For whatever reason, I don't feel like discussing Ghost Creek this morning, but here's some information.
First of all, Michael Dugger has provided a detailed summary of Ghost Creek for GolfClubAtlas in the "My Home Course" section:
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/mhcdugger.htmlUnlike the majority of Pumpkin Ridge members, I like the public Ghost Creek about equal or slightly better than its private counterpart, Witch Hollow. Ghost Creek was originally intended to be the "Tournament Course", and the Nike Tour (now Nationwide Tour) championship was held there twice, with David Duval winning in 1993. Compared to Witch Hollow, Ghost Creek has a greater variety of hole lengths, and in my opinion, presents a greater variety of shots to be executed.
As peviously mentioned, Ghost has many small greens, but also a couple large ones in excess of 10,000 square feet. Green size correlates very closely with the length of expected approach, so the short holes (3s, 4s, and 5s) have really tiny greens. The greens at Ghost Creek have a medium amount of contour, but less than most of the eastern championship courses. A few greens (3, 4, 11, 12, 15, and 17) have variations of two tiers, in contrast to Witch Hollow, which has no two tier greens, but three greens with three distinct greens within a green (4, 8, and 16). Three of Ghost Creek's greens are quite tricky, and even longtime members have trouble reading the break on holes 6, 7 and 18. In general, most GCA members would wish for more contour within the greens.
The course is situated on the south facing slope of Pumpkin Ridge, and Ghost Creek occupies the hillier part of the property. The name Ghost Creek alludes to a system of manufactured streams which mysteriously appear, and come into play on eight holes (3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 17, and 18). In addition, there are two large holding ponds guarding the greens on 9 and 18, both long, difficult par 4s. I wish more difficulty had been created by adding undulation to the fairways and greens, negating the need for so much artificial hazarding.
Both Pumpkin Ridge courses are very "fair". Good shots are highly correlated with good results. The fairways are very flat, and a straight drive is almost always rewarded with a level stance. Rarely does not experience a "bad break", or an unexpected bounce. Fairway bunkers tend to guard the best angle of approach, so the best drive is usually in the fairway next to the bunker.
The front nine goes out and back, with the back nine inside the front nine. The back nine is much shorter (3200 vs. 3600), and is generally thought of as the weakest nine at the Club. Although the back nine is the weakest visually, and by far the easiest nine at the Club, it provides a very compelling finish, far more interesting than the private course. 15 is an easy par 5, reacahble for the power hitter. 16 is a par 2.5, modeled after number 7 at Pebble Beach. 17 is a 300 yard par 4, with a tiny green and trouble everywhere. 18 is the 450 yard finisher with an odd green that slopes away from the lake on the right. In 1994, the eventual winner of the Nike Tour Championship, double bogeyed 17 by taking four shots from about 25 feet, just off the green, then birdied 18 with a spectacular approach to an extremely difficult back right pin over the water.
Now I know why I didn't want to write about it. I knew it would take a while. Peter and JVB will probably step up and add a few comments. Tom Doak wrote about Pumpkin Ridge in the Confidential Guide briefly, and gave Witch a 6 and Ghost a 5. I feel that Ghost probably deserves a 6, based on slightly better terrain, a better variety of shotmaking, and a really fun finish.