Review: Augustine Golf Club (Part 2)

It's time to check out the back nine at Augustine Golf Club, go here to see the front nine.

The tenth hole is a 420 yard par 4 playing downhill. So it's on the longer side, but it doesn't play 420 yards. The ideal tee shot is a fade; if you hit a draw, you'll quickly run out of fairway and have a much longer second shot. The green is shallow and protected by bunkers short and long, though if you're coming at the green from the left side, you'll have slightly more room to work with.

The tenth hole.

Approaching the tenth green.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is a 500 yard par 5, which means it's fairly easily reachable in two if you can hit a good drive. You'll want to hit a draw off the tee, and there's a bit of a dip splitting through the fairway that you'll probably also want to avoid. If you're laying up, you'll want to do so on the left side, as the green is guarded by a bunker to the right. Of course, there's a fairway bunker right where you'll want to lay up, so you'll want to avoid that.

The eleventh hole.

Approaching the eleventh green.

The eleventh green.

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The twelfth hole is a fairly long par 4 at 435 yards, and it plays the full 435 as the tee shot goes right up a fairly significant hill.  You'll want to hit a draw to stay away from the three bunkers to the right. Get to the top of the hill and you'll have a view of the green. A small stream and native area cuts across the fairway about 75 yards from the green, and while it isn't a problem if you hit a good drive, if you don't, it can definitely threaten lay-ups. The green is quite small and protected by a single bunker short and left.

The twelfth hole.

The twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is identical in length to the previous hole, but they do play noticeably different. For one thing, the tee shot is downhill and there are no bunkers in play. Once again, a small stream slices across the fairway about 75 yards from the green, which makes it not much of a problem if your drive is good. The second is more challenging, as there are quite a few bunkers around and the green is fairly undulating.

The thirteenth hole.

The thirteenth green.

The fourteenth hole is the longest par 3 at Augustine, coming in at 225 yards. Missing right isn't a great idea, as there are a pair of bunkers. Not the most fascinating hole in the world, since the green isn't really that interesting.

The fourteenth hole.

The fifteenth hole is by far the shortest par 4 on the course, measuring only 300 yards. Much like the eighth hole, I appreciate the fact that it's here, even if it isn't the best short par 4 I've ever played. It's certainly not bad though. You have three distinct options off of the tee: You can lay up to the right side of the fairway, which is an easy shot but leaves a challenging uphill pitch over bunkers to a shallow target; you can lay up to the left side, which leaves a much better angle but requires negotiating the fairway bunker; or you can pull out the driver and go for the green. Just be wary of the greenside bunkers, as they're pretty deep and not pleasant places to be.

The fifteenth hole is framed by pines, much like the seventh.

The uphill approach to the fifteenth green.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is a return to the 400 yard par 4. The best drive to hit is a gentle draw aimed at the right fairway bunker. The hole isn't hugely wide, so if you're not a particularly accurate driver, you may want to use a fairway wood. The hole isn't hugely long and is downhill, so you can certainly get away with less than a driver. Missing the green right isn't great, but left isn't much better since the golf ball will bounce quite a long way away. 

The sixteenth green.

The sixteenth green.

The seventeenth hole isn't quite what I'd call a short par 3, but it's less than 170 yards, which definitely isn't very long. And it feels fairly dangerous as there are three bunkers covering a significant portion of the green, which looks like a pretty small target out there. It's not an easy green either.

 

The seventeenth hole.

The eighteenth hole finishes things off in a noticeably rambunctious manner. This short par 5 features six bunkers, more than any other hole, and these are not small little things either. There's a lot of sand to get caught up in. The two bunkers left of the fairway in the driving zone are the most notable, as attempts to go for the green in two will go better if you're coming at the green from the left side. Interestingly, despite all the sand, it's a lone tree that manages to be the most important feature of the hole. That tree, located just short and right of the green, is something you have to think about over the entire hole, and it's one of the few times I'm okay with a tree as a hazard. It adds a lot to the strategy of the hole, it's not literally in the middle of everything, and since the leaves are pretty high up, it's easy to recover from should you end up behind it. This is a strong finishing hole and I wish Augustine had more like this.

The eighteenth hole.

That big tree complicates attempts to go for the green in two.

Approaching the final green.

The eighteenth green.

Ultimately in the grand scheme of things, Augustine is a perfectly decent golf course. Not bad, not great, thoroughly average in pretty much every way. And that's sort of the problem. I don't really have much to say about it. It's pretty inoffensive. A really good golf course, sure, I can talk plenty about that. A bad golf course is the same, as long as it isn't Cumberland Golf Club. A so bad it's funny kind of course like Westminster National can be fun to talk about. Augustine is in the middle of the scale, however. It's just sort of there, doing its own thing. The value isn't terrible, and the walk isn't too bad, which is nice. It's not a guarantee that modern golf courses will be walkable. But that's all I have to say about Augustine, to be honest. It's fine but forgettable, which is definitely not an accusation anyone can level at next month's review. But you'll have to wait to learn more.