Rustic Canyon?
I know this course has been discussed on here numerous times but after a game there on Tuesday (thanks again to David Moriarty and Lynn Shackelford for hosting my wife and I) I thought it wouldn't hurt to provide a bit of a picture tour and a few words about the course.
In my mind, I thought that the green complexes made the course. They were outstanding, perhaps the best I've played, and were on several occasions cause for contemplation before hitting my approach shot, as any well thought out/designed green complex should be. The greens themselves had been punched sometime in the preceding days, and David and Lynn wondered if perhaps they hadn't been mowed that morning, but the interesting nuances provided by Gil Hanse and his team more than made up for these shortcomings.
Lynn mentioned to me on the first tee that the course actually has 250+ feet of elevation change from the lowest to highest part of the valley, but one never really gets a sense of that much elevation change during the round. The course is easy to walk with only two or three transitions of any great significance during the round.
I didn't feel comfortable taking too many photos during my game there as I didn't want to impose on Lynn and David who were gracious enough to put up with my wife and I for 4 or 5 hours. Thanks again gentlemen.
Below is a pic of the first hole. The 9th fairway edges in over on the right side.
Here's the 6th hole, a par-3 of 200 yards (blues). There's a swale in front of the green which should be flown to provide a good result...
The 8th hole is a short par-3 of 117 yards. A steep bank in the rear portion of the green will help a tee shot roll down to a central hole location...
Here's a side view of the approach and green on the 11th hole, a par-4 of 430 yards...
Below, I'm standing in the 13th fairway with Lynn (l) and David (r), a par-5 of 546 yards with a very cool green complex.
Approaching the 13th green...
A closer look at the 13th green. I hit a low running 7-iron from 100 yards out over the golf ball pictured right of the front bunker, and watched as it disappeared behind the bunker/mound, and then walked up to find that it had curled around and come to rest about 10 feet from the hole. What a fun shot.
A look at where my ball finished up and the contours of the 13th green.
Another look at the contours on 13...
Mr. Moriarty surveys his teeshot on the 16th hole, a par 4 of 466 yards...
Looking back up the 16th fairway. Note the closely mowed chipping area around the green...
Lynn choosing his club on the par-3 17th hole, 161 yards. Note the growth of mustard and sage between the teebox and the green. The large bunker fronting the green is barely visible.
The course booklet...
The most fun I've ever had on a golf course? Possibly, yes. This was my first experience on a Gil Hanse course, and the work that he, Jim Wagner, and Geoff Shackelford did there was very impressive. The value is outstanding with a green fee of less than $40, a rental speedcart for $6 and Nike club rentals for $25.
If you haven't been there, I highly encourage you to give it a shot.
JJ
The "preview" function isn't working ... hopefully the photos posted properly.