[Patrick_Mucci]

Bryan, Mike,

How many, if any, "skyline" greens are there on the Blue and Red ?

[Josh Tarble]

That's what we're planning on doing.  Plus with a replay rate of $90 bucks you can play 36 a day for $260 bucks (walking and carrying).  If these two courses are truly top 100 material, a bargain price.

If you believe $260 is a bargain for a full day of golf I've got at least 100 top 100 courses that would love for you to visit.

Maybe bargain is a bit too strong, but I think playing a great course on Saturday during prime season for $130 is a pretty fair price.

[Mark Saltzman]

Bryan, Mike,

How many, if any, "skyline" greens are there on the Blue and Red ?

Red: 0
Blue: 2-3.  Holes 3 and 4 are the truest skyline greens.  Holes 13 becomes a skyline green from the left side of the fairway.

[Bryan Izatt]

Hole 4






To me this is one of the best on the course, a combination of beauty and challenge and discovery.  The elevation change was comfortable, being not unlike my home course.  On this day it was playing into an slight breeze , and given it is generally uphill, and abruptly at the green it plays longer than list (which is already pretty long).  I kind of butchered it while playing, so the commentary is my guess about how it should be played, but I can't verify it from successful experience.

From the tee it is clear that left is bad news (although the bunker bleeding into the waste looks good) and there is ample room right.  But, given the length of the hole it's clear that the shortest path is going to be helpful.  Of course the shortest path needs to just skirt the left bunker.  Anything right is going to be a really long second and the angle over the cavernous bunker in the hillside is going to be (really) less than ideal.

From the tee, the green is above the pair of bunkers in the ridge left and below the cart on the horizon.




From near the left side bunker (with another of those mushroom things in it) the second shot up onto the ridge and green is daunting.  Getting hole in two will be a thrill for most of us I think.




From the centre of the fairway the cavernous bunker right and the pair of bunkers left are staring you in the face.  The bunkers seemingly behind the green are not really in play.  It is clear that any shot that lands into the ridge is going to be funneled left into the bunker.  The ridge also angles away left so carry is going to be important depending on pin position.




From the bottom of the ridge, if you come up short.




From the front of the green it is evident that there is a lot of slope in this green.  I wonder how much of the right portion is pinnable given the slope and the stimp?




From back of the green, with a back pin position, looking toward the tee with a nice potash plant (which in real life isn't really all that visible) on the horizon.

[David Harshbarger]

Wow.

The tee photo captures my impression of Streamsong: vast, disorienting, challenging.  The course has all of the "elements" of a golf course but seemingly jumbled and disconnected, demanding seeing and  thinking just to decipher what is there.  It's like a painting without a frame or defined canvas. In what other medium is this even possible? 

Simply amazing.

[Joe Bausch]

#4 may be my favorite hole on SSBlue.  Not quite sure what exactly it is, but the approach reminds me a little bit of the 2nd at PV.

And I like your pics so much I may 'borrow' them on this hole in particular (b/c on my two rounds lighting was not good) for my eventual SSBlue photo album.   

[Bryan Izatt]

Joe,

Feel free to borrow the pictures.  If Mucci can borrow them, then you certainly can too.  I won't even charge you the royalty I'd charge him.   

[Bryan Izatt]

Hole #5






As you walk off the back of the 4th green, there to your left, not more than 60 yards away is another green.  I wondered at first what hole it belonged to.  Turns out to be the next green, but how can that be - it's so close.  Well, because it's a really short hole.  Walking up the few yards to the teeing area (where the blocks seem randomly placed around flat patches of fairway cut),  nice vista opens up over the green.  I found the hole quite disorienting at first because the card said 121 yards from the Black tees that I was playing, but it looked much closer, and the grand vista behind seemed to further confuse my depth perception.

Part of the "problem" is that the green is a good 70 yards deep while maybe less than 15 yards wide in the front half.  This stretched pizza-dough look further confuses the depth perception, I think.  In reality, with the pin front, the tee shot was probably under 100 yards that day.  All this confusion led to a chunk swing to just short of the green - not a bad leave it turns out.

From the tee looking over the vista, and then from a slightly more right tee.  The placement of the hotel is unfortunate for this hole, but at least you could wave to Sweeney in the rooftop bar.  






One thing is clear.  You don't want to miss left.  This sure looks like a pretty cruel pin position, cur so near the edge.  But, then, as we'll get to, it could be worse, much worse.  Missing right of a front pin position right is no bargain either, leaving a delicate flip shot over the bunker to a shallow sliver of green with death behind.






A nice chip after the "layup" short leaves a tap in par.




Looking down the enormous length of the green from the front edge.  Note the real right lower plateau.  I was tempted to call it a bowl, but it has no back rim, so plateau is probably a better description.  Now, imagine that the pin is way back right over the bunker, on the lower plateau and it's now not 121 yards it's more like 151 yards or you're on the back tees and it's 1ro yards.  And if the wind was up drom any direction.  Yikes!




Oh, and if you're over the back lower plateau, you're going to be way over, being as it is modestly downhill - a nice turbo slot.




I think this might be a hole, where time permitting, you might want to try playing it different ways to see what works.  There's alwways the putter off the tee to the front of the green.    This hole may be real short, but it has teeth.  Maybe it should be named Piranha.

[Mike Sweeney]

The placement of the hotel is unfortunate for this hole, but at least you could wave to Sweeney in the rooftop bar. 

If this statement didn't have a very good chance of being true, THIS would be cyber-bullying !!

Your tour is appreciated and you really have caught a number of things that are not obvious from one go around.

Thanks

[Josh Smith]

Blue 5.  Fantastic hole.  Very slender green with lost ball potential all down the left side.  Short enough to put the advantage with the most accurate player, regardless of how far he hits rocketballz.  Here is a view a little right of the teeing area in my recent oil painting, painted to reflect storm passing over, sunlit hole 5 while rest of course is in shadow. 

Josh

[Tom_Doak]

And before they started building the hotel!

Bill Coore told me a year ago he thought this could be "my 14th at Bandon Trails."  I was very surprised to hear him say that ... I know that missing left is deadly but it is a pretty short hole. 

I hope they don't stop putting the hole toward the back of the green just to make it easier for resort guests to finish.  The safer shot to the front of the green is always an option, and it's no more difficult to hit that shot no matter where they put the hole.

[Bryan Izatt]

Tom,

I too would hope to see the back left and right pin positions used sometimes.  To the extent I thought about it, a shot to the front of the green for a back pin seemed like the safest approach, but then it most probably is going to lead a 3 putt bogey for many.  And, even resort golfers are likely to want to man up and go for the back pin.  The second bunker right or the back bunker left might be good leaves if you're a good bunker player.  Should be interesting to see what reputation the hole ends up with.

[Bryan Izatt]

Hole #6






The 6th turns back towards the large dune where the first tee is located and was a bit of a mystery on the first time through given the blind nature of the drive.  The hole was tantalizingly just out of reach as a drivable par4 for me from the tees I was playing.  This was another hole where some study is going to be required on the best way to play it to achieve a good result.  Despite it's shortness, unless you can drive near the green, it is likely to be a difficult birdie for many due to the severity of the green.

From the tee, the fairway rises with waste right and left but the usual generous fairway bisected by a relatively small centreline bunker.  The bunker was far enough out that I couldn't carry it, but if the ball could be threaded by just right of it and you get the turbo bounce, it seems likely you could get near the green.  The left side provides more room for error on the drive but a longer (albeit still short) second.

From the tee, and then zoomed in a bit.






From left and short of the centreline bunker it is evident that the green is huge and runs away and to the left.  It makes me think that a tee shot well left provides the best angle to go at the right pin in the picture and maybe all pins since you would be coming across the slope.  It must be difficult to stop a short  pitch shot from the right side of the fairway to any right pin.  Not only does the green run away, the grain seemed to run away as well.




The aforesaid large green from the left side.  It looks relatively benign in this picture but it isn't.  The dune provides a backstop for balls running through the left side.
 



From behind the green the tilt is very obvious.  It's easy to leave a recovery shot short given the slope and ridge and the grain running against.  A wild and challenging green that will destroy many a birdie dream and might lead to more bogies than most would expect on such a short hole with oodles of room off the tee.

[Bryan Izatt]

Hole #7






As I was walking to the 7th tee I was thinking that, on an 80* day this wasn't such an easy walk as you would think in generally flat central Florida.  Not that it's a hard walk, but it is not easy.  Given that I was taking pictures while playing and the 7th seemed like a good place to take more, I decided to let the single following me pass through if he wanted or join up if he was so inclined.  Turned out he was taking pictures too, so we decided to play together.

The 7th is certainly picturesque and dramatic and challenging. What more could you ask of a par 3?  Here's a short low quality video that helps place the hole relative to the clubhouse.

http://s234.photobucket.com/albums/ee260/350dtm/Streamsong%20Blue%2001-2013/?action=view&current=MVI_2962.mp4


The tee shot is daunting, as it is longish and there doesn't appear to be any real good place to bail out.  On the other hand the green is generously large.  On the other hand, being on the green is a guarantee of absolutely nothing (as I can say from a 3 putt experience).  From the Black (but, not back tee) the green site looks like a large catcher's mitt sunk in the towering dunes.




On the path down to the lower, silver tee.  The silver tee provides a whole different look to the hole.  The cart paths, such as there are, are quite rustic, the bridge nicely curvilinear.  Don't be fooled by the path leading out the back left of the green.  It's a maintenance path that leads to nowhere useful.  I thought my new playing partner's caddie could have pointed that out before I hauled my cart across the bridge.  




From the front left of the green the dramatic contouring is evident.  You definitely want to be on the right part of the green here.  Another 3 putt bogey coming up.




Now, drag your butt back across the bridge and up a dusty sandy path to the 8th tee.  The reward at the top of the hill - a stationary drink cart.  As an aside, nobody mentioned that there are bottles of water available at strategic locations around the course.  Apparently there are some here, although they are luxuriously placed (hidden) in low slung wooden chests full of ice.  Sadly, I didn't figure this out until the 16th hole.  In the heat of summer I trust that they will be more diligent in advising golfers of the availability and location.  On another aside, there were, at the time, no restrooms on the course.  My wife, who wouldn't pay the price anyway, would be mightily disappointed by this shortcoming.    

Although the flow of the routing is disrupted by the across and back nature of the bridge, it's worth it for this hole, in my opinion.  

[Tom_Doak]

On another aside, there were, at the time, no restrooms on the course.  My wife, who wouldn't pay the price anyway, would be mightily disappointed by this shortcoming. 

One of the ladies playing in the Renaissance Cup pointed this out to me.

In fact, there are men's and women's restrooms by the tenth tee on the Blue course.  They are just back at the edge of the trees adjacent to the back tee, and there's no sign near the forward tee to point anyone back there.

[Bryan Izatt]

Tom,

I guess my observation powers were distracted by trying to take in the course, playing and picture taking, so I missed the restroom, the same as I missed the water boxes.  I'm sure the resort will improve the communication on the first tee and the signage about these kinds of things as time goes by.

[Bryan Izatt]

Hole #8






Walking up to the tee on 8 I was immediately struck by the setup of the Black tees - a shot between two low slung flanking berms/dunes.  I thought it was a fairly unique and attractive feature to frame the shot.  I quite liked this hole.  




Again there is a generous fairway, but another centreline bunker to provoke some thought off the tee.  Left appears shorter with a better angle up the axis of the green, although there is a water feature intervening.  Going right leaves a longer second with a large bunker greenside now in play.  The fairway was firm enough that there was some pleasure in watching the tee shot roll out and wondering whether the contouring in the fairway would direct my shot into the bunker or allow it to roll by.  Thankfully it rolled by left to a perfect position.

The hotel is unfortunately positioned for this hole too.




The second shot from the left side.  Still a challenging shot, although the angle is good.  Beware of the gator pond.  One wonders if caddies will be saying, haim at the 4th window from the left.  




From closer in where my tee shot ended up.




From front left of the green you can see the runoff to the left and lots of room to miss long.




Looking back down the fairway and up to the tee on the ridge.

[Bryan Izatt]

Courtesy of Joe Bausch I have added hole and green diagrams for the first eight holes and will include them for the remaining 10 holes.  Thanks Joe.

[Bryan Izatt]

Hole #9






The 9th changes direction once again.  It occurs to me that the routing so far has been turning on itself a lot.  This is a good thing vis-a-vis the wind. One and two are in the same general direction.  After that each hole changes direction.

The tee shot is another blind one up a fairly steep dune.  The bunkers right seemed to me, at first glance, to suggest that there was a reward for taking them on with the drive, although I'm now not convinced of that.  Perhaps for the really long hitter there is a slightly shorter second to the green and a better angle, but for most of us, just left of the bunker line will get you to the centre of another generous fairway.  (Man, the caddie's socks are really hurting in this tee picture. )




For the second shot there is ample room to lay up.  I suspect the right side is better because of the way the green is angled away to the left.  For long hitters going for the green, I suspect that the right side off the tee would be advantageous, although as you can see from the picture, there is an opening in the centre to run the ball.  I'm not sure that the shaping in front of the green would be conducive to that kind of shot though.




From the left side, the trees provide some context but don't really provide any real challenge.  This pin looks very accessible.  Sadly, I fanned my approach shot to the far right corner of the green - another 3  putt looks likely.




From the left rear of the green the contours are very apparent.  It's good to be in the same time zone as the pin on the green.  Yup, another 3 putt.

[Tom_Doak]

There are two back tees for the ninth hole up to the right of #8 green, which a lot of people haven't noticed.  You can see more fairway from there, but not over the hump to the green ... and it's a lot tougher carry to get past those right-hand bunkers.  In fact, I hadn't planned to build the lower tees originally, but the carry seemed tough enough that we decided to add them, and now most of the golf is played from down below.  [It was also a "cart path" driven decision ... we did not want to put the carts up on the shoulder where they might be a distraction on #11.]

I like this green a lot, and the shape and tilt of it make it matter where you place your second shot.  When the flag is at the front right, between the bunkers, it's very important to hit two solid shots so that you're hitting a wedge for your third.  The slightly downhill lies for the third shot also take their toll.

[Ian Andrew]

The 4th was my favourite hole on the property.
I thought the way it was handled up top was clever.

There was no image from the right tee on the 5th
Kyle sent us that way and that was a super cool shot.

We had a tee ball hit on a draw, travel across the green on the 7th and out the left side into the water. It surprised our group, but got caught on the contours and right turned. I was curious if someone else ran into that unfortunate event. What was funnier was he dropped, chipped up top and putted back into the water. We all thought that was funny, including Mr. Smith.

[Bryan Izatt]

Hole #10






The turn for home, except you're already pretty close to the clubhouse being just the Red 18th away.  Rather the course turns on itself again and heads more or less west for holes 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14, the longest unidirectional section of the course.

The land on which the 10th is constructed was probably pretty mundane to begin with, so this hole must have been "created" from a more or less blank canvas. The green is angled away to the left so probably sets up for a little draw, but I suppose you could hit a right-handed fade if you're willing to take on a big bunker left.  Distance control will be important if you hit a cut.  The hole is a bit uphill, so will play slightly longer.




From the front bunker you can see the slope and contours of the green.  It was the only bunker I was in all day.  A nice recovery from 30 yards to 6 feet past the hole and a delicate downhiller for a (lucky) par.

[Joe Bausch]

The 4th was my favourite hole on the property.
I thought the way it was handled up top was clever.

There was no image from the right tee on the 5th
Kyle sent us that way and that was a super cool shot.

Loved Blue 4 too.  My fave on that course.

Here is a picture from the right tee on the 5th, to a very fun back pin:



On the next day the pin was up and we played from a left tee and Kyle used a putter to end up near the pin:



On Day 2 the mid-morning light was nice for this beautiful photo from the back of the very deep green:

[Eric Smith]

We had a tee ball hit on a draw, travel across the green on the 7th and out the left side into the water. It surprised our group, but got caught on the contours and right turned. I was curious if someone else ran into that unfortunate event. What was funnier was he dropped, chipped up top and putted back into the water. We all thought that was funny, including Mr. Smith.

A longer cut on the bank there on the lower lefthand side would help, I think.

[Mark Saltzman]

We had a tee ball hit on a draw, travel across the green on the 7th and out the left side into the water. It surprised our group, but got caught on the contours and right turned. I was curious if someone else ran into that unfortunate event. What was funnier was he dropped, chipped up top and putted back into the water. We all thought that was funny, including Mr. Smith.

A longer cut on the bank there on the lower lefthand side would help, I think.

A front-left hole location on 7 may be the most difficult to get near of any at Streamsong.

That little dip that falls off into the water left is devilish.  I almost chipped it into the water from just short-riht of the green.

I agree a longer cut might help but it also may take some teeth out of the hole.  I guess it depends what Streamsong is looking for.  I'd vote to keep it as is.

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