Breckenridge Golf Club - Detail
This writeup was done from the blue tees. Despite the thin air, I don't need the kind of pain that Jack is capable of dishing up from something called "the Nicklaus tees" (golds here...).
The Bear Course
The first hole is meant to both ease you into the round, and to make you think about your tee shots. From the blue tees, this hole looks a bit intimidating, and yet it's actually a very straightforward 355 yard par 4. A driver and a wedge will always reach the green in two, provided (and this is important) you hit a decent tee shot. Use the yardage book to pick out good aiming points, since the native areas in front of the tee are a bit confusing. There's a bunker on the right next to a swamp. Anything left of that bunker will be just fine.
The second hole is a downhill par 5. It's not very long (509 yards), so it's reachable in two if a) you hit a good drive, and b) you're brave on your second shot. Or it's a driver, mid iron, wedge, and Bob's your uncle...
Number 3 is a short par 4, dogleg right around a lake. The farther left you go, the safer you are from the lake, and the sooner you'll run out of fairway and into the woods. The farther right you go, the more you cut the corner off the dogleg, and the more the lake comes into play. If you tend to hit fades off the tee, aim well left. If you tend to hit draw, you can start the ball over the lake. If you tend to hit the ball straight... well, nobody hits it straight, do they?
The fourth hole is a relatively short par 4. Pay attention to the shape of the green, which dips in closer to the tee box on the left side. There's a steep drop off on the front left side, and a shallow collection area on the front right. There's a bunker long and right, where you don't want to be. If you're going to miss, miss short right. Or you could just hit the green...
#5 is a 373 yard straightaway par 4. For some strange reason, I tend to chunk my approaches on this -- maybe because the fairway's too wet? Anyway, nothing fancy -- hit it straight off the tee, and you're in good shape.
#6 is a confusing par 5 up the hill alongside #11. It's confusing because the teebox doesn't give you a very good luck at what you're dealing with. The fairway goes left around a big bunker, and then back right. There's plenty of room to hit it left of the bunker, but because of the whole curving back to the right thing, you tend to want to crowd that bunker. Bad idea. Stay in the middle of the fairway off the tee, and the rest of this hole is easy. Get out of place, and then you're always going to be figuring yardage and angles of interception, and hitting more crappy shots.
#7 is a longish par 3, playing 200 yards depending upon the pin placement and wind. There's a forced carry over the junk, so commit to the shot!
#8 plays 399 yards, and is another fairly intimidating hole. The fairway is kind of twisty and narrow, and there's a swamp running all down the right side, cutting in front of the green, which doglegs right at the end. Hit whatever your straight shot is off the tee, and deal with the swamp later...
#9 is just a brute! It's a 461 yard uphill par 4. From the tee, it looks very narrow, although it opens up to the left a little bit where you can't see it. This will take you very best two long shots, and then a smartly played wedge to give you a chance at par. Killer hole!
The Elk Course
The first hole is a poser. It has a lone pine tree in the middle of the fairway. It has a lake on the right, fronted by a long bunker. Lots of strategies suggest themselves. Crush a driver over the tree, and leave a short chip onto the green. I went with discretion instead of valor. Hit a three wood, and a short iron. It worked, even though the three wood was slicey and would have made the lake if I had hit driver.
#2 is an intriguing par 5. The tee shot is out to a generous landing area. The second shot is into a narrow chute. The approach is just a wedge. Because of the narrow chute part of this hole, going for it in two is probably just a bad idea. Sure, you can bounce it off the hillside to the left, but the miss to the right is a watery swampy grave.
#3 is another longish par 3 with a forced carry over the native junk. Same advice as before -- hit it good...
#4 is a really cool wrap-around hole. The fairway wraps around the woods to the right. The guidebook tells you to stay left. Do that. I keep hitting it right, where you get tangled up in the trees...
The fifth hole is one of the most beautiful holes on the course. It's a long par 3 (220 yards to the middle with no wind). But it's so secluded from the rest of the course that you feel totally isolated. Just you against, well, Jack! Bunkers defend the green on the left side. Try to get to the right side of the green.
#6 is another secluded hole. This is a very short par 4, but it's definitely a two shot hole. It's only 274 yards, but it's uphill, and the direct route to the hole is effectively blocked by a glade of trees, and a chasm. Hit an iron and wedge, and try to stay out of the sand...
#7 is a 409 yard chessgame. There's a tall spruce tree at the end of the fairway that's your target (306 yards). Then there's a chasm. Then there's at the green. Even though the fairway doglegs right, and encourages a fade, stay off that hillside! Very hard to hit the green from a hook lie!
The eighth hole is a long narrow-looking par 5. "Looking" is the key word -- it's wide enough for a healthy long iron on your second shot, but you do have to keep your tee shot in the fairway. By the way, the fairway tilts right a little bit, and wants to dump you in a long bunker...
The home hole is a straightaway 397 yard par 4. All the trouble is in the cavernous bunkers defending the green. Well there is a fairway bunker squatting in the middle about 100 yards out, but that's mostly just to get in your head. Ignore it.
This is a lovely course, which really gives you an enjoyable afternoon winding in and out of the mountains and meadows. It's got brute force, it's got style, and it's got fun! Enjoy it!
The Beaver Course
I haven't played the Beaver Course yet, so you're on your own. If you play it before I do, let me know how it goes!
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