Course Review – Heritage Hill, Kentucky

Heritage Hill (Tips)

7142 yards – 72.8 Rating – 136 Slope – 86 Score
Day 20; May 10th, 2017

 

I had the first tee time at Heritage Hill and about 10 minutes before that time as I was warming up around the tee box, the group behind me encouraged me to go.  I was hesitant because, well, it wasn’t my time just yet.  However they insisted, speaking about how they played almost every day and would handle any flack that might otherwise come my way.  They were friendly, fun and (eventually) got me off the tee box early.  If *that* is the “worst” part of your day on a course, you’ve probably chosen your track well.

 

The course was in fantastic condition and quite frankly, I was ready to start writing my review after the third hole.  Heritage Hill doesn’t waste anytime piquing your interest with a lovely (200+ yard) elevated tee shot into a green that is well protected on the right (although there is some respite on the left) on the par 3 second hole.  This is followed by the par 4 third with one of the coolest and most visually pleasing tee boxes I’ve hit from on my trip.

 

I played from the tips and it is a lengthy track from back there, 7142 yards with a 72.8/136 rating/slope.  The rating is a little low for that distance (in my experience) which is probably because most of the holes have rather generous landing areas, making it relatively easy not to get into too much trouble off the tee.  Most of the difference from the regular tees to the back is distance; however there are a few holes where the angles matter.  Eleven and to a lesser degree sixteen come quickly to mind.  On #11 the angle into the par 3 green really cuts down on the play you have in your shot and at 170+ yards (read: you’re not firing in there with a wedge), this starts to matter.

 

I found the bunkering on the first three or four holes to be both light and ineffectual as far as keeping the course honest; however, after that the traps increased significantly in both volume and practical value.  On both nine and ten, for example, I don’t think you could put bunkers in better strategic places to maintain the integrity of play.  As mentioned above, the course protects itself largely with distance, although there is also a little water here and there.

 

Other than #18 there really aren’t any really tough angles or holes where a premium is placed on where you leave your drive.  Even there it’s really just a matter of how much water you want to carry, I don’t think there are any holes where being on the wrong side of the fairway cuts off a significant part of the green.  While this makes play a little less strategic, I really enjoyed being able to “just play golf.”  Move around the course putting together one decent shot after another without being overly focused on threading a needle in order to set up a decent shot for my approach.

 

This course plays to a nice mixture of challenge and forgiveness as you really have to make some pretty big mistakes to take the proverbial blowup hole (I can imagine #2, #11, #16 and #18 causing some consternation on the wrong day though).  This is how I feel a course should be designed, tough to score upon, but also forgiving enough to properly reflect an average round (many courses set up to overly penalize average play, Heritage Hill will not do that).  As such I really enjoyed my round from the course design standpoint.

 

We also had a great experience when it came to the staff at the course.  In the clubhouse everyone was friendly and helpful; however, the gold medal goes to the gentleman we had a lengthy conversation with after the round.  Such a great guy and so many fantastic stories.  That personal touch really made a great day even better.

 

Pace of play was great (as you might imagine being playing as a single and going off first), with the foursome behind us playing with us the entire way (and the group behind them right on their heels.  This was particularly impressive since we turned in a 3:15 round.  I can’t speak for the afternoon pace, of course, but if this is any indication I can’t imagine ever having any pace issues in the morning.

I really enjoyed Heritage Hill and if I find myself in the state again will almost certain make a point of visiting and playing here again.  If you live in the area, be sure to go!