3. Sand Hills GC back nine, and overall comments--July 13, 2014

OK...now for the back nine:

#10--472 yard par 4...downhill and straight.  Tough hole to say the least.  Fairway lined with 3 well placed bunkers and the fairway pinches about 100 yards from the green.  Fairway rolls through a series of hollows to the green.  Green lies slightly below fairway level.  There is a fairly dramatic slope down to the green from the left side...and the smart player will use this slope to bounce the incoming shot toward the center of the green.  Right side of green protected by bunker.  Pics show from tee,  long approach shot (note slope on left of green), and down to green from top of slope.

#11--about 410 yards, par 4, downhill from an elevated tee, then back uphill to green...dogleg left.  Feels like you can see the entire hole from the tee...but watch out buddy...especially you long hitters...you could be fooled.  Here is (in a lousy photo) the view from the tee.  The green is just to the right of the three bunkers you can see on the far left.  The fairway starts out down the middle of the photo, then goes down the hill, and then turns left.  You can see clearly 2 fairway bunkers on the right side (the ones through the fairway, not the first two on the right)...they are 300 and 350 off the back tee.  Now you can also see a thin line of white sand over the corner of the dogleg...be back to that in a minute.  If you hit a big drive say 300-320...you better be right down the middle (just left of those two bunkers thru the fairway).

If you hit that perfect drive, you will be left with this uphill approach to the green...not easy but certainly doable.  But be careful...while you can see three bunkers left of the green from the tee, they are not visible from here...and they for sure protect the entire left side of the green.  Also, if you aim too far right, it will kick off the green and into a swale to the right.

 
OK...so you want to know why to avoid cutting the corner of the dogleg?  Just look below, at the fairway bunker on the left side, just past the dogleg, that is just a sliver when you look from the tee...these C&C guys are real devils...that is a BIG bunker that is not fun to visit:

 and here is a closeup of some of the smaller ones on the left side of the green.

#12--417 yard par 4 straight away and "basically" flat.  Flat that is, except for the fact that fairway is a "hog-back" with the hog's spine running from tee to green...so the wide wide fairway with no fairway bunkers (easily 75 yards wide) runs off to deep hollows on both sides from which the approach shot is totally blind.  So you better be straight off the tee.   If so, approach to green is fairly simple except for a monstrous bunker on the right (sorry no pic).  Green slopes mostly back to front.

#13--216 yd uphill par 3 to infinity crowned green and totally exposed to the wind (if it ever blew in NE!!).  Me thinks this is the best par 3 here.  Green is protected just a bit...large dune to left of green, large deep bunkers front right and front left, and small bunker right.  Green has false front, falls off in back, and otherwise goes left to right (coming off the large dune).  No problem at all...just a piece of cake (arsenic cake i think).  Oh, and by the way, if you happen to birdie it, don't tell anyone, since there is plenty of room for another back tee going back to about 240, and at a tougher angle from the left, bringing the dune more into play.  See these pics...in order, from back tee...btw do NOT be in that right bunker, from left side (and angle if they build another back tee to the left), and from back of green.

 #14--Having just played a par 3.5, it is time for a bit of a rest with a par 5 (perhaps 4.5 if you are careful) that bends left off tee and then right to green 508 yds and slightly uphill to green.  Two problems here.  First are fairways bunkers that pinch left side (see first bunker on left in first pic below) and one on the right, and require a carry of 260 to clear (because you do not want to visit them...as they convert hole to a par 5.5).  Second problem is the very small green (24 yds deep and only 17 yds wide at its widest point...and front 6 yards and back 10 yards are much narrower) very well protected by bunkers front right and back left.  Green slopes back to front and left to right (off dune where back left bunker is set).  That back left bunker is not a nice beach.  It slopes down the dune and stopping a shot out of it ain't an easy task

#15--Here is another par 4.5 (except the card says 4)...469 yards uphill plays L-->R off tee and R-->L to green.  And what a green...large (29 wide and 35 deep) but slopes to center from both sides but to edges front and back, with front being a severe false front.  Green also protected by large dune (with, of ours a large blow out bunker) to left and short of green.  Off tee it is vital to avoid the huge fairway bunker right (215 carry uphill) and smaller one right (285-300 off back tee)...and to see the green well for you approach, your drive should favor the right side.  Tightly mowed areas all around the green  make for a good test of your shot game nerves.  Pics below are from tee (note two fairway bunkers on right side, and one on top of dune to left of green), then from approach shot, then from right and short of green.

#16--a whale of a par 5...612 yards..downhill and turns left.  Tee shot MUST avoid huge blow out bunker left 270 carry, and fairway narrows after that bunker...but on the other hand, it runs sharply downhill...here again risk/reward tradeoff at its best.  Lots of room right off the tee, but that means a true 3 shotter and a tough second shot over bunkers at the left corner.  These bunkers extend from 120-190 yds from center of green and are to be avoided..I can vouch for that, as these did me in in 2010.  Take your choice, but you better commit off the tee and play right if you lay up (as most metals will have to do).  No bunkers around green which can be approached on long 2nd (if you are long and gamble off tee) by playing off small dune to left of green.  But if you are hitting a short iron in,  an approach off the left side will probably stay left on the downhill leaving a very delicate pitch onto the green.  Narrow green slopes B-->F and L-->R.  Not many better par 5's anywhere.  Pics from tee (see huge blowout bunker left of fairway), then 2nd shot (note array of bunkers left), then green from  about 90 yds.

#17---par 3 150 yds.  This is the one you see in all the photos.  Tiny green on top of a dune...surrounded by bunkers in almost very direction.  Perfect short par three.  Another thing...ever notice how many bad uphill holes there are?  Seems that uphill homes are often not very good...but when they are great, they are very special.  Think about #11 at Shinnecock (actually makes 17 at SHGC almost easy) or great uphill par 4's with infinity greens (#2 and #10 at Fishers Island).  Well. the back nine at SHGC has two world class uphill par 3's (13 and 17).  Catch theses pics, and btw, i got it up and down from the oft back bunker...knew you wanted to know that.

#18--par 4, 467 from tips, uphill, turns left.  Two huge bunkers down the left side...the first with carry of 240, and the second expending from 145 yards from center of green to 20 yards to center.  Yes, those are the definition of huge...and they are as deep as they are large.  Approach shot feels way uphill to narrow, deep green that has a false front and slopes B-->F and inward from both sides.  Only phrase that would describe it appropriately is "a fitting finish."

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This report would not be accurate if i did not point out that the brutal winter of 2013-14 did impact SHGC's conditions.  A few areas were still recovering from winterkill and the greens have a little poa coming in.  And the fairways were a little long most likely to allow the recovery to complete in a short time.  Compared to other tracks I have seen in New England, the midwest and the upper plains this year, SHGC came out of the winter very very very well.  

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How does one sum up a course such as SHGC?  Think of the variety and stark contrasts...tiny and massive greens, gorgeous beauty in such a stark setting, massive fairways and massive bunkers, uphill and down hill holes combining for an easy 18 hole walk, fescue all over the place but thin enough to allow you to find and try to play your ball, a first tee about a mile from the clubhouse (and not visible from anywhere on the layout...to minimize "clutter" when you are playing, a totally natural linksy track with no ocean within 1500 miles, possibly the best course in the country (and certainly one of the top 10 in the world) built where no one (other that the genius Dick Youngscap) could have imagined a course 25 years ago, etc etc etc.  In fact, if one could eliminate history from consideration in evaluating layouts (much much easier said than done)...one could easily argue that SHGC is the best track in the USA if not the world

Other things about the club:

--Perfectly simple clubhouse...nothing even "close to the top" much less "over the top";

--Basic simple rooms available with furniture right out of a Motel 6;

--Best hamburgers in the world at Ben's Porch for lunch;

--Best steak you'll ever have in the clubhouse...and that includes Peter Luger's;

--A framed piece of paper in the clubhouse with C&C's 130 discovered holes in stick figures, criss crossing each other...and the actual 18 highlighted;

--A small highly appreciative membership of about 160 who have a deep love for the game, the club, its founder and its staff, and finally...

--As fine a staff as I have seen at any club...friendly to all (including each other), always helpful and never never fawning over members and guests...simply superb.

Not a bad place.  Brilliant and special in so many ways.  If you have the opportunity to get there...do not pass it up (unless it is in February).