After the recently published IMO piece by Mike Sweeney regarding Mountain Lake, a central FL course, I decided to ride the momentum and present another course in the area - Highlands Reserve. The course probably won't appear in any magazines or rater's lists; not to pick on Matt Ward but one look at the CR and SR will turn him off. That said, there are many reasons why players and architecture fans will enjoy the course. First, the course occupies terrain usually reserved for the Ocala region of Florida, with an elevation change of roughly 120 feet from the top to the bottom of the property. Second, the greens are wonderfully undulating kept at a reasonable pace of 9 on the stimp. Third, the course encourages walking (or at least does not discourage it
), and it is a wonderful stroll on sandy terrain. There are other reasons to like it as well: the course has the Huckaby ideal of a (relatively) high CR/low slope, there is only a single pond out of play, and it is affordable.
The first green gives a sign of the challenge ahead
If you aren't interested yet, note that HR was once the scene of an epic match between FBD and Mike Sweeney.
The architect, Mike Dasher, built a course that is playable for all skill levels. He achieved this feat by not focusing on length (the back tee tops out at a very playable 6649 yards), but on short game and proper placement of shots. The club cuts the grass throughout the course to have minimal rough and the course is often firm and fast. This combined with highly undulating greens yields a slope rating that is nearly the same from the middle tees as from the back tees – 72.1, 118 vs. 68.8, 115. It can be visually appealing as well, there are many wide open sandy waste areas throughout the course. In particular, holes like 2 & 10 would be world class if the surroundings were more scenic.
The waste area off the 7th tee
While the course is in a housing community, I think its design should be copied more often for residential courses. There are no single holes with housing on both sides. Usually, the holes are in pairs so there is always plenty of room to hit the ball. While it can be done, in my half dozen rounds there I haven't seen anybody hit a ball into a resident's yard.
On to Holes of Note (all yardages from the back tees):
Hole 2 – Par 4, 398 yds
The tee is set at the highest point on the course. The fairway sweeps from right to left down the hill, with a sandy waste area left of the fairway for those that overhook the tee shot. From there, the player approaches the most undulating green on the course. The back left position is especially difficult to get at. The very undulating green, sloping some 6 feet from back to front, requires different shots to get the ball close depending on pin position. Overall a very fun hole that sets the tone for the round.
The view from the 2nd tee
The approach to the 2nd. Note the severe undulations in the green, visible from 140 yards out
Hole 5 – Par 4, 413 yards
This hole sweeps gracefully from right to left, with a semi-blind tee shot from the back tee. The plateaued green sits above a natural dip, forcing an aerial shot for the first time of the day. Again, the green provides a lot of interest and is the key to the hole. The green is very shallow with a saddle shape. In the picture below the pin is just left of the oak tree in front of the green. Without the housing, the hole would have a nice skyline green that would enhance it even more.
The approach to the 5th
Hole 6 – Par 3, 225 yards
The longest par 3 on the course. The green is very large, accommodating a long iron of fairway wood. If the player is not careful its very easy to hit into the long waste area down the right hand side, causing a long bunker shot.
Hole 8 – Par 5, 508 yards
A great risk/reward par 5. Off the tee the bunkers on the right must be challenged to reach the green in two. On the second, there is an intimidating waste area that must be safely negotiated in order to have a birdie or eagle opportunity. This hole, coupled with the ninth, form a back-to-back set of par 5s where at least one will be reachable, depending on the wind.
The approach to the 8th