Pat,
Dunes at Seville: Both holes have room off the tee and offer a good view of what’s ahead, making it easy to avoid trouble. There is a bunker and long, sandy area that must be avoided off the first tee, but a pretty quiet second shot and greenside bunkers tucked close for the third. The eighteenth plays over more of a sidehill, lies are not as good. The final shot is uphill and the green is more trouble than on #1.
Interesting as it not only opens with a 5 but closes 5/5.
Eagle Dunes: First one is from an elevated tee and you must carry tall grass from the back two. Bunkering short of the green tends to force you over to the left on your second shot, but that’s a good thing as the approach is wide open to an unprotected green.
Eighteen is flanked on the right by a long waste area. Not much care is needed for the second but the third is blind to an elevated green. Another flattish green, but harder to get it close, unlike #1.
Twisted Oaks: First one is a lazy double bender, bunkered inside for the drive then trouble in the form of a low area to the left, but the green is an easy target for the third.
The eighteenth has two viable landing areas, high to the right and low to the left. Play right and you will add yardage to the hole, play left and you’ll catch a turbo boost that’s good for 20/30 yards that made it reachable in two for me. Trouble is that from the left you must carry a deep bunker fronting an elevated green that is wider than it is deep. Playing from the right fairway I couldn’t reach in two, but it made for a more level, open approach for a pretty standard wedge shot.
Both of the ‘Dunes’ courses had elevated tee boxes for their openers, which can be a confidence booster. In all three places the closing 5 was more difficult than the opener, which I think is a good thing, especially as I was driving an hour or so to reach them, jumping out of the car, and teeing it up without benefit of the range. A starting 5 gives you a chance to loosen up a bit and isn’t so ‘hard’ on a mishit.
I did play one other, Lake Diamond, that had the 5/5 configuration, and even though it wasn’t as much fun between the goal posts as the other three it adhered to the same mantra of easier first/harder finisher.