Westwood Country Club

Excellent 9 hole course.

One of the best 9 hole courses in the state by any measure and my personal favorite! It's well maintained, has watered fairways, manicured tees and greens and it's a challenging, fun place to play. There is water and/or out of bounds on every single hole.

#1 is a par 4. As you're teeing off, it just "feels" like a nice place to be. There are mature oak trees around the tee, nice flowers, landscaping, etc. So many of these 9 hole courses feel like you walk into a shed and then step out into a farm field. This course is completely different and it starts on #1. The fairway has been shaped into a slight dogleg by small pines and some playable rough. It has a creek that is dammed up to make a 20-30' wide "pond" in front of the green. Your approach shot needs to fly over the water and stick the green. If you go beyond the green you're in some small pines. Bunkers await you on either side so there really isn't any good place to miss this green. It's a tough way to start the round and most people walk away without a par.

#2 is a 209 yard par three with out of bounds on the right (but it's not a factor) and out of bounds behind the green (and it is a factor). There are sand traps on both sides of the green so the only easy way to miss the green and still have an easy approach is to leave it short. Otherwise you're chipping over a trap or you went out of bounds. Unless you hit a very accurate 209 yard shot you're scrambling to get up and down.

#3 is a long par four. The tee is set back in the trees and there's out of bounds all the way along the right side. It's intimidating just standing on the tee. The creek from #1 runs across the fairway through a small ravine... right where most people would land their drives. So now you've got to take 50 yards off your drive and lay up on top of the hill or swing hard and try to fly over the creek. To make matters worse, the creek empties into a pond on the right side that's waiting to catch any ill hit drives that fade even a few yards off the center of the fairway. Once you're beyond the creek, there's a group of pines waiting to catch any low or fading second shots and you're trying to hit a deceptively elevated green. The approach is flat, but if you go to far past the green the ball rolls down into some deep rough and if you go far enough, some unmaintained grass that is impossible to hit from. Par is not easy.

#4 is a par four dog leg to the right. At last. Something that's par-able. It's reachable in one if you have a strong drive BUT, you have to fly over some tall mature trees that are out of bounds and if you're more than 5 yards long, you're in the water. The green is elevated and on the edge of the lake so the ball just rolls down the hill into the water if you over shoot. If you play it safe, you ought to fade your drive or lay up so your second shot isn't coming in over pine trees and a bunker. As with most holes on this course. Left or right and you're chipping over a bunker. This is one of the few "easy" holes if you keep your ball in play.

#5 is a 210 yard par three similar to #2. The difference is that there's out of bounds all along the right side and it really does become a problem if you have a slice. To the left is that tall un-maintained natural grass that you encountered behind #3. Left or right is a bunker. This is the only hole on the course where you can go beyond the green and be OK so swing away. The fairway is nice and wide so short shots aren't penalized either. Of course, just like #2, unless you can stick a 210 yard shot on a green, you're struggling to get up and down to save par.

Club House - One of the neatest things about this course is the way it's designed. Even though it's nine holes, the design is like a mini-18 hole course. You have the "front five" and the "back four." After you're done with #5 you can stop in "The Sand Trap" which is a nicely designed club house with a bar and restaurant. They have excellent food and great prices. Sit on the patio under the tall oak trees and enjoy the summer breezes as you sip an adult beverage and contemplate your first five holes. It truly is a great experience.

#6 is a short par four. This is the other easy hole so take advantage of it. As usual though, there are problems. The right side is all out of bounds and the only reasonable approach to the green is a slight fade. There are bunkers waiting for you around the green as usual and behind the green is out of bounds.

#7 is a 535 yard par five. The tee is elevated and your first shot is over a gully and through an opening in some trees. Plenty of people never make it past the trees simply because of the mental challenge. There is a nice wide landing area for your drive but it's out of bounds along the right side so a slice will get you into trouble. Also, the hole starts to slope up in the landing area so you don't get much roll out of your drives at all. You basically get what you can fly and maybe a few yards more. Now... time for your second shot. Some evil person put a pond right where many people would land their second shot. You can play around the pond on the left but it makes the hole longer. If you hit your drive 220+ the pond can be hit over but anything to the right and you're in the swamp and out of bounds. Once you clear the pond you need to start worrying about your approach. There is less than 10 yards behind the green before you're out of bounds, right is out of bounds, traps are on either side so your option is to stick the green or leave it short. Most people are ecstatic to get out of this with a par and birdies are things of legend.

#8 is a par 5 that has a tee that is tucked back into the woods. Very pretty. Until you turn around and realize that the pond on #7 is actually feeding a creek which happens to be right where you want to land your drive. It's just like #3. You lay up or you swing like a maniac and try to fly the creek. Fortunately if you spray one off to the left or right there isn't any out of bounds to catch you. #1 and #8 are the only two holes on the course that afford you this opportunity. There's another pond on your left, but it only becomes a factor when you draw your second shot down the left side of the fairway. For some reason very few people have trouble with that pond. The green is slightly elevated. If you overshoot it, there's a steep hill with about 10 yards of maintained rough and then it's an unplayable jungle down to yet another pond. Don't go over this green. It slopes steeply and it's really hard to chip on from behind the green back onto it without rolling the ball off the front of the green.

#9 is a 133 yard par three which should be easy, but there's a nasty gully with a pond at the bottom on the right. The gully starts to form in the center of the fairway and then slopes steeply down to the right. Anything short and a little to the right is down the hill in some rough. It's a steep hill so chipping back to the green is challenging as you often times can't see the pin from where you're chipping. As usual there are sand traps on both sides and in this case a group of small pines behind the green and to the left of the green which virtually guarantees that unless you stick the green or leave it short and slightly to the left, your second shot is going to be a pain. You'll either be chipping up a steep hill from rough, swinging through some trees or knocking one out of a sand trap.

There's also a practice green at this course but no driving range.

Overall it's a very nice mix of hole lengths so you actually get to use most of the clubs in your bag and as you can tell from my description, it's a challenging course for the average golfer. If you can hit your drives 260+ and they're straight more often than not, the course becomes a LOT easier. For the average golfer, I think it's one of the most challenging courses around, but it's also a LOT of fun.

I've played a ton of golf in my life on some very nice courses, but this course remains one of my very very favorite. It's truly a jewel. These days I only get to play it once or twice a year, but I truly look forward to those rounds more than any other.

Overall Experience