Thank you to Eric and Chris and all of those who made this trip wonderful, what an amazing place and even more amazing were the people. I was in Lou and Brandon's flight and they are both great players. Lou and Greg never missed a putt inside 10 feet it seemed like and Brandon and Barry were never out of a hole, even if it seemed like they were out of a hole.
I split my time evenly on both courses (approximately 3- 18 hole rounds on both) and found both great in their own rights. The Nicklaus (White) course I felt was very playable and found his green complexes very difficult and usually very well defended and despite fears about losing balls, I played the same ball for 35 straight holes without a problem. I lost a ball on the first tee, because I did not know where to hit it and then played the same ball that whole day for the remainder of my practice round and then for the first 18 of match play. So I felt it was fair off the tee and the more difficult ask was the approach shot. I thought some of the vistas on the White side were spectacular and were frankly high on the wow factor for me. The main problem with the Nicklaus course is that it lacked the ability to navigate it easily, it was very spread out, but that is not a knock on routing, just on playability, as I felt a cart was a must for that course, but certainly it could be walked, just would cover a fair amount of ground. Here are a couple holes that show just how spectacular a setting/location the White course occupied.
The par 3s were pretty nicely done, although the 10th was quirky with a large bunker and serious elevation changes all on the green. However, the 15th was a fantastic par 3 that sat in between the dunes beautifully.
The 3rd was a great short hole which could play up to 190 and had a great green with the only safe bail out long, as short or left or right were dead.
The 12th was a great par 5 with sweeping wide fairway but a great green surrounded by bunkers. There was a mini punch bowl on the left half of the green which was fun to play to.
The last picture shows the 4th, a par 5 with plenty of room until up near the green and also showing the well defended 8th hole, a strange par 4 that played like a par three due to tee placement that invited a challenge to the green versus using the fairway on the left.
All in all I found the White course a blast to play and while completely different than the Red, an enjoyable play.
The Doak (Red) course greens felt like most were approachable from any and every angle, something I did on Sunday as I played the Red from different tees, backwards, sideways on the Lower 10 holes of the property. I would present this side is much more rolling in the lay of the land than the White course, and seemed to lend itself to a more connected course. It was a harsh winter and this side was impacted more significantly as to maintenance, but still very playable and quite fun.
Unlike the White course the Red allowed for more misses that were not as cruelly treated as they would have been on the Nicklaus course. On to a few holes. The 1st Hole was a slightly uphill par 5 that played downwind the 2 days I played it. A very generous hole off the tee, though I did lose a ball to the right near the bunker on my second play of the hole, not due to lack of width, rather lack of skill.
The 5th was one I enjoyed, though I may be in the minority. It played as a 234 yard par 3, into the wind, which permitted me to hit a cut driver and on the first play almost resulted in a hole in one (Though I managed to three putt from 12 feet).
The 11th was a great shorter par 3 that had a great green complex. I hit the ball long and ended up above the pin and facing an impossible put straight down the hill which would have resulted in the ball rolling off the green. Instead I putted the ball to my left off of a large mound and the ball took a 90 degree turn and ended up a foot from the cup for an easy par.
The 9th was a great par 4 that played fairly short and tested driving the ball in play. There was a great swale in front of the green that seemed to catch every ball in our first time through and push it back off the green. An intimidating tee shot that seemed to have a prevailing L to R wind which was not good for my slice. A much easier approach from the L side of the fairway, but I could never seem to find that side of the hole.
The 18th was a great par 4 that finally on my last play I hit a great drive and had about 90 yards in and played one with a wedge and one with a putter. The putter stayed on the green about 30 feet away and the wedge hit the front and spun back off. A great looking hole with a tough pin position the two days I played it.
The Red course was great and permitted in my mind a greater opportunity to create your own holes and just waste an afternoon if no one else was around. You could create thousands of holes from anywhere with the great greens and surrounds that were created. To me that gives the Doak a slight nod in times played, but only because it seemed I could see a new angle to play a hole each time I played it. Very different than the White, though both are world class courses in their own right.
If you are ever in that part of the country it is absolutely worth a visit. Chris could not have been any nicer and found him to be a genuinely great guy who I hope to get the chance to visit with again. Eric's 5th Major is a great event and he is a great guy. If you have the chance to attend at Dismal River, do not pass it up. The courses are worth the effort and the time off the grid was wonderful.