer (25 minutes versus 50 minutes), but that's a lot of extra money to spend. I'm not sure I would play Little Bennett again, not when P.B. Dye is right next door. I would definitely play this course again.