You must fit your tee shot between two fairway bunkers. Shots fired directly at a back pin will likely go long over the green and result in a tough pitch. There is a more decided slope in the middle of the green that will help get shots, like mine, back to that pin. I thought I was going to have a long putt, but upon arriving at the putting surface I discovered that the green is tilted slightly from front to back and right to left. Having never played here I aimed at the middle of the green. The pin was on the left side of the green. Many of the bunkers flash with scruffy grass framing the edges.įavorite holes: I loved the Redanish par-3 fourth hole. Rather, you need to be accurate with approach shots, or balls will be funneled or repelled away from the pin, but not necessarily off the green. Maxwell’s magical green complexes are on full display. With par being 70, it allows for a sub-80 round despite some early big numbers. The back nine is more forgiving and imminently more scoreable. You can miss short right like I did, but still face a daunting chip. Under club and your ball might carom off the rock formations. Miss short left and you are probably rolling back into the hazard. If you still have any wits left, they will likely be spent on the approach shot at the par-5 sixth, which plays dramatically uphill to a wildly undulating green.

There is a brief respite at the par-3 fourth hole if you know how to play it (more on that in a moment), that leads into maybe the toughest hole on the course: the par-4 fifth. Next is a 600+-yard par 5, followed by another 400+-yard par 4 uphill and into the fan. The first plays more than 400 yards from the blue tees uphill and into the wind.

There are no gentle handshake opening holes. Famed architect Perry Maxwell comes out punching from the opening tee shot and you just have to stay off the ropes and hope your score doesn’t get knocked out by the turn.

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