I enjoyed a round at Inness on Wednesday morning, and enjoyed the quick 9. We were the only ones out early (my brother and I), and only saw one other twosome as we played.
Conditioning-wise, it's still a bit raw, as the rainy summer we've had has created some issues in the low spots, but all-in-all it was nicely firm.
Having played Sweetens, I was interested to see how similar the two courses played. The land is similar, with a rise in one corner, and some low marshy area peppered around the course. The fairways are huge and undulating, and the wild greens will no doubt be the main interest at Inness at full speed. We played a week after aeration so they were not full throttle for us.
Reactions:
Hole 1, 390: Uber-wide to the right although that view is blocked by a pine about 50 yards in front of the tee, a neat feature. The green has a wide high spot in front that will be difficult to judge even with a wedge.
Hole 2, 340: Downhill and almost drivable with the firmness, the green is part of the triple 2/9/practice green, and it's enormously sloped. A fun hole though.
Hole 3, 200: Played to the upper part of the 3/6 double green, it's an exacting shot, but there are slopes long to gather, and short to deaden if need be. It was a bit strange to be hitting almost past the other pin to the upper part of the double green, but it works despite the feeling that you lose a frame of reference to the right side.
Hole 4, 540: Tough tee shot for slicers, but the fairway is very wide. The humps and bumps over the last 125 yards or so will be fun for those laying up. I didn't really get this green, wider than it is deep. It maybe felt like a bit of a misfire, but we only experienced the far right edge of the green.
Hole 5, 175: Very cool hole with the feel of the famous par three at Victoria National. It almost plays like an island green, pushed up amidst bunkers and marsh. Misses will be punished!
Hole 6, 370: Another very wide hole, played to the bottom of the 3/6 double green. There are many different sections of the fairway, and it would be interesting to see where the best spot to approach would be, although many will be hitting only a wedge.
Hole 7, 440: After lots of wide holes, this one narrows at the tee shot, interesting that the least-forgiving fairway is on the course's longest hole to par. The green must be seen to be believed, as it has several sections that are 6-7 feet above/below other sections on the green. Our pin was at the top of the volcano in the middle left. At 440 with a tough tee shot and a nutty green, I was not a fan, but a four here will be a memorable accomplishment.
Hole 8, 290: This hole is a bit binary in choice, as one either has a 270yard carry in their bag, or you have to hit 6-7i off the tee followed by a SW to a huge green. There is a corridor along the left edge to flirt with the pond in front and gain a pitch from just short, but this area is a bit blind and blocked off the tee.
Hole 9, 550: A good three shot par five that legs left around the corner of the adjacent property. The green is part of the 2/9/practice triple green so it's wild, albeit with broader slopes. 9 is a nice finisher that requires three solid shots. Our pin was fun, right behind a buried elephant mound!
Best hole: Either 1 or 5
Worst hole: 7
Inness is certainly worth a play if in the area, especially as it matures. It may be a touch too far off the highway for an easy play on the way by, 20ish miles off 87 each way...but there is very nice rock climbing and hiking in the area, and Mohonk Mtn. House not too far away. I think the wild greens could be best explored with multiple pin locations, but I'm not sure if the stay/play pattern will allow people to do that. I don't know too much about the resort either, but it doesn't seem there is anything too unique about it other than being spartan and nice.... but I'm only going on photos i've seen. Wednesday morning was also a humid round with no wind, and the black flies were, let's say, aggressive. Some are able to ignore that and have a blast, and some cannot...I'm probably somewhere in the middle. Not the course's fault by any means, but one has to be curious at how people stay at the resort and relax if spring/summer is like that much of the time...Fall would be a good call!