Sunday, Sep. 09, 2007

Crow Creek (September 2007)

Course playable for all abilities - good, bad and in between

CALABASH, N.C. | Crow Creek's generous fairways and accessible greens make it playable for golfers of all abilities. It also has enough demanding shots, undulations on greens and length from both the back and blue tees to offer better players a challenge.

"It's a good layout that's great for all skill levels," said Rhett Graham of Wilmington, N.C., a former Myrtle Beach High and Coastal Carolina University player who took part in a course review in late August. "It's a great course to play on an everyday basis."

Rhett and I were joined by Pam Priestley of Murrells Inlet and Shane Johnson of Conway.

Rick Robbins' seven-year-old layout has a strong collection of par-3s, including three with water fronting the green, long par-5s that are difficult to reach in two shots and par-4s that generally have subtle doglegs left or right.

It was well manicured and in good condition, particularly its L93 bentgrass greens. "The course would be attractive to anyone not playing on a regular basis but wanted to get a challenge without too much frustration," Pam said.

Adding to the course's difficulty the day we played was thick and fairly unforgiving rough. Water is present somewhere on almost every hole, though there are only a few true forced carries. "It's not always in play, but it's in your mind," Shane said.

The course has open access to greens from the fairway with few exceptions, and usually has bailout areas to counteract tough shots. "It's favorable to women and seniors who can't fly it very much because the run-ups are open," Rhett said. "It's very generous around the greens, allowing players to bail out, and it allows various shot selections such as bump and run, flop shots, etc."

The course's 150-yard markers in fairways were generally a good target, though there were often other targets to select from, with the possible exception of the par-5 seventh. "The course has pretty good sight lines off the tee," Rhett said.

While the front nine has a housing development consisting of large and diverse homes, the construction hasn't reached most of the back nine yet. "I like the back nine more because of the aesthetics," Pam said. "You have more of a golf scenery. You don't have as many houses and the undulation and pompous grass define holes more."

Likes

Rhett liked the fact the holes are separated throughout the layout. "You don't have any parallel fairways," he said. He also liked the fact there are variable lengths for each hole, there are clean aiming lines off tee boxes, and each hole is quite defined.

Shane and Pam liked the wide open fairways that made the course playable for all skill levels. "It's a very woman-friendly course," Pam said. "The layout is wide open but challenging with a lot of bunkers. For a woman, if you stay in the fairway you can make a par or a bogey. It's challenging but not truly frustrating."

Dislikes

Pam wasn't fond of the native pompous grass in some of the fairway bunkers. "If you rolled your ball in there, you didn't always have a shot," she said.

Though we stopped playing because of thundershowers and nearby lightning, we did not see or hear any warnings about their presence. "They should have a siren when the lightning is in the area," Shane said.

A drainage ditch off the left side of the 17th fairway was not clearly marked as a hazard, leaving players wondering what to do if they hit a ball in it. "It's tough to interpret hazards because hardly any are marked," Rhett said.

Shane was disappointed the course did not have a beverage cart on a high temperature day, though there were water coolers on a few holes and the ranger had water.

Par-3s

The par-3s measure between 169 and 208 yards from the back tees, and between 142 and 195 from the blue. "The par-3s were very long from the blue tees," Shane said.

The first three par-3s have carries over water - the 169-yard 13th has a bulkhead at the green - while the 208-yard 16th has a myriad of waste bunkers and greenside bunkers to avoid. Like most of the course's holes, bailout areas are available. "The par-3s out here are pretty good," Rhett said. "They offered variable yardage. I hit 4- through 7-iron."

The 200-yard sixth hole has a bunker fronting the green and water that increases in length the further right it goes. The 193-yard eighth is among the most attractive holes on the course with cypress trees in a water hazard that must be carried and a hunting and fishing cabin to the right of the water. A small pine just a few feet in front of the back tee box obscures most of the left half of the green.

"I've heard of working the ball but this is a joke," Rhett said. "I've never played a hole where I had to work a ball that much off a tee. There should be a clown's mouth or something up there, too. There's nothing illegal about it, it just throws you for a loop when you get up there and half the green is blocked by a tree."

Par-4s

The course starts with a pair of well-bunkered but straightforward par-4s. They measure between 368 and 439 yards, though all but two are more than 400. "The par-4s have good variety, and they're trouble if you don't hit it straight down the middle," Pam said.

From the blue tees, the holes measure between 366 and 412 yards. "The 150-yard markers are reachable from the blue tees," Shane said.

Water is prevalent on many of these holes. The 424-yard fourth turns gently to the right around water, while the 386-yard fifth has a drive over water and an abrupt turn to the left along the remainder of the hazard. The 368-yard 11th hole is a dogleg left that should leave no more than a full wedge to the green and is the best birdie opportunity among the par-4s. "Numerous doglegs offer risk-reward possibilities," Rhett said.

The 14th, 15th and 17th holes have either bunkers or water lining nearly one entire side of their fairways.

Par-5s

The par-5s are difficult to reach in two but are all potential birdie holes because of very accessible greens, with the exception of the 18th green, which has a bunker on the front left and small bunkers left and right.

"They are good holes for scoring," Shane said. "They're not too long and well-placed shots could net birdies."

The 545-yard third hole is a dogleg left that Rhett said is reachable in two "in dry conditions." The 574-yard seventh hole is still 533 from the white tee and has a drive landing area narrowed by bunkers, and the 562-yard 12th is a dogleg right that has water pinching the fairway between 135 and 80 yards from the green. "The 12th has a challenging layup second shot," Rhett said.

The course ends with a 538-yard par-5. "It's good for a tournament to end on a par-5 because a lot can happen on a par-5," Rhett said. "If you want excitement, end on a par-5. It's more grinding to end on a par-4."

Favorite holes

Pam liked the par-3 eighth, which measured 106 yards from the red tee and had a pair of cypress trees in the water in front of the tee to maneuver. "The challenge was to thread the tee shot through two trees," said Pam, who also liked holes 5 through 7, particularly because she made par on all three.

Rhett liked the 208-yard, par-3 16th because it is tree-lined and the front bunker deceives the player visually, and the 429-yard, par-4 ninth hole because a large tree frames the hole well and the green fits well into the landscape."

Shane also liked the eighth hole, largely because of its visual appeal.

Least favorite holes

Pam's least favorite hole was the par-5 12th hole, which measured 434 yards from the red tee. "There's lots of trouble to be found on the left side in order to avoid the water on the right."

Rhett did not think the 574-yard, par-5 seventh hole was visually appealing, had anything to aim at off the tee or that anything really defined the hole.

Shane's least favorite hole was the 411-yard, par-4 17th. "The condos on the left take away from the feel of an open fairway," he said.