I loved Rustic. The valley effect was the single hardest part of any golf course I played this week. It made putting very difficult, but a true test. If you putted well, you did something right.
I didn't have one favorite hole, a sure testament to the course as there were many good ones.
#1 was a really good opener. The tee shot is almost too easy but the second shot is so much fun when navigating the green in two. The way the ditch was used was fantastic. That was a fun green, as even though it was very much back to font sloping, getting to the back pin was hard because shots would too easily go
over the green due to the wind and, yes, the valley effect.
#3 was a great hole. Of course downwind it played pretty easy, but there are so many options off that tee. Robert told me to hit 3-wood on my tee shot...325 yards. I hit driver and went 30 yards over the green, welcome to Rustic Canyon. Pin high with a 3-wood the second time, which brings me to the one thing I really took away from that golf course; to really understand how to play it, it really takes several plays, a really good feature.
I liked the cross bunker short of the fourth. Don't know what it was like before the floods without that bunker, but I thought it made the hole original and I liked it.
#'s 5 thru 7 were all good but I really liked #8. What a seemingly benign hole, at 120 yards from the tips, but what a friggin hard little bugger. Where Moriarty put that pin, it felt like putting a pistol to your head; sure death. Even the safe play right made a hard two putt. For being so short, what a really really good hole.
#10 and that swimming pool green. Also, the cape like second shot. What cool and unique features. And I'll be damned, Geoff, that I hit it into that tiny bathtub thing you call a bunker. I think that should be named after me, because both drives I hit on that hole just magnetized to that bunker. I think I flew it the first round, but either way I was frightened both times. Bunkers like that are fun, but pretty much suicide once you get in them. That green was pretty fun though. What is it, some 75 yards long?? Fun stuff.
#'s 12 and 13 were my only criticism of the course...just too easy. Mayhugh and I both agree. Second round, we were -5 on those holes as a team. Whats up with that??
#14 was obviously a cool hole but the first time hitting that tee shot, especially that downwind, flat out sucked because I flew my drive 20 yards past the bunker. I just kind of stood there, scratching my head. Nonetheless, the second time playing it was a bit easier, knowing at least where to go with at. Into the wind that tee shot would be a brutal one. The green was great, allowing for longer shots to feed down. I really loved how you had to use the ground features at Rustic to play successful shots.
15 thru 17 I liked, but nothing overly special. Perhaps a special note for 16 because I've never been pin high from 150 with a sand wedge...pretty fun.
I really, really liked 18. What a great finishing hole for matches. Just a solid, good golf holes. It's challenging yet playable, allowing for all sorts of scores, and I just loved it.
Rustic was pure fun. It was my second favorite course on the trip, the most fun of any of the KP courses. I would love to play that course day in and day out. The maintenance was top notch and the staff was great, letting us going out for 36 including free carts, and that was really cool and a great gesture they did not have to do.
Huckaby, I missed you, WTF!? My bad, brotha.
btw...how about them Cow's on the hill to the right of 13?? They were too funny. One was just standing on top, I didn't know if he was gonna do the roll or run or whatever down that hill, but John if you could please post some pictures that was just too funny........
Cheers!