#1 is an amazing view from the tee, pretty intimidating, and, as is my ultimate measure, reminiscint of Walden on Lake Conroe . . .
I hit a line drive . . . just keeping it straight, that I tho't might fly that tree in the left fairway . . . but I just rolled up to the base of the hill at the end of the fairway, and that tree is halfway up. I was worried about being obstructed, but the bigger problem was that the hill was so big that I had to walk up there to see where the green was, and that the green was so big, to see where the pin was . . .
so, I was a little blocked and had to take the right side of the green. . . I dug it out of the long rough and up the hill pretty good. . . had 33 ft for a birdie. . . 3putt bogey, natch... that's a severely elevated green that slopes away from the tee, with a giant deep bunker all along the back of the green. @#$@ what a hard hole!
#2 is a par 4 like #7 at GCP Motol, except it just keeps going uphill, and is surrounded by trees . . .
I hit my tee shot with a tiny draw instead of a fade, and it just leapt down the hill going left . . . I still only had 9iron to the green, but out of deep rough . . . what a tough tee shot . . . even harder to keep in the fairway than GCP #7, and even more penal on the rightside . . . .deep dense dark woods . . . it was kinda creepy there on the tee, too, sort of a hansel & gretel kinda feeling . . . 8^D
The par 3 #3 presents an opportunity for some higher math . . . lotta calculations for altitude changes, brisk wind up on top of the hill, meters-to-yards, clubbage . . . I picked the right club, 4iron, but the wind just blew it pin high behind that bush on the left in the picture, so that I was on the steep slope backing up the green area, short-sided. . . well, these days I am flat-out just with flat chips, never mind trick shots like that . . . double bogey.
So I had a little west-texas red-ass on the next tee shot, dead into the wind, low hook, left side of the fairway at the top of the hill . . . I don't think it could be better placement. . . might've been closer . . .but I don't see how.
but that look at the green was terribly intimidating to me . . . don't want to be long, that's obviously dead. to get at the green and keep it on, you've got to fly the trap with a high shot (I had a 7wood in my hands), or hook it in . . . I'm not sure what I finally decided, so I foozled it, then, still shy, I hit a wedge on the front of the green and 3putted. That's a very large green.
I cudda sworn #5 was a short par 5, 422m . . . I hooked my drive into the middle of the fairway, blocked my 3wood right of the green, lobbed on 18ft away . . .
then 3putted, per norm for a 6.
Oh, back-to-back par 5s I tho't . . . well, sweet! You obviously want to stay left here, but I had a double-cross that left me short of that bunker down in the valley. Chopped a 5 iron up the hill onto the left side. Satisfied.
another huge green, surrounded by steep declines and huge dense trees, so I played short, misjudging, wound up 70 ft away. 3putt 6.
#7, the bugger hole, is 638m long . . . now a lot of it's downhill, but d-a-a-a-a-a-a-n-g . . . 8^0 . . .
I tried to hook a shot to ride the wind and the slope (shudda known after the last hole I cain't hook on demand) and got a double cross up into the tall grass. took a long time to find the ball.
dug it out with a 5 iron, and tho't it was safe along the right side of the fairway, but it musta taken a bad bounce back into the hay, had another extended easter egg hunt, then chopped it out nearly to the bottom of the hill . . . that is my shot was only partially obstructed by the woods guarding the green around that 90degree dogleg.
this is the largest green I've ever seen. The pin was tucked behind the trees from where I stood back in the fairway for my 4th shot . . . dangit, this hole is unfair . . . there's just no way anyone would confidently go over those trees, they're so tall . . . I was 50 ft away. Need I say 3putt doublebogey?
Even #11 at Walden on Lake Conroe held out the hope that 3 perfect shots would give you a chance for a birdie, but here that dogleg is so sharp, and the hole is so long, that even three exceptionally long straight shots might not get you into position. . . it'd take some reps to judge that green proper distance wise, too.
#8 is just fouled up . . . I mean, a good hole, but how about a breather after #7?
I hit a low line drive leftish . . . out under the trees that looked like trouble to me, as it turned out, short, but playable. I hit a 7iron off the hardpan, got another low line drive, that I thot might roll up onto the elevated green, but it hit something, a sprinkler socket or something that took all the steam out of it.
I indifferently lobbed up 12 ft past the hole and 3putted, again.
@ #9 is a long par 3 . . . I tho't it was a par 4, and played safely away from the bunkers on the left, which meant I drove thru the mini-dogleg left thru some young trees on the right, in the deep rough ... pin-high ... oh!. . . I tried to flop over the trees, but just cut under the ball to get half way . . . bladed the pitch from there over the green, took 3more to get down.
