Glade Springs Cobb Course (Daniels, WV)

For all the guys who go to Carolina for a spring golf trip, if you're looking for a pit stop on the way home, I recommend playing golf at Glade Springs. 

(The par three third plays over a valley to a well bunkered green. From the tips, it is over 240 yards long. The Cobb Course hosts the Monday qualifier for the PGA Tour's Greenbrier Open.) 

The Cobb Course is one of three at Glade Springs. It was designed in 1972 by George Cobb, featuring rolling terrain, several water hazards, beautiful bunkering, and greens with multiple pinning locations. Off the tee, the golfer is encouraged to open his shoulders and drive the ball with confidence. The challenge comes on the approach shots. The heavily bunkered greens protect the pin at every corner, and with multiple slopes bleeding in from the sand, the putting can be just as treacherous. They're large greens too so count on having a half dozen thirty to forty footers. 

(The par four fourth is an excellent example of the movement in the fairway.) 

(The long par four tenth doglegs left to a gorgeous green site.) 

The front nine has a nice three hole stretch, 3-5, that occupies rolling terrain. The other holes on this side are relatively flat, and I was thinking it was a typical resort course. The back nine changed quickly with ten, a dogleg left with a slightly elevated green framed by bunkers. (The bunkering really stands out at the Cobb Course!) The back nine builds on this, and takes advantage of the ponds and rollingness to create solid holes. It definitely gets the adrenalin flowing better than the front. 

(The par three seventeenth is uphill with a large bunker directly in front of the green. The back tier is a small tongue that fits between the far left and right bunkers. A three is a great score!) 

Glade Springs checks a lot of boxes;  it's in great shape, has a good restaurant, and is within 15 mins of I-77. It fits nicely as the halfway point from Carolina, which is another check point for me, even more so since West Virginia is not a hotbed for golf. I give Cobb a 5 (good)(worth driving one hour). 

(Eighteen is a rollicking par five that plays uphill, across a valley, and back uphill to an elevated well bunkered green. It's reachable in two, but the green is large, so finding a preferred yardage maybe the best choice. It's a very exciting finisher!) 

Dormie Club (West End, NC)

Pulling into Dormie Club, one would be forgiven if he was skeptical that he was bout to play one of the top 100 courses in the country. The clubhouse is so small that it would barely register on a realty listing, and the parking lot consists of parking between pine trees. 

(The 312/298 yard third has an excellent green. The pin in this pic is delicately placed, with a steep slope in front and sand guarding the rear.) 

While first impressions are generally a good indicator of what's to follow, Dormie Club exceeds such expectations in every regard. From the texture and color, to the massive landforms, Coore and Crenshaw attack the property in a way that demands strategic planning and expert shotmaking. Quite simply, golf is the primary focus!  

(The opening hole is a good introduction. The wide fairway and large green should offer a nice opportunity to make par. The crossbunker in pic doesn't really come into play.) 

The greens dictate the strategy at Dormie. One must decide constantly the best line, or best shot. It's not always apparent at first glance. Sometimes this means playing away from the hole and letting the contours bring the ball in. 

This pic of the third green shows several interesting pin locations. I have to think being short of any of them leaves a realistic chance for par, while aggressive shots can be frought with a very difficult putt. 

The landforms are large here! For me, that's what stood out the most. It's a very hilly piece of property, and so blind and semiblind shots are prevalent throughout. This was originally a private club, thus members would "learn" all the nuances associated with each hole. I like the word nuance. It's a good reflection of the architecture. 

(I'm not sure you can shoot directly at the green at four. Most shots are aimed at the left, and allowed to trundle onto the putting surface.) 

(The 236/206 yard seventh has slope left that can feed a ball onto the putting surface too, however, an aggressive shot on a direct line is also available.) 

(The long par four eighth, 488/472 yards, plays up over a hill. If the drive can reach the top with a right to left shape, then it will bound down the other side. The second shot can then take advantage of the right to left slope by the green. A short hitter will have to make par the hard way, an up n down from the fairway.) 

I loved Dormie Club's par threes! They were my favorite holes. As a set, they range from 236 yards to 118 yards, and rotate in a way that visually, one is seeing four completely different shots. 

(The uphill ninth is only 167/147 yards, but the two bunkers short make the green look very small. The pin in the pic is on a tiny tier, and two bunkers in rear,  guard this hole location. The hole actually plays across the slope of the hill, making this even visually more attractive.) 

(The green is so small on the twelfth, only 118/108 yards, that it is barely visible in pic. It has great internal movement in it, and if the ball isn't within ten feet of the cup, then just two putting becomes the goal.) 

(This is my kinda hole! Bunkered on the sides but open in the front. At 198/178 yards, it's a solid mid to long iron shot. It was also my only birdie.) 

I was reading how Coore routed the golf course, basically walking around with a topo map, and marking the spots where the tees and greens were going to be. Length and par is not what concerned him, but rather he was more interested in quality shots. How else would you explain the massive par five tenth, a 653/632 yard downhill, dogleg left that plays around a waste area? Never have I felt a bogey was a good score! 

(Considering that the third shot is likely from 200 plus yards, it's amazing the fall off and treacherous contour in the green.)

Then there's the fifteenth, 379/360 yards, a cape style dogleg right played across a scrub filled valley.  

(From the tee, the green can be seen on the far right. This is important to note because playing left of the fairway bunkers or taking a conservative line will leave a blind shot into the green...

...the view from behind the green. Note the slope rolling into the putting surface. This is nuance at it's best since several plays are needed to determine the appropriate strategy.) 

The 497/489 yard seventeenth "Hell's Half Acre" hazard is a late round stunner! It's not a long par five, but looking at the collage of sand and native grass, one thinks twice bout challenging with a wood shot. 

(The uphill second shot is very intimidating. Laying up is the more prudent play...

...this view from behind shows just how much uphill the hole plays. The green is modest by Dormie standards, so a successful shot that finds the surface is rewarded with a chance for eagle.) 

Dormie Club's influence on the golf world has already been felt. After opening in 2010, the visual beauty of the fairways transitioning directly into the rough and waste areas made an impression on the folks from Pinehurst, and the decision was made to incorporate that look at #2 for the 2014 US Open. It speaks volumes that Crenshaw and Coore's vision was the catalyst for that choice, and more importantly, it reintroduced the kind of golf that made the Sandhills one of the great places to play the game. 

(The beautiful eighteenth hole is surround by scrub and sand as the modest clubhouse sits in the background. The hole is only 420/410 yards, but the green has multiple pinning locations to challenge the approach.) 

The Dormie Club is public for now, but I wouldn't be surprise if it became private sometime in the future. I highly recommend playing here! I give an 8 (excellent)(worth a weekend visit). 

(The 421/396 yard eleventh is one of the few dogleg rights. It plays up a modest hill with the green in view from the tee. The inclination is to drive it down the right, but the approach from that angle will be all carry over sand.) 

12 Oaks Golf Club (Holly Springs, NC)

This is the second Jack Nicklaus course I have played, the first being North Palm Beach CC back in January, and I found it to be very difficult. This surprised me very much because the member who took me  is a high handicapper, and I imagine, cannot post a legitimate eighteen hole score since he's picking up so much. 

(View of eighteen green from sixteenth. The bulkhead wraps around all but the right half of the green.) 

There are water hazards on seventeen holes, deep bunkers, and greens that offer very little respite if you miss them. In other words, it's a big boy golf course. It's a huge draw for the housing community the course resides in, and I feel the overall goal maybe to lure the Champions Tour over from Prestonwood CC. 

(The uphill par four fourth is a tremendous hole, with the entire left side flanked by a hazard.) 

(Golfers have a couple options on the short par four sixth. A drive straightaway which sets up a short iron over the creek and sand, or, for the long hitter, drive it to the upper fairway seen on the right, and leave a clear approach to the pin.) 

Nicklaus design associate John Cope was the architect on site. Both sides start in the valley before climbing up a hill and then back down to finish in the valley. 

(The 204/179 yard third is a nice par three with plenty of room short and left to bailout. The white sand does a wonderful job contrasting with the other colors.) 

It's a solid routing, and visually, it's as beautiful as most Carolina hills courses. My issue was all the wetland and unkempt areas throughout the course. My host kept saying if you don't hit the fairway then you're going to lose a lot of balls. And he was not kidding! There's slope to deal with too, demanding a drive down the proper side of the fairway. 

The greens are another story! Many of them have falloffs, and a mishit will kick far and away. There is a proper place to miss, but the recovery from those spots require an expert short game.  

(View of eight green from nine tee. The high spot is rear left, with the green sloping right. The pin in pic, back right, has a fall off behind it, making it a dicey proposition to get close.) 

(The uphill twelfth is a short par four. The green is nearly surrounded by sand, making the uphill lie approach even more difficult.) 

12 Oaks is a beautiful course! That part is undeniable. It's this reason why the course and facility are so popular. In fact, we played on a Sunday afternoon, and the range was packed with golfers of all ages. It was great to see. 

(The beautiful eleventh is an excelllent par three over water.) 

(Don't miss right on the par three fifteenth.) 

(One of my favorite holes is the par four sixteenth. I like the serenity of the green site, and how it accepts high and low shots.  Wish this concept was employed at the other holes.) 

12 Oaks is in good shape, and an invite shouldn't be too hard, especially now that the housing market is back on it's feet, and the club is connected to the community. North Carolina has plenty of great courses, so there's no reason to go too far out of the way to play this one. I give it a 5 (good)(worth driving one hour). 

 (The approach into eighteen green is all carry. The drive must be well struck to have a comfortable iron for the second shot. Note the internal contours, especially the rear portion, where pin in picture is on a small tier. I reckon four is a good score.)