A week ago I tweeted about a par 5 which very rapidly became near and dear to my heart - in only one play. For those of you that may have seen the Tweet, I wanted to post some additional details here.
The course is North Creek in northern Mississippi, just south of Memphis. Actually, they call themselves "The Links at North Creek" and from the very first hole it is easy to mistakenly believe you've been transported to Scotland. There is something to love on almost every hole (how can there not be when almost every hole has an artificial water hazard or three!!) There are plenty of small ponds where they basically just let rain water fill in what they dug out to create loads of artificial mounds.
I knew that hole #13 was going to be special as soon as we got to the tee box. I love a good, short par 5 and I'm sure all of you do as well. So far so good!
Trees and a marshy-type water hazard surround the tee box. The tree cover ensures that not enough sunlight hits the tee box in the summer, so you get a nice dirt base in which you can easily poke your tee. I can only imagine how special this tee shot must be in the summer, when the trees are in full bloom. The carry isn't out of order, but just enough so that when the corridor tightens in the summer I am sure some people needlessly plunk a ball in there. In fact, one of my buddies hit a sort of knuckle ball topper into the water on this very day.
The hole isn't really a 90 degree dogleg - probably more like 75 or 80 degree though I didn't bother to look at the map to find out. OK, so I just went to google maps and my estimate is pretty close. The course is absolutely beautiful on google maps from the satellite view. A must see for all of you! The artificial humps alone are worth the price of admission, but there are also plenty of houses, the aforementioned water hazards, an island green or two - just have a look for yourself!
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=34.988954,-90.06955&spn=0.003705,0.008256&t=h&z=18&lci=com.panoramio.allI was so caught up in the glorious time that I had on this hole that I didn't get enough fairway photos. Here's one looking back from the green. Only those of you with a really keen eye for good architecture will be able to draw the subtleties out of this dark, sub-optimal shot.
Now, you may have seen enough to book a flight to Memphis already, but the real treasure on this hole lies in the green site. Oh, yes, you ain't seen nothing yet! The green is part of a double-green complex... that's right. Inspired by perhaps the greatest of all links courses, The Old Course, this hidden gem takes the concept to the next level. The average architect would have never found this site suitable for a double green with the need for the giant drainage pipe. Even a Doak or a Nuzzo might be too set in their ways to envision this...
Becoming this...
But seeing is believing!!!!
Here's a view from up on the actual putting surface. One hardly notices the puffy plant-like things decorating the festive area.
When I first began playing the course, I was a bit disappointed. By the time I got to #13, I knew that the day was not going to be a complete loss! By the end of the round, I was inspired enough that I felt like I needed to check out this offer -
Membership does have its privileges. Look out top 100, here I come!