Sand Hollow Links Course Detail
This writeup is from the White tees, which are 3206 yards, a little shorter than the white tees on the Championship course, but basically in the same ballpark. The overall character of the course is similar to the Championship course -- emerald fairways carved out of the desert, some forced carries, but basically fair if you're playing from the right tees.
The first hole is a wide-open, what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of a hole. There's a little bit of a forced carry to an impossibly wide fairway, and a green with some bunkers in front. It's a short hole (304 yards) but there's basically no reason not to use your driver. Hit a driver somewhere (anywhere) in the fairway to set up a wedge shot over the bunkers.
The second hole is basically similar to the first with the addition of a stone wall across the end of the junk. That makes the forced carry a little bit longer, but still the same basic strategy: Driver, short iron.
#3 is a par 5. The forced carry off the tee is a bit deceptive because the fairway slopes away from you on the left, meaning that it's easy to come up a little short. To be safe, stay to the right half of the fairway off the tee.
#4 is a par 3 with a narrow choke point in front, which will make it tricky to roll one on. Take an extra club and make sure you fly over all the trouble.
#5 brings another stone wall into the picture. This one is triangular. It takes what is basically a straightaway hole, and disguises it as a dogleg right. Yes you can certainly fly the wall, but how much to bite off? 'Cuz if you don't fly it, you'll probably lose it in the junk. My advice is not to get too agressive. Aim for those bunkers on the left.
#6 is another par 3, this one an exercise in target golf. There is no fairway. If you can't get the ball up in the air, you're screwed. There's a drop zone over the junk on the left side of the green.
#7 is a long par 4 (420 yards). You need a really good drive, and then a really good second shot with a long iron or hybrid. There's trouble in front of the green, so if you don't get an ideal drive, you'll have to lay up and play for bogey. Yes, this is the hardest hole on the nine.
#8 is a classic optical illusion hole. It looks like a 600 yard par 5 because it's really flat and doglegs to the right around a patch of junk. In fact, it's only ("only", he says) a 376 yard par 4. It doesn't change the fact that you need a high quality drive over the corner of the junk in order to set up a decent second shot. But this hole can be had.
The closing hole actually is a really long hole. It's 528 yards. It too can be had, but you need a solid drive, and a solid second shot to set up your approach. Yes, there's trouble in front of the green. Great closing hole!
This is a really nice course with a reasonable replay rate if you play the Championship Course in the morning. By all means stick around and play it!
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