George,
Regarding capturing contours, I can't take much credit. Just a good camera and that hour or
so before sunset that yields great shadows. I was litterally running around the back nine
trying to get done before dark.
This was my first time around Black Mesa. I had seen pictures and heard accounts from
numerous people. The first words out of their mouths were usually penal, hard or unfair.
I can see where the first time around this conclusion could be reached. Also, pictures I've
seen definitely make most holes look narrower than they are. However, I was pleasently
surprised at the playability, width wise, off the tee on most holes. There are several places
where a fairway plays significantly wider due elevated dessert on one side. It seems that
many holes have fairways that sit perpendicular to the slope and are high on one side and
fall off sharply on the other. On 5, 6, 7 and 10 I hit tee shots that hit on the high side
of the fairway in the dessert and simply rolled off the slope, through the minimal rough
and into the fairway. That being said, I saw this same principal cause balls that
landed near the center of the fairway to roll into trouble on the low side of holes 14, 16
and 17. The fairways were probably the firmest of any I have ever played and combined
with the altitude made it unnecessary to hit driver on most holes. Of course, there
are holes out there that just don't have much room off the tee or around the greens.
Although its asking a lot for some of us, I guess you just have to hit it straight.
