I should probably wait another day to get over the jet lag before posting about Rustic, but I have a few minutes and thought I would post some initial impressions.
First of all, the course is the most low-profile one I've seen yet in the states, with something like only 17,000 cubic feet moved. It is also perhaps the most playable modern course I've seen, with humungously wide fairways, only a handful of forced carries, no water hazards, and ample greensites.
The layout is beguiling, inviting, confusing, scintillating, anachronistic, FUN, innovative, deceptive, tempting, soothing, and subtly challenging. I took a roll of pictures, but will be surprised if any of them do justice to the course, because it is NOT a "oh wow" type of visual extravaganza so common in modern design.
Interestingly, the course I would compare it to might sound ridiculous on the face of it, but to me it's not a stretch at all to see remarkable similarities to The Old Course, sans most of the blindness found there. But, just like TOC, the greens and holes locations are paramount and largely determine strategy. The width of the fairways accommodate what is needed to approach the greens in all of their potential variations, as well as to handle the not inconsiderable winds that often zip through the canyon. Just as importantly, the hazards look and play as exactly that. You simply don't want to be in some of the hazards or their rough surrounds.
We were fortunate to play 36 holes, because it gave us the opportunity to attempt some different strategical tactics the second time around, and in some cases it turned out that the proper solutions were the most non-obvious ones.
In the interest of time, I'd just like to mention the two holes that were mentioned earlier, 12 and 13, because they are pretty indicative of the type of variation and contrast found at Rustic.
From the back tees, 12 plays 330 yards downwind, down-canyon yards with not much elevation change from tee to green. It is a dogleg left, not turning much until the last 50 yards. The green is set at an angle maybe 75 degrees turned from the tee, and there is a huge fairway out to the right, which seems the very safe play. Conversely, a tee shot directly at the green has to deal with some rough ground and scrubland, although the green is VERY visible from the tee and almost beacons like a sentinel.
The green itself has a steep horseshoe shaped shelf that seems almost impenetrable with an approach from any distance with the hole location atop it. It is one hole where the player is tempted to keep aggressively driving further to the left with each playing, simply because of its benign appearance, visibility of the green, potential for birdie or eagle, and wide fairway that almost makes one feel like they are chickening out to purposefully aim to the right. In other words, the green "pulls" the golfer, even when that is clearly a low percentage shot, especially with an OB fence paralleling the green on the left.
To be honest, I felt the hole played best from the 305 yard tee, where more players will be tempted to give it a go downwind. In our group, playing that tee the first go-round, two very long drivers in our group went for it, one laying parallel and the other going over. I believe they scored 4 and 6.
13 is more classically straightforward in appearance and challenge. Picture 6 at Carnoustie, back uphill, into the wind, with the shorter, straight-line being between the OB fence and the right-center fairway pot bunker. A pair of diagonal bunkers threaten the second shot, and the green is a "rolling sea", horseshoe shaped affair with the wings of the green separated by another pot dead center. There are so many ways to play the hole, and such creative shot-making demands on the approach, that it stood out in my mind as the best hole on the course and one of the best par fives I've seen built in modern times.
I'll try to add more to this thread in the next few days, but in the meantime, I'd like to add my sincere thanks to everyone who made the wonderful outing at Rustic Canyon possible.
