Lonnie Poole Golf Course (Raleigh, NC)

Lonnie Poole is North Carolina State's new golf course.  Arnold Palmer's design associates Erik Larsen and Brandon Johnson designed it. Both men are graduates of NC State, so there was definitely plenty of pride and determination to make this the best college course in the triangle. (NC and Duke are the other two universities)

Lonnie Poole is a rolling hilly piece of property. Larsen and Johnson came up with a routing that had five par threes and five par fives.  The eleventh is possibly the best on the course. 

It's 665 yards long and is a three shot hole for everyone including the longest players!!  There's huge bunkers lining the fairway as you get closer to the green. And the third shot will undoubtedly have to carry the sand. The view is second to none and the Raleigh skyline is amazing!! It's an awesome hole. 

As great as eleven is, the other par fives don't elicit such reaction. They transverse the property getting the golfer around the hills, but the shots lack excitement. The first and seventh are pretty easy holes. The other two, three and fifteen, are ripe with controversy. The third is 552 yards and was originally called a par four! Plenty of room to turn the ball over and get alotta roll for a fairway metal second shot. The green though is horrible. The first third of it is a false front, so a ball that stops there will roll back off and down the hill. Myself and another player were hitting wedges into the green and balls were rolling back to our feet. Fifteen gets battered because of the drainage ponds that were put in. They were awkward looking but not overly so. I thought the pond by the green made it more interesting. 

The par threes are varied in length. The 235 yard second is a two tier green with the second half being a bowl.

Pin positions back there are very exciting! The proper shot will take the slope and curl right back towards the pin. The eighth is another good par three. I like how it plays uphill with the bunkering higher than the putting surface, thus hiding the pin. 

The rear left hole location offers the most excitement as players launch their ball up n over the sand. It's fun hole! 

I would be amiss if I didn't comment on the seventeenth. This 135 yard hole is simply not strong enough and it boggles my mind that they even put it in the routing. It's about as plain a short par three as you'll find!! Granted, eighteen is very difficult, but this is too easy for the penultimate hole. 

As for eighteen, it leads a group of strong par fours. Both eighteen and nine are very good ending holes to both nines. Nine is 490 yards while eighteen is 482 yards. Both have well guarded greens where a big number is possible if you miss in the wrong spot. 

The fourth is a gem of a short par four! It plays downhill just at the end of the ridge in the hill. This creates a spine in the green that separates the putting surface into different pinning locations. When the tees are moved up, players can give it a go! 

Twelve and thirteen are great holes too! Twelve plays downhill akin to four, but it's quite a bit longer at 472. 

There's no place to miss left or right so hitting correct club is crucial. Thirteen then plays 448 yards, bending to the right on the hillside. A large bunker forces the action to the high side. This leaves a sidehill lie to an uphill green guarded in front by another trap. Add these two holes to the aforementioned eleventh, and you get a nice set!

Lonnie Poole is regarded as probably the best public course in Raleigh. Besides being the Wolfpack's home course, it also hosts the NCAA men's regional champioships. Much of this acclaim has to be credited to the flexibility and length as it stretches to 7358 yards!! I do agree it's the best course in the Raleigh area. That being said, I feel that it missed out being a top NC destination. Too many weak holes including the obvious 17th and the par fives. (Eleventh excluded) Nonetheless, it's the course I'll be playing when I'm in the area. I give it a solid 5 (good) rating.