The post Why this ridiculously fun risk-reward par-4 stirred my golfing soul appeared first on Golf.

The post Why this ridiculously fun risk-reward par-4 stirred my golfing soul appeared first on Golf.

A week before Covid-related air-travel restrictions were enacted, I snuck away with three friends — two from my New Jersey neighborhood, one from college — for two-and-a-half days of golf in and around Hilton Head Island, S.C. We shared carts, dined indoors and even shook hands at the completion of our rounds. Different times, man.

The first day was largely a gloomy washout; instead of knocking down flagsticks, we knocked down pins at the local lanes. Improved, if breezy, conditions greeted us on Day 2 — we kicked off the proceedings with 18 on the Pete Dye treasure at Harbour Town, followed by another 18 a half-hour north at the Arthur Hills course at Palmetto Hall — but it was our final round of the trip, on Day 3, that has most stuck with me.

More specifically, one hole from that round, the absurdly fun, risk-reward par-4 5th on Belfair’s East course.

Belfair is a sprawling gated community, 10 miles west of Hilton Head, in Bluffton, with a pair of Tom Fazio courses. The West course is the more renowned of the two; last year it played host to the PGA Professional Championship, from which the top-20 finishers earned a spot in the PGA Championship at Bethpage. But the East is no slouch, either. Belfair’s marketing materials tout the design as “reminiscent of the links courses of Scotland.” Nothing about it reminded me of the links courses of Scotland — it’s peppered with lagoons and pines and yawning bunkers filled with bright, white sand — but my pals and I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

I knew little about the course, so each hole was a surprise, none more than the candy-cane-shaped 5th. From the elevated middle tees, it stretched to about 310 yards, but, as the crow flies, the distance to the front edge of the green was more like 240 yards. The decision to take that route, though, is complicated by a water hazard that lines the left of the fairway and the front of the green. Two-forty is a meaty poke for most weekend hackers, but there’s a landing zone just in front of the green, so the carry to safety is actually closer to 205. And that’s what makes the hole so tantalizing: in my experience, 200 yards is the perfect carry distance to ask a mid-handicapper to fly — not to force them to, but to ask them to, should they be feeling bold.

The other option is to play down the fairway with anything from a 5-iron to driver, meaning, in essence, you have about seven or eight different ways to play the shot. The farther down the fairway you knock your drive, the less club, and better angle, you’ll have into the green.

The putting surface is large and protected by two front bunkers, and the placement of the cup can radically change the personality of the hole. A front-right flag, just beyond one of the bunkers, is difficult to access. A back-left pin is less protected but requires one or even two more clubs to get there.

I was the first in our group to hit and ripped driver. Let me rephrase that. I hit a wipey cut with my driver. For a glorious instant, I thought it had chance of survival. But as my ball began its descent, its fate quickly became apparent. Splash. I’ll spare you the details of my comrades’ efforts — one carried the water but found a bunker, another took the safe route up the fairway and I forget what the third did. But the tee shot gave everyone pause.

The 5th at Belfair East isn’t likely to inspire any love notes on GolfClubAltas.com; holes that don’t permit you to run the ball into the green have fallen out of vogue. Some might even decry it as “tricked up.” Not this guy! My criterium for a good hole is simple: a hole that sticks with you.

And I can’t shake No. 5 at Belfair. Or, for that matter, how I played it. After dunking my drive, I re-teed from the same spot, squeezed my driver grip hard, and drew back the club.

Whoosh…

…whack…

...splash.

Game over. My next swing came on the 6th tee.

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The post Five weekend getaways to rekindle your golf flame appeared first on Golf.

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Has golf become a grind? Tired of the same old? Got an itch that needs scratching? Here’s a fivesome to restore your passion for golf.

Challenge
In the mid-1980s, Grand Traverse Resort developer Paul Nine brought Jack Nicklaus to Traverse City to build the toughest course in Michigan. Even with some softening since, the Bear Course remains a beast, with terraced fairways, moguls, pot bunkers and tiered greens demanding power and precision. It’s inspiration to find your A-game.

The Bear Course at Grand Traverse Resort

Grand Traverse Resort

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Tranquility
A five-hour drive to the Nebraska Sandhills from the nearest big airport, The Prairie Club is true serenity. Daytime brings the vast grandeur of its Dunes and Pines courses; at night, the sky is so dark that astronomy buffs bring telescopes to the area every summer to study the heavens during the Nebraska Star Party.

The Dunes Course at the Prairie Club.

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Mountains
What is it about The Broadmoor that makes us so giddy? The lighter air and longer hang time on drives struck at 6,000 feet? Donald Ross’ original, century-old drawings of the East Course that line the clubhouse wall? The fresh trout at Restaurant 1858, at the base of Seven Falls? The perennial five-star service? Yes.

The East course at the Broadmoor is the second-ranked public course in Colorado.

Dick Durrance

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Deserts
An ancient setting for our ancient game. From stirring Pinnacle Peak views to the striking rock “monument” obstacle on Monument Course’s third hole, Troon North Golf Club remains a must for sand- and cactus-addled swingers.

Troon North is arguably the best public course in Arizona.

Getty Images

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Shotmaking
Bored of mindlessly blasting straight away? There’s a simple cure for simplistic golf: Pete Dye’s small, strategic masterpiece, Harbour Town Golf Links, at Hilton Head Island’s Sea Pines Resort. Narrow corridors, serpentine fairways and tiny greens all conspire to bring thinking and, yes, working your golf ball, back into play.

The 18th hole at Harbour Town Golf Links is as scenic as it gets.

Courtesy Sea Pines

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The post Play it like the pros: Four major-worthy courses for your next trip appeared first on Golf.

The post Play it like the pros: Four major-worthy courses for your next trip appeared first on Golf.

One of golf’s many great pleasures is the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of our heroes—sometimes the very next day. Here are four extraordinary, major-worthy resorts where you can do exactly that.

SEA PINES

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C.

THE RESORT Dramatic improvements in the past 48 months have elevated Sea Pines into elite company. Complementing the villas, marina, beaches and family activities are a stunning new 44,000-square-foot clubhouse at Harbour Town that debuted in 2015; a new Plantation Clubhouse, which services Sea Pines’ other courses, Heron Point by Pete Dye and Atlantic Dunes by Davis Love; the Sea Pines Beach Club; and superb new restaurants and enhancements to the Inn at Harbour Town.

THE FLAGSHIP COURSE Host to the RBC Heritage, Harbour Town Golf Links is a 1969 Pete Dye design with Jack Nicklaus consulting. Some of the smallest greens on Tour are guarded by lagoons, tree limbs and odd-shaped bunkers shored with railroad ties on the front nine, and by water and golden marsh grasses on the back nine. The par-4 closer is framed by the iconic, candy cane-striped lighthouse.

MAGIC MOMENTS In 1969, a comeback win at the first Heritage by Arnold Palmer (he hadn’t won a Tour event in 14 months) catapulted Harbour Town, the Heritage and Hilton Head Island into international prominence.

WHY GO IN AUTUMN Gorgeous temps—and the Ultimate Golf Buddy Trip’s Pete Dye Package starts at $383.

PINEHURST

PINEHURST, N.C.

THE RESORT At first glance, the Pinehurst Resort seems on the quiet side, at least looking at life from a front-porch rocker at the 117-year-old Carolina Hotel. But the place never stops evolving. Of its nine championship courses, most of the scrutiny this fall focuses on No. 4, a layout completely made over by Gil Hanse, who also debuted the resort’s par-3 course, the Cradle, in 2017. Both courses feature acres of exposed sand, evocative of the region where it sits: the Sandhills. The resort’s new 19th hole, the Deuce, is awash in memorabilia, and soon to debut is the in-town Pinehurst Brewing Company.

THE FLAGSHIP COURSE No resort course in America oozes lore in greater abundance than Pinehurst No. 2, Donald Ross’ finest creation, circa 1907. Walking its sandy, hardpanned, wiregrass-flecked and historic terrain with a caddie is one of golf’s singular thrills.

MAGIC MOMENTS At the 1999 U.S. Open, an indelible Payne Stewart sank a 20-foot par putt on the 72nd green to edge papa to-be Phil Mickelson by one.

WHY GO IN AUTUMN Think of those pines—and the Donald Ross Golf Package, which starts at $585.

THE AMERICAN CLUB/ DESTINATION KOHLER

KOHLER, WIS.

THE RESORT In the heart of America’s dairy country sits what many contend is the cream of the crop of golf resorts. Guests can choose from four Pete Dye designed championship tracks, including Blackwolf Run and Whistling Straits, whose Straits course hosted its third PGA in ’15. Among the lodging options are the American Club, and for budget-minded travelers, the Inn on Woodlake. As you’d expect from America’s plumbing experts, the Kohler Waters Spa is one of the nation’s finest. Gourmet dining (and a world-class cheese selection) is on tap at the Immigrant Room. Still, don’t miss the casual fare at the Horse & Plow.

THE FLAGSHIP COURSE Whistling Straits’ Straits course is a 1998 Pete Dye faux-links design on Lake Michigan that was once a poker table–flat military training base in World War II. Dye and owner Herb Kohler moved three million cubic yards of dirt and trucked in 7,000 loads of sand to create the hills and bunkers and relocate the bluffs back from the shore. All Kohler told Dye was, “I want the course to look like it’s in Ireland.” Mission accomplished.

MAGIC MOMENTS The most notorious bunker infraction in history doomed Dustin Johnson at the 2010 PGA Championship. On a sunnier note, Jason Day broke the all-time majors scoring record for most strokes under par—20—in a stirring 2015 PGA Championship duel with Jordan Spieth.

WHY GO IN AUTUMN The fall foliage and the Dye-Abolical Package, with rates that start at $991 per person based on double occupancy.

KIAWAH ISLAND GOLF

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C.

THE RESORT This 10,000-acre coastal property serves up ten miles of private beach, 30 miles of marsh-lined, forested paths and access to nearby Charleston, but golf is the top draw, with five championship layouts, among them the fabled Ocean Course and the Jack Nicklaus designed Turtle Point, which boasts several oceanside holes. Accommodations take many forms, but don’t miss the Sanctuary hotel. Its twin staircases off the lobby ooze Gone With the Wind noblesse, but the marble flooring and huge picture windows that offer Atlantic vistas are pure modern beauties.

THE FLAGSHIP COURSE Pete Dye crafted the Ocean Course in 1991, just in time to host the Ryder Cup, and it remains plenty tough and remarkably gorgeous, its linkslike fairways framed by native sand, coastal vegetation and the Atlantic Ocean.

MAGIC MOMENTS Twenty-one years after the Euro’s anguishing ’91 Ryder Cup loss to the U.S., a European avenged the defeat when Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy tamed the Ocean Course with a 13-under-par 275 to win the 2012 PGA Championship by eight shots.

WHY GO IN AUTUMN Because Charleston is spectacular year-round, and the Sanctuary Golf Package starts at $417 per person, per night.

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