sorenj

As I stood on the first tee at Timberstone, in the back of my head I was asking myself, what I had gotten up at 4:30 in the morning for. Those questions stopped about the same time I reached the first fairway.

The course is in terrific condition. So good that I intended to ask the guy in the pro shop on my way home what their volume of players is, but I forgot. The fairways and greens are manicured, divots are (very) few and far between and even ball marks on the greens seems to be regularly fixed (I've been to a lot of courses, public and private, this is not something I can usually say). The bunkers were also immaculate and played exactly as a bunker should (also, not nearly as common as one would expect/hope).

Timberstone is in the heart of the valley in the middle of an agricultural area, so you would expect a relatively flat track; however, they make very good use of the subtle changes in elevation around the property to run holes up and down the small elevation changes on the property to ensure that very few holes are flat tee to green.

On the topic of the greens... be sure to putt some before you play. it is almost a certainty that this course will run harder and faster than you are used to. Putts that I thought I had mishit and would be 3 feet short easily cruised to 10-12 feet beyond the hole on downhill putts. Pretty much all of the greens have "something to them" with regard to undulation and break. Be sure to take the time to get a good read on your putts or you could have a very long day regardless of how well you are striking the ball.

Having said all of that, there is nothing like good hard fast greens to help you confidently roll in some long (6-10 foot) putts that you ordinarily wouldn't expect to make. Again, the greens are in terrific shape, practice a bit before you play and enjoy them!

Relatively straight, the course defends itself in a few different ways. The fairways are pretty wide for short hitters, but - in general - get narrower the longer your drive. Most of the rough is pretty benign; however, in the absence of tall trees, there are large patches of long grasses to keep you honest. There are also well placed bunkers, some right in-front of the greens as well as a split fairway with a small set of trees in it that should be a terrific feature in a few years when they mature.

Timberstone also uses elevation to lengthen some shorter holes and make more manageable some of the longer ones. For example the (well over) 200 yard par 3 sixth also drops a little over 25 feet tee to green to give you the little extra carry you may need; while the relatively short par 5 seventh uses the reverse of this as an incline in the landing area to deplete the roll of anything under 200 yards.

The pro shop staff and grounds crew folks I met were all very friendly and accommodating so service was not lacking at all. I'll certainly head back out and play again, but I will leave a little more time to practice on the greens before i jump off.

Timberstone is almost an hour from Boise, so if you are commuting set aside some time to get there and back. To me, it was well worth the trek to have played. Once some of the relatively new trees grow in, I suspect it will be worth multiple trips a year. The only thing that kept me from giving the course layout a full 5 stars is that this track is in its infancy and none of the trees are really in play, from a punitive standpoint. But that shouldn't keep you from giving it a whirl, it's only going to get tougher as it matures

Pierce Park Greens is, first and foremost, a practice and instruction facility. They actually have some of the most knowledgeable staff when it comes to club fittings and repairs in the valley as well.

There is also some golf though. sporting a short 9 hole par three track, Pierce Park can be a good place to dust off the wedges (singular depending how far you hit your SW... the longest hole comes in at 117). I take a GW with me that I use on exactly one hole... everything else is SW.

The greens are mostly benign and straightforward and there are very few hazards to avoid on the course, so this is really an extended practice facility... which... to me is great!

If you play Pierce Park, you will very likely finish with the ball you started with, regardless of your skill level (unless you are a complete beginner) and you will likely also "sharpen your saw" a bit along the way. It's kind of an extended, much more fun, version of chipping and putting practice.

Unlike other courses I review, I don't have many pictures of this track because, simply put, I play it all the time and never think to take pics. I did have an ace last year though... and there are a couple pics of that and the range that I'll include.

As I mentioned the staff is very knowledgeable, they are also incredibly nice and always willing to chat or help. I've literally never had a bad experience here.

In the "free gift with purchase" category... there is a house somewhere near the course that breeds bunnies and at times they are around the course.

I'll preface this by saying I was playing in a tournament (scramble - blech) and we played from the gold (easiest, other than the forward, at 5946 yards, 67.9/119) tees on most of the holes. Disclaimer aside...

What I liked about Plantation the most were the greens. Even though they were very recently punched and as such a bit bumpy, you could tell they play hard and fast... they were still pretty fast yesterday even with the bumps. They also play pretty much as you read them, as long as you take the time to really read them. When designing (or playing) a course greens that play true are a great place to start.

Because it was a scramble, the one time I popped a ball in the sand I didn't have to play it; however, heading in there to retrieve my ball left me with good feelings about how they would likely play. Soft, with plenty of sand, I imagine them to play pretty much as they should, as well. All of them were well manicured and maintained.

The fairways and rough were not as meticulously kept. Not horrible by any stretch, but certain not "best of Boise" worthy.

Plantation is a rather short track (especially from where we played) but there are enough bends and (more relevant) old growth trees to keep things fairly honest. There isn't a lot of sand in general, although the par four 13th (pictured) feels like it has about as much as the rest of the course in general.

One of my big "tests" for courses is variety in their par 3's and Plantation delivers here. There are five of them with only 2 playing at roughly the same distance. From the gold (forward) tees there is still one that plays over 200, and when you slide back to the blacks two of them do with one over 190 as well.

I found the back nine to be both more challenging and aesthetically pleasing then the front, which was a little too sparse and open for me. My favorite hole was the short par 4 17th which visually tempts you to play over a tree into a slot between two other trees. As a group we pulled this off, but, if you are playing alone I'd advise the far safer drive and approach to the right.

Plantation isn't a club you'd join to be fully challenged day to day - my response to my brother asking how tough it played was "it's gettable." However, for a country club course, where the goal is primarily to have a good time playing... get challenged a bit without getting frustrated, they layout is better than average.

I found the pro-shop staff delightful, both to their temporary guests there for the tourney and to the regulars. Staff/service seems to be a real feature of this club. I'm uncertain if there simply isn't a driving range at the club, or if I just never saw it... this could be an important factor for some. There is a nice (but relatively flat) putting green right by the first hole.

Overall I enjoyed my afternoon at Plantation. It probably won't show up on any top 10 list of mine, but since I'm coming up on 100 courses played, that's not exactly an indictment. Given the chance I'd play again (in fact this was a charity tourney, and I'll likely play in it again next year).

I'll be honest, I've avoided playing Indian Lakes as long as I've known it existed because of preconceived notions I had about it. This was a mistake on my part.

The layout of the track isn't going to keep you up at night trying to figure out how to score, it's very straightforward (and probably easier than it's 66.8/115 rating would indicate). However, given the plot of land it's on, they've done about as much as can be expected. What little elevation change is present seems to be used well to lengthen a few of the holes on the limited real estate available.

There are a few nice touches, including a couple of trees entering the left hand side of the fairway on the only par 5 (pictured) and a short par 4 that keeps you honest with perfectly placed fairway bunkers in the landing zone (also pictured). Unfortunately, the "signature" feature of the course, the lake, was dry when I played because of how early in the season it is.

The greens were fast and true and had a few surprises as far as pin positions to them that I enjoyed. While there are plenty of two putt pars available here, if the pin placement is right, there is nothing automatic about it.

Between the clever use of angles - based on the tree ensconced tee box (pictured) and the lake in front of the green - the otherwise relatively short par 4 fourth/thirteenth hole is arguably the most challenging and fun one on the course. And, while most of the course is relatively short, the first par 3, playing around 220, will make sure no one gets by hitting a wedge into every green.

Again, for the most part this course is flat and straight. The fairways are lined with trees but the majority of the landing areas are generous. There are probably only two driver holes, the par 5 (reachable with a good poke off the tee) and the par 4 right before it (not super-long, but with an uphill landing zone and wide fairway, it's a good option here). What surprised me was how great the condition of the course was. Very nicely trimmed rough, greens and tee boxes (punched this morning, but still in good shape) belie the muni-9 feel of this track.

Everyone I met that works at Indian Lakes was terrific (clubhouse staff and grounds crew). Seriously, almost too nice and engaging. The pace of play was great, especially on my second nine when the twosome in front of me pealed off and I was left with nothing but empty course ahead. I play very fast, often coming in well under three hours; yet, the guy playing behind me kept pace the whole way. There were also clearly an abundance of open tee times, for the most part holes were vacant as I looked around. This is a great place to grab a quick (as quick as you can play) nine or eighteen, if you want to get on, around and off.

The only thing I didn't like (and, unfortunately, I think this is a serious consideration based on the simplicity of the track) was the cost. There are just too many good courses in the area -complete with 18 holes, better layouts, and similar price points - to really come here for anything other than the relative assurance of getting on and off quickly (and, again, the terrific staff). I'd love to see them knock 5 or 10 bucks off their green fees. I'll probably be back, just because the lure of a quick round as the spring and summer crowds start showing up will be worth the money to me. However, I can see why some folks just won't come and play here.

ps I used to run marathons, and, at one point was trying to qualify for Boston. The Sacramento marathon is one that people who are trying to qualify (but haven't been able to do it) go to run because it is essentially all downhill and you can post a fast time. Why do I bring this up on a golf course review??? Because Indian Lakes is probably a golf equivalent to that Sacramento run. If you want to play at a place that is likely to lower your handicap (especially after playing a couple times and figuring out what angles there are)... this just might be the place. it's not pitch and put easy or anything, but I think relative to it's rating and slope, you could gain a stroke or two if you wanted to. I shot as bad as I possibly could today to still put up a 76.

One of the things I really like about Falcon Crest is that it can be as difficult or (relatively) easy as you want it to be. While the back tees play essentially the same as Augusta National (77.4/147 vs 76.2/148 at the home of the Masters), the tourney and regular tees play to a much more benign rating. The whites, which we played come in at 69.6/128. We normally would have played one set of tees back, but with sustained winds over 25 MPH and gusts over 50, the regular tees were plenty for us on this day.

Driving through farm country out to Falcon Crest you would expect to be playing a completely flat course but they do a good job of working with their surroundings to feature a decent bit of elevation change. There is a par 3 that drops at least a good 70 feel and at least 7 holes that have 40 feet or more of up or down to them.

They also manage to employ water, either in the form of streams or ponds on a large percentage of their holes, and angles along with well placed bunkers to defend the course. Despite forcing you to hit the ball well to score on most holes, however, this track is not overly punitive when you make a mistake. it's not easy, but I would say it is fair.

One of the hallmarks of this course are the hard, fast, and true greens. They are a pleasure to play if you practice a little before your round; if you don't you'll almost certain give up a few strokes early while making adjustments

Falcon Crest does a nice job of mixing up the variety in their holes and through #13, no two really feel the same. There's then a string of slightly more standard fair before you come to the menacing 18th.

Eighteen is the treasure valley hole I've heard called "unfair" the most among the people I play golf with on a regular basis, and it isn't short of challenge. If you can pull off a perfect 200-205 (but not any longer or you'll risk being in the water), you will leave yourself with a 190 yard'ish carry over water to the green. Obviously, if you are short of that, your carry will be longer. There is a sliver of land leading to the hole which, if you are very precise and can hit the ball just over 220, but not allow it to roll more than about 20 yards after, you can land on to set up a more reasonable wedge into the sloped and angled green. In short, it's a challenge (all distances based on playing the regular white tees, the other two tee boxes are up to 110 yards longer).

I punched down about 190, hit a layup on the land-bridge and then popped a wedge in close from there. With luck on my side my putt rolled in for par, always a good score on this difficult finishing hole.

The staff in the clubhouse were terrific, going out of their way to help one of my partners who somehow left his clubs back at the house and the grounds were in terrific shape considering they were covered in snow about a week ago. Spring has not been kind but the course was in very good condition. The bunkers - which the wind helped me play from more often than I should have - were also in great shape given the recent weather, and played exactly as you'd want them too; neither to thin nor fluffy.

All in all (after our fingers thawed) it was a great morning of golf on a terrific track. I'm looking forward to taking on some of the more challenging tee boxes in the more docile weather of summer and fall.

Note: I said "moderate" for difficulty based on the tees we played, it gets much harder the farther you play back.

Playing the first hole at the Sun Valley Resort's Trail Creek course I was skeptical about the $120 I had just shelled out for my round. Flat, straight and not very well protected (and only 520 yards for a par 5), I was really concerned this track was going to be a blow-through. Those thoughts lasted exactly 1 hole.

It turns out the first hole is a nice warm up for what proves to be a fairly demanding course. It won't eat you alive as long as you stay relatively straight and it's easier to find balls that drift into the trees than I would have imagined (I'm speaking from experience here); but the challenge is legit.

The fairways are relatively narrow, made even more so because so many of the landing areas are in curves in the course making precision even more of a premium. Most of the greens have either bunker or water protection from the angle you are most likely to approach from. The exceptions that I recall being 1 and 3; the former being the warm-up hole I described before and the latter being a hard dogleg that requires a 200+ approach over trees from almost anywhere on the fairway (a perfect shot will give you around 200 without trees, but there is significant risk in that shot).

I played from the blues and I found the 71.0/134 rating/slope to be about right. I struggled a bit more than I'd like to but I'm playing more to slope than rating right now, so that makes sense. From what I saw, if I had been striking the ball a bit better, the course can be attacked.

My favorite hole was either the afore mentioned third, or the par 3 17th (225 yards of elevated tee goodness... and scenic beauty). seventeen plays to about 2 clubs (maybe a club and a half) downhill and I wound up leaving a well struck 7 iron just short of the green.

The greens at Trail Creek are, I think, the toughest I have played in Idaho. I didn't have a lot of trouble inside 6 feet, but everything further out was a challenge (part of this may have simply been my poor approach game... I left myself with a lot of putts that required covering the entire green).

They had snow the day before I was there so the bunkers were a little thick, but you can tell they are regularly well maintained and still played pretty fairly even with some snow still in the shadows of some of them. The rest of the course was in nearly pristine condition and was an absolute pleasure to play.

Thee closest thing to a complaint I have is that my wife and I drove up from Boise for our anniversary and had booked a tee time for just us to celebrate it together. Because of the uptick in weather (from snow Monday to 60 degrees and sunshine Tuesday) they wound up having a lot of people trying to get on and they paired us up with another twosome. The guys we played with were great and it worked out okay; however, driving three hours to find out that our solo tee time was now double booked was a little disappointing given that they knew about it being a special round for us.

That aside, though, the clubhouse and course staff were all welcoming, pleasant and helpful. Our overall experience was great and completely validated spending the money I had, ever so briefly, worried I might have wasted.

As an aside, we had a very nice meal in the restaurant before we played, if you have time I recommend it. Both the food and the prices were quite good.

While Boise has a host of nice course there are not a lot you can play with a rating of 73+ and slope of 135, even from the back. Ridgecrest give you just that.

At nearly 7000 yards, there is plenty of length on this course. Large waste areas throughout the course are a mixed hazard; you can get a lot of roll on them extending your drive, but you will be hitting off rocky sand on your second shot, so if you don't pick it clean you might be doing the whole thing over again on your third.

There is also a decent amount of water on the course, including in play ponds on three of the par 3's (one with water left, one right, and one you must carry). Even if you don't play the back tees, the (very) elevated first shot on the 236 yard par 3 12th hole is not to be missed. I placed a 6 iron pin high, just to the left of the green (the pond on the right hand side of the green might, or might not, have been on my mind as I hit).

The finishing hole is a run winding par 5 that might be reachable for a big hitter, it is well under than 500 yards if you *don't* cut a bit off the corner. Having said that, there is a nice bunker complex in front of the green. Laying up right in front of the bunkers leaves you only about 90 to the center of the green and a very good chance to finish your round with par or better.

Ridgecrest has always been in great shape every time I have played out there (it's a bit of a commute from my house, so I don't play it as often as I'd like).
Pace of play is seldom and issue either in my experience (although the group in front of me yesterday spent entirely too much time on the putting surface).

The service in the pro-shop and clubhouse in general is always good as well. Grounds crews and players assistants at this course are also uncommonly helpful (I was even offered a ride up the rather steep 17th fairway, which I passed on) and friendly.

The other sets of tees are easier and set at angles that make the holes more approachable, so the course can really be played by a golfer of any skill level (on the par 5 7th, for example, the back tees were about 70 yards back of the next set of tees yesterday). Ridgecrest is a bit of a gem that probably doesn't get the attention it deserves in the valley because of it's Nampa location. Try it out, I think you'll like it!

I have been told that Amarillo is one of the windiest cities in the country. I’ve also been told that “Texas hospitality” takes friendliness and service to another level. If my visit to Amarillo Country Club is any indication, you can mark both of those down as fact. The staff and management (who we had the pleasure of meeting) were as true to their reputations as the Amarillo winds; and meeting and interacting with these folks was a great way to start my round.

Once out on the course, the track held plenty of challenge (especially with the wind) and boasted a nearly immaculate playing surface. Lush, but not overly soft, fairways and cuts of rough and wonderfully groomed greens greeted us, hole after hole. The course is laid out well, and although there is road traffic all around the property, I never really felt like I was “in the city.”

Making excellent use of relatively limited space; the course does a very nice job of creating challenge. With just enough bend in most of their fairways to limit landing options and take advantage of well placed trees; Amarillo, from the blues, is plenty of golf course for most players (plays to a 71.6). There is a greater challenge (that I did not bite off) back at the black tees; but what is nice is that the whites - by opening up some of the fairways a bit - play to a very manageable 69.4. In other words, there is a course for pretty much everyone at Amarillo Country Club.

During my round, there is no other way to say it, I got a lesson in playing in the wind. Before I left on my trip I spent a day on the range practicing nothing but knock-down shots, particularly with my 2-iron. That practice came in very handy on a day with a 2 to 2.5 club wind. What I hadn’t practiced was how to manage the slight draw on most of my approach shots which wound up being - how shall I say - “highlighted” by the wind. Not having an answer in my bag of tricks for low and accurate approach shots, my score suffered a bit. I, unfortunately, also didn’t “practice” believing the results from previous shots, and therefore repeatedly tried to club up or down 1, instead of 2 to compensate for the wind. This did not positively affect my score either.

In all though, it was a great day on the course, and I developed a part of my game previously untested. Being a private club, one cannot just walk on and play; however, I certainly recommend taking the chance if it presents itself. And if, like me, you run into some difficult winds while working your way around the club… there is always that Texas sized service level to make your day!

I've never done a second review for the same course before, and I don't know if I will again. Quail hollow, though, is a rather different course from the Blue tees... enough so that I thought it was worth it.

Looking at the scorecard, particularly the rating and slope you might not think it that different (67.7/125 vs. 70.1/127. However there are an extra 500 yards to take into account and, moreso, many of those yards are added to the carry necessary to safely get on board the fairways of some of the tougher holes on the course.

Number 5, for example, usually requires something of a mid-iron. I usually use a 7 my father uses a 5. From the blues; however, you will want a good 210+ off the tee to wind up in the same place for your approach. Similarly, on number 11 I needed a 224 yard 3w to get to where I normally place my 7 iron. On both of these shots, being short can mean losing a ball in a very overgrown creek bed.

The par three's also average about 23 yards longer apiece as well with two of them stretching out over 200 yards.

It's just quite a bit more challenging from back there, with an even greater premium on accuracy than was already present and a greater challenge delivering on that because of the added distance.