Review: The Woods - Mountain View (Part 2)

It's time to see the back nine of the Mountain View course, go here if you haven't seen the front.

The tenth hole is a mid-length par 4 playing up onto a small plateau. There is a single fairway bunker on the right side, but it's kind of out the way and not particularly visible. I doubt it sees much action. The two greenside bunkers probably catch a lot more golf balls. The second shot has to negotiate those bunkers and hit a very small green with O.B lurking behind.

The tenth hole.

No carts in this picture, and the fairway bunker is (barely) visible.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is the longest par 3 on the Mountain View course, though at 180 yards it's not exactly back-breaking. But a mid-iron over a valley to a small, shallow green isn't the easiest of shots either. And there's not exactly a recommended place to miss, short isn't great, long is especially not great. Honestly, if you're confident at all in your bunker play, the sand is the least-worst miss here.

The eleventh hole.

The twelfth hole is the longest par 4 on the back nine, but at 416 yards, it's not exactly unreasonable. From the tee, you can't see much, just a sliver of fairway that disappears over a rise. That conceals the most interesting part of the hole -- the significant left-to-right slope of the fairway. It's normally tricky enough hitting from a significant sidehill lie, but the two greenside bunkers left and short of the green make the second shot even trickier. Obviously it's easier to hit a fade with the ball below your feet, but doing so brings those bunkers more into play. The draw is the better shot, but is more difficult considering the stance. Definitely one of the best holes on the course.

The twelfth hole.

The twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is the final par 3 at the Mountain View course. The hole is bunkerless, but it does a good job of being interesting even without sand and its modest length. The tree left of the green is immediately an issue, as is the big drop-off to the right and behind. The green itself is reasonably inviting and easy to hit, however, so I'd say that it isn't a terribly difficult hole. Just don't miss right or long.

The thirteenth hole.

The fourteenth hole is a short par 4 at less than 340 yards. However, this is easily the tightest hole on the golf course; while there are few trees on the right side, the slope makes recovering extremely difficult. A stream runs down the entire length of the hole to the left, any shot hit over there is dead. The green is not particularly big, but there are no bunkers. Just don't go left. Now, I think this is a pretty good-looking hole, but I'm not so sure it's a particularly good hole. It's very claustrophobic. Now, it's not long, which helps a little, but still, you'll have difficulty swinging freely on the tee.

The fourteenth hole. Nice to not have any houses in the picture.

Approaching the fourteenth green.

Looking back down 14.

The fifteenth hole is a 534 yard par 5 that is kind of dull for the first 400 yards. There are no fairway bunkers and the hole marches slowly but steadily uphill for much of the time. You can't see the green until you get within 150 yards or so, and when you do, you'll learn why it's a very bad idea to go for the green in two. There's a pond in front of the green. Oh sure, if you look at the scorecard you can see that there's water in front of the green, but still, I'm not a huge fan of blind water hazards. So basically, the first two shots are just to get yourself in a decent position for the third, but there's no real challenge at all to those first two shots. The third shot is definitely one to make the golfer pay attention, what with the pond in front and the four bunkers behind. But it's all concentrated too much, the hole would be better if some of that challenge were spread out. Put a couple of bunkers in the two primary landing areas, make the golfer think a little bit on the first two shots.

The fifteenth hole.

 

Still no sign of the green.

The very heavily defended fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is the shortest par 4 at the Mountain View course, playing a downhill 310 yards. It's also, as far as I can tell, the course's calling card. Go to Google and you'll find more pictures of this hole than any other. Which is fair enough, it is an impressive view on the tee, and you can see all the way to South Mountain, a few dozen miles to the east. The hole itself drops to a low point about 75 yards from the green, then rises back up a bit to a green surrounded by three bunkers. A drive down the left side will give you the best angle at the green. This is probably the best birdie opportunity on the golf course.

The sixteenth hole.

 

The sixteenth green.

The seventeenth hole is a mid-length par with a pair of fairway bunkers encroaching on the right side. A fade is definitely the best shot to hit off the tee. The second shot is pretty straightforward, though the green is fairly shallow and you definitely don't want to miss long.

The seventeenth hole.

The seventeenth green.

Considering all the deer poop littering the entire course, it's only natural we saw a few of the culprits

The eighteenth hole is a par 5, and is also the longest hole on the course, weighing in at 570 yards. I'm honestly not a big fan of that, finishing off with such a long, strenuous hole. But taken in isolation, it's definitely nice looking, winding through a narrow valley up toward the clubhouse. A draw benefits you on the tee, and then a fade will give you the best approach to the green. The green is quite small, so even if you do have the length to get there in two, which is doubtful, you probably won't hit it anyway. You need to hit three solid shots to have a birdie opportunity, and at the end of the round, that can be a tall order.

The eighteenth hole.

Approaching the eighteenth green.

The eighteenth green.

Fun fact, this is the third Mountain View golf course that I've played. And unfortunately, it's my least favorite of the three. And I swear, it's not just because of the gratuitous deer droppings. Or because I played like crap. Considering the rugged terrain, building a coherent golf course on this particular property was always going to be a challenge. But forcing the course into certain corridors because the property is also a housing/resort development? It's a recipe for an incredibly disjointed golf course. The Mountain View course is spread over a very large area and only in a couple of areas can you see multiple holes from the hole you're playing. The distances between greens and tees are regularly vast; I would not want to try to walk this course.

Now, Mountain View is not without merit, the terrain obviously lends strategic interest and there are some memorable holes. But it's not a course I see myself playing again. If you're looking for a golf course in the West Virginia panhandle, Cacapon is better in pretty much every single way. It's walkable, it's more interesting, the views are better, and the prices are similar.

Fair warning: Next month I'll be reviewing another housing development golf course. But hopefully it'll be different enough for some interesting comparing and contrasting.