Great Lakes Open season is upon us.
Here are some thoughts I had about the changes to the course you'll see this year (and a few thoughts about last year's changes, because I didn't get out there last year).
Here are some thoughts I had about the changes to the course you'll see this year (and a few thoughts about last year's changes, because I didn't get out there last year).
Yesterday I went out to play Toboggan and was absolutely WOWED by the improvements of the past two years. I already knew that hole 5 looked amazing on video and hole 6 looked challenging. The additional grass thats taken hold has made them both look even BETTER. Hole 5 is no longer the "red carpet" hole - it is a beautiful grassy fairway all the way down. Hole 6 now looks more manicured as well with grass on the early portion of the hole coming in.
And then there are this year's improvements. Rest in Hell Hole #8 (last year 9) - no one will miss your plinko-luckshot approach from the tee to the green. That hole truly sucked - the hyzer attacking the green that smashed the trees early and didn't get lucky was rarely much worse than playing to the opening for the wide open putt up the entrance to the green, so the hole was purely an effort at attacking the green and making a prayer. New hole 9 is a great downhill 460' birdie bid, with foliage protecting the backhand approach hyzering in, requiring precision from the players who attack the easier early part of the flight. Truly great righty forehand throwers will feast on it, but it brings struggles into play with the trees encroaching a bit more earlier on the left side. This was the only hole, I believe, that still isn't in its Great Lakes Open position - which will be at 570. That position appears to provide a LOT more coverage against the backhand, and increases the danger because of the need for more power on the forehand, but overall increases the advantage for the truly great RHFH throwers.
New hole 10 is likewise an INCREDIBLE addition to the course. If you open last year's GLO Final B9 coverage pause at 1:15 imagine a big fair fairway playing straight uphill another 225+ past that basket. That hole is now over 650' and it makes Hole 2's uphill feel like a walk in the park. The hole just goes up... up... up... and its honestly probably still going up right now. When you play this hole you will arrive at the green, putt out, and your mental game will still be climbing the hill for another seven to ten business days. I love it! It is a CHALLENGE, but a fair one!
New Hole 11 keeps the fun going - with a great "touch" shot par 3. I say that with quotations because it is a true pro-level par 3 that requires you to pop the disc, but with all of the downhill and the way it "rides" to the right for most of the hole, at 512 feet it takes all of your angle control to get the disc moving downward. One of my playing partners was so frustrated by the big tree out on the left, he kept bemoaning how easy it would be to get his Teebird on the right angle if it was gone, but I love that. For both the FH and the BH players the trees necessitate throwing a shot that has a fair amount of wing angle change to get to the downward drifting straight finish to the right. The pros, with more power and cleaner releases, will be able to release closer to the final angle than us mortals, but it still will require them to really play angles well.
Additionally I was playing new 15 for the first time. What a hole. I hear that they widened the entrance to the fairway and the early part of the fairway itself, and if so I think it was a great change. Overall this hole is FAR superior to the pairing of old holes 14+15. The birdie is a hell of a challenge, but its so fair and definitely gettable (probably obvious considering at least one pro grabbed it 3 times last year, I believe - Ellis).
