Jon N:
When you say "zero thought" regarding the uphill par-4 12th you'll need to explain that to me. Did you play the tips? Was the win coming from the prevailing direction? The solitary fairway bunker is well done there and it forces the stronger player to give pause before pulling the trigger. Ditto the neat uphill approach that obscures all pin locations.
Hi Matt,
Sorry to neglect responding. I've been out of town and disconnected.
We didn't play the tips. We played the up tees to accommodate an older member in our group. I remember noting that it is two different holes from either side of the ravine in the teeing areas. I'm not sure what the prevailing wind direction is but we had a 1.5-2 club chasing wind on that hole. Maybe I'm thick but I don't remember a fairway bunker. There's a bunker short of the green on the left but it's only in play if you're going for the green - right?
Even with a two club wind I can't near reach 372 yards uphill. Let's call that bunker 300+. Still a big ask. As a 14 'capper I'm not even tempted to go with driver. That just brings the cliff left into play. Not much better is the junk on the right. For me it was a no-brainer decision to play it safe 225-250 up the middle. Same for the 7-index in our group.
I do like the approach but it doesn't blow my socks off at all.
Jon, the back at SH is the better of the two nines. Better terrain, overall routing and sheer diversity of holes.
I'll give diversity for sure. Better terrain and routing - not so much. I can see how others see it differently though. It is a breathtaking site to be sure.
In regards to TP -- I like the back better than the front -- again, I'm speaking about the sheer diversity and challenge aspect of the different holes.
I like TP's front for the layups, angles, ground game and distance control. The back is certainly nice enough but I absolutely prefer the front.
So... what's different about me compared to you? Am I flat out wrong (is there a consensus opinion?) or does it come down to different people valuing different attributes of the same course?