Tobacco Road Golf Club (Sanford, NC)

Tobacco Road made Michael Strantz a superstar in golf course design. Sure he had several well publicized courses, but Tobacco is just that much better! Everything that an architect could ever want in a piece of property is here, and Strantz designed an instant classic. 

When you get on the first tee, you immediately know you're in for something special! 

It's such an intimidating tee shot! Many people love it. And many people hate it. But everyone remembers it! When I played here, I hit hybrid three times to keep the ball in play. The longer player can carry the hill with no problem. There's a second hill that needs carried too. The green slopes away and to the back right. It all adds up to an over the top hole, but it serves it purposes as it announces to everyone they're in for a great round of golf! 

The second is a more classic hole. It's a beautiful tee shot across the sandy scrub and the approach is just a short iron. 

As shown above, a scar bunker fronts the green, but no reason to be in it. The corners are tipped so a quality shot will funnel to the middle and leave a good opportunity for birdie. 

The third is then a short par three. If there's a weakness at Tobacco, it's the par threes. The same club is being hit on three of the five. For this particular hole, a barritz green makes the shot interesting. A pin on the front tier is crazy wild. It's a very small target. Same goes for the back pin position, tho there's more room for a shot. Now the middle, or sunken tier, is very easy. We had three birdies in our foursome. The ball naturally funnels there, per the design of a barritz. Fun hole. Then we see one of Strantz favorite templates, the buttonhook par five. I've seen it at Royal New Kent, at Tot Hill Farm, and I'm not sure why he has one of these at every course. The player who challenges the sandy scrub can shave off yardage and reach this par five in two. A kickplate short of the green will gather the ball down onto the putting surface. The question in my mind, is the hazard left of the green tough enough to inflict pain if the player fails to make the carry? I kinda think it isn't. 

The fifth is one of my favorite holes and really one of the best ones here. It's a driveable uphill par four with the green straightaway, but the fairway out to right for those playing conservative. I feel that those who've had success on the previous hole, the reachable par five, kinda get goated into trying the difficult aggressive approach. The conservative approach leaves a difficult pitch across a corner of the sandy waste area.

It's a wonderful hole and birdie is well deserved! 

Six follows with a short par three. Yes it has a similar yardage to the previous one-shotter, but Strantz tried something different here. He rotated a group of tee boxes, so the green can eithe be wide or very narrow. It's a solid hole and a good birdie hole. 

The seventh begins a stretch of eight holes that are the key to a good round at Tobacco Road. This mid to long par four has a wonderfully situated green located in the sandy hillside. 

A ridge cuts across the green dividing the back from the front. It's imperative to use the slope to ones advantage when attacking the flag. 

The eighth follows with a stiff par three to another green in the hillside. 

Another slope in the middle of the green separates the pin positions. A back right flag really gets the blood flowing as it's all carry with the sandy scrub closely over the back of the green. 

The front nine ends with a strong par four. I'm hesitant however to say it's a great hole. The green is too small for the length of shot required to hit it. And the bunker guarding the right is possibly the most imposing hazard on the course. 

The pic above doesn't accurately portray just how steep the bunker is. I played a hybrid just short of the green and left myself a simple chip. The only upside... Little greens usually mean shorter birdie putts when you hit them in regulation. 

The tenth follows with a long par four that plays downhill while bending to the right around the sandy scrub. The hillside on the left usually propels the ball to the right side of the fairway. This design feature sets up a cape style shot to a green flushed against the scrub. This produces a dilemma, especially for the short hitter, whether to take on the carry or to bailout left to the short grass.

Strantz designed a great hole here! 

Eleven follows with a great par five that is somewhat the mirror image of the fourth. This do or die par five works in my opinion because the hazard fronting the green is so dangerous. 

It's over thirty feet deep and being in it means having a blind recovery shot. There's some wicked spots one can find themselves too such as being close to lip or in the long grass that borders the bunker. It's an awesome hole!! 

Twelve follows with a great par four that slides left around the sandy scrub. The aggressive line is all carry over the hazard. Strantz rewards the player willing to take the risk with a short iron approach.

Such an aggressive line is also the narrowest part of the fairway. It's a beautiful hole. Seven thru twelve is the best part of the golf course. These are classic golf holes in a great setting. 

Strantz then takes his biggest risk since the opening hole, and this too is a par five. Interestingly enough, one and thirteen are the two most photographed holes on the golf course. 

Affectionately known as "the dell" hole, the green is located in a natural bowl found between the dunes. The controversy is players can't see the green. Hitting it in two is a poor play, so many of the longer hitters don't see the point. The landing areas are wide so it all boils down to the pitch over the dunes. I think it's a cool hole. 

Fourteen is my favorite par three at Tobacco Road. 

It's a gorgeous shot over water! The green is laid out diagonally and several pin positions are wonderfully defended! Hard to see in the pic but a red barn backdrops the vista completing a mental image one remembers well after the round. 

The final four holes. At Royal New Kent and Tot Hill Farm, these were the holes that critics pointed out as being the weakest. I feel that Strantz almost falls into that same habit here too. Fifteen is very strange. It's supposed to be a split fairway with a very wide green that can be attacked from different angles. However, from the tee you can't even see the right fairway. All you see are the trees and scrub. It's a short par four too, so laying up from the tee eliminates the strategy of playing to a specific spot. 

Then at sixteen, you see a little bit of fairway and a large hill with traps cut into the base. If you've never played here then you're in for a surprise. Yes you drive the ball over the hill!! And yes you can't see the fairway!! The approach is then uphill. 

If you look at Strantz watercolors artwork, one of them is this hole. A sure indication of his love for the hole. 

Seventeen is the last of the par threes. It's another short iron shot and I would say it's the weakest one on the course. The green is sixty yards wide but it's not enough to make it that interesting. I almost think he sacrificed seventeen to take advantage of the sand quarry for the eighteenth. 

The eighteenth salvages the finish with an excellent ending hole. 

Look at that tee shot!! It's a two hundred yard carry up over the quarry wall. Just fantastic! Then the approach is between a couple sand dunes to an elevated green below the clubhouse. It's a great way to end the round on one of best public courses in the country! 

Tobacco Road is on my radar to play again. Besides being a course chocked full of adventure and great shots, it's also surprisingly affordable. That's one reason why the course is on every public golfers "must play" list. A few holes keeps it from being one of my highest rated courses but it's still a high 7 (great).