Thunderbird Hills South (Huron, OH)

My buddy believes this is the best conditioned public golf course in Ohio. It’s located on sandy soil above the Huron River and plays firm and fast. The Palmer family takes excellent care of it, closing the first week of October and reopening the first week of April. It was designed to give Thunderbird 36 holes so it can accommodate all the golfers visiting Cedar Point, Kalahari and Great Wolf Lodge, and Put-in-Bay. It has been a resounding success and I would venture to say it’s the premier course in this area. 

(The 445 yard eighteenth is the longest par four and the best hole at the South. The creek and pond are at a distance where a poor drive or a strong wind will bring them into play. A four is an excellent score!) 

The CGA used to play the two man scramble at Thunderbird every year and I can recall when the South first opened. It has matured into a very beautiful parkland course with great views of the Huron River on several holes. There’s no bunkers except for the par three third and it is playable for everyone. It has a good mix of short and long holes. At first glance, it seems like an easy track, and the lack of blow up holes might even give one an extra boost of confidence, yet the course will prove to be a challenge due to its vexing greens. They’re pitched or sloped to a side so a particular shot shape might not hold and roll off. There’s always the option to play for the fat of the green, but those same slopes make downhill putts tough to gauge. Also the longest par fours, mainly 9,11,18, play into the prevailing wind. Par on these three holes will be good scores! 

(The 320 yard par four fourth is a birdie hole if you find the fairway off the tee. Enjoy the view of the river as you stroll to your ball.) 

(The 120 yard par three seventh is not as easy as it looks especially when it’s windy. The water is right in your face and playing to the back of the green will leave difficult a difficult putt…

…I love the view looking down the water as it crosses eight, nine, and eighteen.)

(The 210 yard par three third is the only hole on the river. From the up tees it’s a very pleasant hole, but when playing it’s full length, a four would be a fine score.) 

As a single digit handicap, I view anything over 75 as a bad day. Half the holes are legitimate birdie opportunities and on only four holes will par be challenging to obtain. This formula, along with the great conditions, makes Thunderbird South a very popular golf course. A chance to shoot a career round is definitely possible especially for mid or high handicappers, or those trying to break 80 for the first time. While I recognize it’s superb conditions, I don’t feel it has enough shots to draw me from an hour away. Regardless, it’s tee sheets are full and the summertime draw of rollercoasters and partying makes this a fun day out with family and friends. I give it a 4 (above average)(worth driving 30-45 minutes to play). 

(The 180 yard par three fifteenth has the best view on the course…
…take heed not to go long as the terrain slopes into the hazard. A three is a good score.) 

(The 310 yard par four seventeenth doglegs slight left. One can cut off yardage and take it right down the left tree line. I’ve seen players drive it so eagle is in play.) 

Capitol Hill - Judge - RTJ Trail (Prattville, AL)

The Judge is a fantastic golf course and deserves to be considered as one of the top 100 public courses in America. It has a terrific setting and owns the most spectacular view you’ll see on a course. Gazing out over the river valley on the first tee, you’ll make out the Montgomery skyline before focusing on the 200’ drop to a fairway squeezed by the Alabama River to the right and backwaters left. The hole plays on a narrow spit of land with the green at the end. 

RTJ sr’s design philosophy is not held in high esteem as many of today’s pundits call it too penal. In an era where everyone wants options and a viable path to success, the Judge does the opposite. It demands power, accuracy, and execution. If one is able to do all three, then par is the reward. A birdie requires excelling in one of them. Regardless of how well you play, you’ll definitely remember the shots you’re required to hit. 

(The par three third reminds me of Coore/Crenshaw’s Dormie Club fourth green. The way it sits on the hill with a high left to back right bias demands that one favors the left side. It’s a cool feeling watching the ball feed to back hole location.) 

(The par four fifth has a carry off the tee and then another one into the green. A fronting bunker hides the putting surface and is a solid eight to ten feet deep. Plenty of room to take an extra club.) 

The Judge does a great job taking advantage of its setting. It’s in a river basin and doesn’t shy away from the water. In fact, it comes into play on fourteen holes. It has an island green, a peninsula fairway, and a bevy of forced carries. It’s exactly what you would want and expect on piece of property like this. Take a look at the par threes! They are all over water. The sixth is an island green with different bowls and ridges defining the pinning areas. Same thing on twelve and sixteen. Twelve is over the corner of the lake and sixteen is a peninsula green extending out to an uncomfortable length. 

(The island green sixth can play up to 229 yards. It’s actually an oversized island so there’s plenty of room but big misses will get wet.)

(The par three twelth plays over the corner of the river but today it looks like a lake due to the swelling rain. Note the tree directly in front of the tee. It’s a beautiful shot hit to a handsome green built into the hillside.) 

(The par three sixteenth is terrific! When the pin is on the left, nothing stops one from taking dead aim, but when it moves further to the right, the shot is suddenly stretched out to unnerving proportion. Note the back tee can be extended to 256 yards!!) 

The greens had a nice variety to them. Some were heavily manufactured with fortress like features. Very little could be seen on those putting surfaces as bunkers and elevation took away the sight lines. Other greens were low key with smaller mounds “holding” them. These greens could be accessed through the air and on the ground. There were a few shelved greens too where they were place on natural high spots on the property.  

(The par five seventh has a fantastic drive over water to a peninsula fairway. The tee box is connected to the island green sixth, situated where no one needs to worry about errant tee shots…
…it’s a long par five that may take an extra stroke to reach if into the wind or a one hits a careless shot. From the tips, this is a brutal 675 yards!) 

Like Ross Bridge in Birmingham, the Judge has Kyle Berkshire type length playing to a 7,813 yards. Three par fives play over 600 yards (the tenth is a mind boggling 711 yards). While there are no par fours in the 500 yard range, three of the four par threes are 229 yards or longer. Of course there are five sets of tees to make it playable for everyone. We played a makeshift combo of orange and white tees since 6500 is too long and 5900 is too short. 

(The par four ninth plays into a bowl shaped valley before ascending to a perched green above. Note the extended bunkering to thwart long hitters from being too aggressive off the tee.) 

Of the five courses we played on the RTJ Trail, this was the overwhelming favorite. It has an incredible setting punctuated by great holes and memorable shots. It’s not marketed as the premier course but definitely deserves that distinction. The wildlife found on the river adds to atmosphere (there’s gators here to my surprise) and the day we played it, a huge fishing tournament was taking place. All of this adds up to fantastic day on the course. I give the Judge a 7 (great)(worth driving 3-4 hours to play). The only thing that holds it back from being higher is the last hole which looked like it was an afterthought. 

(The final hole is a short par four with a waterfall fronting the green. Driver is taken out of your hand, and players can still hit a short iron. In my opinion, it is the only weakness on a stellar course…
…to the right of the green is this wooden bridge. Remember the first tee has a 200’ drop! 

Capitol Hill - Senator- RTJ Trail (Prattville, AL)

Located fourteen miles north of Montgomery, Capitol Hill is a mega golf complex sporting 54 holes. One central clubhouse serves all three courses and with all the days participants gathering in one spot, the interaction of groups and individuals gives it a high energy vibe. 

The Senator stands out among the trail courses as a modern day faux links.  It has huge containment mounds draped in high grass and 160 pot bunkers. The greens are sloped or tilted as opposed to being a series of bowls and plateaus. This makes it more strategic since you can bailout or cheat to a side and have a reasonable opportunity to secure par. The pot bunkers are well placed and there’s plenty of interesting pin positions to challenge the better player.

(The par four third has a gorgeous green guarded by two pot bunkers. The back to front slope should give you confidence to fire at the flag.) 

The LPGA called the Senator home for six years hosting the Navistar Classic from 2007-2012. Maria Hjorth from Sweden won the first edition (-14) before Lorena Ochoa went back to back in 2008-2009 (-15)(-18). Catherine Hull went deep in 2010 (-19) followed by Lexi Thompson’s age shattering win (-17) when she was only 16 years old! Stacey Lewis was the final winner in 2012 (-18). The course is susceptible to good scores if one is playing well. Much of that is tributed to the greens. The putting surfaces are beautiful and there’s an opportunity to make putts here. 

(Look how low key the green is. Only a ridge in the middle defends this pin position.) 

(This is another green that shows the lack of internal contouring. If one can hit it within fifteen feet, then the reward is a makeable putt.) 

The Senator is very different than what is usually found in Alabama and is one reason why it is so popular in Montgomery. Up here in the Midwest, especially over in the Indianapolis area, this style is more prevalent. I feel like I’ve seen many courses like this the past few years. Purgatory is the first one that comes to mind. When a course is completely manufactured and the architect has ultimate control, I look more critically at the design features. First and foremost, the par threes should be engaging, and secondly, there should be a wide variety of holes. The one shotters at Senator are all very well done. Three of them are placed atop mounds with a pot bunker short. I especially like the twelth where the up tee has a fantastic view while the tips are lower with a blind shot. In terms of variety, Rulewich failed to design a short par four. Most are mid length with a few long ones sprinkled in. The most memorable hole is the par five seventeenth. It’s a dogleg left with a water hazard crossing the tee and meandering across the fairway further down where the golfer must decide to carry it short of the fairway traps or go for the full carry to the green in two. 

(The par three eighth is high in the mounds with a false front. Hit enough club to carry to the green otherwise the ball rolls back the hill.) 

(The par three twelth was one of my favorites. Today’s pin is on the left but imagine how juicy a rear right location is.) 

After playing Ross Bridge and both courses at Grand National, the Senator was a welcome change of pace. In my opinion, that is the biggest thing it has going for it. As much as I try, I cannot remember every hole, and that is a direct result of the lack of variety. Too many holes blend into each other and that is valid criticism. I really enjoyed the course, but because I’ve played this kind of style before, it doesn’t excite me as much as it should. Nonetheless, it’s still deserves some love and will be a fine addition to any package at Capitol Hill. I give a solid 5 (good)(worth driving an hour to play).

(The dogleg fifteenth plays uphill to a green well defended by traps.)

(The eighteenth is a simple enough hole. It plays slightly uphill to a wide fairway and green.) 

(Turn this drive over from right to left. If it gets way down just left of the barn, then the green can be reached in two at the par five seventeenth.) 

Grand National Links - RTJ Trail (Opelika, AL)

         #78 Top 100 Public (Golf Magazine)

So this is the only course on the RTJ Trail ranked in the Top 100. I’m a bit surprised by this because I think a few courses could be on the list, but an excellent routing seems to be the defining trait that moved raters to give it a high score. With twelve holes on the lake, the decision to not come back to the clubhouse allowed the course to be its best self. 

(The opening hole sweeps up the hill with impressive scale, emphasizing the major elevation change you’ll encounter at the Links.) 

Before teeing off, the pro told us that the Links was 4-5 shots harder than the Lakes. It didn’t help that the greens were all redone last year, and several of them weren’t receptive to golf shots. This was very frustrating because you could hit a great shot and have it bound over the green. The course finds multiple ways to take the golfer down to the water. There’s several doglegs that start inland and bend at the shoreline. It seemed like the routing did everything possible to finish with a green at the water. There was also marshland on the property which comes in play. Several green complexes I felt were over the top, and had the contouring in the center so a safe shot would take a precarious bounce. The player is almost forced to take an aggressive line to the pin. 

(The par five second hole plays downhill and finishes with the green pressed up against the lake. Long hitters can use the short grass short to bounce onto the green. Anything right or left however will find the hazard.)

(The par three third plays along the lake to a green contoured with bowls front and rear. Pick the right stick and the ball will funnel to the hole.) 

(A hole that many consider one of the best on the course is the par four fourth. There’s an option to go straight or to cut over the lake. I wish the approach was easier so the reward for gambling off the tee was rewarded with an easier approach. Now it’s at a diagonal with bunkers bracketing the middle half. It’s a very difficult hole.) 

The inland holes are not as exciting as the lake ones. The terrain is more severe and has good deal of elevation change. Both one and fifteen are slogs and play significantly uphill. The sixteenth is a filler par three whose job is to keep the course flowing. The seventeenth however is a fine hole with a jaw dropping plunge off the tee. On the front, the seventh has a three tier green that is set low left to high right. If you hit the upper tier with the pin in the lower tier, then you have a remote chance of keeping it on the green with your putter. 

(The par five sixth is a fine risk reward hole where the player can challenge the marsh fronting the green.)

(The par three eleventh is another hole set in the marsh. It’s all carry to a green laid out diagonally with a bunker set in the front middle.) 

(The uphill fifteenth turns around the trees and climbs significantly. A huge bunker complex guards the entire green. Laying up and hitting wedge maybe a better play than conquering it with brute strength. Very few balls will find the green and being long leaves too difficult a shot.) 

This is the one course I’d like to see again just to see if it was as difficult as it was when I played it. It possesses a beautiful setting that I imagine would be perfect on a summer day. I think the pro is spot on and it’s at least 4-5 shots harder than the Lakes. Toss in the added strokes from water balls, and I’m willing to say it can be up to 10 strokes harder. The fact that the PGA Tour was here for three years and always played on the Lakes tells me which course is the better of the two. Still, the Links (horrible name btw) is a pretty damn good course. I give it a 6 (very good)(worth driving two hours to play). 

(The best eighteenth hole on the trail belongs to the Links. The drive is over a corner of the lake and then the approach is to this elevated wide green. While close to fifty yards wide, it’s only twenty ish yards deep. Being long is very common. It’s a very difficult hole.) 

(The par four thirteenth has an awkward dogleg to the left where a central fairway bunker dictates play from the tee. (think it stymies the shorter player while the longer guy will go over it anyway) The approach is all carry over the water. This picture is from the cart path.) 

(The fourteenth plays to this awesome bunkered green. The fairway is sloped towards the water so one must be able to hit from a sidehill lie unless you find one if the flat areas. Note the beautiful par three ninth green in the background. It’s a 150’ long peninsula that extends into the lake!)



Grand National Lakes Course:

http://golfingwithshawn.blogspot.com/2022/04/grand-national-lakes-rtj-trail-opelika.html?m=1

Grand National Lakes - RTJ Trail (Opelika, AL)

It all started here thirty years ago. Alabama came up with an ingenious plan to boister the state employee pension fund by building a series of golf courses. That number has grown to 26 but the very first one was the Lakes at Grand National. RTJ Sr stated it was the finest piece of land he’d ever seen for golf! With 600 acres on Lake Saugahatchee, the Lakes has twelve holes on the water. 

The Lakes is a good representation of RTJ Sr’s design philosophy in the later part of his career. The greens are a combination of bowls and plateaus. Ridges divide each section which emphasizes the ability to hit the proper area. Large bunkers guard each green and the spine that comes off the back is the ridge that divides the putting surface. The player can use the slope to work the ball towards the flag. Of course, missing your spot leaves a challenging putt or chip over it. The PGA Tour used the Lakes to decide the 1997 Web.com Tour Championship and it was the site of the inaugural Barbasol Open in 2015 and hosted the following two years. 

(The par four fifth plays downhill with three bunkers crossing the fairway diagonally. Multiple options exist for the driving line. It’s a bit of a white rhino since it’s the only hole with such a feature. It does make it more interesting.)

(The par five seventh is the best hole on the front. It doglegs right around trees and sand before playing towards the lake. Anything right will bounce into the water so left is the safe spot for the layup. It’s a very picturesque hole!) 

(This view of the par three eighth is all you need to know about the shots required. The pin is directly behind the trap with water right and long. A high cut off the trees is the shot but one must control the spin so it doesn’t carry to the hazard.) 

The par threes are the standout holes here. Each one is on the water. The fifteenth in particular gets a lot of attention. It’s a 230 yard shot to a peninsula green. The lake is in play on two of the par fives, but the crescent shaped twelth is the best of the quartet. For the longer player, it’s a gambling hole that pays dividends should you cut the corner. The par fours are all solid but my favorite is the short sixteenth. There’s a few ways to play it but I think a low cut off the hill will run to a short wedge range. When the tees are moved up, it’s a great do or die hole with the long hitter attempting to drive it! 

(The uphill ninth has a great view looking back to the tee. The pin is on a plateau with a bowl short of it.)

(The downhill par four eleventh has two bowls. One is front right and the other is short left. Pin position is so vital when deciding your approach.) 

(The par five twelth is arguably the best hole on the course. It curves around the shoreline with multiple lines available from the tee and on the second shot…
…the green sits alongside the water with terrific views in the background. The prudent play is to stay right, but the left side opens up more pin positions.) 

Obviously in a setting like this, the lake holes are going to shine. The real litmus test is the quality of the inland holes, and here they’re a mix bag. I felt the uphill par five fourth was really good followed by the par four fifth and it’s three bunkers that split the fairway. The par four tenth had a great green site that sat on a knoll. However, the opening hole was awkward at best. I’m not a fan of starting the round off when a hybrid or iron because the green sits at an angle that makes hitting down the fairway useless. The opening hole shared a green with the par four sixth which was the only interesting thing the sixth had going for it. A couple other random thoughts include the restrained routing RTJ Sr used by limiting the number of times one hits over the water. As a public course, pace is key and too many heroic shots could cause a logjam so good decision. Also, how many combinations of bowls and plateaus can be created? Some greens seemed to work better than others. 

(The long par three fifteen is all carry over the lake. When we played it, it was 190 yards into a crosswind that was strong enough to bend the flagstick. I hit three wood to fifteen feet!) 

(The short par four sixteenth was my favorite hole. It’s in a great location and it’s a fickle shot with the ball off a slight sidehill lie to a green across the water.) 

Here’s a question I ask. Does hosting a PGA Tour event elevate a course’s stature? The obvious answer is yes but I think a “one and done” probably hurts it. The Lakes has hosted four professional tournaments which gives it a bump in my opinion. It’s more playable than I thought it would be. Note that I didn’t say easy. The Lakes is considered one of the best courses on the trail and I agree. I give it a 7 (great)(worth driving 3-4 hours to play). Think about this. It was the first course on the trail, so it was extremely important to design a great course out of the box. Mission accomplished!

(The par three seventeenth is against the water’s edge with a pronounced bowl behind the front left bunker. Note the expansive bridge in background. One goes over it to begin the back nine and again to finish the last two holes of the round.) 

(This is the uphill eighteenth. See how the spine of the bunker forms this small target for the approach. Also note how the aerial game is in full effect.) 

(Sorry but the slope and course ratings are ridiculously low from the orange and white tees!)!