There are plenty
of golf courses within a four to five mile radius of the M-59 and M-23
intersection. With Tyrone Hills, The Arnold Palmer Preserve, Hartland Glen and
Huntmore to name just a few, golfers have plenty of choices on where to spend
their money. Dunham Hills has always been considered a tough test for golfers
with its rolling Hills and mature trees that jump out and bite you and that
includes when you know it’s coming.
As for me,
playing the course which is about three miles north of M-59 on Dunham Road is a
good track to play. The course plays from (5,253 to 6,771) yards and has a wide
variety of holes that will make you play every one of the 14 clubs you have in
your bag. With a slope rating between 188 (forward) to 130 (championship),
there are other courses with higher slope ratings but this course demands that
you play it from the right set of tees or your score will skyrocket.
I would like to thank Mike Springer and his friendly staff
for allowing me to come out and test my skills.
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| The green on one |
Right off the bat, the very first hole
allows you to unwind before you enter the second hole which starts a three hole
gauntlet.
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| Watch out for the trees right side |
I played the course both days
from 6,291 yards as I am revamping my swing and advise the longer hitters to
play from the back as I will again soon. The first plays at 328 yards and looks
inviting . It looks like you can just blast away with some caution. With a line
of trees on both sides and a couple of nasty oaks on the right about 50 yards
apart, you can see from the tee box that hitting behind them will be a scary proposition.
One thing from the tee box that you cannot see is the falloff on the right side
of the fairway. Meaning, if you hit it there the false front will either kick
your ball right or will run right side into the rough behind one of the trees.
The fairway does run downhill in front of the green and long bombers will hit
it over the ridge and a short pitch is all you have left. For golfers that do
not hit it over the ridge, a short iron awaits you. If you get behind one of
the trees, either a pitch back to the fairway or a medium iron shot where you
advance the ball forward to some degree are your only options. This is a
definite birdie hole. It is doubtful the
first will win a skin as too many players will mark a three down on their
scorecards in a league or tournament.
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| Its tough to know where to hit it from the tee box on two |
The second hole is
one where you will wonder if there is any fairway at all until you start
surveying the hole looking for a strategy to score. It plays as a 505 yard par
five from the middle tees (blue) and with trees seemingly everywhere from the
tee box, this hole is tighter than going through the eye of a needle. I can see
many players playing a fairway wood. As for me, I hit driver and suffered the
fate as sand bunkers are in the driving areas. They are really not needed. The
trees are tough enough on the first shot and the hole seems so play as a dog
leg left but that is an illusion. When you go to hit your second shot, the
green comes into focus. Longer hitters can get on in two but you need two good
wacks hitting the ball. If you are scrambling from the rough on the second or
even your third shot, your birdie opportunity will come from chipping off the
green. Overhanging and mature trees including oaks overlook the fairway.
A ball
on the first cut could be impeded and you might have to manufacture a shot.
That is what I did on this hole. Pulling my tee shot into the rough, I had a
shot but a bad lie and hit my second fat. My third was 148 yards from the pin.
With a overhanging tree impeding my shot, I hit a four hybrid playing off of my
back foot and hit a ¾ laser under the tree line. The ball took two big hops and
rolled about 6’ from the pin. Yes, I did make my birdie. See, watching golf on
tv can help your game.
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| The third severely slopes from right to left. |
One hole I found
really interesting is the 306 yard par four 7th. With trees
everywhere and a huge sand trap guarding the left side of the fairway, you are
provoked into hitting a high fade (if you have one) or a hook between the trap
and the small opening right side. Yes, it does open up at the back of the trap,
but a bottle neck short of it and you will find sand bunkers and a nasty grove
of trees. Yes, this is a tough driving
hole. If you do negotiate the bottleneck from the tee, this is a birdie
opportunity.
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| Aim to the right of the large trap |
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| The only wide spot is just past the bottleneck |
Three greenside bunkers guard it and add the fairway bunkers and
it looks like Robert Trent Jones got loose and tricked up the hole. The 7th
has character and will be either a fun hole or will be diabolical depending on
your point of view.
The 9th
hole (340 yards) is one where it looks very tame from the tee box but has one
nasty surprise waiting for those that play it for the first time. Longer
hitters will play out of a tee box carved out of the woods. Those playing the
blue tees will have about 235 yards before a large pond hidden from the tee box
comes into play. Many golfers will decide whether they can carry the pond at
280 yards and most will layup to a short or medium iron. For me, I hit it left
on purpose to the 8th fairway and had a shot to the ninth. I was
lucky as I hit it a long ways and would have been in the water. Still, hitting
it one fairway over is not advisable as various trees and shrubs will come in
contact with you if you are not careful. The green is dastardly. Sloping in
multiple ways with it really going from right to left, it rolls very fast and
putting it on the right side and putting downhill will find many hitting a
three-putt. The ninth has birdies in it and is a skin hole. I think many
golfers will goof up this hole score wise if not because of the water, the
green will be the equalizer.
While the front
nine plays with many holes running north and south, the opposite happens on the
back nine. Six of the holes go east and west and the morning sun will blind you
early on. I really enjoyed the 10th. The hole plays as a dog leg
left hole down a hill and then back up from the valley.
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| Do you layup or go for it? |
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| The ninth has a very tough green |
Your tee shot on this
hole should be played center to left on the fairway as going right and you
could go into the cluster of trees and pond at the bottom of the hill and you
will have an obstructed shot or lost ball. As it plays at 410 yards with a
large green, many golfers will catch the slope and be roughly 150 yards from
the flag going uphill. This hole is really fun. It is another scoring hole and
simply keeping the ball in play is the best way to go. If you are going to
score, this is your best chance until the 13th.
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Playing the 11th at sunrise is blinding
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As 12 and 13 play
as consecutive par fives, the 12th can add strokes to your scorecard
if you are not careful. Its twin, the 13th does not have to be
unlucky.
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| Not much room for error on the downhill 13th |
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| Plenty of trees on both sides of the 13th |
Running straight downhill, it plays shorter than the advertised 538 to
580 yards. The fairway is ample but go left or right and you will be pitching
out to the fairway at worst or have an obstructed second shot that you will
advance the best you can. For golfers that bomb the ball down the middle, you
could reach the green in two at 538 yards as you will benefit from some roll
due to the downhill slope. At 580 yards, only the longest of hitters will
reach. There is nothing in front of the green outside of a twin pair of bunkers
that will come into play for players going for it. For those that take three
strokes or more to reach, the sand only comes into play if the pin is in the
front and you go for the pin and hit it fat. This is a good scoring hole with
birdies possible but par the realistic score as you finish up on the large
green. Putts will tail off here so hit it firm.
The 14th
is a well known hole and is feared by many golfers. With the blues playing at
426 yards and the championship tees playing at 447 yards, this is a great test
of golf.
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| Trees to the right on 14 |
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| Narrow place to land the ball on 14 |
With trees running the entire hole to the right and a pond to the
left, the fairway is simply folded in half as it looks like the water has cut
the landing area off to point where few will dare to test it. Yes, you can
drive it between the pond and woods. There is about a 20 yard landing area. The
problem is if you drive the ball further than 230 yards the H20 comes into play
and you are lying 3 over 200 yards out. The green is reachable from 200-220
yards out with a fairway wood but the green is huge and three putts are
entirely possible. Drive it into the woods and you are three off of the tee.
Many golfers simply pull out their fairway wood or hybrid and take their
chances flying their second shot over the pond. The better golfers say the heck
with it and drive it between everything I just described and will have a medium
to long iron shot in. A bomber could out drive the entire mess to where the
pond recedes but I am not that guy. Most say this par four is really a place
where posting five is not an insult. I pared it both days and was told that I got
lucky.
My favorite par
three at Dunham Hills is the 16th. As a rule, I like playing a short
iron off the tee once or twice a round as hitting driver all day can get monotonous.
With a pond running along side you to the left and then nearly in front of you,
it is a pretty picture. Playing at 116 to 158 yards, this is the hole that many
golfers have been waiting for. A short iron or wedge into the green.
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| The only short par three at Dunham Hills |
Many will
go for the pin every time and some will take the pond out of play by clubbing
up one. Do not go over the green. It does slope gradually from the back to the
front and the green will funnel into the pond. On the right is a landscaped
area that separates the 16th from 15. Par is a good score but there
are plenty of birdies so go on and get one of them.
The finishing hole
is an uphill slightly dog leg left. Playing between 363 and 378 yards, this par
four is a good test of golf to end your round. The fairway is wide and you can
blast away at the finish.
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| The view of the 18th fairway. It plays uphill |
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| A large sloping green and an uphill approach |
Hitting a hook left or a big pull is not advisable as
you will have an obstructed shot to the green. As the green sits in a ring of trees,
the shade will most likely block you from seeing the pin clearly as in is the
flag in the front, center or back. I could not tell and aimed for the middle.
As the hill slopes upward, you can get on in two but most will settle for a
four before settling into the clubhouse for a beverage.
The Skinny-
The service- Friendly
The practice facilities- A driving range and putting green
available
Course layout- I enjoyed the variety of holes and the demand
of the course to pull out all of your clubs during the round. The course conditions
are superb. The greens are very well taken care of. I love how the workers get
two golf carts and drag a hose between them to get the dew off the fairways. Occasionally,
the trees get on your nerves as it seems like they grow out of the ground after
you hit the ball.
The pro shop has a wide variety of items to sell. I really
like the clothing styles including the rain gear. If you did not bring golf
balls, do not worry. They have a big selection.
Dunham Hills is a super test of golf. It has really changed
over the years. The clubhouse is really a strong point of the business and has
banquet facilities for over 300 for meetings or a wedding. This course is a
place where golfers will really love testing their golf games. It seems to play
much longer than the 6,291 to 6,771
yards posted as it has many par fours in excess of 400 yards and par fives 530
or better.
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