Sea Pines Plantation, SC: holds the #2 spot.
If you were to play 18 of the finest, most memorable golf holes to be found within any golf course community, which holes would they be? That's the hypothetical question we posed in creating our 2009 listing of great holes from among the communities featured on GolfCourseHome.net.
The golf in gated communities is among the purest, best-designed and most carefully crafted in the entire American portfolio. These havens of the country club lifestyle represent more than 5,000 golf holes, 300-plus courses and over 75 different golf architects—a cornucopia to choose from.
Many of the courses are highly ranked by the leading golf publications and have been crafted by the great names in golf course design. That's only part of the story, however.
Live on a Dream
The real payoff is that each of these layouts is a beloved home
course to the fortunate golfers who live around it. Whether you
play matches on its lush fairways, traverse the course on your
morning walk or simply enjoy it as a handsome background to
daily life, each one helps create an environment that that
makes everyone in the community glad that they live where they
do.
The 18 entries below each include a parenthetical denoting which hole number hole on the original course our selected hole represents. For detailed information on any of these courses or communities, just click on the highlighted name of the community.
Here is a quick list of the holes, in our Dream 18 sequence. Below the initial list you will find in-depth descriptions.
No. 1. Blackstone (1st), Peoria AZ
No. 2. Deer Brook Golf Club (9th), Shelby NC
No. 3. Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club (11th), Dade City FL
No. 4. The Georgia Club, (5th, original 18), Statham GA
No. 5. The Cliffs at Keowee Springs (7th), Six Mile SC
No. 6. Lake Ridge (16th), Cedar Hill TX
No. 7. Madison Lakes (4th), Madison GA
No. 8. Briar’s Creek (8th), John’s Island SC
No. 9. Lockwood Folly Country Club (18th), Holden Beach NC
No. 10. Stonehouse (6th), Toana VA
No. 11. Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club (4th), Ocala FL
No. 12. Belfair (6th West), Bluffton SC
No. 13. The Links at Gettysburg (3rd), Mt. Joy Township PA
No. 14. Running Y Ranch (4th), Klamath Falls OR
No. 15. The Founders Club (5th), Sarasota FL
No. 16. Heritage Todd Creek (17th), Thornton CO
No. 17. Forest Dunes (14th), Roscommon MI
No. 18. Wachesaw Plantation (18th), Murrels Inlet SC
No. 1. Blackstone (1st), Peoria AZ
Designed as a sophisticated enclave within the greater gated community of Vistancia, Blackstone tapped the uncommon design skills of Jim Engh to craft an aesthetically robust golf course that would play with great variety from one day to the next.
Members rave about Engh’s rumpled, surprise-filled layout as much as they praise Blackstone’s true country-club experience and the desert, mountain and golf course vistas from their custom and luxury homes within the community’s 588 acres of Sonoran terrain. We start this Dream 18 with the opening hole Engh uses as an emerald-green welcome mat for his Blackstone golfers. It’s certainly inviting, with a fairway nearly 70 yards wide and loaded with those famed contours. A nice drive will be rewarded with a short approach to a gently undulating green bisected by a small ridge.
No. 2. Deer Brook Golf Club (9th), Shelby NC
Deer Brook Golf Club is a master-planned golf community in
the Blue Ridge Mountain foothills, set between
Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C. and Charlotte, N.C., with easy
access to two international airports. Homesites are now
available along a parkland-style, 6,911-yard course designed
by Rick Robbins who was a lead designer for Jack Nicklaus
for five years. Lot prices here include the initiation fee
for Deer Brook G.C.
The stimulating front nine at Deer Brook closes with a handsome par-4 that can stretch to 415 yards but plays from a member-tee yardage of 378. A well-placed placed drive is crucial as the fairway slopes leftward, favoring a fade. Water lurks on the left as golfers hit to the green, which is guarded by twin traps left and right.
No. 3.
Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club (11th), Dade City FL
Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club is blessed with rippling
terrain and tall hardwoods that give a North Carolina look
amid Florida sunshine and warmth. Freshwater lakes dot the
landscape and quicken the pulse of an avid golfer. In fact,
the club's South course features the longest natural drop of
any course in the state—94 feet from tee to green on the
par-5 11th hole.
Tom Lehman, the PGA Tour pro who designed Lake Jovita South (and the North , as well), built greens with subtle, even confounding, contours. That 11th is a par-5 playing 539 yards from the blues. It hides its green behind a plateau fairway that drops suddenly to the target—backed by water and guarded left and short-right by bunkers. A tough and memorable hole.
No. 4. The Georgia Club, (5th, original 18), Statham GA
In a prime location 45 miles east of Atlanta and 10 miles
west of Athens, The Georgia Club allows an easy pace of life
made special by the quality of the service and amenities.
Central focus of the community is its 37,000-square-foot
clubhouse, which completed a major expansion and renovation
in fall 2007 to accommodate more than 340 guests. Golf here
is a 27-hole celebration of the natural rolling terrain and
tall trees that architect Denis Griffiths, a one-time
associate of Gary Player Golf Design, has so skillfully
tamed.
The original fifth hole of his Chancellors Course is a strategically compelling par-4 where any pushed or sliced tee shot flirts with water right. What really occupies the player’s thoughts on the tee is a specimen oak left in place on the fairway, down the right side about 80 yards from the front of the green. To play around this obstacle could require an imaginative shot, low and curving. Up at the green, a framing pair of sand bunkers are placed so as to add even more value to the left-side tee shot.
No. 5. The
Cliffs at Keowee Springs (7th), Six Mile SC
Envisioned as a place where you’ll receive more than just an
occasional massage or annual retreat, The Cliffs at Keowee
Springs represents a new concept in the creation of a
healthy living community where families can enjoy and
maintain a Family Wellness Lifestyle. All that wellness and
fitness is a cinch to help lower golf scores.
You’ll know it’s working if you can negotiate the dogleg on the par-4 seventh at the Tom Fazio-designed Keowee Springs Course. Ample fairway to the left of the turn bunker offers an easy target but leaves you a lengthy route to the green. To make this hole play shorter, pound your drive over that bunker and catch the downslope on the other side of it. Players should note that the approach shot over a small valley to an elevated green is better if played from the left side of the fairway.
No. 6. Lake Ridge (16th), Cedar Hill TX
Ideally located just south of Dallas/Fort Worth, Lake Ridge
is a master-planned golf community where residents enjoy a
wide array of sophisticated options for shopping, dining,
and entertainment—plus scenic beauty and high-quality
recreation. Lake Ridge is home to one of the highest
elevation points in North Texas. It offers 25-mile skyline
views of downtown Fort Worth. The community counts
7,500-acre Joe Pool Lake and Tangle Ridge Golf Club as its
prime assets.
Listed in the “Best of Texas” by Texas Golfer magazine, the Jeff Brauer-designed Tangle Ridge features 6,835 yards of exciting elevation changes, subtle greens and tree-lined fairways. Brauer’s 424-yard 16th is a par-4 with a deceptively simple appearance. Its main feature is a “Valley of Sin” in the approach area. Don't let your second shot fall into it, since a chip or putt over the this type of contour is an unusual and seldom-practiced shot.
No. 7. Madison Lakes
(4th), Madison GA
Surrounded by antebellum history in the lakes region of
central Georgia, residents of this 1,000-acre planned
community enjoy golf, tennis, hiking, horseback riding and
relaxation. Their homesites are surrounded by rolling hills,
open spaces and 60 acres of lakes and streams. The master
plan includes four miles of trails, parks, equestrian,
fitness, tennis, pools, and multiple recreation centers. At
the heart of the property is Long Shadow Golf Club, a newly
completed 18-hole championship course.
Already praised by the national golf media, the course will be complemented by a proposed executive-style layout for beginners and casual golfers. The first par-3 in our Dream 18 for 2009 is Long Shadow G.C.’s fourth hole, which can play at yardages from 115 all the way up to 239. Whatever distance you play, the strategy is to fly your tee shot into the left-front portion of green. contours will feed ball toward center. A hint: Elevation change is less than it appears, from tee to green.
No. 8. Briar’s Creek (8th), John’s Island SC
Minutes from Charleston and just moments from Kiawah Island,
Briar's Creek is a private club community with outstanding
Lowcountry golf designed by Rees Jones. The young, yet
tradition-minded community features estate homesites in a
900-acre setting composed of sweeping marshland and ancient
forest home to rare birds and wildlife.
The golf is world-class golf with zero tee times, and the hole we place in our Dream 18 is Briar’s Creek No. 8. The tee shot on this 404-yard par-4 will need your full attention. A bunker guards the left side; another lures any overdone bailout shot on the right. The green and approach are divided by a ridge into left and right halves. This is a great example of greenside bunkers that aren't overly large in size but exert a powerful effect on play because subtle ground contours will feed an iffy shot perilously toward the hazard.
No. 9. Lockwood Folly Country Club (18th), Holden Beach NC
Located on the southernmost coast of North Carolina, where
the Lockwood Folly River merges with the Intracoastal
Waterway, this 500-acre community features breathtaking
vistas of tidal estuary, moss- covered hardwoods and stately
pines. There are as river and Waterway lots and/or views
awaiting custom-home construction. The ocean, visible from
some lots, is minutes away by boat or car.
The pond to the right of the 18th green on Willard Byrd's 500-yard, par-4 finishing hole is a great example of water hazards deployed to please the eye and jangle the nerves at the same time. Already any golfer is thinking "water" as they proceed up this short (for a par-5) but serpentine fairway. That's because the hole’s backdrop is a long, luxuriant view of the Intracoastal Waterway, flecked with islands and stretching to the Atlantic.
No. 10. Stonehouse (6th), Toana VA
Located on 5,700 wooded acres in the scenic countryside
minutes west of Williamsburg, this beautifully designed
recreational community appeals to both retirees and young
executive couples. The accessibility of I-64 from Stonehouse
makes both Richmond and Newport News easy commutes. It’s a
prime location for history buffs, close to Colonial
Williamsburg, historic Jamestown and Yorktown.
An admired Mike Strantz course at Stonehouse draws in-the-know golfers from throughout the region. Named Best New Upscale Public Course in the U.S. by Golf Digest in 1996, it is known for dramatic elevation changes over rolling hills and for having some of the biggest greens in the state. We’ve picked Stonehouse’s toughest hole to include in our collection. It’s No. 6, a par-4 that plays 435 from the gold tees, 391 from the whites. This is a dogleg-right that demands a well-placed drive so the player will have as short an iron as possible into a narrow green that’s tough to hold.
No. 11. Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club (4th), Ocala FL
Golden Ocala is a 1,200-acre private community on rolling
hills in Central Florida. A 77,000-square-foot clubhouse
anchors the community, which is home to championship golf
and tennis plus a spa, fitness center and an equestrian
center that celebrates this region’s long tradition of horse
breeding and training.
No. 4 at Golden Ocala is a “tribute” hole by architect Ron Garl that transports Golden Ocala golfers to southwest Scotland via its wondrous resemblance to the so-called Postage Stamp par-3 at Royal Troon. Stand on the tee with your wedge or 9-iron and study the little hillock mounds with their thick grassy fur, alongside sharp, sculpted bunkers with flat sandy surfaces to play from. All it takes is a high, delicate pitch to find the putting surface—with Florida breezes that replicate Scottish winds rushing past you to complicate matters.
No. 12. Belfair (6th West), Bluffton SC
Belfair is a lovely combination of golden Lowcountry
landscape and a 36-hole club crafted in the golf traditions
of the Northeast. Built along the broad marshes and
waterways west of Hilton Head, this 1,100-acre Lowcountry
retreat is known for its two award-winning Tom Fazio golf
courses and amenities to suit an active, refined lifestyle.
Life at Belfair centers around a 25,000-square-foot
clubhouse with spacious and richly detailed interiors.
Luxury locker rooms with private lounges furnished in dark
wood and leather set the tone for a memorable day of golf.
On Belfair West, No. 6 is a short, well-nuanced par-4 that plays 367 from the back tee, with 359 or 341 as shorter yardage options. This is a truly unique golf hole, with two greens. Players have to be mindful of which green is in use on that day before they hit their drives, as placement and approach angle are highly influenced by the green's location.
No. 13. The Links at Gettysburg (3rd), Mt. Joy Township PA
Membership in The Links At Gettysburg offers championship
golf, fine dining, recreation, and relaxation at the
community’s Premier Clubhouse, which can accommodate up to
250 guests inside. It is designed for indoor-outdoor
entertaining, with tents and tables positioned on a
triple-tiered stone patio overlooking the 18th fairway and
green.
Your round at The Links At Gettysburg will take you up and down rolling Pennsylvania hills, with lakes and creeks on almost every hole and dramatic red rock cliffs that form the backdrop for memorable golf. One of those is the 3rd, the signature hole, a dramatic par-3 from an elevated tee to a large undulating green that fronts a red rock cliff. Hit too far and you'll find the large trap in front of the cliff. Leave it short and you'll hit the creek in front of the green. This 187-yard hole is a true test of skill.
No. 14. Running Y Ranch (4th), Klamath Falls OR
The Running Y Ranch is located in the heart of Southern
Oregon’s Cascade Range. Home to Oregon’s only award-winning
Arnold Palmer-designed golf course, the Running Y offers
luxurious accommodations, a large array of amenities and a
full roster of recreational activities. The community’s
7,138-yard, award-winning golf course offers five sets of
tees on every hole, generous fairways and fast, undulating
greens.
Palmer himself considers the track one of his best. From its fine array of holes, we select No. 4, which can be played from 409 all the way down to 325 for juniors. Golfers should note the bunkers at the end of the fairway, which will scold an overly long drive, even a straight one. And beware of water down the right side, as well.
No. 15. The Founders Club
(5th), Sarasota FL
The Founders Club, well-located an easy 20 minutes from the
Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport, is a Florida golf
community with superior cultural and recreational
advantages. The club’s 18-hole championship golf course
takes its cues from the gently rolling inland terrain. Set
against a backdrop of centuries-old oaks, pines and palms
and highlighted by a natural buffer of lush, untamed
landscape, the 7,094-yard, par 72 layout by Robert Trent
Jones, Jr. offers a dynamic route along groomed fairways,
tranquil lakes and unspoiled wetlands.
For the Dream 18, we showcase this course’s fifth hole, a medium-length par-4 that offers the opportunity to play driver for maximum distance off the tee. Longer hitters may be as bold to play for the upper level fairway off the tee, which affords the optimum approach position.
No. 16. Heritage Todd Creek (17th), Thornton CO
Built in a setting that is pure Colorado, the majestic Rocky
Mountains provide a scenic backdrop for the Heritage Todd
Creek active-adult community. Designed for active residents
age 55-plus who appreciate year-round sunshine, Heritage
Todd Creek is a private gated community and home to a
brand-new championship golf course by Arthur Hills.
For the Dream 18, we spotlight the par-3, water-guarded 17th here at Heritage Todd Creek. Now a staple of American golf, the do-or-die 17th hole with water ringing the green is well represented at Heritage Todd Creek. This one-shotter is abetted by a fairly deep and steep-faced sand bunker just short of the green. Up above the hole are mounds you can hit bailout shots into, but then comes the chip back, with water staring you in the face.
No. 18. Wachesaw Plantation (18th), Murrels Inlet
, SC
Perched on a high bluff overlooking the Intracoastal
Waterway, Wachesaw Plantation set a standard for elite but
warm-spirited club golf along the Carolina coast. Wachesaw
Plantation Club members socialize amid the natural beauty
and serenity and they compete on standout amenities,
including a Tom Fazio championship course that helped define
Fazio’s signature style.
This par-72 layout is known for both grace and drama, with ornamental grasses sprouting from atop smooth mounds and buff-colored bunkers jut into the landing areas dauntingly. The home hole at this course is a truly great finisher—not long by par-5 standards but with a green that’s guarded by intimidating pot bunkers 40 to 60 yards out and a tough-to-hold putting surface that slopes right-to-left toward the water.