Aided by the sage counsel of a couple members of this DG (but not Golfweek, alas it's little sidebar did not arrive in my mailbox till I returned home), I sought out Highlands Links on Cape Cod during my recent vacation (3rd one in 8 years - woohoo! ). Posted pics will follow.
Built in the good old nineteenth century, it was still a very fun course to play. Can't help but think that they don't really build 'em like this anymore. 5200 yards of rollicking fun if you play the loop twice, with wind strong enough to have flags fully extended & directional markers 45 degrees to the horizon in some instances. The holes definitely seem like they simply picked out the greensites, mowed the grass & dug out a few bunkers into the sand dunes.
Short par 4 that's not much to speak of, but one super cool tee shot on number 2. Vertical descent of maybe 100 feet down to a diagonal fairway that is uphill all the way to the green, which is guarded by a few big bunkers.
No. 3 is a strong uphill par 3 that could probably use a little more length to challenge better players, but it was plenty of fun for yours truly.
No. 4 is probably best played from the gold tees the second time around. As no. 4, you're hitting into a large hill that's probably a 180 yard carry to the ridge - as no. 13, this carry increases to probably 230 or so. The directional marker at the top of this ridge was angled at about 45 degrees to the horizon due to the strong wind blowing out to the ocean, which had turned 180 degrees when I returned the next day to snap some pics, again bending the stick quite a bit. How cool is that? The approach to the green is made more interesting by the undulating terrain leading up to it. Played as no. 4, it probably would make the short approach faced by the Matt Ward's of the world more interesting.
No. 5 was another hole that probably wouldn't be built today. The fairway drops off pretty dramatically about 180-200 yards from the tee, followed by a moderately steep dropoff for the next 30 yards, a brief leveling out, & then another roll down another 30 yards or so. My decent drive (as it appeared from the tee) ended up at the bottom of the second valley, so I was faced with a short pitch to a highly elevated green.
Nos. 6 & 7 were pretty, perched up with a nice view of the giant water hazard known as the Atlantic (actually, it's well out of reach - even a highly errant wind assisted tee shot such as mine on no. 6 couldn't slice far enough to reach the cliff).
No. 8 was a straight short par 4, but played into the teeth of the wind that day. Two well struck irons left my a little short when I failed to properly account for the wind.
No. 9 was a very short par 3 of about 130, played to a green sloping slightly from right to left, with two distinct shelves separated by a strong ridge creating two small targets left & right. My second tee shot
was well struck & used the ridge to funnel the ball toward the hole. Cool shot for such a short one.
All in all, tons of fun on a quirky short little course. Kind of makes me feel bad for you ultra low handicappers who would probably feel insufficiently challenged.
I'll try to get the pics up in a few days.