Speaking more about the course. From an elevated clubhouse you play the first 3 holes down hill to the low part of the property, much of the front nine plays through a low valley with a creek that comes into play on 4 holes. Following the seventh, you begin to play your way into another valley that contains much of the back 9. From the 11th green to the 15th green you are playing nearly always up hill, covering 120' of elevation. The front 9 is your scoring nine and while the 18th can be a benign closer, the 4 preceding hole really act as a crescendo to the course.
Holes of note:
The 2nd is a half par 4/5 that plays slightly downhill, from tee to green. A diagonal ridge divides the driving zone which is flanked by two bunkers. the stronger driver can challenge the left hand side of the ridge in an attempt to place their ball on the top level, but will be left with a poor angle into the green for their second. The player that takes their drive down the right will be faced with a longer second, but both an easier shot if trying to hit the green or laying up.
The 6th is a version of the Ross "short". A par 3 of less than 130 yards to a large elevated green surround on 3 sides by bunkers and a fall off in the back. The holes utilizes split tees and with a typical cross wind, makes hitting the green quite a challenge.
The 9th and 12th are similar short, uphill, par 4's that can be played a multitude of ways but require good execution on all shots to score well. The 9th fairway plays through a serpentine valley where off of the tee the player must decide if they want to play to the low part of the valley, leaving a shorter but blind approach; or to the top of the valley, which allows them to see the flagstick but also forces them to hit a longer club from possibly an un-level lie. The 12th fairway is divided by a very large ridge. Most players will play short of the ridge, giving themselves an approach shot of 140 yards from level ground to a blind green. If your try and drive your ball on top of the ridge you can give yourself a much easier pitch into the green, but a mis-positioned tee ball could find the out of bounds down the right, or a difficult shot from the left rough up and over a large oak tree to the green.
The par 5 16th plays at more than 650 yards from the back tees. Originally the hole was played crossing a creek 3 times but the creek crossing short of the green has been buried for as long as I've known the course. The tee shot is greatly down hill, dropping some 40 or 50 feet, but the first fairway runs out at about 260 yards from the tee. Long hitters typically choose to lay up off of the tee as reaching the green in 2 is nearly impossible. One can gamble and try to play their driver over the trees on the left, in an attempt to hit the second fairway, but even then you're left with a second shot of 250-270 yards to the green. The second fairway is raised above the first and an layup shot played too far to the right has the risk of rolling down towards the creek. Even if it does not reach it, you are left with an awkward short approach. The green sits below the second fairway and is protected by a very deep bunker on the left hand side. many players play the ball beyond the flag to avoid the bunker.
The par 3 17th is a fantastic par 3 and one that I believe is worth future discussion. A hole of nearly 200 yards, the tee shot is played over a ravine to a narrow green cut into the side of a large hill. The green is guarded on the right by 2 bunkers that sit 5 or 6 feet above the level of the green. A miss to the left is bound to roll 30 or 40 yards down the hill, leaving the player a nearly impossible up and down for par. Often you don't play for the pin but rather just to hit the green.
For the most part CCA plays very wide, with multiple fairways being cut greater than 50 yards, which creates a course that is playable for nearly everyone. At only 6600 yards the course does a fantastic job of holding its own against the low handicap players. Due to the elevation changes and topography most often there are specific locations on the large fairways where approach shots need to be struck. While the greens do not possess a tremendous amount of undulation they do have quite a bit of nuance in them and when paired with the sever surrounding landscape often trick players into miss reading their slope.