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Brian

I played the course 3 or 4 times back in 1995 and 96. I think I have read a comment by Tom Doak himself where he said it is his least favorite of all his courses. It certainly is not in the league with his other courses that I have played. That said, it may be the best daily-fee course in Charlotte. It is built on some lifeless flat farm land.  Many of the holes are out in the open while others are cut through a forest.  Tom did a pretty good job of creating some good holes on a mediocre site.  I recall being more impressed with the design and the routing than the construction job. At the time there were no houses on the property. There were some pretty good par 3's. five of them as I recall.  My favorite hole was the 13th, a strong dogleg left with no bunkers. The course is not very difficult, playing only about 6700 yards from the back tees and finishing with a short part 5. Plays to par 71.  Play is slow because it does attract a lot of play, since it is in a part of the city where everything nearby is private. In fact, it is located adjacent to a new very expensive Nicklaus designed club called The Club at Longview, one of the best Nicklaus courses I have played.

Hi Ken:

The Club at Longview offers evidence to support the argument that Jack Nicklaus has adopted a more traditional style of architecure in recent years. My host kept saying, "this course doesn't look like a Nicklaus course". I think that was intended to be a compliment.  It certainly lacks some of the features that many associate with Jack's earlier courses.  For starters, the developers had an excellent piece of property for a golf course.  That may have be just pure luck since one of the developers in the nephew of Billy Graham and the property was formerly a family farm. The course has some good evelation changes but nothing too severe.  There is some water on the course but much of it is not in play, and that which is seems to fit naturally. The course has a fairly tradional feel with several cross bunkers and excellent green complexes.  It had rained the two days prior to my play, but the course still played suprisingly fast and firm.  Excellent variety in the length and design of the Par 3's,4's and 5's. It was in remarkable shape for a course that has been open for just a few months. That is no surprise considering the money that is obvious from the moment you enter the gate.  I can't think of anything I would change except to cut down a tree that crowds the back tee on the 17th hole.  It, along with Ocean Hammock, is the best new Nicklaus course I have seen in a long time. Probably a legitimate contender for GD "Best New Private".  Not as good as Dallas National or Friar's Head from last year's "class", but better that Briar's Creek, which won the prior year.