I was told as I passed through the professional shop eulogising about the short course that if I thought that was good wait until you play the Lakes and standing on the first tee I am beginning to see why.
Robert Trent Jones said this was the best piece of land he has been given to work with and looking down the first from the elevated tee with the double green below protected by water at the front and the sculptured white sand bunker carved into the fairway I can fully appreciate that comment.
The 2nd only starts to add layers to those words with the lake running the full length of the hole down the left side of the fairway to a wide green that on competition days could see the flag placed feet away from the lake. There are four teeing options on the course from 7,289 to 4,910 or you can do what we are doing and mix and match on what we visually decided were the best tees to play from.
Just like the Short Course it is one great hole after another and when I get to the 6th hole it was the first tee box where I hadn’t thought WoW, and I just said “well you can’t have eighteen spectacular holes there have to be one or two just to get you to the inspiring holes”. Well how wrong could I be, yes the tee shot may not be inspiring but when you get up to the landing area and see the other part of the double green shared with the first hole and the water on the left, we all laugh, maybe you can have eighteen spectacular holes.
How many superlatives can you get in on one course review! The 7th is a par 5 that has the lake running the length of the hole on the right taking you to another green that seems to float on the water and the 8th is played from an elevated tee to another green that has the lake as its backdrop.
You would have thought with the closing hole of the front nine heading back to the clubhouse it wouldn’t be such a visually appealing hole but the way the fairway is sculptured through the trees to a raised green that sits right in front of the clubhouse, it really is an aesthetically appealing hole.
To get to the 10th hole you have to head over the lake on one of the metal bridges and you can see there has been no expense spared in creating this marvellous track. As we get to the tee the heavens open up and I feel like the priest in the Caddyshack movie, nothing is going to stop me finishing this course its just too good to stop.
Elevated tee after elevated tee to sculptured fairways that raise and fall with the rolling terrain and well-placed perfectly shaped white sand bunkers to negotiate. The 12th brings you back to the lake this time running the full length of this par 5 down the left and yes you guessed it another infinity green floating on the water.
You are going to be hard pushed to nominate a signature hole here and I am sure when you are all sitting in the clubhouse you may all come up with a different hole. For me the 15th with its island green playing across the lake and 230-yards from the back tee gets my nomination it is spectacular – as if that word hasn’t been used enough already!
The 16th and 17th again have the lake running along the fairways to the right on the 16th and on the other side of the lake on the par 3 17th with both greens again sitting by the water.
The 18th follows the pattern of the 9th taking you back up the hill to the clubhouse, I actually think the 9th is visually the better hole of the two but hey, I am floating on air at the moment. As I walk off the 18th green I have to concede I have just played the most visually appealing golf course I have ever played, it has been an amazing day and one that will live long in the memory and you really need to get out here and play it and see for yourself. What a day.
Top 7th Green. Above: The 1st and 6th double green. Par 3, 8th green. Sunset on the 15th green