#10 – 158 par 3 – Home to the devils EDIT, a tiny pot bunker with no escape. I didn’t put it up ol’ Lucifer’s can, but I hit one of the dreaded pulls into the left top bunker and under the lip buried. Funny how my ball keeps finding the worst spots in these bunkers, I said to myself. 4 shots later, my third and final double of the day.
#11 – 392 par 4 – I noticed on this hole that it could be reversed and make just as great of a hole. Nothing fabulous from me here. Once again, put an 8 iron about 15 feet and left it hanging on the lip.
#12 – 344 par 4 – Arriving at the hole, there is a neat old style windmill looking water tower that has been converted into a snack bar. A Gatorade hit the spot here, because the hike from the last hole was easily 1/10 mile all-uphill. God gave me one back here, but I didn’t take advantage of it. I blocked the 3 wood into the trees on the right, but the ball popped out into the middle of the fairway! I had PW into the hole, but left it hanging out to the right and dumped it into the bunker. Out to 12 feet and yet another lip out to leave me with bogey.
#13 – 448 par 4 – I thought that this was the hardest hole on the course along with number 5, and one of the best laid out par four’s ever. The perfect play was to nail a drive and then hit a long iron to the front right of the green allowing it to roll to the pin. Well, I played it off the tee into the left trees. When I got to the left side, I noticed that there were actually bunkers in the woods…very odd, I thought to myself. But when I got to my ball, I saw why. These bunkers were keeping a lot of shots on the top of a 30 foot embankment in the woods. Second shot I had to chip out further into the waste area, and then stuck a 7 iron to 10 feet below the hole. Left the putt right on the front edge and I wanted to bite my fingers off for leaving a chance to par this hole so close. This was my last over par hole of the day. I finished strong.
#14 – 184 par 3 – A beautiful downhill shot to a long thin green. I played it in regulation, middle of the green and two putts for par. On this hole, the last of our group made his birdie, so everyone in our group had at least made one birdie in the round, and there is something to be said about that!
#15 – 591 par 5 – A very long and intimidating par five that is wide open on the tee shot but gradually tightens as it goes up hill (did I mention it was 591 uphill?) towards the green. Only 4 people have ever gotten home in two here, and all 4 were wind aided. When I pulled the 3-wood out on my second shot, the caddie laughed and asked me what I was doing. As he handed me my 4-iron to lay it up 100 yards out, he explained that “there ain’t no way in hell you are coming close to that green.” On in regulation, 12 feet below the cup, and the ball skimmed the high side to miss for birdie.
#16 – 447 par 4 – A long par four with a large waste area to clear off the tee…probably 200 yards in the middle and 245 if you cut off the right side. Well, I cut off the right side and made it over no problem and left myself with a 7 iron in the light rough, which I then stuck 4 feet. I smelled a birdie. The putt was a left to right slight break and was hard to read. The caddie and I both read it differently. I read it left edge and he read it outside of the cup. Going with the caddie, I missed just on the left edge. I was so sure that it was going in that I actually was reaching for the hole when it passed by. That one burned my biscuits, a good opportunity missed.
#17 – 338 par 4 – A really great short hole. You need no more than 2 iron off the tee to leave you 100 yards in and that is about as close as you can get without putting in the waste area. I put the tee shot down the right side and hit the wedge right where I was told to, about 15 feet to the right of the pin. This green was like a saucer and everything usually funneled to the hole. Much to my surprise, my shot somehow seemed to be suspended in mid air, with no gravitational effect applying…15-foot severe downhill putt. Fortunately, I babied it up right next to the hole and tapped in for my par.
#18 – 434 par 4 – If you have seen a picture of this hole, it does not do it justice. The tee is severely elevated and the view down onto the hole is phenomenal. As I teed up, I told myself not to leave anything in the bag, this was it. I then proceeded to hit a drive all the way to the end of the fairway, a good 320-yard poke. The caddie mentioned that it was the longest drive he has seen on this hole. This was my second perfect shot of the day. I was drive man for a day. Put a wedge 12 feet to the left of the pin. Walking up to the green, the moment then began to catch up to me…this was it…it was almost over. As I looked my putt over, I managed to stop and take a deep breath, looking back up the hill at the fairway. Incredible. Simply incredible. Not to take away from the theme of the day, the putt lipped out for birdie, and I tapped in for my par. Final score, 81…the best 81 I have ever shot. Any other course in the country this 81 would have been a 72-73 easily. Pine Valley gave me the opportunity to see a sub 80 round, but it was not meant to be. I could almost hear it whispering to me through the pines, “nice try, I bet you would love to have another shot at this.” Amen to that. I didn’t beat it, but it didn’t beat me, and I felt that I walked away with a mutual respect for the course.
We finished up our round, shook hands with our playing partners, tipped the caddies and then went to wash up. Sitting in the bar after the round, I sat in a peaceful solitude, my mind trying to absorb and retain everything that I just saw, felt and did. We ordered a round of a drinks called an “Infusion” a concoction of ginger ale, grape juice and vodka. It was the favorite drink of the member, and I obliged by tasting this treat. My eyes went in and out of focus as I looked around the room at the antique clubs, the wall paintings or George Crump (the course designer) and the list of members hanging on the wall. The “course record” plaque had 64 as the record, but then while looking at a bunch of scorecards posted on the wall near the bar, I noticed that Bob Tway had played here and fired a 63 at the valley. That 63 would have been a 59 anywhere else, he must have been on fire.
Though 81 is by far not my best round ever, I was so at peace with the way that I played this course and what this course did to me. The course was the most penal I have ever played, if you missed a shot, it was an instant 2 stroke penalty more often than not. I really only hit 5-6 bad shots all day, but each one I paid for dearly. Pine Valley also rewards a good shot, as I probably had a good 7-8 decent shots at birdie, but made only one. Strange part about that was that every putt I hit went where I wanted it to and I would have to say that it was one of the best putting rounds I’ve had, they just didn’t go in for me. Another great thing about this course is that no 2 holes are alike and it is a true test of golf…I hit every club in the bag, and probably had to play every style shot there was. After playing this course, any doubt you could have on why this may not be the top course in the world would be erased. It is the Mecca of golf, the true test of the game, designed solely for the purpose of pure golf. I could write a million adjectives to describe this course, but it has to be seen in person to really understand.
The drive home was quiet, and upon arriving home, all I wanted to do was spout out my whole day to my wife, but at this point the adrenalin had left me and I was exhausted and I had to hit the sack. I was worn out and slept like a baby, this was a memory for a lifetime.