1. If you had to name any weak holes -- whatever criteria you apply -- what hole(s) would you name at Stone Eagle ?
2. Converesely, what holes are the most underrated given the number of rounds you have played there ?
3. I would also like to know your personal top five courses in all of the Coachella Valley if you would like to list them.
Matt,
Naturally these are only my opinions.
1. As opposed to having great holes which stand out, I feel the course is notable for its consistency. Every hole is interesting. My evaluation criteria is hard to define:
Do the shots presented give me a clear picture of what I want to hit?
Does the course give a complete examination of my skills?
Is it fun to play?
Is it a beautiful walk in the park?
For me, course beauty is very important. I strongly prefer courses in a relatively undisturbed natural environment. Some older parkland courses with a judicious selection of specimen trees are also excellent. I understand that Golf Digest raters are specifically instructed to ignore course beauty, and focus on shot values and other well defined criteria. Not me.
-- I don't like the long walk up to the seventh tee, and back down to the green 100-150 feet below. However, it's a fun shot to hit, the view up there is spectacular, and the green complex is interesting. I suppose there could be more grass right of the green, but most balls can be found and played out of the decomposing rock, or cat litter, as I like to call it. Playing the hole from the front of the sixth green is an option. From there it's about 250 yards long.
-- Holes nine and eleven look the same and play very similar, too. They are sharply downhill 400 yarders that turn slightly to the left. They both feature greens which slope away from the approach shot. They are just a bit too similar for a course with otherwise astounding variety. I like nine better than eleven, but Tom Naccarato is smitten with the little ridge 30-40 yards short of the eleventh green. It's easier to hit a ball out of play on eleven, and both holes feature downhill approaches which are delightful to gauge distance on.
-- To improve walkability, I'd like to see walkways across the canyon on thirteen, and back the other way on fourteen. That would eliminate an extra 250-300 yards of walking around the hazard.
I'm slightly uncomfortable discussing anything negative. But I've already shared my sentiments about this with Tom and the Stone Eagle management, so it's no big deal. They all know I'm a very satisfied customer.
2. The most underrated hole is three, which is a very simple 130-160 yard par three, with two bunkers left and a rocky hazard front and right. The green looks pretty flat from the tee, but it seems every time I successfully play a shot away from a tucked hole location, I have a hell of a time two putting for par. It looks simple, but plays tricky. It's a sleeper.
3. I don't get around much, Matt. I'm the kind of guy who likes playing his home course over and over. I've played two other courses in the Coachella Valley, The Quarry at La Quinta once, and a little 5500 yard course called Santa Rita Golf Club once. I've had lunch at The Palms, which looks great to me. I'm sort of embarrassed how difficult I am to please these days. Although The Quarry has many fine attributes, I felt there was simply no comparison between the two. Stone Eagle, The Palms, The Quarry, Santa Rita.