Thanks to a very generous host I had the opportunity to spend a couple of days at the Sand Hills this past week, a return trip after an initial visit back in 2005.
A few quick observations:
I fell in love with the place after my first visit and this second trip did nothing but affirm my initial observation. We were fortunate to have a little wind the second day, a "typical Sand Hills type wind" according to my host, about 15-20 mph. The wind the second day presented challenges that I had not faced before; bunkers that looked like they would never be in play from previous rounds seemingly were a force to be reckoned with. Angles that had been taken in previous plays were no longer doable. But the beauty of the place is that holes played just as well during the calm rounds as when the wind was blowing.
The final round was started on the 10th tee, playing holes 10, 11 and 12 into the wind. Number 10 was unreachable in two shots, but the bunker 80 yards short of the green on the right side of fairway came into play when trying to place our second shots. Holes 11 and 12 were transformed from driver-9 iron or wedge into brutes. The genius of hole #14 was brought out when playing it into the wind as well. By the time we had started our back nine on hole #1, the wind had seemingly changed directions a bit and holes #1 and 2 were playing into the wind.
My favorite hole from my first visit was #4, with the stunning view from the double diamond tees, the pit to the left and the falloff to the right. That hasn't changed, but I grew to appreciate a few more. Hole #5 from the diamond tee above the green on 4 makes for a dynamic tee shot that must hug the bunker complex on the inside to set up the preferred line of play. Into the wind the last day the tee shot had to be placed between this bunker complex and the centerline bunker, which presented a daunting task.
Hole #8 from the back tee into the wind: The carry over the bunkers at the beginning of the fairway to the right became a challenge; the prudent play to the left side of the fairway. With little or no wind, the choice to fly the bunkers was an easy one. However, the fun begins when you play the hole from the up tee, at about 290. The chance to drive the green and make a 2 is a tempting one, but miss the shot a bit and the bunkers can snatch up the tee shot and make 5 or more a definite possibility.
Hole #11 from the back tee: My first two rounds back in 2005 were played from the regular tee. A 4-wood followed by a wedge and one putt - birdie both times. From the back tee, the bunkers definitely are more in play, including the one to the right side of the fairway where it begins. Into the wind the second day the hole became almost unreachable, leaving one to ponder where the best place to leave the second shot would be.
Hole #15: Challenge the bunkers on the right about 240 off the tee to gain a view of the green, or go left to ensure a safe shot followed by a blind approach. The pin for the first day was front left, making it blind from any spot in the fairway. In fact, one fellow in my group played up the fairway on #14 and had a perfect view of the flag, although it was a much further second shot. He did make par, I believe.
When we arrived we were met with a note that the club had received approximately 22 inches of rain in the month of June. I believe the typical annual rainfall to be about 15 inches, so I was a bit unsure of the playing conditions. I was pleasantly surprised when we reached the course and found little or no damage to the course. No, it didn't play firm and fast as is typical, but how could it given the once in a hundred year rainfall. The greens were a bit slower than I remembered them to be, but they certainly were not slow, and were a perfect speed to take a run at.
As Ran states perfectly in his review of the club, "at the end of many a thirty-six hole day, the golfer realizes there is no other place he would rather be", to which I absolutely concur.