I played my round today, and was completely overmatched around the greens. Some of it was a couple of hole locations, but most of it was between my ears. Overall, a quirky but fun course. Some of the fairways were like rollercoasters.
Some holes to note:
#1 Short opener, 345 with a blind approach to an angled green that slopes right to left and away from you, a front-left greenside bunker, and a left hole location today.
#4 394... even with a wedge in my hand, I could not get the ball onto that front right tabletop portion of the green where the hole was located. It's very small! I wonder how many players in the field were able to get it close on this hole.
#6 330... Another very precise approach required with a short club. Cannot go long, as I can attest to, and also have to be careful about spinning the approach right off the front of the green.
#13 197 (Redan) I can recall playing Redan holes at Shinnecock, Yale and Westhampton, but i have never seen one that slopes left to right, with bunkers right, like this one. My partner and I walked away with a couple of routine two-putt pars, and our club caddies were trying to explain to us how rare that is for that hole. A very severly sloping green.
#17 186 (Eden) Was the toughest green on the course for me during my practice round, and today. So important to put the ball in the correct spot on the green.
#18 412... Strange angle off the tee, makes you think you are aiming into the right trees, only to find your ball in the middle of the fairway. then a semi-blind, uphill approach, with a run up option, plus sideboards, makes the approach a fun shot.
I got beat up pretty badly around the greens today, but still enjoyed playing, so I guess that says something for this course.