Hole 7 - Rabbit
Par 3
230 | 206 | 193 | 180 |167 yards
The 7th hole is a long par 3 with plenty of trouble to find yourself in. From the tips this hole is 230 yards, which is brutal considering how well protected the green is.
Immediately in front of the teeing ground is a small stream to be carried, along with native grasses. This really isn't in play but serves to frame the start of the hole. More troublesome are a pair of large bunkers that front either corner of the green. The green is elevated so finding yourself in one of these bunkers will leave a steep shot up and out. The left bunker is also fronted by a steep grassy slope that will feed anything short of the green back into the sand.
Another pair of bunkers sit behind the green.
I missed the green by less than a foot and found a tough challenge for up and down.
This green is a large oval which is canted diagonally from the tees.
Hole 8 - Zoie
Par 4
429 | 403 | 368 | 328 | 291 yards
This straight ahead par 4 is named in honor of a local who helped provide support for the construction of the course, Zoie Brozowski.
Certainly not the easiest hole visually from the tee, this may have been my favorite hole on the course. The primary design feature of this hole is the large central bunker in the fairway. This bunker gives you 2 options of the tee. A line down the right gives you a much larger landing zone from the tee, but leaves you a tougher approach into the green. Hitting down the left is riskier but gives a much more open approach into the green.
To the right on this tee you can see a pair of tough upcoming holes, the 12th (to the right) and the island 15th.
Back to this hole, it is well framed by long grasses on all sides of the fairway. Down the left side is an enormous snaking bunker shared with the 11th hole. This bunker wraps around a pond which is also a hazard to contend with here.
A view from the left of the fairway shows an approach dominated by the bunker sitting in front of the green. The wooden face of that bunker can spell real trouble if you hit into that. From this side the green also presents its shallowest target to hit.
From the central bunker you can start to get a better vantage point of the green. That greenside bunker is also a lot less pronounced.
A well played daring shot over that central bunker leaves a much more accessible approach into the length (40 yards) of the green.
Hole 9 - Trailing Arbutus
Par 5
547 | 518 | 493 | 439 | 391 yards
The final hole on the front starts of as a fairly easy tee shot but progresses in difficulty as you play towards the green.
Water runs up the length of the left side. It juts into play at a perfect location to provide some danger off the tee. A carry of 250 yards is needed from the back tees to hit the meat of the fairway. Provided you can carry it far enough, the fairway landing zone is very generous.
The water running up the left actually consists of 3 distinct bodies that are connected by small cascading waterfalls. It is a nice touch as you walk up the hole towards the casino and adjacent water tower.
Your second shot will be controlled by the existence of a large central bunker. This bunker starts at around 120 yards short of the green and continues until just about 60 yards from the green. With it sitting square in the middle it doesn't leave a lot of room on either side to land a ball so the smart choice is to lay up short of it or carry it.
Over the top of the central bunker, a string of several more bunkers define the right edge of the fairway as you approach the green. This makes for an effective penalty for those who bail out going for the green in two.
Going for this green, which is shared by the 18th hole, is not an easy thing from short of the bunker. It is tucked behind the last of the water, effectively playing as a peninsula type green.
The green is relatively shallow as you approach it, most of it being just over 20 yards. It is pretty wide at over 60 yards. Though, since it is shared with 18, you really don't have that much to work with.
A large tournament board shows how this course is a frequent local host.
Hole 10 - The Firekeeper
Par 4
372 | 351 | 326 | 280 | 261 yards
The opening hole on the back is a short par 4 that could appear to be a drive-able hole, but there is plenty of trouble to get into.
The hole sits in a hollow between fescue covered hills on either side. A trio of well placed bunkers sit on either side of the landing area. The furthest of these is 270 yards of the tee.
The safer play to avoid those bunkers is a play up the right half short of the bunker there. If you can play to about 130 yards from the green you will be just short of that bunker and have a short shot in.
The second half of the hole descends slightly to a green fronted by another 3 bunkers. These defend this hole well from long hitters off the tee.
There is room to run it onto the green but it is a pretty narrow neck that requires a bit of luck. Aside from the 3 front bunkers this green is exposed and missing around the other sides is not a big penalty.
Hole 11 - Good Harvest
Par 5
565 | 528 | 501 | 446 | 389 yards
I struggled on this dogleg left par 5. So much so that I forgot to get a picture from the tee! Your drive must avoid the never ending, snaking bunker that runs up the left. This is the same one featured on hole 8.
While this bunker mainly frames the border of the hole down the left, it does jump out into the fairway at the perfect distance to catch most drives. You must clear 280 yards from the back tees to get over this bunker and I inevitably cam up short each time I played.
The bunker squeezes down what is an otherwise wide fairway to be only about 25 yards across directly adjacent to the bunker.
Your second shot, if you manage to avoid that cross bunker, next needs to contend with sentinel trees sitting on both sides of the fairway about 75 yards from the green. Shots not down the center can find trouble being partially blocked out on the approach by these trees.
A single large t-shaped bunker sits short left of the green. The green is level with the fairway and very accommodating to long running shots.
This is another deep green, seen here from behind. It is around 40 yards and has two different levels, with a spine running across the middle. Be sure to account for the pin placement before hitting your shot into here!
Hole 12 - Maple Sugar
Par 3
214 | 193 | 173 | 148 | 121 yards
Steady nerves are needed on this hole. Obviously the first thing you will see is the water running down the left and the sandy beach sitting below the log wall leading up to the green.
This green features a biarritz, only the second one I have played. The first being at Fortune Bay Casino in Northern Minnesota. The green actually starts a long ways up but wraps back behind that log wall. A front right pin makes this hole play vastly different than a pin in the back left.
This green is 30 yards deep so it can play anywhere from 170-200 yards from the back tees. Make sure you hit to the correct part of the green so you don't have to putt through that biarritz!
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