The holes represent a standard golf course. Four Par 3s, four Par 5s, and ten Par 4s.
Note: Yardage is from the tips and only one hole from each course was chosen.
This beautiful but dangerous hole will set your pace for the back nine. Go at all left and your ball is inducted into the Des Plaines River. The stone wall above the river makes for a scenic par 3.
Playing the black is real punishment on this par 3. A full water carry of 180 yards need apply. The other tees offer a less intimidating view, but the water is cut very close to the slicerês side of the green. A popular drop zone is available nearer to the green.
3. Hilldale #13 187 yards
Long and straight is the only play on this frightful hole. With water to the left and and right, as well as four large bunkers surrounding the green, a lay-up is often the play, especially when the prevailing wind is at work.
Par is a great score on this ego-bruising hole. Not long but enough club is needed to first clear the ravine then reach the green. Short is either a severe uphill lie or in the bunker to the right. Over is equally dangerous because the green is severely sloped from back to front. Once on the green, pray for a ball below the hole. The hole strategy changes when the pin placement is in the back.
A real distance test into the wind, this par 5 requires length and confidence, especially on the approach shot. Fairway bunkers catch errant shots off the tee, while greenside bunkers await the just misses. A large pond runs up much of the fairway to the left, and poses a real problem as it hugs the severely sloped green.
Danger lurks on this scenic, downhill par 5. A straight drive is required in order to have the chance to hit a second straight shot avoiding the creek to the right of the fairway. A real killer when the pin is in the back.
A controlled draw is the ideal off the elevated tee on this great finishing hole. The narrow fairway is a slight dogleg left. The second shot must split the woods to the left and large pond to the right. A third shot must carry a narrow finger of the pond.
Don't heed your knocking knees when you look down this fairway. A straight shot with a long iron or fairway wood is needed to avoid certain death on both sides. Most players must then hit another great shot carrying the wetlands in order to set up a third shot into this extremely tilted green.
From an elevated tee box, the drive must carry a stream that cuts back and follows the right edge of the hole all the way to the green. With mounds and woods to the left, only a straight ball is desired. The second shot is into a well-bunkered green that hugs the water on the right.
This downhill hole requires a very precise iron or fairway wood off the tee. To the left is a beautiful but deadly swamp. To the right are trees that ensure no second shot. The green is elevated and guarded by a deep bunker short and left.
This one separates the pros from the boys at the Western. From an elevated tee, the drive must hit the right center to avoid a big bounce left and into the marshland. The second shot, usually from a sidehill lie, requires a shaped shot to a ledge green.
A long tee shot is often not what the doctor ordered here, but a minimal blast is needed to carry a creek crossing the fairway. If the drive is a certain distance, one must deal with a large tree growing in the center of an island in Blackberry Creek. The second shot is usually blind.
Generally an iron is wise on this tee as the fairway is a narrow bottleneck. The second shot is a carry over wetlands to the sloped green well-guarded with bunkers.
Say a prayer with your drive on this tight hole. Stray left or right and it's curtains with thick woods forming the fairway. A great drive sets up a knee-knocking shot at a green cut very close to a pond. The old lay-up is a favorite smart play here.
This beautiful hole characteristic of Carolina golf could lull you to sleep. A well-struck drive placed on the right side is needed to avoid a big kick to the left and tree trouble. The second shot is to a shelf green with sand to the left and a drop- off behind.
A classic Robert Trent Jones, Jr. hole, this short par 4 offers two distinct choices from the tee. A deep creek bisects the hole and creates two fairways. The left side is a longer carry with a small landing area. The reward is a short wedge to the green. The right side is a wider fairway best played with an iron. The second shot must then carry the creek. Take your pick.
This target tee shot offers some choice. Three large bunkers sit in the center of the split fairway. A driver or fairway wood to the left, upper fairway is the best play. A long hitter can go directly over the traps and have a short iron to the green.
Two precise shots are needed here. A solid, drive with slight draw is needed to get into the center of the fairway and avoid the marsh to the left and the fairway bunker long and right. A long second shot must land squarely in the center of the crowned green or it will roll into the encircling creek.
Not satisfied with our first round of selections? PLEASE send email to the GreensKeeper with your suggestions or additions to this list for further updates and you could become famous and an integral part of this new club.
(If any private club members would like to see their home holes on this list, they can certainly invite us out for a fact-finding round. PLEASE email our faithful GreensKeeper with your suggestions or additions to this list for further updates).
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