The sixth hole was my favorite on the front nine, a dogleg left with bunkers everywhere on either side to a green that seemed smaller than the other greens and had a falloff at the rear and left side. It is visually the prettiest hole on the front nine.

A par 3 of 170 yards awaits you for the seventh hole. It has bunkers down the right side with one left center and has a large false front and a spine in the middle of the green. It is a pretty good hole.

The eighth hole brings a small pond into play on the right for the tee shot before sand and trees once again become the obstacles to the green. There is a set of near cross bunkers on the left side to catch a weaker hit second shot. The green is fairly large for this 550-520 yard par 5. It is a good hole but one that feels a bit routine.

You cross under the road again to get to the ninth hole which is a mid length par 3 of around 150 yards playing uphill to a raised green with falloffs all around it, a well placed pot bunker center front and a large bunker complex on the right side. The green is tricky due to its slant. It is a nice short par 3.

Oh my goodness is the short tenth par 4 hole a lot of fun. It is a very narrow fairway to hit from the raised tee designed to make you fear the hole a bit more. Trees and a pond run all down the right side for a penalty or lost ball. The fairway is tilted left to right. Bunkers front against the edge of the front of the green and at the back to this very skinny green. This is a hole that captures your attention and was my favorite on the back nine.

I am sure the eleventh hole gets a lot of attention, a longer par 5 that wraps around a lake to the right with a green that is set out in the water. You cannot be short nor to the right of the green or you are in the water. But I found the hole to be too similar to many other holes I have played in Florida or South Carolina

The twelfth is a long uphill par 4 that plays longer than its 440 yards. You cannot go right at any time due to the trees and the fall off. I did not care for the hole as it lacked character. It’s difficult, but relatively uninteresting.

The thirteenth is a short downhill par 4 of 310 yards with a pond on the right. Big hitters will likely try to drive the green since the green is perhaps the most difficult on the golf course given it is raised, tilted severely back to front and is even narrower in the front which barely a landing area. This is a very strategic hole demanding an excellent short game. I liked the hole.

I thought the fourteenth was a clever hole, a short par five where the tee shot must avoid the water down the left and the trees down the right. Longer hitters will try to drive over the fairway bunker to the left side of the fairway but then they are taking on the water as well. The green sits at a 90 degree angle to the hole on the left and goes right against the edge of the water.

For whatever reason, all four of us double bogeyed the long par 3 fifteenth hole, playing around 200 yards with a huge bunker complex on the right side (my downfall), another bunker center right of the green and two on the left side of the green. It is a simple hole, and one where no one should take two shots to get out of a bunker but it sometimes happens when the flag is put in the narrowest part of the green and one tries to be “perfect.” The hole did feel as if I had played it at many other golf courses. It is not a bad hole, but it is not unique.

The sixteenth, a long par 4 of 440-410 yards was much more interesting. You first have to drive over a lake, and then play into a green that is a dogleg to the right with water on the right that you must cross as well as the lake continuing down the left side all the way aside the green. The green is well protected by four bunkers although it is a pretty simple green to read.

The last time water comes into play is on the seventeenth, a short par five of 500-480 yards. You hit over water twice here. Water continues on the left side all the way to the green where the green’s left side offers no relief to the water. For the second shot, if you push your shot right it will be in bunkers that line the right side all the way to the hole. The best way to play the hole is either from the middle or left side, from the right side the third shot has to be very delicate not to end up in the water.

The eighteenth is a long par 3 of 190-210 yards playing slightly uphill with bunkers left and right to a slightly raised green tilted back to front. This is the worst hole on the golf course. I don’t have much of a bias as to finishing on a par 3, but if that is the case it should be a good hole and this is not. It needs a better green and better bunkering.

If there is a criticism of the golf course, it is that the two nines are very different, the front nine primarily having sand, being tree lined and waste areas often on both sides while the back nine incorporates the three lakes and small ponds. It is a very different feeling of the two nines. The par 3’s are relatively weak. I liked the seventh hole but thought 9 and 15 could be found almost anywhere with 18 being a hole that should be improved as a finishing hole. There are some very nice holes such as six and ten but the course feels inconsistent and visually is too much like a resort course. It is definitely worth playing once. As for the members, I am certain they enjoy it because of the heroism required on many shots.