We did the NCGA course rating yesterday at Stonebrae, and were the first groups to play the back nine, which they say should open to members in mid-October.
First of all, I have to commend Ed Getka (or check his sanity) for attempting to walk and view this course. The site is VERY severe - pretty similar to Stone Eagle. Very hilly, particularly the back nine. This will NOT be a walking golf course. Front nine is somewhat doable, with only some large green to tee hikes to deal with (as Ed says), but back nine is outrageous.
I couldn't take any pictures - it's not de riguer to do so during the rating process. I did play the golf course though. And well....
It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea. Most fairways are wide - wider than they look - but there is death to both sides on nearly every hole. The bunkers are also very severe. They're not outrageously deep in general, but all are either now or soon will be covered with thick fescue on the sides, meaning if one gets stuck on the sides it's damn near unplayable drop time. This will mean something only to course raters, but note we gave the "E" adjustment for bunkers on damn near every hole. I had never seen that before. In any case, while some holes do offer fun strategic decisions to be made, on the whole it's a quite penal golf course. There are quite a few forced carries also. Better players may relish the challenge... but rest assured this is a very difficult golf course. I'll be shocked if our course rating numbers don't bear that out.
That being said, there are some damn good golf holes, and confounding ones as well. The par fives are interesting - five of them - two shortish, three brutish. The brutish ones are going to give the bogey golfer absolute fits. The shortish ones are going to make the scratch golfer's score.
One cool thing about the course is this: the GREENS. I swear this course really should have had Ed drooling, being the greens aficionado he is. They are of varied sizes, with lots of internal contour, but nothing crazily over the top. I thought they were really cool. And the best part is this: they say they will never go faster than 9.5, the idea being they keep the speeds sane to make them the most fun given the contours! I swear I nearly fell off my chair when I heard the pro say that. Damn refreshing and unique, I'd say. But I guess given the architect, I shouldn't have been so surprised, as that's the marching order at Bandon.
I can go over specific holes if anyone is interested. It is a hell of a golf course. It may win some honors, I don't know. I kinda think it's gonna shake down like Stone Eagle, where the severity and unwalkability keeps it from the highest honors. But perhaps not, as there are some damn fine golf holes, and the views from up high are rather spectacular.
TH
ps - the pictures from the site, as posted in this thread, are NOT flattering. I spent 8 hours there yesterday and for the life of me I can't figure out what the hell the first pic is. None of the bunkers are like that - all have thick fescue on the sides now, or planted and growing. The second pick is the short uphill par 5 #4 - a darn interesting hole - but that pic flattens it tremendously - it is very uphill, and the two back tees are way back from where that pic is taken. It's a darn good golf hole.