Here are a few more recent pics from Mid Pines.
The short par 4 fourth hole was one of my two favorites on the course, along with the par 4 12th. In Ran's Mid Pines tour, He describes the hole as, "A must-see hole for golf architecture fans." I certainly agree as it is an ideal example of a straightforward looking hole that has so much strategic merit.
From the tee, challenging the bunker left, and the stand of pines will leave an ideal approach angle to most hole locations. Laying back does look inviting, but favoring the left side of the fairway is still suggested. Otherwise, the large pine short of the greenside bunker will play a significant role in the approach.
This photo is taken after a 3 wood tee shot up the left side. While the approach looks fairly simple, the green slopes away significantly where this hole is located. Playing directly at the hole brings the abrupt back-right falloff into play. The best way to get close is to play short and left of the hole and the slope from the left hand bunker will feed a ball to within a few feet.
Here is the back right portion of the green with the runoff area that must see a lot of action...
Here is a view of the beautiful downhill par 3 8th hole with some additional room behind thanks to some tree removal...
Some shots from the aforementioned 12th hole...
The hole starts with a very inviting tee shot that can give the player a false sense of security.
From the middle to right side of the fairway, you can see the problems posed on the approach. The tilt of this green is much more significant that it appears in this photo. From this side, you need to either hit a fade from a lie where the ball is a above your feet, or hit a soft shot at the extreme right edge of the green which brings the right bunker into play. If or when you find the bunker, your shot is to a narrow green that slopes abruptly away, so just keeping the bunker shot on the green is a challenge.
Taking on the bunkers and waste area left of the fairway leaves a much more open approach directly in line with the green's orientation.
We played with one of the Mid Pines/Pine Needles teaching professionals (small world - he happened to grow up in the house right behind us in our small southeastern Indiana town) and he was full of interesting insights and before/after stories. In the photos below, you'll see some greenside bunkering at the uphill/sidehill par 4 14th hole. Apparently that back left bunker used to be a wall of azaleas. Kyle Franz was successful in creating a scraggly looking bunker that still incorporates some of the pre-existing vegetation.
A little closer look...
