Cobblestone Park Golf Club, (Blythewood, SC)

Originally called The University Club, Cobblestone Park is the home of South Carolina Gamecocks. It's not out of the question to come across coach Spurrier, or a myriad of the NFL players who've come from USC. (Sterling Sharpe was on the range when I was making the turn) 

PB Dye designed Cobblestone in 1995. It's a beautiful piece of land, with big hills, lakes, and pine forests. I want to emphasize the word hills, because 14 of the 18 holes plays uphill. That's right. I said uphill! As beautiful as the course is, it's a slog should the ground be wet or there's limited roll. While this may be okay for the golf team, average players will find themselves hitting hybrids and fairway metals into the greens. 

I want to go over a few holes on each nine that I like. Garnet is the first nine. The third is a beautiful downhill par four that doglegs right. Yes it's one of the few downhill holes. I'm not sure why PB couldn't design more holes like this. The following hole is then an uphill par three. 

It's easily forty feet uphill! I think he only designed it so the golfer would be up on the hill for the downhill par five fifth tee shot. The green on five is very interesting. It's elevated with a false front, so any short iron that catches the front and spins, can roll back down into the water. The ninth is my favorite hole on the course. It's a rollicking par five that plays across a ravine to the fairway before plunging downhill and cresting up the next hill. The second shot across the valley is quite exciting. And if you're not comfortable with it, then layup in the valley and hit a long iron in. 

The black is the second nine. It's usually the back nine, and seven, eight and nine play in view high from the clubhouse terrace. The showstopper of the nine is the par three eleventh. (It's the first picture) This downhill par three plays to a penisula green, and has been selected as one of the best in the state. The downhill par five fourteenth is also exciting. The green is angled to the left, and slopes front to back with the lower tier in the rear. Third shots or pitches n chips require great touch to get close. The last hole on this nine is an uphill par five with a high fairway and a lower fairway. They're separated by towering mounds created by digging the lower fairway. It's pretty ridiculous looking. However I'm sure all the members think it's great. 

There is a third nine here, and it constitutes a relief nine. It's called Gold. I actually had the most fun on this nine. Two is a nice drive n pitch short par four whose green sits on a ledge across a gulley. Three is a good par five that doglegs right. The banana green provides some challenging pin placements. Nine is a beautiful par three that is a great way to finish. 

Cobblestone Park is a cracking course. No one would ever confuse it as being easy or not challenging enough. Like Crickentree down the street, the hills add extra length and difficulty. I would give it a 5 rating (good) but I'm in no hurry to play it again.