Sawmill Creek is located in Huron, just a pitching wedge away from the shores of Lake Erie. It's the only course in Ohio to be so close to the water, tho in reality, the course is intertwined more with the watersheds than with the lake itself. 
Being in such an environment, the abundance of wildlife that is encountered during the round gives Sawmill a "walk in the park" feeling.
Being in such an environment, the abundance of wildlife that is encountered during the round gives Sawmill a "walk in the park" feeling. Sawmill is a Tom Fazio course, and the two defining features are the greens, and the capricious winds. Being on the lake, the wind is always present. The greens are large built up pads. The putting surfaces are shaped atop of them and the bunkers are cut into the pads too. 
As you can see in the pic of the tenth hole, the left and the front bunker are both higher than the green. Hit an errant shot, and if it's not in the trap, then it's usually on the slope of the pad. 
It's very challenging chipping and pitching from an uphill lie. Sometimes the ball needs to stop very quickly, and other times it needs to roll to the flag. All the greens at Sawmill are like this.
As you can see in the pic of the tenth hole, the left and the front bunker are both higher than the green. Hit an errant shot, and if it's not in the trap, then it's usually on the slope of the pad. It's very challenging chipping and pitching from an uphill lie. Sometimes the ball needs to stop very quickly, and other times it needs to roll to the flag. All the greens at Sawmill are like this. The repetition doesn't stop just there. Fazio has a couple stretches of holes that are similar to each other too. The first, second, tenth, and eleventh holes are parallel, and they essentially are the same hole, tree lined straightaway par fours. 
The twelfth is an extension of this except wetlands take the place of the trees, guarding both left and right sides of the fairway. 
This view of the twelfth green shows both the beauty of Sawmill Creek, and the built up green pad that Fazio incorporated.
This view of the twelfth green shows both the beauty of Sawmill Creek, and the built up green pad that Fazio incorporated. Four of the last five holes all play parallel to each other, with only the beautiful par three seventeenth being memorable. 14, 16, and 18 are pretty close to being the same hole! They're dogleg right par fours with the tee back between the reeds, and the green protected by bunkers short left and right.
The par threes are the highlight of the course! 
Here is the fourth, a cute lil one shotter that plays alongside the creek. The wind usually blows against, which really brings the water into play. 
This is the seventh. It's a good par three that plays close to two hundred yards. It's hard to discern in the pic, but the green is elevated, and all the vegetation leads to a creek that flows short of the green. The thirteenth is the pic at the beginning of the blog. It's a great par three over wetlands. When you're looking at it from the tee, the slope of the putting surface really stands out because it's almost facing you! Don't be long on that hole! Then seventeen is the final par three. It's also over a wetland, but the green is a bit more hidden, so it's common to overclub and be long. I wish I had a picture of it.
Here is the fourth, a cute lil one shotter that plays alongside the creek. The wind usually blows against, which really brings the water into play. This is the seventh. It's a good par three that plays close to two hundred yards. It's hard to discern in the pic, but the green is elevated, and all the vegetation leads to a creek that flows short of the green. The thirteenth is the pic at the beginning of the blog. It's a great par three over wetlands. When you're looking at it from the tee, the slope of the putting surface really stands out because it's almost facing you! Don't be long on that hole! Then seventeen is the final par three. It's also over a wetland, but the green is a bit more hidden, so it's common to overclub and be long. I wish I had a picture of it. Other than the par threes, the only hole that stands out is the par four sixth. 
Standing on the back tee, the drive is a real ass kicker. There's not much room for error!!
Standing on the back tee, the drive is a real ass kicker. There's not much room for error!! And that's one of the real issues with Sawmill. It's a windy site, windy location, yet it's a tight golf course. Sometimes when the wind is blowing, it's not a very playable golf course. I've played in a few tournaments here, and the winning score is never that low. In reality, Sawmill is only a 4 (above average). But the course is usually in great shape, it's an easy walk, it has beautiful scenery, and it's in an ideal location. (Cedar Point is just down the street.)
No comments:
Post a Comment