Something I been wanting to get off my chest . . . the quirky / squirrelly design of the holes at Club West . . . I guess the layout overall is ok, it's just that some of the holes, especially the par 5s are too gimmicky, tricked up . . .
Now #3 Par 5 is kind of an exception
especially in the zoom view, it's a very ordinary, short-ish par 5 . . . if i ever eagle a hole here, this'll likely be the one . . . I only had a 5iron into the green for my 2nd shot this day, still mangled the hole. So I'm not talking about this hole.
That little tree that guards the right side of the green has intercepted several of my approaches in different rounds . . . .
#4 par 4 I include just because of this very awkward tee shot . . . those trees are definitely closer than standard, but if you have the presence of mind to just hit the tee shot straight out towards the left side of the fairway, and not try to shape the shot, as so many duffers seem to feel they must, you would have better luck.
# 8 Par 5 . . . presents a wide open fairway with houses on the left and the driving range on the right . . . should be no problem, but lately i find myself playing the Fenway bounce off the fences on the right . . .
The problem here, is that the arroyo that bisects the fairway dictates most duffers should lay up . . . but since the layup is only a 8 or 9 iron, some just have to go for it . . . which is makeable . . . Mr science did it the last time we played here, but I seen a lotta guys dump it. Just an awkward hole
#11 Par 4 is not a difficult hole, except that 75% players wind up on the next fairway from inability to hit over that trash right in front of the tee, which hides the fairway. . . . Doesn't usually cause me any grief, I've played enough times, and it's really a rather short flat hole, so that camouflage is the main obstacle.
#12 Par 5 is my least favorite . . . with any kind of tailwind, my driver can wind up in the trash that bisects the fairway, which then doglegs left up a slope . . .
From the end of that fairway, especially on the right side, one can actually plot a second shot to the green . . . Mr Science did that last time we played, and wound up with a short eagle putt, which he uncharacteristically missed . . . but the risk/reward on that shot is total . . . it's all carry, and if you were long, you might not find your ball in the trash on the far side of the green.
so my game plan is just to pooch the tee shot out into the fairway far enough that I can cozy a 5iron over the trash and still keep it in the fairway, which leaves just a wedge to the green. but that requires 3 good shots, instead of 2 heroic ones . . . so you pays your money and takes your chances.
#16 Par 5 is another awkward hole, IMVHO, for me, anyway . . . the landing area for a full driver seems really tiny to me . . . anything over 230 (downhill) yards is in a bunker or rocky rough or trash . . . a creek bisects the fairway, sort of in the middle of the dogleg, which really makes it awkward and a poor risk-reward shot for duffers. My best play has been to pull hook a 3wood off the high brick walls on the left, so that the carom bounds down into the fairway not quite to the dogleg.
I'd really rather hit a more straightforward shot, and I've hit everything from Driver to 5iron on this hole trying to just put it into play, but the hole has the hoodoo on me . . . If I can just wind up near the dogleg, it's a simple matter to hit a 5iron 2nd, then a shortiron to the green.
But that green is very elevated, at the top of a sharp rise, so 3putt opportunities are frequent.
On this particular round I absolutely crushed a 1iron off the tee . . . 2iron would have been plenty . . . maybe 3iron, now that i've taken the measure . . . but I wound up in a trap . . . bein' from west texas that don't bother me, but I caught the ball cleanly and had aimed too far right for such another pure hit . . . the ball bounced off the cart path and rabitted up into the rocky trash. . . .8^( . . .5 iron had betrayed me twice before, so this was no time to suddenly work correctly . . . . 8^D . . . I will need to replace it with a sub from the other bag in the garage, till I can get it re-shafted . . .
#17 par 3 is interesting in an awkward way, too . . . you never know what club youre gonna need till you get there, since there are 5 tee locations and 2 greens, so club choice could be anything from 8iron to 2iron . . . 8^D
So, a fine course, a real course, but I take issue with some of the design choices that make it tough on the first-time duffer . . . but I guess they make it challenging for heroic golfers familiar with the course . . . just seems tricked up to me. . . .
# posted by Cactus Dave @ 11:53 PM
