Wood Forest - Course Detail
The day I played this course, the wind was howling, and consquently I only played nine holes (the West Nine, which is rated as the most difficult of the three nines), and I also played from the white tees. The length is 3098, which, given the conditions, was plenty.
For instance, the first hole is a 438 yard par 4. From the back tees, it's a full 474 yards (still a par 4...). The wind, which was considerable, was blowing directly at my face. It's straightaway, you just have to hit it hard. A creek runs down the right side waiting to swallow anything wild. The hole is plenty wide - use your driver. The green has large bunkers on both sides, and you probably can't reach them on your second shot anyway (at least not with that headwind...).
#2 is a short par 5 (484 yards). However it is narrow off the tee (creek running down the left side, and trees down the right). It is also narrow on the second shot, since you can only hit to the right hand half of the fairway. Anything left of center is probably going to roll into a pond.
#3 is a 164 yard par 3. With a stiff headwind, it played more like 200+.
#4 is an uphill par 4. It's not too long (364 yards), but the hill makes up for it. The fairway doglegs left, so try to favor the left side. Straying right will add 20-30 yards to your second shot.
#5 is 357 yards, and with another hard dogleg left. Definitely leave the driver in the bag here. A three wood is plenty. Keep it left of center, and this won't be too difficult (if you can clear all the bunkers around the green, that is...).
#6 is on of the very few creampuffs on this nine. The hole is pretty short, at 343 yards, has plenty of width to it, and no real trouble to speak of either in the fairway or around the green. Hit a three wood down the middle, and a short iron or wedge to the green, and scoop up an easy par (he said with a straight face).
#7 is another 164 yard par 3. There are bunkers, bunkers everywhere. Either commit to the shot and hit the center of the green, or bail out short left, and chip on.
#8 is a dogleg right, playing 366 yards. You don't need a driver, just hit it out to the middle of the fairway. This hole is all about the approach. The green presents a false front, and you need a high soft shot that must carry all the way to the green. If you're the least bit short, you'll be in this hole trying to hit a delicate lob up to the green which is about 5 feet above your feet.
#9 is a 417 yard brute. Hit your driver, but don't stray right. The right hand rough leaves you fighting trees to find a line to the green. The green has bunkers and trees all around it, so stay in the fairway on your approaches, even if you have to lay up to get there.
This is a lovely track, and I need to get back there another day to play the other two nines!
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