10th Hole: 522 Yards - Par 5The great holes continue with this shortish par five that plays downhill off the tee. There is a lot of room here so you can just rip away off the tee. Really neat greensite here, perched back up on top of a hillside with a cavernous front bunker on the right and a severely undulating green with multiple great pin locations. This is a second shot hole and it's a doozy. All three days I had short iron SECOND shots into this green and didn't birdie it once.
Tee Shot
Approach Shot
11th Hole: 384 Yards - Par 4Another beauty that presents options off the tee. You can elect to hit driver left of a centerline fairway bunker and shorten the approach to a shallow greensite but that brings the water into play. Or you can play the safer shot to the right of the fairway bunker, which leaves a much longer shot into the green but will help you avoid the big number.
Tee Shot
Approach Shot from Fairway Bunker
12th Hole: 225 Yards - Par 3A doozy of a par three that demands a right to left ball flight into a very long green that slopes hard around the bunker toward the back. The ideal shot can come in low and runup toward the pin. Don't go left!
Tee Shot
13th Hole: 433 Yards - Par 4Pretty straight-forward long two-shotter. The ideal tee ball is hit over the left fairway bunker to leave the open approach but most will just go for the fat of the fairway to the right. However, your second will then have to navigate the front right bunker. The area around the green is cut tight here and there are some neat options available for chip shots.
Tee Shot
Approach Shot
14th Hole: 551 Yards - Par 5The last three shotter on the course but it's no picnic. There is a centerline bunker here that allows you a couple of choices: go the safe route to the left but the hole turns into a guaranteed three shotter or go right and flirt with the water but give yourself the chance of reaching the green in two. The green has a huge swale in it and is very difficult to navigate if you go long with your approach.
Tee Shot
Approach Shot
15th Hole: 450 Yards - Par 4This is the start of the so-called 'Bear Claw', the four hole finishing stretch at the Ocean Course. What a GREAT golf hole this is! It's a pretty wide open drive but still, the bunkers right and in the center of the fairway cause you to grip the club a little tight on this long, uphill par four. If you successfully hit the short grass, you have a chance to reach the severely elevated greensite that looks like it's sitting on top of the ocean all by its lonesome. Whatever you do, don't misclub and come up short, as the ball will roll right back down the hill and leave a treacherous pitch shot. Tremendous golf hole and easily my favourite on the entire course.
Tee Shot
Approach from Centerline Bunker
This is what my playing partner had to look forward to when he came up short
16th Hole: 399 Yards - Par 4This hole plays a bit too much like the 5th for my liking, with both requiring the player to make a decision as far as cutting off the corner of the dogleg. However, the whipping winds off the ocean right behind you make club selection a bit more important here, giving you the chance to hit anything from driver to long iron. The green is deep but very narrow so a precise approach is absolutely necessary. Missing right is dead, as the green falls off into a huge chipping depression cut to fairway length.
Me looking unkempt on a windy day on the back deck
Tee Shot
17th Hole: 174 Yards - Par 3Another beautiful hole that plays toward the ocean but somehow feels different from the 8th. This one seemed to play SHORTER than it's yardage all week, partially due to the fact the green slopes sharply from front to back on the second half of the surface, which leads to a huge dropoff and another shortly cut chipping area. Long is dead, short is dead, right is dead...hit the green or say goodbye to your par chances.
Tee Shot
18th Hole: 466 Yards - Par 4A very tough finisher, especially if its into the wind. The tee shot is downhill, with a draw off the right fairway bunker leaving an uphill approach that also demands a right to left ball flight. The uphill nature of the approach limits the ability to run the ball in but at least you have a shot at making an up and in from there. The green is about 40 yards deep and has multiple tiers.
Approach Shot
From Behind the Green
This golf course is much different from most Nicklaus courses I've played in that there are many different ways to play the hole from the tees, the fairways and near the greens. You can play it low, play it high, play a fade or a draw, bump in shots or flop them in.
It doesn't hurt that the course is gorgeous to look at and plays very firm and fast. Very pleasantly surprised by the course and the teeth it has in the wind. It's just plain fun to play!