Midland Hills - Doak Questions:
2. Everyone should include the hole they like the least and why.
The Biarritz at Midland Hills is interesting but ultimately disappoints. The swale is very severe making run up shots almost a non-option, the green is at an angle to the tee and the whole thing slopes pretty severely once on the correct level.
I see your points, but mildly disagree. I have hit the green with a couple of runups from the tee (knockdown drivers), and numerous runups from just short of the swale. I have seen many high shots hit to hole-high -- though perhaps none of those high shots to way-up-front hole locations.
What you can do is run a low shot through the swale; what you cannot do is hit a high shot that you expect to go through the swale. I like that about the hole.
As a matter of fact, I love all four of Midland Hills' par-3s.
The hole I like least (and I don't dislike it; that was an important consideration for me in the decision to join: that I didn't really dread playing any hole on the course): No. 18. It's one of the few places on the course where a not-terrible tee shot can easily lead to the requirement for a little punch-out to the fairway (a shot I don't much enjoy, particularly on the final hole). And the green complex is one of the least interesting on the course.
3. Everyone should say which hole they think is the most underrated and why. (A vote on the best hole is much less interesting.)
Number one is a terrific short opener. It is a simple layup and a pitch to a sloping green with a mild tier in the back. It is an innocuous hole but fits the land well and feels right.
Agree re: No. 1. Much harder than it looks; it's hard to get the approach in the right spot, unless the hole is just shy of the ridges. Back right and back left are hard to find, even from elsewhere on the green.
Underrated holes: Nos. 9 and 15. Two great greens, with many, many interesting (and demanding) hole locations.
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Of course, as you know, I think the whole golf course is vastly underrated among the golfers of the Twin Cities, and essentially unrated by golfers who aren't from here -- because there are so many other better-known courses here in town that visitors rarely find their way to Midland Hills (perhaps particularly if they are relying on The Confidential Guide to guide their choices).