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John Mayhugh

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Mountain Lake: I can't believe this is Florida
« on: January 13, 2008, 12:07:10 PM »
To me, Florida golf usually means holes restricted by housing & water on a flat piece of land.  I know that's not true everywhere.  Certainly Calusa Pines is a notable exception that I've played.

Just after Christmas I was fortunate enough to be Mike Sweeney's guest for a round at Mountain Lake in Lake Wales.  If not for GCA, I might never have heard of Mountain Lake at all.  It's pretty short by today's standards, just over 6600 yards.  It's hidden away in the small central Florida town of Lake Wales.  And it's also the kind of course I would love to play every day if I could.

For anyone who isn't familiar, Mountain Lake was designed by Seth Raynor and opened for play around 1920.  The course underwent a lot of changes and was beautifully restored by Brian Silva in 2002.  Mike's profile of the course is well worth a read.
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/mountainlake2.html

This part of Florida isn't flat and the rolling terrain gives the course a lot of its character.  Raynor used the land to create a course that is both fun and challenging.  It also plays a lot longer than the yardage on the scorecard would indicate.  The fairways are huge, so an unsuspecting player can try to bomb away off the tee on every hole.  This can be enjoyable since you don't need to worry about hitting out of bounds or losing balls in hazards.  But you quickly discover that there is a right way to approach most of these greens.

Mike's profile describes the routing and holes better than I could so I'll just stick with some of the things I found notable.  First, the width off the tee.  On most every hole, the player has a great chance of being in the fairway.  The third hole is a good example.  The bunker on the right can be carried fairly easily and that seems like the best side to approach from.  But you can't see your landing area, so it is a little harder to commit to hitting it there.


While there is plenty of room off the tee, that doesn't mean the tee shots are boring.  In a wonderful sequence of holes 12-14, Raynor requires a blind tee shot (hole called "Blind")


A "Fade"


And a "Draw"


On most holes there is a favored angle of approach.  For example, on the par 5 fourth, there is quite a bit more room on the right side of the fairway, but being further left makes for a more comfortable approach.


The sloping fairway on the eighth makes it difficult to be far enough left to avoid hitting over the huge bunker.


The par three holes are definitely Raynor.  Beginning with a Biarritz seen from the back of the green.


Then a Short.  The player in the photo is future Dixie Cup star Dylan Sweeney, Mike's son.


Then a beautiful Redan, probably my favorite hole on the course.  That is an imposing bunker on the left. I could hit tee shots there all day.

The same green viewed from just outside the left bunker.


The final par three is an Eden.

Here are the Eden's side & rear bunkers.  I really loved the harsh, penal look of the bunkering all over the course.


One of my other favorite holes was the punchbowl 15th. Here's the green from the rear.

And looking back from the 16th tee.  Note the short walk from green to tee.  Mountain Lake is definitely a walkable course.


My round didn't end quite the way I hoped.  On the 18th I ended up too far right off the tee on the wide, wide fairway.  I proceeded to dump my approach shot in the bunker short & right of the green.  All I could think about standing over my sand shot is how much the windows in the spectacular Colony House must cost.  Needless to say, I had trouble blasting out of the bunker.  But a fantastic day anyway.

Here is the Colony House viewed from the 18th fairway.

Finally, the green at 18 is just as tricky as all the rest.


Mountain Lake is a treasure.

Kyle Harris

Re:Mountain Lake: I can't believe this is Florida
« Reply #1 on: January 13, 2008, 12:10:42 PM »
Wow... do I miss it there.

J_ Crisham

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Re:Mountain Lake: I can't believe this is Florida
« Reply #2 on: January 13, 2008, 12:25:11 PM »
John, Nice pictures! How long is the redan hole and how is it situated in regard to the prevailing wind.Also on the biarritz-how deep is swale roughly-it appears very playable.

Bill Brightly

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Mountain Lake: I can't believe this is Florida
« Reply #3 on: January 13, 2008, 12:31:47 PM »
John,

Nice pics! Thanks for posting in the middle of the winter while I am 1000 miles away...I need to go play there, NOW!  (Well, after the Giants-Cowboy game...)

S. Huffstutler

Re:Mountain Lake: I can't believe this is Florida
« Reply #4 on: January 13, 2008, 12:37:46 PM »
So much for Florida not having any good golf, eh?

steve

Kyle Harris

Re:Mountain Lake: I can't believe this is Florida
« Reply #5 on: January 13, 2008, 12:52:10 PM »
John, Nice pictures! How long is the redan hole and how is it situated in regard to the prevailing wind.Also on the biarritz-how deep is swale roughly-it appears very playable.

Redan is 180 yards from the tips, and the wind generally blows left to right (from the North). When the Bermuda is tramped tight from cart traffic, it's possible to putt from the back tee.

John Mayhugh

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Mountain Lake: I can't believe this is Florida
« Reply #6 on: January 13, 2008, 12:57:46 PM »
John, Nice pictures! How long is the redan hole and how is it situated in regard to the prevailing wind.Also on the biarritz-how deep is swale roughly-it appears very playable.

The redan is 181 from the back tee and 160 from the regular and plays just a little downhill.  Not sure about the prevailing wind direction. Maybe Mike can answer that.

The swale in the Biarritz is 2-3 feet deep.  Nowhere near as deep as Yale's.  To give some perspective, here's Dylan walking through it.

John Mayhugh

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Mountain Lake: I can't believe this is Florida
« Reply #7 on: January 13, 2008, 01:01:28 PM »
So much for Florida not having any good golf, eh?

steve
I know that there is plenty of good golf in Florida.  It's just that too many of my rounds there have been on water-lined or residential courses.  

TEPaul

Re:Mountain Lake: I can't believe this is Florida
« Reply #8 on: January 13, 2008, 02:22:45 PM »
GeorgeB or Kyle Harris:

I think I understand (from GeorgeB) that the 8th green was the original Raynor 9th green and that Charles Banks added the present 9th hole.

If that's all true and #8 was originally a par 4 and the original #9 was to the present 8th green from that old tee over on the right, where then was the old original 8th green? Is there any vestige of it left on the ground as there is of that old 9th tee?

Billsteele

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Mountain Lake: I can't believe this is Florida
« Reply #9 on: January 13, 2008, 02:44:03 PM »
I am very disappointed that Dylan Sweeney's shirt appears to be untucked. Perhaps his father has not learned anything from this site.

Matt Kardash

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Mountain Lake: I can't believe this is Florida
« Reply #10 on: January 13, 2008, 06:12:42 PM »
That little bunker in front of the redan looks kinda awkward. Seems out of proportion with the rest of the hole. Maybe if there were two bunkers like that side by side it would look better to my eye.
the interviewer asked beck how he felt "being the bob dylan of the 90's" and beck quitely responded "i actually feel more like the bon jovi of the 60's"

Mike Sweeney

Re:Mountain Lake: I can't believe this is Florida
« Reply #11 on: January 13, 2008, 08:55:03 PM »
I am very disappointed that Dylan Sweeney's shirt appears to be untucked. Perhaps his father has not learned anything from this site.

Bill,

It is difficult for a kid to keep a shirt tucked in when you are pulling clubs out of your bag on your GOLF CART, leaning over to fidget with THE CHEATER LINE on your golf ball and pulling your SKY CADDIE out of a kid's size pocket.

Of course all is forgivin by many GCAes led by Tiger Berhhardt as Dylan is wearing a Top 100 logo shirt from C&C designed Friars Head!  8)

See you in Lake Wales on the 25th.

jeffwarne

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Mountain Lake: I can't believe this is Florida
« Reply #12 on: January 13, 2008, 11:01:12 PM »
Terriffic pictures of what looks like a great course.
Reminds me a lot of Yeaman's Hall, which I loved.

Having been inspired to attempt to include Mountain Lake in an upcoming trip, I noticed nearby Lake Wales CC was a Donald Ross design.
A further look at their website reveals a course that seems to be going in the opposite artistic direction as Mountain Lake.

From the website-
.........."were (I think they meant "we're"-although the typo is quite ironic)proud of the fact that many of Ross's trademark touches remain."
"In the past several years, however, the club has improved the course, including renovating the greens, and softening its contours "(their contours?) - (doesn't anyone edit their grammar/spelling anymore?)
"adding lakes, landscaping, and irrigation, and also doing some remodeling in our clubhouse."

"....a strong membership base,drawn by our well maintained course and all the activities and events we offer"

Couldn't a few of them been drawn by (what's left of) the DESIGN of the course?

Now to be fair, the current owners bought what used to be muni and have apparently turned it into a successful private club, which no doubt has involved some compromises.
But after looking at the wonderful pictures of Mountain Lake, it's hard to think of someone reducing the undulations on a golden age Ross course (or whatever was left of it when purchased).

Has anyone played Lake Wales CC?
"Let's slow the damned greens down a bit, not take the character out of them." Tom Doak
"Take their focus off the grass and put it squarely on interesting golf." Don Mahaffey

Gene Greco

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Mountain Lake: I can't believe this is Florida
« Reply #13 on: January 14, 2008, 12:16:58 AM »
   Thought Dylan's shirt looked familiar. ;)
"...I don't believe it is impossible to build a modern course as good as Pine Valley.  To me, Sand Hills is just as good as Pine Valley..."    TOM DOAK  November 6th, 2010

Jason Connor

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Re:Mountain Lake: I can't believe this is Florida
« Reply #14 on: January 14, 2008, 12:58:19 AM »
Does anyone know what membership is like here?

My wife and I are moving to south of Orlando and while this is maybe an hour away, it seems far more interesting than some of the Orlando courses.  Especially if it's more affordable than Orlando's best.

I'd emailed the membership lady a few weeks ago and she invited me for a visit, which I haven't done yet, but she didn't provide an particulars.
« Last Edit: January 14, 2008, 12:59:56 AM by Jason Connor »
We discovered that in good company there is no such thing as a bad golf course.  - James Dodson

Mike Sweeney

Re:Mountain Lake: I can't believe this is Florida
« Reply #15 on: January 14, 2008, 02:38:44 AM »

Has anyone played Lake Wales CC?


We have been told that there is not much Ross left and I have not tried it. Maybe Kyle Harris did.

Jason,

See my IM. In a nutshell, local members live inside the gates, so price starts with a house.
« Last Edit: January 14, 2008, 02:43:44 AM by Mike Sweeney »

Jim Franklin

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Re:Mountain Lake: I can't believe this is Florida
« Reply #16 on: January 14, 2008, 08:32:24 AM »
I am very disappointed that Dylan Sweeney's shirt appears to be untucked. Perhaps his father has not learned anything from this site.

Bill,

It is difficult for a kid to keep a shirt tucked in when you are pulling clubs out of your bag on your GOLF CART, leaning over to fidget with THE CHEATER LINE on your golf ball and pulling your SKY CADDIE out of a kid's size pocket.

Of course all is forgivin by many GCAes led by Tiger Berhhardt as Dylan is wearing a Top 100 logo shirt from C&C designed Friars Head!  8)

See you in Lake Wales on the 25th.

Dylan gets Friars Head and I get Hidden Creek  ;).
Mr Hurricane

Jay Flemma

Re:Mountain Lake: I can't believe this is Florida
« Reply #17 on: January 14, 2008, 04:12:06 PM »
I like how the swale is part of the green, like at Yale.  I know alot of people like it leading up to the green and not part of it like, say, Knoll Club, but I think having it as part of the green works just fine and it defends par quite well also...

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