I wouldn't be so sure about that.
Feedback you say?? Here it is:
COURSE: Sweet Tooth Hills
Hole by hole breakdown
1 - Nice vista off the tee, like how the hole draws your eye left to right ... Framing tees with stone walls a bold choice, that I don’t think worked out as well as anticipated as seeing the brick from the tee a bit jarring to the eye. Would prefer to see the tee box level with the top of the wall ... I would take out the bunkers inside the dogleg that you can’t see from the tee and extend the lake closer to fairway’s edge. Accomplishes the same effect without the unpleasant surprise of a hidden hazard ... Would also like to see a little planting near the water’s edge to accentuate the look. Appears a bit sterile as is ... Strategically there’s no incentive to take on the hazards on the right as the best angle in it appears is to hug the left ... Green excessive in size, especially for a hole of this length. Hole would do just fine lopping off the entire top half of this putting surface ... No wild undulations on the bottom half of this green, but enough movement to make the putt interesting.
2 - Sightline good off the tee. Like the parkland-vibe going on ... Would like to see sculpting of tee boxes blended more naturally into the terrain opposed to these steep sharp drops ... Good look with the wooded areas framing the tee shot, but feel they could have been enhanced with some tall grass and other planting on the forest floor ... Strategically I like the idea of the tee shot, but think it just missed on execution. I would extend that big hillside on the right further into the playing corridor, take out the trouble on the left and make the outside of the dogleg feel like the “safe play” while hindering your chance at reaching the green in two. OK with the hidden hazards on the right, because you’re driving over that hill which is intimidating and insinuates trouble if you miss right, though an argument could be made that leaving that area as heavy rough may be a greater penalty than hitting into sand if you miss on the right ... Missed a chance to frame the second shot. Bunkers on the right present the green area will but you’re obscured somewhat by the ridge in the fairway. Lowering that ridge, shrinking this green and presenting the bunkers short left would go a long way to help this look.
3 - Like the choice on an uphill par 3. Don’t see it a ton in this game, but I think this one works. Excellent planting/rockwork on the ravine short really helps set off this hole ... Bunkers in front feel a little awkward, too much slope and not enough bunker pan I feel ... Interesting decision with the bailout area long left, but it’s a pretty ho-hum chip from there, doesn’t do a lot for me ... Green size better than the first two, but still feels like the same job could have been done with about 30 percent less green. Playing 150 from the tips, I see no problem with a green that is wide but shallow, putting a premium on distance control.
4 - This one’s close, but not quite there as far as short 4s go. Biggest thing for me is there’s no big trouble around the green to balance the risk/reward for blasting driver. Both in terms of strategy and aesthetics, I’d like to see the short greenside bunkers brought closer to the putting surface the back edges raised above the gradient of the hole. Would basically give you the feeling of really having to thread the needle of a those bunkers to get home, with the penalty of facing a potentially tough bunker shot from a deep angle if you miss ... The idea of canting this green from right to left is smart as it fits topography, but I think a couple of things could have been done to make the complex more interesting. I would have made the area right of the green all rough and expanded the chipping area left of the green with a more defined drop between the chipping area and the putting surface. The thought being if you miss right, by being in the rough, you’re left with an approach running away from you and a shot that that it would be extremely difficult to control the spin on. By making the chipping area left lower, it makes a chip more difficult, and a flop shot testy, especially to a left-hand hole location ... Wasn’t a big fan of the “greenspace” on the right off the tee here. Just felt barren and that some trees could have been placed there to help better frame the hole.
5 - Another fair to above average look, but one I feel could have been enhanced by exposing those fairway bunkers on the left and making them look more menacing ... Strategically there’s not much merit to trying to play bold down the left because 1) it gives you a force carry over the left greenside bunker and 2) you risk being blocked out on your second shot by those overhanging oaks ... Neighborhood behind this green is modest, but does a nice job of providing an interesting backdrop for the second shot.
6- This one just feels off to me. First off, if feels a bit artificial having a water hazard, but then having the macro sculpting run away from it. Feels more man-made than natural ... From a planting standpoint we’ve had a nice variance of trees through the first five holes, but all the planting down the left feels like it’s just one or two versions of the same oak tree. Could have added some color there. Also I think the tree line down the left of 6th/7th corridor could have been brought much closer to the playing surface to better frame the holes ... The bunkers on this hole are an example why designers both need to sculpt in AND around their bunkers. No real sculpting to speak of outside the bunkers, leaving a flat look, and a bit of a bathtub effect inside the bunker. Three of these bunkers (second FW bunker on left) and both front GS bunkers could really be enhanced by raising their back faces.
7- Like the idea of an around the bend hole here. Would like to see the second FW bunker on the left a little better for framing purposes, but not bad ... Decent looking second shot in. I may have enhanced it with a little mounding short right and exposing a little sand in that left greenside pot bunker, but a good look overall.
8- Almost feels a little Ross-like, in the bunker pattern surrounding this fairway. I like that from a looks standpoint, but feels more penal than strategic in that there doesn’t appear to be much merit to favoring either side of the hole. Just dictating a long, straight ball here off the tee ... Again, I think I would have had the tree line encroach closer to the playing surface on the left. The scale of the fairway compared to the overall playing corridor seems a bit out of whack here. (Upon further inspection, it seems like having the hole play to the left of the bunkers and to the right of the treeline would have fit really well here) ... Approach into the green doesn’t to much for me. Not much in terms of visual cues, or depth perception. Nothing wrong from a playing perspective, just feels a bit bland.
9- We did do some sculpting outside the bunkers here to help frame, which is good, but this is where doing some sculpting outside the playing corridor would relay help. Those bunkers are sculpted, but the rest is smooth, lending to a bit of an artificial feel ... This is another hole, where I feel like having the fairway run left of the current leftside fairway bunkers would have been a smart choice, or making those left fairway bunkers play like centerline bunkers. That gives the golfer a choice: “Do I take on these bunkers for the most direct path to possibly get home in to, or do I play safe down the right and treat this like a true 3-shotter?” ... Nice work on the rocks short of the green. I wouldn’t have minded seeing that be carried a little further left of green, but the target itself is framed very nicely here.
10- Again, the mounding behind the green, while serving its purpose to frame those back bunkers, feels a little out of place given the overall topography. More mounding and terrain variance away from the playing corridor would help here ... Also think a more defined bank into the water on the left would help this hole visually ... Green’s a touch big for my eye, but understand why you did it given the length of shot and big ridge in the middle, so I’m OK with it. That being said, most of the greens to this point have had some nice interior contouring. This, on the other hand, felt a little flat.
11- Strategy-wise, I like how the fairway serpentines around the centerline fairway bunkers. You do need to flirt with bunkers on the left to have the best angle in ... But we do see some recurring issues here in regard to excessive green size, bunker sculpting, mounding and playing corridor/fairway that are out of proportion.
12- I very much like the trees and planting behind this green, just wish it would have been carried out all the way around the back to really frame this hole. This hole has signature potential but, again is undone by the overly wide, flat, unplanted corridor it plays into.
13- Feels like we got a touch bunker-happy with this one. Look is OK, other than the same issues with playing corridors and the like ... The play is pretty straightforward here, not much strategy involved. It almost feels like it would have played better as a long 4 than a short 5.
14- I think those hole is sound in logic, but just not quite there in execution. Would like to see the fairway on the back side of that left FW bunker smoothed a little bit, another look that feels a touch artificial. Strategically, if the apex were about 10 yards closer to the tee, tempting the player to cut the corner, we could have something here. The embellishments to that would be to run the fairway away from the dogleg, essentially making the hole off-camber and then curling that right front GS bunker closer to center front. That way no only does the golfer have to carry, but must carry with draw to have the optimal angle in as a straight ball will catch the camber running away from the bunker, sending it further right and making that right side bunker more of a force carry ... This is another target that really lacks any perspective.
15- Just can’t get over the size of the green here, just feels much too large, even though it has some wild contours in the center. A small green nested behind those two left bunkers would be perfect here.
16- Fairway is good, another that has a little bit of a Ross or Raynor feel to it trying to find an optimal spot in a minefield of bunkers. Green feels like an afterthought here in terms of shape, (lack of) hazard placement, sculpting and framing.
17- This hole’s a winner. Bunkers frame it well. Bit of a redan feel to it and a duanting shot for the penultimate hole. Still think it could have been enhanced with some trees back right to break up the look, but overall, this feels like a well-composed hole.
18- One last time, I feel like going left of the bunkers and toward the row of trees would have been the best spot for this fairway and I would have resituated the green so that it’s closer to that falloff on the left ... The play actually would be to the outside of the new dogleg, flirting with the existing bunkers as it would leave the flattest lie with the best angle in. ... As is the hole feels somewhat cape-y, but don’t know if you can really cut the corner w/o a tailwind ... The raised greenside bunker almost gives a little bit of an Alps feel, which is cool.
Playability & Shot Values (the most important category)
Course played fine and no real tricked up holes. Was a fun, relaxing round. Shot values were a little muted as some holes had simple point-A to point-B strategy, not giving a ton of consideration to angles. Also the majority of greens were too large.
Technical Execution
What was done was very clean. I think he took a chance with the tee boxes that didn’t quite turn out as he would have hoped, but there was a high degree of difficulty there. Overall textures are clean and planting is clean. Bunker sculpting a bit hit-or-miss in spots and sometimes the size/topography of the playing corridors was not in unison with the size/topography of the playing areas (fairways, greens, bunkers).
Aesthetics & Environment
Clean, parkland vibe here and overall solidly done. I think there was too much whitespace at times that made the holes feel out of scale with their surroundings. Color pallette was very good. The planting scheme was simple and could have been enhanced with some undergrowth in the out of play areas, but what was done was done proficently.
Routing, Flow, Cohesion, Variety of Holes
The overall routing and flow was good. Felt a little jarring after playing the first three holes in a fairly wooded corridor to come to the fourth and have the course really open up. Felt some times there was too much point-A to point-B in the routing and times where a reroute of the fairway on the same hole would have led to a dramatically different and better playing experience.
Overall things to consider
Sightlines off the tee were pretty much all good on this course. Be cognizant of sightlines into greens too, as sometimes if felt like the second shot was an afterthought in the design process which left to some uninspired approaches ... Overall the greens were far too large in scale. Nothing against a good Sitwell green every now and again, but short par 4s or reachable par 5s with 70-plus yard greens are just a bit excessive, especially considering they should be designed with accepting wedges in mind. As a general rule of thumb, I like to keep my greens under 40 yards x 40 yards. I will make exceptions, especially if designing for a long iron, but I try to keep the greens on the same scale as the rest of the hole ... Par 3s on the back were nicely done and the highlight of the course. Overall some good bones here and a matter of refining style for future endeavors.
