Pros:
After 7 long, highly anticipated years, I'm back baby! My long-awaited return to Creekside finally happened in February 2017. Let's just say this course is sneaky good and over-the-top fun!
- The course was a major work-in-progress in 2010. Who am I kidding? It's was close to a disaster. Having a hole with a walking-path wide fairway with tall grass & rough on both side of the fairway? The course needed an overhaul. And that's what it got.
- There are some fun, creative hole layouts. #3 is a perfect risk/reward layout. A downhill, 260-foot (long tees) shoot-the-gap hole with an OB creek long and right of the basket. You want to be aggressive, but not too aggressive.
- #7 is a solid station-to-station layout. It's an uphill, 372-footer, that makes a sharp, dogleg right turn slightly past halfway. You're better off sacrificing distance if you make sure your tee shot lands in the fairway.
- #8 is a great signature, classic hole. A long, legit par 4 at 474 feet. It has a classic Bracketts Bluff (RIP) feel, looking and playing like that course's #12 & 13.
- The course rewards good shot making, creating true scoring separation. IMO, there are many holes here that feel like par 3.5s - you feel great about a 3 and a little disappointed with a 4. #4, 5, 7 & 18 all can yield a 3 with solid tee and approach shots, leaving you with a makeable putt for 3. Even on #11, I had a great tee shot, but smacked a tree with my 2nd shot, leaving me 2-putting for a 4. Had I missed the tree, I'd be looking at a real chance for a 3.
- Plenty of holes that can be reached with a mid-range or driver, even for us noodle-arms. Average hole length is 283 feet, with 13 holes under 300. That said, some of the tougher tee shots are from the shorter holes.
- Once you find the first hole, the course is a breeze to navigate thanks to plenty of good signage. Why that signage doesn't begin in the parking lot is its own issue, but only for first-timers.
- Awesome, big park overall. There are plenty of different amenities for all sorts of activities.
Cons:
The biggest negative is the safety concern. Too many holes play over and/or along the walking trails. #14 is a great hole in and of itself. However, it's a blind, slightly downhill tee shot/approach shot to the basket with the walking trail about 20 feet to the left of the basket. Throw in the fact the course weaves across trails, and I can see plenty of park goers using the fairways as additional trails.
- Course does have low areas that can get/stay muddy after rain. Even other holes could offer tricky footing (#7 & 12, for example) when wet.
- Course seems like it is missing one more longer, signature hole. As it is, the course really doesn't require you to throw driver. You're going to score as well, if not better, by throwing 250-foot tee shots that land in the fairway versus a 350-foot drive that ends up in the rough. The course tests every other part of your game, just not driving.
- A couple holes in the closing stretch seem too easy/unimaginative that it hurts the overall quality of the round. A filler hole in the beginning of the round is forgotten by the time you're on the back nine. When you play a couple filler holes in the final stretch, it's deflating.
- I don't recall seeing many, if any, benches and/or trashcans throughout the course. Unless you break this course into an awkward short loop (#1 -4 & 14 (or 15) - 18) you're committed to the entire round. Throw in the hills, and some long walks, and some people are going to need to take their breaks.
- Get better/ANY signage pointing players from the parking lot to the first tee. From the parking lot, you see the basket for #18 and short course #6. Based on these two baskets, do you know what way to walk for hole #1?
Other Thoughts:
I had a blast playing at Creekside Park. I knew my 2010 review was woefully outdated. I finally made a return trip, and immediately regretted not playing this layout sooner.
- Course is close to being really good. Replace one or two holes with something better, and this course quality gets kicked up a notch.
- This course reminded me a lot of the Kiwanis course in Staunton, VA from its look, feel and flow. There was also a little Kilborne-flavor, for my hometown comparison.
- The course did a great job of emphasizing the risk/reward element. On almost every hole, I can easily see a 2-stroke swing based on how well I'm throwing, or how lucky I am that day. On hole #1, for example, if your tee shot doesn't make the curve on the dogleg right, you could find yourself deep in the woods. I thought I threw a solid tee shot. It only ended up 10 feet off the fairway, but I still had to chuck it out around several trees for my up-and-down to salvage a 3. I also bogeyed one of the easiest holes - #15 - because I hit a tree and got a brutal kick deep into the woods.
- Fun course throughout. There's very little monotony to the layout with layouts changing up from hole-to-hole. Take this stretch of #3 - 7: straight downhill (#3); straight to slight dogleg right basket (#4); flat, dogleg left (#5); downhill semi-open (#6); longer dogleg right (#7).
- I'm giving this course a 3.5 rating. Just like all the other courses in the 3.0 - 3.5 range, there are some flaws to the course; but, overall, it's a solid round. I hope I'm back here in less than 7 years for my next round.