Spirit Hollow (Blacks)
6589 yards – 71.4 Rating – 124 Slope – 85 Score
Day 38; May 28th, 2017
So, I’m going to start with something completely non-golf (because I’m afraid I’ll forget it). As you play down through the green on the first hole, don’t forget to look back and take in the old cabin on the hill on the right as you look back… it’s pretty cool.
Spirit Hollow was a slightly different experience for me (especially on this trip). I almost always set my tee times for early in the morning (first out as often as possible), I really like getting first tracks when I can. However, do to scheduling I wound up going out as a single at 3:00pm. This put me behind several larger groups so the play was a bit slower than I’m used to; however, this gave me a chance to really take in the course as I went. Something my typical three hour rounds don’t always allow me to do.
Spirit is a nice course that can play quite long. The blacks I played were a rather pedestrian 6589 when compared to the gold tees in back at 7550(!). In my entire stack of 39 course score cards so far from this trip, there is not a single course that opens up this much between the back two tees. I like a good challenge, but that one was enough that I left it for next time. Spirit also features enough water to keep you honest, and keep your camera busy… if you’re into that sort of thing.
The course features a decent amount of elevation change but as I recall mostly plays downhill with lots of cart paths taking you back up. This provides for plenty of great vista’s from the tee boxes. The most fun I had was on the par 5 18th hole where the two groups in front of me got backed up on the green and layup area, leaving the entire fairway landing area free for me. I took advantage of this and let a few balls fly after putting my first drive safely on the deck. You shoot over a creek that runs at an angle away from you, so it’s a “bite off as much as you think you can chew” tee shot. Having placed one safely on the fairway and having nothing to do while I waited… I got to test out “my appetite” (turns out my eyes were bigger than my stomach, and I just lost a few balls… but I had some good fun).
The golf, in general, was good. One of the elements I really liked that unfortunately didn’t show in many of the pictures we took was the long grasses that border the rough on so many holes. This is not a course that will penalize you much for being a little off. However, if you stray too far, you will have a tough time both in finding and then striking your ball.
This track offers something for everyone including a fun risk/reward poke over some (pretty tall) trees on the dogleg left 14th hole. I took that rout successfully with a 3 wood and was rewarded with just a wedge into the green and my only birdie on the day (there were other scoring opportunities, but I strained my oblique on the first hole and had trouble with my swing most of the way).
With the exception of one hole that is undergoing a major renovation (obviously not a neglect issue), the course was in very good condition, which was impressive given the number people that had gone through the course before we did. The staff was friendly and engaging and seemed genuinely interested in our trip and helping in any way they could. Other than one group (which, thankfully, only played 9 holes) the pace of play and the other players were friendly and a pleasure to chat with as well.
I’d certainly play Spirit Hollow again if I were in the area.