Hole 16
Par 4
371 | 371 | 349 | 319 yards
You finally get a respite from the long holes on the par 4 6th hole. This hole is a blind tee shot to a hole that is pretty much straight ahead.
The best line off the tee is along the slope on the left side. The fairway slopes pretty good from right to left so you want to try to avoid the left side. Just don't hit too far right as a series of rocks run along that side, backed by trees which line the entirety of the hole.
Once you get over the hill you have a clear view to the green. A slope to the right of the green may save a wayward ball hit over there from the woods. Avoid the left side as a hill right off the green will kick balls hit over there down into the trees. There are a pair of bunkers sitting behind the green, hidden from view.
This is a picture taken from the right side of the green with the tees back to the left. You can see how along the left side of the green the hole drops off into the trees. Another large green here with a depth of about 35 yards and a width nearly the same. The right portion of the green is tiered above the left half.
Hole 17
Par 3
137 | 137 | 121 | 94 yards
The penultimate hole is the last par 3 of the day. A short hole there is not much too this one. A piar of bunkers guard the front of this canted oval green.
Seen from the back left you can see there is plenty of room to miss around the green, provided you miss the front bunkers.
As we finished this hole and were on the 18th tee, Jason Hougom who was playing in our party in the group behind proceeded to knock in his tee ball on 17 for an ACE! Here is the video of him getting the ball afterwards.
Jason has not played golf much and wasn't too thrilled about the experience, not knowing how rare his feat was. He proceeded to tee the ball up on 18 and drove it off into the left rough up in the rocks. I had to go up there and find it, telling him he couldn't lose that after what he just did.
Hole 18
Par 5
533 | 533 | 463 | 442 yards
The final hole is a big downhill par 5 that requires an accurate tee shot. If you can deliver one you can get a lot of extra distance as the ball bounds downhill towards the green. TO do so you must avoid the chute of trees that the fairway passes down. Also on the left side a rocky hillside awaits wayward shots down that side.
The fairway over the top of the hill, funnels on both sides into the middle. With a lucky bounce your ball can find a friendly downhill trampoline effect, as mine did.
My ball actually tumbled down the hill around 315 yards from the tee. I actually ran out of fairway, as you can see in the photo here, where a patch of first cut rough divides the start of the fairway and the fairway area that leads to the green.
This second fairway starts at about 150 yards out and this area is impressively massive. After playing all day with much narrower landing zones, the nearly 70 yard wide fairway here feels unreasonably generous.
This is definitely a hole that encourages- almost demands- that you try to reach this green in two.
The green here is completely level with the surrounding fairway, even more of an encouragement to run something up from long distance. Other than behind the green, where a hillside can come into play there is nothing standing in your way from taking on this 35+ yard diameter circular green.
Conclusion
What a remarkable experience Greywalls is. I feel that pictures of most of these holes don't do the rugged beauty of this place justice. They certainly have trouble conveying the elevation changes that are in play.Some people might say some of the features are gimmicky or unfair. While it is certainly true that on some holes a ball hit down the middle of a fairway can find trouble along a rocky embankment, to me that is part of the fun of this course.
Your round starts out with an undeniably breathtaking first tee. Once you get to he fairway you get to experience some of the crazy fairway mounding that is mixed throughout the course.
Holes 2 and 3 are good solid holes that could fit into many of the good "Northern" style courses you find in the upper Midwest. They are not quite as extreme as the first hole.
Holes 4 through 11 are, in my opinion, the best stretch of holes. Such great variety in layout, elevation, playability, and length are offered on these 8 holes that I would put them up against 8 of the best holes on any course in Minnesota I have played.
Hole 12 through 14 which all run adjacent to one another are maybe the most boring stretch of holes. While they are all long holes they don't offer as much character as the 8 holes proceeding them and feel slightly ho-hum in comparison.
15 is a beast of a par 3, and 17 a memorable one with me witnessing the hole in one.
16 and more so 18 leave you with a memory of the great elevation changes this course offers. Both of them featuring big downhill tee shots. 18 does everything it can to give you the opportunity to make a great score to end your round.
When I first got onto the property I had no idea what lay in store up the hills at Greywalls. I hope that if you are ever in the U.P. of Michigan and looking for a place to golf that you give Greywalls some serious consideration.
Take Greywalls and pair it with a couple of other great courses. You have Sweetgrass nearby in Escanaba MI, plus its new course opening in 2018. You also have Timberstone Golf Course in Iron Mountain. These three places make for tremendous destination for an Upper Michigan road trip which I would highly recommended.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
No comments:
Post a Comment