Let's see if I can get started back up again.
Hole 7 Par 4, 261/292
This short par 4 plays across a valley to a steep fairway. Depending on the firmness of the ground and the cut of the fairway, balls not hit far enough or on the correct line can end up back down at the bottom of the fairway. It’s only around 120 yards to the green from there, so quite playable, but on such a short hole one wants to get closer. Ross gives you the opportunity to make a real mess of things.
On the left side, just short of the bunkers, there is a flat area where the ball will stop. It’s not a huge target, though, and requires a tee shot of 210-240, depending on the tees you play from. It’s more likely for players to try to avoid the left bunkers with a longer tee shot. The problem there is that the hillside slopes diagonally, so the carry will need to be 20 or 30 yards longer to ensure you don’t get sent back down the hill. It’s a fun tee shot, though I fear too many people end up playing an approach from the same spot.
If you avoid the left side bunkers and make it up the hill, this additional bunker short and right of the green awaits. Note the steep drop for approaches that miss the green any way but short. It’s easy to imagine better (longer) players not having satisfactory results on a hole that seems like a pushover. It reminds me quite a bit of the 16th at Holston Hills, though the hill in Tennessee isn’t nearly as steep.
The back of the green viewed from the second tee.
Hole 8 Par 4, 351/362
After the climb up to the 8th green, you turn around and play back across the same valley. This tee shot also confronts an uphill fairway, but a carry of 220-230 gets you past that.
The approach gets to confront the really steep slope, with the green perched high above the fairway. The difficulty of the approach puts extra pressure on the length of your tee shot.
From the back right of the green, you can see how either a too-weak approach or too-strong putt could leave you at the same place back down in the fairway. The wonderful 9th green is in the background.
Hole 9 Par 3, 138/150
This little green site needs to be seen to be believed. Not as brutal as the “2 or 20” hole at Engineers, it still puts plenty of pressure on an accurate tee shot. Anything a little short or left will end up hung up on the hill or back down at the base. The miss right is every bit as bad, with a deep bunker to contend with. Note that there are stairs both to climb up to the green surface and to climb up/down from the right side bunker.
The green from the 8th fairway, showing what awaits a pulled tee shot.
Long seems the only good miss, as it’s pretty flat behind the green. I wouldn’t really fancy an aggressive chip from there, though.
One final look at the green from the ladies tee. Easy to see the stairs from here.
