As much as I want to forget my front nine, which was one of the worst starts in a number of years. I certainly couldn’t forget the condition the course was in. Freshly off another evening/night of rain, underneath a cloudless sky with temperatures in the mid-20’s… I couldn’t ask for anything more.

One of the most difficult things I found about the course is your tee shot. What I’ve found is that most courses will impose a dogleg that starts around half way through a hole or further out. At National Pines, the dogleg often started at around the 1/4 mark of the hole. This means, not only you have to deal with imposing trees, you also have to take into consideration the far side of the fairway if you can’t shape your shot towards the dogleg.

Secondly, as I mentioned before, the rough was incredibly long and thick. This was especially the case around the green. Coupled with harder greens, the ball would often roll through the green and end up in the nasty stuff. Even though it would normally be a standard little chip, you had to use a higher lofted wedge to punch it out and try to land it softly. Not something that’s easily accomplished for the typical handicapper, and grew a little tiresome towards the end of the round.

Hopefully, I can get invited out next year around the same time… I can honestly say I would look forward to tackling this pristine course every year. Of course, the other way would be to join ClubLink, but that’s a different post all together.