Here's my take on the course, hole-by-hole:
#1 –(574 FROM THE BLUES)
Standing on the first tee, the tee seems to point you to the right, even though this is a 90-degree dogleg, right to left. These tees need to be oriented better so that the first shot of the day is better defined. As you can imagine, I hit my first shot right. It musta missed the first cut by 2 feet, but it was not findable. I then hit a hickory shot that found fairway, so I played that ball. The starter said that there was ’30 yards of fairway’ to the right of the fairway trap on the upper fairway. I hit towards that area with a 5-wood. Another lost ball. This area needs to cleaned out and widened considerably since it is so blind. Based on where I thought I would be, I dropped and hit a rescue club to the right of the first green. Luckily, it found rough, just missing more fescue. This green will accept run-up shots, although it does slope away from right to left, making it unlikely that anything BUT a run-up shot will suffice. The green has some interest, mostly in the right to left movement, but wouldn’t be considered ‘large’ for a 655-yard hole.
I merely am pointing out my shots here to emphasize that the corridors need to be widened. If there is ever a tournament here, of course, the fairways can be narrowed. But for day-in and day-out public play, the width of the course, as it is today, will make this a 6-hour death march.
#2 - (333)
A very interesting short four par. You need to hit your tee shot over a hill blindly as far left as possible to see the green on your approach. A ‘safe’ shot right leaves you with a blind second to an amazingly small green. The green is just under 2000 s.f. and is relatively flat, although it is atop a ‘glacial dome’, so the chances of hitting it over the green, back-and-forth, are a realistic probability.
I found this hole both interesting and charming. Others are apt to disagree.
#3 – (451)
First of the really spectacular holes. This is longish, but because the tee-shot is downhill, not brutal hole, despite the advertised length. It sets up beautifully and appealingly to the eye from the tee. The approach is uphill, over a bunker, but doesn’t seem as long as the yardage would allow. Then you get to the green – what a green! Two levels, with the left side (the trouble side) higher than the right. So bail out to the right, but face a putt that is gonna move a couple feet to the left side pin placement.
Great hole.
#4 – (372)
Mentioned above, this is a tight driving hole to a ‘kettle green’. Because it is a shortish hole, an iron or fairway wood can be used from the elevated tee. However, because when you are up above the fairway so high, shots tend to disperse to a greater degree, especially if there is any wind, which, apparently, can quite often be the case here. IF you reach the fairway with your drive, the second shot is pretty easy, as the green tends to be forgiving although it does have some break to it.
#5 - (443)
A pretty strong four par. Again, you can’t miss the fairway or first cut, or your ball is lost. The second shot played a bit uphill but the green was very interesting. This would be a good hole to watch a tournament at as the green is surrounded by a hill that makes a natural ampitheater.
#6 - (188) –
This, to me, was the least memorable of the three par holes, which, overall, I found to be above-average. The hole plays uphill to a green that is saddle-shaped and falls away from the golfer, so it’s hard to get a perspective from the tee. A bunker short right will catch a weak shot. Many will claim this to be a ‘blind tee shot’. Sort of a let-down after the first five holes.
#7 – (184)
Modeled after ‘The Dell’ at Lahinch, the interesting part is NOT that you are hitting over a big hill, but that you are hitting over a rock at ground level DOWN to a green hidden below. The first time you see it, it is actually pretty strange as you are hitting at a spot level to you. The green is angled - left is closer to the tee than right.
Overall, an excellent hole and really fun to pass the ‘Whitten Rock’ – a painted white rock – to see where your shot landed. This hole will be skipped in competitions, apparently, as American golfers don’t appreciate holes like this.
#8 – (472)
With the prevailing wind into your face, and the length of this four par, the fairway should be WAY more generous than it is currently. There is a bail-out area that should be made way more generous. Another lost ball and the air pops out of your personal scoring balloon. This hole was the first one that our group thought just wasn’t memorable in any way – other than the too-narrow landing area.
#9 – (450)
A semi-blind tee shot, to an area that bends to the left. The green set on the plateau looks impressive, but when you think of the length of this hole, even though it is usually down-wind, a run-up shot should be allowed or even called for. But here it’s not possible. This hole is another negative hole.
Additionally, in the original routing, this would have been #18. I am SOOO glad they changed the nines as this would not have been a memorable way to finish your round here at Erin.
#9A – bye hole – (157)
During tournaments, this will replace the blind ‘Dell’ hole, so will play as #9.
This is, perhaps, the single most spectacular ‘looking’ hole. It wasn’t open yet, but we looked it over from the tee and all around the green. The green is set amidst a handful of nasty-looking bunkers and the smallish green angles from close on the left to farther away on the right. The only thing we questioned was the yardage book showed the green closer to the rear bunkers. With the green at its present size, we questioned how many pin positions exist on this smallish green. If it expands to where the picture shows, then it makes a really interesting green.
A really memorable hole. I only wish it replaced #6 instead of #7 ….