Review: Heritage Hills Golf Resort (Part 2)

We're back for the back nine at Heritage Hills, go here to see the front nine.

The tenth hole is a short 350 yard par 4. Since this hole is next to the first, the drive is pretty similar, with the drive going up over a hill, then back down to the green. The drive is best hit down the left side, as the green is guarded by a bunker to the right. But there is a bunker to the left of the fairway, so you'll want to watch out for that. But it's a big green, so there's plenty of room to bail out if you're not in prime position.

The tenth hole.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is basically the same as the second hole. It's a par 5, the tee shot is blind and uphill, and the hole is narrow and dead straight. This is 550 yards though, so it's noticeably longer, and it's actually the longest hole at Heritage Hills. The green also isn't very big and there's no O.B. in play. I'm not sure why they put two almost-identical par 5s in similar positions on each nine, but that's the decision that was made.

The eleventh hole.

Approaching the eleventh green.

The eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is just under 200 yards, and it's a par 3 template you see a lot of. The tee and green are on high ground, and there's a valley in between. So ending up short, especially on the fairway, will result in a tough pitch. The green is quite large, but there's a lot of undulation, so if you do hit it in regulation but you aren't close, two putting will be tricky.

The twelfth hole.

The twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is a mid-length par 4 at 380 yards, but it plays downhill the whole way, so you can hit some pretty long drives here. There's also a bit of breathing room, which is nice. You shouldn't need more than a wedge, if that, on the second shot. This is an excellent birdie opportunity.

The thirteenth hole.

Approaching the thirteenth green.

The thirteenth green.

The fourteenth hole is somehow not the narrowest hole at Heritage Hills, but that's only because it's got some stiff competition. The fairway is tiny, and that one tree to the right is so close in, it's hard to not think about it. And you can't go too far left either, or you'll be blocked out on the second by another cluster of very tall trees. The green has two bunkers in front, and there's a dropoff into nothingness past, so going long is not recommended.

The fourteenth hole.

Approaching the fourteenth green.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is the final par 3 at Heritage Hills, and it's just over 200 yards. It's a lot like the twelfth, playing from high ground to high ground over a valley. But the green is also sloped pretty severely from back to front, and that tree halfway between the green and tee is definitely something to worry about. I imagine it's even more in the way when the hole is on the left side of the green.

The fifteenth hole.

The sixteenth hole is a fairly short par 4, measuring just under 360 yards. At least, that's what it looks like from above. When you get to the tee, it's something else entirely. For one, it plays ridiculously downhill. So much so that I'm pretty sure you could drive the green if you took a direct line. But that's not all. The sixteenth is also incredibly narrow, with a stream and jungle right and O.B. left. And you have to use a fairly long club or you won't reach the fairway at all. The second shot, once you've descended, isn't so bad, but the drive is just goofy.

The sixteenth hole is ... something else.

Approaching the sixteenth green.

Looking back down the sixteenth hole.

The seventeenth hole is supposedly 430 yards from the back, but I have no idea where that tee was, since there really didn't seem to be room for another tee. From the whites, the hole is a much more mild 345. There's water left and a stream that cuts across the fairway, so a lay-up is in order. From there, it's a wedge to a big green protected by a marshy area long, a bunker short, and a stream right. It sounds tough, but it isn't terrible. Also, there's a statue behind the green, don't ask what it is or who it's of, I didn't look.

The seventeenth hole.

I'm not sure what the statue behind the green is.

The seventeenth hole.

The eighteenth hole is an outstanding example of one of the things I hate about most modern golf courses: The absurdly difficult and water-filled long par 4 finisher. It's 470 from the back, and even from the white tees, it's 455. The whole course is only 6,200 yards from the white tees. I suspect that most people just play it as a par 5, because that's effectively what it is. Not only is there water left of the fairway, there's water in front of the green, so if you don't hit a solid drive, you're pretty much stuck laying up. They could so easily fix things by changing the par, but then you'd have a 470 yard par 5 and that's just silly. However, unlike some other courses I've reviewed where the course was slightly ruined by bad finishing holes, Heritage Hills wasn't good before this hole, so the experience was tainted less.

The eighteenth hole.

Approaching the final green.

The eighteenth green.

One thing kept Heritage Hills from being as colossally stupid as my brother indicated: The greens weren't fast. Actually, I quite liked the pace of the greens, they weren't that slow, but they were slow enough that I was comfortable being aggressive with my putts. Otherwise, yeah, this wasn't a particularly good course. Most of the holes were okay but not very memorable or interesting, and there were some really narrow holes thrown in which are just kind of dumb. And of course the ninth and eighteenth holes are just terrible because they throw copious amounts of water at you.

The problem with Heritage Hills that there's just not enough space on the property for 18 holes. At least, not a "championship" 18. A quirky and funky 6,000 yard course could have worked, the property has plenty of movement, but since this is a resort, they went for something more serious, and it just didn't really work. This course isn't cheap either, so I can't say I'd ever recommend it. I haven't played much in York itself, but I'm confident saying that there's almost certainly better options than Heritage Hills.