Blindness adds an element of challenge once again from the 15th tee, with just a glimpse of the fairway in sight. The hole ranges in length from 374-595 yards in total (par 5). Over the crest, the fairway runs away from the tee – the added distance will be most welcome.
From the tips, a drive must travel 305 yards to reach the bunker in the foreground.
The creek up ahead sits around 60 yards short of the green, forcing players to take care in selecting their target for the second shot. Continuing another theme found throughout the round, the green is deeper (30 paces) than it is wide (20 paces).
Sorry I've been incommunicado for a couple days... life w. two 4 year-olds will do that.
16 was my least favorite on the course, with 17 taking the runners-up position. Frankly the 16th seemed out of place in the portfolio of C&C designs… more like a hole that I would’ve played at Hiddenbrooke (Arnold Palmer design in Vallejo, CA) or The Bridges (Johnny Miller, San Ramon, CA). They’re all decent holes (in fact, I think I also might have played this hole at Staley Farms in KC, Davenport CC in Iowa, and Champions Run in Omaha), it’s just that it seemed so different than the rest of this course where the holes seemed far more subtle in comparison to this (and even #17).
The 17th I think would grow on me with repeat play. It’s a pretty B&W proposition from the tee. Either go right of the creek or go left. The right side, a seemingly more difficult shot to execute (creek on one side; gunch on the other), allows for a mid to long iron, on this par 5, to be played to the front of this green and to run up onto the putting surface. I unfortunately did not listen to my caddy and hit a 5W that hit the green about 10 feet on and released all the way to the back. The green on this hole is pretty neat, as it’s very deep (don’t how big officially) and the there’s a significant ridge where the last 1/3 is about 4’ – 5’ lower than the front (if I recall correctly)