Review: Gauntlet Golf Club (Part 2)

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

The tenth hole is a short par 5 at 475 yards, but while the green is reachable in two for quite a few people, you do have to contend with what is the narrowest fairway on the course. Trees crowd in from both sides, and flanking bunkers pinch in right where a solid drive would land. If you do hit driver, though, you can get far enough to open up a view of the green; using a 3 wood will leave you with a blind second shot. The green is small and benched into a small hillside, with bunkers short left and right. 

The tenth hole.

Approaching the tenth green.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is a long par 4 at 445 yards, doglegging significantly (though gradually right) around marshy woods and eventually the lake for the second half of the hole. There are no bunkers on the drive, though of course sticking close to the hazards right will give you a much shorter approach than playing more safely out to the left. The approach will be a mid iron to a medium-sized green with a single bunker right. The water's not in play but does provide a nice backdrop, though the view would be even better if some of the trees behind the green were cleared out. 

The eleventh hole.

The eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is a short little par 3, playing just 140 yards. Of course, the green here is tiny, probably the smallest on the course, and it's angled from right to left behind a bunker, with another bunker lurking long. It's really not a difficult hole, and if you do hit the green the surface is almost completely flat, but it's also no pushover. Miss the green and bogey becomes a decent score.

The twelfth hole.

The twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is the longest hole at Gauntlet, playing 560 yards (it was even into the wind for my round) alongside the lake the entire way. Beyond that obvious hazard, a line of ... I'm not entirely sure what to call it, since only one is a formal bunker while the other two bunker-like patches are dirt with some bushes planted in the middle. Anyway, a line of bunker-like hazards cut diagonally across the fairway where a long driver would end up, which further encourages you to aim out left, worsening your angle for the next shot. There's a small central fairway bunker about 125 yards from the green to give you something to think about on the lay-up, but mostly you want to favor the right side close to the tree line. That will give the best angle into the green, which is small and significantly two-tiered, with bunkers left and right.

The thirteenth hole.

Approaching the thirteenth green.

The thirteenth green.

The fourteenth hole is a mid-length par 4 with a simple, open drive to a wide fairway. The approach will be a wedge or short iron into a large, fairly undulating green with a single bunker left. It's not a particularly complicated hole, but that's fine. It represents an opportunity to breathe before the last few holes, which are generally quite difficult.

The fourteenth hole.

Approaching the fourteenth green.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is quite the back-breaker par 3, playing an uphill 245 yards. The two bunkers in front are quite intimidating, but they're actually 20-30 yards short of the green, so they're not actually that much of a concern. While the green is generally open, it's also quite narrow and slightly elevated. Tee shots that miss either left or right thus have to contend with a tricky chip that you can't easily bump and run; you basically have to go with a high, lofted recovery shot if you want to hold the green. Meanwhile, people who miss short have a pretty easy chip, provided they don't find one of the bunkers. This is actually kind of a clever hole in that the longer, low-handicap golfer who more often misses laterally instead of falling short is punished just as much, if not more so, than the golfer who simply comes up short of the green. It's a very difficult hole either way, but it's equitable in its difficulty. At least it is for me, someone who doesn't struggle for length but does have issues with short game.

The fifteenth hole.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is 375 yards and bends hard right about 250 yards out. Fortunately, the corner of the dogleg is wide open, which means you can quite easily cut the corner, leaving yourself a much shorter approach and the best angle into the green. People who play safely out left will have a full wedge or short iron into a very well-bunkered and quite shallow green. The small bunker directly in front is especially nasty, since it's got long, thick rough surrounding it. I can speak from experience: you do not want any part of that stuff. 

The sixteenth hole.

The sixteenth green.

The seventeenth hole is the sort of hole you can't help but smile at. The tee shot on this 370-yard par 4 is pretty nondescript — the hole bends hard left about 225 yards out, so you'll need to hit a long iron or fairway wood, favoring the left side close to the bunker and small stream cutting across the fairway to give yourself a shorter approach. The second shot then promptly ascends 50 feet up the side of a hill to a ridiculously narrow green dominated by a tier of biblical proportions that's also flanked by deep bunkers. Frankly, those bunkers are the best-case scenario if you're off-target, as anything else will get bounced far, far away, leaving you with a pitch up to a shallow target from 10-15 feet below the surface of the green. Even if you do hit this green, if you're not on the right level you'll be faced with a putt going up (or down) 2-3 feet. Have fun two-putting in that situation. I wish the tee shot was a little more interesting, but this is still one of the craziest and most fun holes I've ever played. Of course, it's easy for me to say that, seeing as I hit the green in regulation, found the right level, and made an utterly ordinary par. Ask someone who just made a triple bogey what they think of this hole and I'm sure you'd get a different response. 

The seventeenth hole.

Approaching the seventeenth green. I couldn't even begin to hazard a guess as to why there are three random rough-covered mounds in the middle of the fairway.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole is a fairly long par 4 at 425 yards, and since this is a Dye family golf course, you're probably expecting me to follow up with "with water running down one side." But no, no water here, though there is a valley right with tall (but not impenetrable) grass that you could definitely play out of. You still want to avoid it, but it's not an automatic penalty, which is nice. Anyway, the fairway bends (and slopes) right around this valley, and you can play safely out left or challenge the dogleg more directly. Doing so will leave just a wedge second shot. The green is protected by a cluster of small bunkers in front and left and is very wide and shallow. It's separated into three sections, cascading down from left to right, and if you find the wrong section, you'll have a very challenging putt. This is a tough finishing hole, but it's also not annoying difficult, and I appreciate that.

The eighteenth hole.

Approaching the eighteenth green.

The eighteenth green.

PB Dye golf courses have been a mixed bag for me. I really liked PB Dye Golf Club, but I admittedly played that very early on in my golf course reviewing days, and if I ever went back I'm not sure I'd be quite so generous in my assessment. Then there's Moorland at the Legends Resort, which I was decidedly not a big fan of. 

Gauntlet was definitely a surprise for me. I knew it would be interesting, but I wasn't expecting to enjoy the course as much as I did. I don't usually have a lot of fun with the courses where most holes are lined with dense trees, but the playing corridors here were plenty wide and I rarely had issue with width. I also wasn't expecting so much elevation change; Gauntlet has tons of rolling hills that are a lot of fun to play across and around. There was a lot of variety to the greens as well; some were small and flat, some were large and gently undulating, and a few were absolutely insane. Not my favorite set of greens ever, but solid enough.

Very importantly, Gauntlet is walker friendly. It's a tough walk, to be sure, but there aren't any massive walks between greens and tees. It's another thing I was really surprised by. And the price isn't terrible either; at 3 PM on a Saturday, I paid $55 to walk. For suburban Virginia, that's not too shabby at all, and you even get a fun and very good golf course for your trouble. It's a long way to go, but I'd definitely play here again.