by Editors of GolfCourseHome
Hole No. 10, Amelia Island Plantation, Amelia Island, FL
Hole No. 10, Amelia Island Plantation, Amelia Island, FL
Among its 72 holes of championship golf on this landmark coastal community is the tricky but highly praised 10th hole on Pete Dye’s Oak Marsh layout. The hole, measuring just 307 yards from the furthest-back tee, is a prototypical short par-4, with water right of the green, water behind it and four penal bunkers surrounding the putting surface. Many golfers have the power to reach this hole in one, but few have the accuracy to avoid big trouble. Founded in 1971, this resort community was an early example of the twin appeal of excellent golf and an eco-conscious master plan. The Plantation’s three-plus miles of unspoiled beach and its vast tracts of coastal marsh and woodland remain its prime assets. Click here for more information about Amelia Island Plantation!
Hole No. 11, Paa-Ko Communities, Sandia Park, NM (7th)
Hole No. 11, Paa-Ko Communities, Sandia Park, NM (7th)
The hole we highlight at Paa-Ko is named “Field House” It’s a charming par-4 that stretches 496 yards from the back tee box but only 425 from the members’ tee. The strategy on this graceful, downsloping hole is to shoot for the middle of its saddle-shaped fairway, avoiding the rocky ravine and grass bunker that protect the inside of the dogleg. The green is open in front and receptive to a run-up shot. Paa-Ko Communities lies on the eastern face of the Sandia Mountains, integrating upscale residential development with untouched lands to provide a sense of true community in a setting of natural elegance. Its 27-hole Ken Dye golf course is one of the best in the Southwest.
Hole No. 12, Deer Brook Golf Club, Shelby, NC (14th)
Hole No. 12, Deer Brook Golf Club, Shelby, NC (14th)
Joining this select collection of golf holes is No. 14 at Deer Brook, a highly versatile par-3 hole dominated by a large, imposing pond. Architect Rick Robbins scattered an array of tee boxes along the far arc of the lake and laid out a gang of bunkers, five in all, around the green. Day in and day out, this one-shotter reveals subtle new playing angles depending on wind direction and tee- marker placement. If nothing else it’s an advanced course in precision club selection. Deer Brook Golf Club is a master-planned golf community in the Blue Ridge Mountain foothills. Excellent conditioning and a clever routing by Robbins make Deer Brook a top-quality golf experience. Its bentgrass greens are medium- sized and sited on subtle knolls and hollows. Water comes into play on seven holes. Click here for more information about Deer Brook!
Hole No. 13, Hawthorn Woods Country Club, Hawthorn Woods, IL (10th)
Hole No. 13, Hawthorn Woods Country Club, Hawthorn Woods, IL (10th)
A true thinking-man’s par-4, the 10th at Hawthorn Woods plays shorter than 400 yards even at its longest. Golfers must strongly consider playing their tee shots with fairway wood or a long iron to the plateau landing area. The best-positioned tee shot will leave a middle iron for the approach shot. From atop the plateau the green sits well below the fairway and is protected by a bunker right and a water hazard left, putting accuracy at a premium. Set amidst rolling countryside and centered on a championship Arnold Palmer Signature golf course, Hawthorn Woods is a private enclave that offers a high quality of life and proximity to the commerce and culture of Chicago. Click here for more information about Hawthorn Woods!
Hole No. 14, Glacier Club, Durango, CO (5th, Glacier nine)
Hole No. 14, Glacier Club, Durango, CO (5th, Glacier nine)
No. 5 on the Glacier nine up in the light air of this sporting community is a strategic par-4 that plays from 330 to 360 yards downhill, depending on tee placement. Position, not necessarily length, is the appropriate strategy. The long, narrow green is protected by a wetland on the right and bunkers left. Wise golfers will be sure to avoid the menacing bunker in the center of the fairway to have their best chance of sticking the second close to the hole. Glacier Club is a private luxury, mountain golf community just outside of Durango amid the natural magnificence of the surrounding Rockies landscape. Its amenities are already built and ready for members’ enjoyment, including 27 holes of golf –three of the most scenic and satisfying nines in the Rockies. Click here for more information about Glacier Club!
Hole No. 15, Mountain Air Country Club, Burnsville, NC (1st)
Hole No. 15, Mountain Air Country Club, Burnsville, NC (1st)
The Mountain Air motif of elevated teeing grounds playing down to sinuous fairways begins at the alpine club’s par-4 first. It’s a charming, 361-yard finesse hole with a dogleg-right fairway and a compact green surrounded by four bunkers. Most golf communities in the eastern U.S. look up to Mountain Air, which perches on a 4,600-foot peak called Slickrock Mountain. With 70 degree mid-summer temperatures and 100-mile panoramic views, the community’s 6,425-yard original 18 (watch for a new nine opening soon) is a joy to play in summer. Click here for more information about Mountain Air Country Club!
Hole No. 16, The Bridges at Preston Crossings, Gunter, TX (14th)
Hole No. 16, The Bridges at Preston Crossings, Gunter, TX (14th)
The Bridges at Preston Crossings is a new master-planned community being built on the site of the historic MM Ranch. It’s a 1,580-acre site well-suited for the design style of Fred Couples, who uses subtle land features to create appealing and disconcerting shot challenges. Couples outdid himself in designing the thought-provoking and truly demanding par-5, No. 14 Hole, which can play as long as 619 yards from the black tee markers. Most members would take the hole on from the blue tees, making this a 536-yard three-shorter. Assuming you drive it well, the next challenge is to play across a pond to the left side of what becomes a split fairway, and wedge it onto the green from there. If you play away from the pond, a good second shot will leave you in a low, trough-like section of fairway playing upslope to the green.
Click here for information about The Bridges at Preston Crossing!
Hole No. 17, Horn Rapids, Richland WA (14th)
Hole No. 17, Horn Rapids, Richland WA (14th)
Keith Foster, praised for his skill in balancing visual beauty with strategic complexity, provides us our penultimate challenge with this position-over-power par-5. The 512-yard 14th at Horn Rapids begins with a U.K.-style blind tee shot to something of an “island fairway.” Longer hitters have to club down to avoid driving through the fairway into a transition area. The approach shot will need to keep to the right side of the green to avoid the bunkers fronting the left side of the green. Horn Rapids is an 800-acre, master-planned golf community near the banks of the Yakima River in the sunny, temperate Tri-Cities region of Washington. The community’s reputation for neighborhood sociability extends to its Keith Foster-designed golf course with it sweeping desert views. Click here for more information about Horn Rapids!
Hole No. 18, PGA National, Palm Beach Gardens, FL (18th, Champion Course)
Hole No. 18, PGA National, Palm Beach Gardens, FL (18th, Champion Course)
A classic 18th on a tour-tested layout provides the closing hole for this edition of the Dream 18. The 18th at the Champion Course (home to the PGA Tour’s Honda Classic) exemplifies this community’s landmark status in the world of competitive golf. The hole, newly renovated by Jack Nicklaus, is a 600-yard double-dogleg par-5 that starts with a long carry over a reedy Florida swamp and doesn’t let up. It was the scene of a Ryder Cup- winning wedge shot by Lanny Wadkins in 1983. PGA National is a resort community that not only offers five golf courses, but amenities from spa to tennis to health and fitness.
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