Review: Hidden Creek Golf Club (Part 2)

It's time to check out the back nine at Hidden Creek, go here to see the front.

The tenth hole is where Hidden Creek starts to show some real difficulty. Despite being a par 35, compared with 36 on the front, the back nine is slightly longer, and par 4s like the tenth are a good reason for that. At nearly 450 yards, it's the longest par 4 on the course (though not by much), and it plays slightly uphill and into the wind. The fairway's a bit narrower than anything on the front nine, and it's pinched between bunkers and trees. Most golfers will have a pretty long iron into the semiblind green, which is long, narrow, and falls away from front to back. At least there's no sand in the immediate vicinity of the green, so that's something at least.

The tenth hole.

Approaching the tenth green.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is a tiny little par 3 at only 120 yards, though it does play significantly uphill. There are two bunkers left and in front, and two tiny pot bunkers to the right of the green, which is as small as the hole is and features quite a bit of right to left slope. It's not a tough hole, clearly, but don't take it for granted, because if you miss the green to the right it becomes very difficult to get up and down. It's not my favorite hole at Hidden Creek, but it's pretty close to being as good as the fourth, and I wouldn't be surprised if many prefer this hole. Short par 3s are almost always favorites.

The eleventh hole.

The twelfth hole is another long par 4 at 440 yards. The drive isn't especially difficult, though if you're an especially long hitter a cluster of bunkers does narrow the fairway significantly at around 300 yards. Most people aren't that long, so using driver should be fine. It's beneficial to favor the right side, flirting with the tree line, so you can have a clearer view of the green on the second. The green is decently sized and easier to hit than the tenth, but there are several bunkers scattered around which means inaccurate approaches are more punished. A nice draw aimed at the right side of the green will take the slope down and leave a relatively easy birdie putt.

The twelfth hole.

Approaching the twelfth green.

The twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is a mid-length par 4 with many bunkers in play on the tee shot, and not just where a driver would end up. A long iron, a fairway wood, driver, there's no real place where you can safely play and not have a bunker threaten your shot. You could go out to the left with an iron, but then you'll have a mid iron into a par 4 that's only 380 yards, and that's not much fun. I was cautious off of the tee and had a 6 iron left; if I were to play here again I'd just use a driver, there's more space at that range then it looks. The green is ever so slightly elevated and sort of lumpy, making both putts and chips from around it tricky.

The thirteenth hole.

Approaching the thirteenth green.

The thirteenth green.

The fourteenth hole is the final par 3 at Hidden Creek, and while it's 65 yards longer than the eleventh (and it's 235 yards from the tips), I honestly think this hole is easier. The green is pretty big and it's open in front, with the bunkers being long and long right. The green does fall away at the back, so that's something to be mindful of; however, since the best shot is a draw that takes the right to left backboard down toward the hole, there's no need to get aggressive and risk bounding over.

The fourteenth hole.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is a mid-length par 4 that doglegs significantly from right to left at a point where it's not the best idea to use a driver, since you'll run out of fairway quite quickly unless you can hit the big draw. Also, bunkers narrow the fairway up where a driver would end up, so there's really no valid reward for doing so. You just don't get enough out of it. The second shot will be a short or mid iron up the hill slightly to a shallow green which slopes from left to right that's almost completely open.

The fifteenth hole.

Approaching the fifteenth green. Those bunkers don't come close to the green.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is the third par 4 on the back over 440 yards, and the drive here is the crucial part. Simply put, there's not a massive amount of space, and the fairway narrows significantly where a driver would end up. Of course, if you use a 3 wood, you'll have a very long second shot, so it's up to you which you'd rather have. For that second shot, there are bunkers front left and front right, with the right bunker being especially big and tough to escape from, and those bunkers obscure some of the green, making it look smaller than it actually is. Of the tenth, twelfth, and sixteenth, I'd say this is the toughest, but not by a large amount, and they're all pretty difficult but not tremendously so.

The sixteenth hole.

Approaching the sixteenth green.

The sixteenth green.

The seventeenth hole is a fairly short par 5, coming in at just under 500 yards, but it plays a bit longer thanks to bunkers that cut in from the left (and right, this hole is probably the most heavily bunkered at Hidden Creek), narrowing the fairway where you might want to hit a driver. Normally I don't like it when you can't hit driver on a par 5, but the hole is short enough that you can still go for it in two after hitting a 3 wood from the tee. If you are going for it, you may be tempted to bail out a bit right to avoid a nasty bunker left, but that would be a mistake. There's a bunker right that you can't see, and the green slopes from right to left, making recovery from the right very difficult. That goes double for people like me who struggle with the short game. This is an easy hole, but you can still easily turn a birdie into a bogey if you miss in the wrong place.

The seventeenth hole.

Approaching the seventeenth green.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole is 385 yards and is an appropriate closing hole for Hidden Creek. It's not a difficult course, and a tough finisher wouldn't be right. However, it's also not a pushover. I actually like this hole quite a bit because it's one of the few holes here with significant elevation change, and there's a good chance you'll end up with a downhill/sidehill lie if you use a driver and go past the central fairway plateau, and that's something Hidden Creek doesn't have too much of. The fairway is pretty wide, but the green is small, sloped significantly from back to front, and closely guarded by a couple of bunkers. You need two good shots to make a birdie, but its a lot easier to hit a good second shot when you have a wedge or short iron in your hands, and I like that the course ends with a hole like this.

The eighteenth hole.

The eighteenth green.

Naturally, Hidden Creek is an excellent golf course. I would expect nothing less from Coore and Crenshaw, who have a stellar reputation as golf course architects. There is so much subtlety to the design that I'm sure I'm missing, having only played the course once, and there's a good chance I'd appreciate it more if I were to play it multiple times. The craftmanship on display is incredible, and the maintenance is beyond anything I've seen. Private courses really do have the edge in that regard, and while maintenance isn't everything, it is something.

Having said that, Hidden Creek is not my favorite course, and I do think it has some weaknesses. For one thing, I think there is such a thing as too subtle. Many of the holes here lack a sense of individual identity, I struggled to remember some of the holes here even just a few hours after finishing up the round. While the course isn't flat, the hills are gently rolling and not particularly distinctive, so that doesn't help either. The overall quality and design of the holes was obviously very solid, but there weren't any real standouts. I really liked the fourth, but I'm not even sure it's the best Redan I've played. The most distinctive feature was the former quarry on the third, but it was pretty easy to avoid.

In a similar vein, I also felt that Hidden Creek lacked a sense of humor. From start to finish, the course is rather serious, and there isn't much in the way of quirk or goofiness. There are flashes, like the quarry and the mounds in the eighth green, but there were no real risks in my opinion. Hidden Creek played it safe, and while you can make a very, very good golf course by doing it like that, it won't quite reach greatness. So that leaves Hidden Creek as an extremely good course bordering on greatness, but never quite reaching it. I hate leaving the last review of 2021 sounding disappointed, and like I said, I really like Hidden Creek, but when it comes to golf courses of this quality, I have to judge with a more critical eye. 

The question now is: Will Hidden Creek be my favorite course of 2021? Come back next week for my yearly roundup to find out.