Grandfather G&CC is an idyllic club - more than anything else it exudes a sense of family and community...which is rare for a Top 100 golf course. To get to the clubhouse, you drive past the lake and beach for the community, which while vacant in early October, I can imagine were both quite popular even a month earlier.
The facility was described to me as a fantastic club that just happens to have a really great golf course...and I'd have to agree.
Ran has already detailed the history and layout in his profile, so the below can be considered my contribution to supplement with a few thoughts thrown in.
As an added bonus, I got the chance to play the 18 hole executive course which climbs the mountainous terrain. It was a nice and unexpected treat and I tossed in a few photos. Apologies as always if I mess up hole numbers
First hole is a benign par 5....reachable for many.
The 3rd is an attractive, medium length par 4 that demands you play right of the tree, then punishes you if you go too far.
Fourth hole tees off over a big rock of some sort, then falls down to the right, daring you to challenge a back pin
The 5th is an all-carry par 3 that calls for a mid-long iron.
6 is the more challenging of the two par 5s on the front nine, with a great tee shot (beautiful view of the mountain in the background). Getting home in two requires you to draw it around the corner. Shorter tee shots must contend with the diagonal hazard in laying up
7 is interesting to me - it is perhaps the most uncomplicated, beautiful golf hole I've ever seen. Yet, despite its simplicity, it is not without subtle challenges...including a green that is ever-so-slightly pushed up and protected by surprisingly treacherous bunkers on the right.
The 8th is, I feel, the most visually impressive hole on the course. It can be played any number of ways, but with one of the more severe greens with a toothy false front, this is one time where getting pretty close to the green, even if leaving you a partial shot, may pay off. Full wedge shots may spin back down the fairway
9 - a long, redan-style par 3
10 takes you up the hill with another uncomplicated tee shot which masks a beast of a green
11 is yet another excellent tee shot. I think what I like most about Grandfather is the variety to the tee shots. Some look like you can't possibly miss the fairway. Some look like you MUST work the ball. There is no similarity to any of them. Simplicity, complexity, options, clearly-dictated plays - it has it all
12 - the first one-shotter on the back. One of my critiques of Grandfather would be that I felt the par 3s on the back were slightly uninspired. After the excellent pair on the front nine, that was a bit of a letdown.
Any letdown from the 12th is solved on the 13th tee...another of the postcard holes. The creek is reachable for long hitters with driver, but easily avoided (and the hole easily played) with a fairway wood off the tee.
The 14th is the second of the par 3s - again, I feel like they just don't stand up to the front nine's standard
16 is another of those impressive tee shots. The scenery is icing here, but play the ball out to the left and leave yourself an awkward lie and a mid iron to the green, or challenge the right and shorten your route considerably. One of my favorite tee shots on the course
17 is a bit of a trick to the first time player. It looks like the strong line is to hug the left with a draw...but a creek cuts the hole in half about 250 yards from the green. Aggressive drives will find this creek. I got lucky and heeled my drive about 25 yards short/right of my intended line, and actually ended up in the perfect location, perched to go for the green in two. On another play, I would play well right of my intended line - essentially at the high point in the mountains in the distance on this photo, and maybe hit a 3 wood
18 is an appropriate finisher - finishing with the clubhouse, the lake, the wedding arbor, the condos, the bridge, and really just among the community. Its a hole that doesn't require a driver from the tee, and is a fitting way to end a round at a comfortable, inviting club.
Mountain Springs Course - Executive 18 holes.
The Mountain Springs course takes the hilly terrain...whereas the big course occupies the valley...and does a great job with making a fun, sporty mix of par 3s and par 4s. I think it's around 5-6 par 4s all in the 260-300 range, and the par 3s run from 90 to 170 yards. Apologies for some of the photos' lighting but it was getting late. What a fantastic little gem of a course. Great way to spend 2 hours with the family.