Hole By hole

FRONT 9

 

Pro Tip:This has a generous landing area for your first two shots and allows you to warm up a bit. Keeping these shots left avoids the hazards to the right and leaves you with a short iron/pitch from a spot nearly level with the sloping green. You can also bump it in. Matching par 5 is a good start.

 

Par HCP
5 16/6 513 499 435 435
5 16/6 513 499 435 435

This is a challenging par 3, particularly with an adverse wind. It plays its full yardage if you shoot directly for the green. A safer play is one club less, aimed to the slope just left of the green. The ball will feed down to the putting surface.

Par HCP
3 10/16 184 158 128 128
3 10/16 184 158 128 128

Pro Tip:The third hole is a tough par 5, normally into the wind. Keep your tee shot centre/left as there is a bunker to the right. A long lay-up second will put you to the corner of the dogleg right. Try to keep it under the hole due to the severe slope. Be grateful for a par and move on.

Par HCP        
5 2 585 557 483 483
5 2 585 557 483 483

Pro Tip:A classic risk/reward hole. The conservative play is a 200 yard lay-up short of all the hazards, leaving a tricky mid-iron to a deep green that slopes left. The alternative is to blast away with a wood, avoiding the side hazards, to be left with only a simple pitch and a shot at birdie. Members love to par this hole.

Par HCP        
4 4 383 374 299 299
4 4 383 374 299 299

Pro Tip:This is a great driving hole but don’t overdo the hook. The green is set up for an approach from the right side. You may wish to favour the right side of the green on your approach. Left is jail; to the right side is an easy chipping area. Fairway sloping and the elevated green make par a good score here.

Par HCP        
4 6/10 363 339 249 249
4 6/10 363 339 249 249

Pro Tip:A green angling left makes this par 3 a challenge in club selection. Front right corner plays two clubs under stated yardage. Try to remember which way the wind was blowing on the first hole and refer to the map as a wind indicator.

Par HCP        
3 12/8 149 139 132 132
3 12/8 149 139 132 132

Pro Tip:The par 4 seventh is another great driving hole. Keep the drive left and be rewarded on the approach. With a left pin there is a mound in the green to be negotiated. Don’t leave the green without a peek at the panorama of the islands off Chester.

Par HCP        
4 8/14 378 356 264 264
4 8/14 378 356 264 264

Pro Tip:This pretty little short hole is made into whatever challenge the wind offers. If the pin is up front, try to leave yourself under the hole, as the slope here is quite dramatic. The eighth hole is a birdie opportunity.

Par HCP        
3 18 125 118 106 106
3 18 125 118 106 106

Pro Tip:The ninth is a straightforward par 4, if you keep your tee shot anywhere in the narrow fairway. Right is a water hazard; left, you’ll risk being blocked out by the trees. Remember on your approach that this innocent looking green has more depth than it appears. Front to back is three clubs distance.

Par HCP        
4 14/12 348 348 338 298
4 14/12 348 348 338 298

BACK 9

Pro Tip:The tenth hole is a terrific par 4. A slight fade off the tee fits the gentle right dogleg and prevents being blocked out by the left trees. This leaves a long uphill approach that is more carry than you think. Use an extra club. A classy golf hole where par is great.

Par HCP        
4/5 7/13 394 387 333 387
5 7/13 394 387 333 387

Pro Tip:First comes a tricky tee shot. If you can’t carry 210 yards, then you should aim left of the trap. A long iron second will find the wide but shallow green. Better on the left for an easy chip or short in the grass bunkers than long. Par is hard won here on this fine hole.

Par HCP        
4 1 404 391 332 332
4 1 404 391 332 332

Pro Tip:The twelfth hole is a slightly uphill par 3, which plays one club longer than stated yardage. The green is a full three clubs in depth, so choose carefully. The tee points well to the right so align yourself accordingly. Accept a par on this one.

Par HCP        
3 13/17 174 165 124 124
3 13/17 174 165 124 124

Pro Tip:Long hitters may avoid the right waste area by hugging the left side. A more conservative play is to tee up with a long iron/fairway wood, keeping short of the trouble. The approach to the well bunkered elevated green is tough. An option is to leave it short and chip close.

Par HCP        
4 9 382 369 325 325
4 9 382 369 325 325

Pro Tip:This short par 4 is another risk/reward hole. It’s possible to drive this green, but you must carry the ditch at 215 yards. Another play is a lay-up followed by a short iron to a generous green. A birdie opportunity.

Par HCP        
4 17/15 302 291 279 279
4 17/15 302 291 279 279

Pro Tip:The fifteenth is a double dogleg par 5. The tee shot can be a lay-up iron short of the hazards 200 yards out, or a driver threading between or over. The second shot should favour the right side to allow an open shot to a heavily bunkered plateau green with rolling slopes.

Par HCP        
5 3/11 539 520 456 401
5 3/11 539 520 456 401

Pro Tip:This is the longest par 3 on the course. You can go with enough club to carry the front slope of the green and the two large bunkers, or land short of the slope and bounce it in. Par is a good score here.

Par HCP        
3 15 189 172 156 141
3 15 189 172 156 141

Pro Tip:The seventeenth is a great, short par 4. Trees on the left block you out, and only right centre allows a shot up the length of the green. You can play off the tee with a long iron for position, or blast away with a driver. The green is firm and subtle. Another good par.

Par HCP        
4 11/7 338 321 280 280
4 11/7 338 321 280 280

Pro Tip:The finishing hole provides drama, particularly from the back tee. The perfect tee shot calls for a fade off the trap to fit the dogleg right. The second is a short iron approach across the marsh to a green sloping sharply from back to front. This is a birdie opportunity.

Par HCP        
4 5/3 328 317 301 301
4 5/3 328 317 301 301