Review: Tobacco Road Golf Club (Part 1)

In a region as golf-rich as the North Carolina Sandhills, it takes a lot to stand out amongst the crowd. Tobacco Road, though, has managed to earn itself a place of simultaneous fame and infamy in a tough neighborhood. I'd even argue that only Pinehurst No. 2 itself is more immediately recognizable among the general golf populace, which is impressive considering Tobacco Road is anywhere between 70 and 90 years younger than the more established Donald Ross courses in the area. It's even rated higher than Mid Pines and Pine Needles.

So, what separates Tobacco Road from the other Mike Strantz courses I've played and reviewed? Why does it stand out so much in the eyes of the public? Well, for one thing, the location is ideal — golf course architects dream of working in the sort of sandy rolling hills like those Tobacco Road is routed through. But style without substance is meaningless, so let's find out if Tobacco Road's hype is really all it's cracked up to be.

The first hole leaves you with no doubt that this is going to be a round to remember. Two massive hills, built by Strantz, form a V which the fairway squeezes between before opening up out of view (mostly) on the far side. It's a little disconcerting when you're on the tee, but those hills aren't much more than 200 yards out and are easily cleared. It's actually a pretty easy tee shot to a wide fairway, though if you favor the left side you'll get a big kick off a downslope, adding some extra distance to your drive and bringing the green into reach with the second shot. 

The first hole. It looks way more difficult than it really is.

The fairway is pinched in yet again by clusters of bunkers about 100-150 yards out, which is easily dealt with if you've hit a solid tee shot. The green (finally) is tucked behind three small bunkers and is best approached from the left. While initially it seems to lack the signature Strantz flair, you will quickly discover that this green is sloped severely from front left to back right. Your golf ball will run out far more than you think it will, no matter where you're approaching from.

The first hole from atop the right mound.

The first green.

The second hole is a mid-length par 4 with another visually intimating drive. The tee is set down low, so all you can really see are brief flashes of fairway and a lot of sand. Again, the fairway is very generous, so there's not much reason to worry. Long drivers will want to be careful using driver, though, especially in conditions like we experienced, where the golf course was running very firm and fast (no Bermuda overseeding here). Not because of any hazard, but because you can get a driver very close (within 50 yards) to the green, and the resulting shot — a pitch up and over a deep greenside bunker from a tight fairway lie — is very difficult. The smart choice is a 3 wood, which will leave you with a full wedge into a punchbowl-like green ringed around the back by sand (along with the aforementioned pot bunker in front). 

The second hole.

Approaching the second green. This is a great place to end up on your drive. I hit my drive just left of that front bunker. That was not a great place to end up.

The second green.

The third hole is just over 150 yards but does play downhill, so I think it counts as a short par 3, one of three such holes at Tobacco Road. Squeezed into a sea of sand, the green here is long, narrow, and wildly undulating, and your experience will vary wildly depending on where the hole is cut. A middle hole location is easy; it's like a bowl, so slightly wayward shots will funnel back in close. Back and front hole locations, I imagine, are going to be much less forgiving, as those parts of the green aren't nearly so generous with their contouring.

The third hole. This is the fun hole location.

The fourth hole is a 535-yard par 5 of the fish-hook variety, a template Strantz enthusiasts will be well acquainted with. The fairway, while wide, twists and turns through massive waste bunkers as they poke in and out toward the central line of play. Driver, while completely fine, is almost unnecessary, as the sharp dogleg comes not much after the 250-yard mark. A 3 wood is pretty much enough to reach the optimum position to go for the green in two. If you're there, the second isn't much more than 200 yards (and could even be a bit less). However, in between you and the green is a veritable ocean of sand. Come up short, or miss left, and it will be very tough to make birdie. You can, of course, lay up out to the right, and that is a completely fine way to play the hole; however, the green is sloped from right to left, so your third will be hitting a green that slopes away from you. It's easy to run the ball through the green entirely, especially if you're using less than a full wedge.

The fourth hole.

Approaching the fourth green.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is 335 yards, but the direct line to the green is significantly shorter — well under 300 yards. That makes it a very tempting target from the tee, even with the hole playing uphill. There's even fairway leading up to the green, urging you to bite off more than you can chew. If you can reach the green, that's great, but the penalty for falling short is severe. If you don't hit the fairway, you'll be left with a blind 50-yard bunker shot from way below the level of the green. If you clear the bunker but come up short of the green, you'll have a basically blind pitch shot to a shallow target with a massive false front; fail to get to the hole, and the ball will run back to your feet. The smart play is clearly to bail out right on the tee shot, leaving yourself a full wedge and a better angle of attack for your second shot. You probably won't make birdie that way, but you'll avoid the big number. And if I were to play this hole regularly (or again, for that matter), that's what I would do. But this is one of those cases where you know the aggressive play is the bad one, but since you're on vacation and you probably won't be back here again, you just have to go for the Hail Mary play. 

The fifth hole.

Approaching the fifth green.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is an interesting proposition, and something really made possible thanks to the expansive nature of the property and routing. This 150-yard par 3 has an incredibly wide teeing area — it's probably close to 100 yards wide and spans something like 60 degrees of the circle around the green. This means the hole can play very differently, depending on where your tee is placed. For our round, the tee was all the way right, which gave us a green angled roughly 45 degrees from right to left. A tee position left, on the other hand, would give you a green angled perpendicular to the line of play; you would see a very wide but shallow target. The green itself is well guarded by sand short, with a smaller bunker long, and features a fair amount of the typical Strantz wildness.

The sixth hole.

The seventh hole is 410 yards and plays downhill to a blind but massively wide fairway. Driver is okay to use for most, and the downward tilt of the fairway once you get over the plateau 200 yards out will give you plenty of roll, but longer hitters should probably stick to 3 wood. A wetland area separates the green from the rest of the fairway and starts about 75-100 yards out from the green. A long drive could easily run through the fairway entirely.

The green here is absolutely massive, but in classic Strantz fashion, it's absolutely insane. There's a huge false front and multiple tiers, and bunkers surround the green. And while you can theoretically hit your drive pretty much anywhere, your ability to really approach the flag on the second depends heavily on where it is and where you are. In particular, right hole locations are nearly impossible to access from the right side. Left hole locations are a bit more forgiving, though you don't want to end up short.

The seventh hole.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is 180 yards and plays slightly downhill to a large, boomerang-shaped greens with bunkering in front and large mounding behind. The green is roughly separated into three sections, with the difficulty of the hole varying wildly depending on where the flag is, similar to the third. Front hole locations are quite easy, with a large slope acting as a backboard. The back right hole location present for our round, not so much. That flag is pretty inaccessible, and the safe play out to the left results in a 50-foot putt up and over a ridge. Not the easiest thing to two putt.

The eighth hole.

The ninth hole is not tremendously long at 425 yards, but it plays uphill the whole way, particularly at the end. The drive here utilizes a lot of visual deception; the fairway looks quite narrow as it squeezes between a hillside left and bunkers right, but in reality there's a lot more room left than it looks. Using a 3 wood brings a lot more trouble into play than a driver would. Plus, you want to be as close to this green as possible — the second shot plays something like 40 feet uphill. The green here is very small and incredibly narrow (maybe 30 feet wide), though it is in a bowl of sorts, giving you some room for error. Just make sure you add an extra club or two on the approach, as you want no part of that ridiculously deep bunker short.

The ninth hole.

Approaching the ninth green.

The ninth green.

That's it for this week, next week we'll check out the back nine.