Back from our day trip, the highlight being my boys absolutely loved the experience.
Overall, I found a lot about Cranwell to like, but also quite a bit not to like.
Not liked:
The houses on 9 and 11. We each put a ball in someone's backyard ( in my case front yard
. I don't like the dynamic of houses on golf courses. I just don't.
OOB - All that housing comes with OOB, which just makes a narrow, penal course.
Tired bunkers - there were many interesting and well placed bunkers, but many looked just worn out, with ragged, ill-defined edges.
Softness. The course felt soft, and the rough killed ball roll. That's particularly unpleasant for my kids who hit enough topped shots off the tee that lost yardage there is a drag.
Liked:
How the greens largely lay on the land. 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 ( where we gave in to hunger in the face of a 3 groups backed up on the tee) all had greens that lay nicely on the land, and often with slopes from back corner to opposite front corner.
Within the greens some had a knob or roll to add extra dimension of movement. These weren't prominent in size, but certainly exerted an influence. The pin on 4, for instance, was on top of a tube like feature on the left that seemed to shunt putts from all directions away.
Holes of note:
6 runs along the lower flank of a hill atop which sits one of the resort buildings. It's a dogleg left with the slope running right to left, and the green running back-right to front-left, protected in front right by a bunker. Playing the approach in requires playing a fade from a draw lie to come in on the angle of the green, which is easier on the flatter ground inside the dogleg.
7 turns around and plays up the same hill, with a slight dogleg left against a left-right sloping fairway, protected bt a big ole tree on the line to the green. The approach to the benched green must take the fade out of the below the feet stance or wind up right, where the surround drops steeply away.
8 has the tees in the crook of a mansion atop the hill, next to a screened in porch and below the windows of what looks like a great hall. The short downhill par-4 plays to a small pushup green. Fun hole.
10 as mentioned earlier is a little ally-oop down and up through a small valley. The green on the far hill is severely sloped back-front. (Made par after putting ball in woods - highlight of day).
12 is a good Par 3 across a small valley, to another severely sloped back-front green with some daunting bunkers in front.
13 had the first use of rip-rap I've seen in a playing corridor, surrounding a 2' diameter concrete culvert that carries water under a small ridge along the right of the fairway. This may have been my sons' favorite feature.
14 is the highlight of course as a Par 4 slight dogleg left. The green sits about 40 yards back from a ledge that runs diagonally left to right through the fairway, into which are cut two large bunkers. Another ridge 70 yards out pinches the fairway from the left and along with a tree, protect the dogleg. Drives played out in the fairway leave a blind approach over the traps, to the green which is well back from the ledge, and protected on the right with a green side bunker. However, the green slopes left to right, so shots in will feed down. All in all a good, fun hole. (Unfortunately, after today, there will be a net to the left of the tee- the men were just finishing setting the poles as we played through. Not a characteristic that anyone likes to see on a course.)
As we left the course my first thought was one and done. My play wasn't great, but not 5 lost ball bad. On reflection, I'd give the course another go, of only for 14 and to see the final four. Unfortunately, the hole corridors now defined by housing are forever impinged upon, a fact I just can't ignore when I'm on the course.