To see my other photo tours completed thus far from this trip:
Sanctuary, CO:
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,48714.0.htmlPrairie Club (Dunes), NE:
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,48734.0.htmlAwarii Dunes, NE:
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,48784.0.htmlWild Horse, NE:
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,48807.0.htmlGolf Club at Bear Dance, CO:
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,48903.0.htmlCoeur D'Alene Resort, ID:
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,48906.0.htmlWine Valley, WA:
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,48960.0.htmlIt has been over a month since I played TPC (Pines) and many rounds and golf courses in the middle so the level of detail I can articulate is certainly diminished. Nevertheless, I will do my best to accurately display TPC.
General Thoughts:
1) Pines is nowhere near the calibre of golf course as the Dunes. Using the GCA-style of splitting 10 rounds, I would likely play 8 on the Dunes and 2 on the Pines.
2) The options off the tee at the Dunes are not present on the Pines. There is certainly width in many fairways but there is often only one place that makes sense to hit a tee shot.
3) The greens are much smaller than the Dunes (but still much bigger than an average golf course) and many have very severe internal contouring making some of the green feel like several greens in one.
4) The routing is quite good. There are only two awkward walks and the course is constantly changing directions (except for the stretch from 12-16, which played straight into the wind when I played).
5) There are too many uninteresting holes (in my opinion) for this course to be considered anything more than just OK or good.
I played the course twice from two sets of tees, both par 73: The black tees (7403 yards, 75.1/133) and the white tees (6825 yards, 72.4/127).
Yardages will be from the black tees unless otherwise noted.
Hole 1: Par 4, 419 YardsA rather tame opening hole to ease you into the round. There is tremendous width on this hole as the bunkers on the left are unreachable
by most (the hole usually plays into the wind). Keep the ball somewhere out of the tall grass off the tee.
The approach is basically the same from all angles. A very large green with no fronting hazards and lots of room to miss (short, left, long, right are OK) to accept would should be a long-iron or hybrid if the wind is blowing.
The green is very big and largely circular in shape. It is very tame by Pines standards with only a single large ridge bisecting the green into two halves (left and right). Hit the ball on the correct half of the green and you will have a straightforward putt.