News:

Welcome to the Golf Club Atlas Discussion Group!

Each user is approved by the Golf Club Atlas editorial staff. For any new inquiries, please contact us.


mark chalfant

  • Karma: +0/-0
Lookout Point (Travis) c. Niagara
« on: March 16, 2006, 12:12:01 PM »
I feel that sometimes Travis is underrated, especially his knack
for routing, is anyone familiar with Lookout Point ?

Jeff_Mingay

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Lookout Point (Travis) c. Niagara
« Reply #1 on: March 16, 2006, 12:23:38 PM »
Mark,

Lookout Point's a neat course, with some excellent holes.  

Ian Andrew's done quite a bit of work there over the years. He actually writes a bit about Lookout at his blog today, and posts a couple photos of the course too.
jeffmingay.com

Ian Andrew

Re:Lookout Point (Travis) c. Niagara
« Reply #2 on: March 16, 2006, 04:42:44 PM »
I posted what I could, I ran out of web space.

Mark,

This is the best routing of all the Travis courses that I have seen. There are a few where I question the routing, but this one nails what is a difficult and exciting piece of property. The course start on top of the Niagara Escarpment and the property tumbles quite quickly away below. There are no flat holes, and each has quite a large fall in one direction or the other. Half the greens at Lookout are still original and many are devestatingly tough. This is one of my 10 favourite courses in the country.

A look from the first fairway across the original fairway bunkers (restored) towards the first green. Note the wild mounding in the trees on the right. Some are as high as 10 feet. We have removed as many trees as the club can stomach for now. The drop from tee to green is 100 feet.



The amazing short and very sidehill par 5 3rd hole. The approach is into a 3,000.ft. green with roll-offs on both sides. Over the back is a 20 foot drop too. Missing wide or long is deadly. Once you've played the holes a few times you realize the prudent play is to bounce in your approach.



The only 140 yard hole I know where you try bounce the ball in. The green has since been squared up to bring it to a whopping 2800 sq.ft. Bunkers are 6 feet deep on either side with a 12 foot sheer fall off the at the back.



I put this one in to illustrate that the 7th fairway has 30 feet, yes 30 feet, of cross fall in the middle. It takes a lot of skill to lay-up in the fairway.



The 10th is all about the shot into the plateau green. The green is quite small at around 3700 sq.ft. The front bank is a steep 20 foot face; and what is not at first apparent is the back falls away just as fast with a bunker mid way down.



The 14th is straight up the hill at 445 yards and is a brute. The mounds in the middle are supposed to be fescue but have been unfortunately cut in more recent times. The green is like a waterbed in motion and pretty much ends the possibility of par



These mounds are 100 yards off the tee on the short par four 15th. They are original. The 15th is a wild rollercoaster of a fairway to a green that falls away from play.



The 16th and 17th were combined when the club made the changes to remove 8 green and the 9th hole (for a driving range). These are the fairway bunkers on the short 16th (those I added).



This is looking down at the current 18th hole to the green that replaced the old 8th (routing was mixed around at that time). The green is a small high tabletop green with a devestating drop from back to front. Good luck trying not to putt into the front bunkers!



Hope that gives you a feel for the place.
« Last Edit: March 16, 2006, 05:00:49 PM by Ian Andrew »

Jeff_Mingay

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Lookout Point (Travis) c. Niagara
« Reply #3 on: March 16, 2006, 04:54:04 PM »
Ian,

It's been too long since we last played Lookout! I'd love to get back again, after seeing these photos.

Boy, it'd be nice someday if the club allows you to remove as many trees as I know you'd like, to expose more of that wild Travis mounding along the periphery of many holes.  

Was that depression at the 5th, that looks like an old bunker, ever filled with sand? I forget.

I know you agree, those mounds in the fairways, like at the 14th and 15th, would look so, so good covered in fescues. Wow.
jeffmingay.com

Ian Andrew

Re:Lookout Point (Travis) c. Niagara
« Reply #4 on: March 16, 2006, 05:03:54 PM »
Jeff,

They've been good with the trees. Most remain for real safety concerns.

When I did my original research we could find no record of there ever being sand in it. Two years fater the face we did. I guess you could say we never got around to changing it over - and it's deep!

They both were fescue, but are naturally overwatered by the irrigation system - so they get real think at times. Aldo cuts them down when there out of control - the pictures were badly timed.

mark chalfant

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Lookout Point (Travis) c. Niagara
« Reply #5 on: March 18, 2006, 09:57:14 AM »
Ian thanks so much for your thoughtful reply and the beautiful
photos. it looks like a superb routing. Reminds me of CC of Troy a bit, but Lookout is more dramatic

T_MacWood

Re:Lookout Point (Travis) c. Niagara
« Reply #6 on: March 18, 2006, 10:33:48 AM »
Ian
Is the side-saddled Biarritz green (I think it was the 16th) still around?

Ian Andrew

Re:Lookout Point (Travis) c. Niagara
« Reply #7 on: March 18, 2006, 12:12:39 PM »
The par four, 6th has a biarritz green (on about a 15 degree angle to play), but it's much smaller scale (about 5,000 sq.ft.). Sorry no photo in my files - and this was always the 6th hole.

The old 16th (currently 7th) is a rebuild green. This is a par five of around 500 yards.

Tags:
Tags:

An Error Has Occurred!

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()
Back