Review: Lancaster Country Club (Part 2)

It's time to check out the back nine at Lancaster Country Club, go here to see the front. I'd also like to apologize for the poor quality of the images toward the end. We had a very long round, it was cloudy and very nearly dark, and I am neither an expert photographer or photo editor.

The tenth hole is a very long par 4 at 480 yards, and it's just as tough as you'd expect. The fairway is reasonably generous, with two bunkers on the right side that the fairway bends around. A solid drive will leave a tricky second shot with a long iron from a somewhat downhill lie to a very well-bunkered green. This is not the easiest shot in the world to pull off. The fairway is also a bit of a double dogleg; after the bend in the driving area, the fairway curves right again about 50 yards short. This is a hole without an obvious discernable overarching strategy, but the bunkers and doglegs create so many interesting angles and mini-strategies that the hole can't help but be interesting.

The tenth hole.

Approaching the tenth green.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is the same length as the previous hole and, if anything, plays even tougher, thanks to a positively evil green. The tee shot is steeply downhill to a fairway that climbs back up out of the valley, with a single bunker left that you'll want to skirt alongside on the drive. The reason for this is not obvious from the tee, and you'll probably be drawn right. But the green tilts severely from right to left; approaches from the right will simply take the hill and roll away, likely all the way through the green. Approaching the green from the left gives you a much better chance of holding this green.

The eleventh hole.

The twelfth hole is 180 yards and has a lot of things going on. The hole plays downhill, so you can club down, but there's a stream crossing right in front of the green and a ring of five bunkers around the back of the green. So you pretty much need to hit the green, which is also very shallow and sloped sharply from back to front. You don't want to miss it even remotely long. Bunker shots from beyond the flag will run out, and the stream bank in front of the green is maintained as fairway. I hit a not particularly good but not bad bunker shot from long and left, and I ended up in the water, making a neat little triple bogey. It's not a long hole, but boy is it a tough one if you don't hit the green. Can't say I'm a fan of the shaved bank letting shots run into the stream, but at least you can get the golf ball back, and I'm sure the membership would let their opinion be known if they also didn't appreciate the penalty stroke. 

The twelfth hole.

The twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is not, from what I've seen and heard, regarded as Lancaster's best. As a result of the various tinkering around, what was once two separate holes has been combined into one 520-yard par 5. The hole is pressed up against the northern part of the property, playing around the sixteenth and seventeenth. As such, despite being a shortish par 5 with a significant dogleg (which usually means there's opportunity to shorten the hole), the thirteenth isn't really reachable in two, courtesy of some big trees about 100-150 yards away from the green, tucked into the dogleg. That makes this an exercise of hit fairway on drive, lay up to your ideal spot (avoiding a fairway bunker), and hit green. Now, the third shot isn't easy, as the green is protected by two bunkers and isn't particularly big, but this definitely isn't the course's most compelling hole.

The thirteenth hole.

Approaching the thirteenth green.

The thirteenth green.

The fourteenth hole is a mid-length par 4 with a downhill drive playing to a fairway that slopes right back up. Lancaster does this a lot. The landing area is tight, with two bunkers left and three right. Driver is a tough play because of all the sand, but you don't really want to lay up short and leave a nearly 200-yard second up the hill on a hole that's just barely over 400 yards. The green is mostly tucked behind a large bunker front right, with another left; the green is sloped pretty sharply from back to front, so you don't want to be above the hole.

The fourteenth hole.

Approaching the fourteenth green.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is a longish par 4, playing 440 yards to a fairway that bends sharply from left to right. A good drive can carry the sand in the corner and shorten the hole, but the fairway does slope pretty severely from right to left, so you'll also want to hit a fade. That right-to-left tilt also complicates the second shot, since the green is sloped in the same direction and there's a big greenside bunker right where you'd want to hit your second shot to let it release down to the hole. Hitting a fade with a driver is one thing, but hitting a fade from a stance where the ball is above your feet (promoting a hook) is much more challenging. There's also a bunker left waiting to catch approach shots that don't manage to hold the green, which is long but pretty narrow. This hole doesn't look especially tough from the tee, but it is easy to walk away with a bogey or worse if you're not on top of things.

The fifteenth hole.

Not an ideal place to approach the fifteenth green.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is, despite appearances, a welcome bit of respite on an otherwise-demanding back nine. The first thing you'll notice is a veritable sea of bunkers surrounding the fairway and green. Beyond 250 yards, the fairway is narrowed to maybe 15 yards as it winds through sand and past a hillside, but since this hole is just 360 yards, the smart play is to lay back in the wide part of the fairway. No need to be aggressive. Now, that does leave a semiblind second shot over sand to a small green, but you've still got a wedge (or short iron at most) in hand, so this isn't the biggest challenge in the world. The important thing here is finding the fairway on the drive. The green is also on the quieter side, so this represents a decent birdie opportunity for those who successfully negotiate all the sand.

The sixteenth hole.

Approaching the sixteenth green.

The sixteenth green.

The seventeenth hole is a much quieter and subtle hole than you might expect at this point in the round. A mid-length par 3 playing over some of the course's only level terrain, there's not a whole lot to the seventeenth. The green is angled away and hidden behind a big bunker, with another off to the right, so it's not exactly an open target. And that's about it. No big secret, just a stern but relatively simple par 3. Not easy, but not difficult either.

The seventeenth hole.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole, however, is precisely as grand and difficult as you'd expect from a major championship–worthy golf course. At 470 yards, it's long, with a massive bunker eating into the right side. The second shot, if you can even get to the green in two (and there's a bunker 50 yards short to give those who can't something to think about), is steeply uphill to a massive green with a bunker right. That green is sloped severely from back to front, to the tune of seven or so feet from top to bottom. That is a lot, even considering the size of the green, when you factor in how fast the greens are. You will want to be very careful if you end up above the hole.

The eighteenth hole.

Approaching the eighteenth green.

The eighteenth green. Sort of, anyway.

So, is Lancaster Country Club the best course I've ever played? It's complicated. Strictly speaking, yes, it probably is. The front nine especially is fantastic; the way the course winds through the various valleys and the way it uses the natural water features is superb. The front is also shorter and quirkier, and despite having a lot more water is friendlier to the less-skilled golfer. I especially liked the stretch from two to seven, that's probably the best golf I've ever seen (I'm assuming on No. 3). The back nine, however, I was less fond of. Not that it wasn't very good, because it was. But it felt like it was made for a better golfer than I am, and combined with the ninth there was just one too many long par 4s playing downhill and then right back up. Admittedly, I played very badly on the back nine, so I'm a little biased, but even so, I think the front is the better and more interesting nine here. 

This is where I'd usually talk about value, but obviously Lancaster Country is a very private golf course so there's no point. I wish the round hadn't taken 4.5 hours, which is frankly slow for a public course, let alone a prestigious private course, but again, I don't really have much room to complain. And don't get me wrong, I would love to play here again (preferably when I'm playing a little better and the weather's a little better). I don't think this is my favorite course (which I count separately from best), but it's certainly in my top 5. And if you get the chance to play it, you should jump on that. It's absolutely worth it.