LOCAL GOLF - Sunday Morning Golf Review

This week we would like to introduce you to a course that you may not know about. It's in Westlake, and in the grand scheme of things a pretty well kept secret for many. It's Hilliard Lakes, at the end of Hilliard Road.

They call themselves "Little Augusta." Now, that may be a bit overstated, but Hilliard is a real nice place to play. It sits way back in the trees, and for the most part every single hole is tree lined, green and pretty tight. It's a coruse that was born in the 1960's and is real nice northern golf. It has a steady stream of little creeks, a lake or two, a good amount of well placed sand traps, and and just the right amount of curves in just the right places.

And Hilliard has a phenomenon that we have never been able to figure out. The well kept greens are generally moderate in speed, undulated, and for some reason outside of a hillside putt, they don't break. Putt at the hole all day long. So, if you can get the ball on the green, you can score. Hilliard is of average length, but to be honest, I prefer to play it all the way back to the blues, where it is almost 7,000 yards. And I always score better when we play the deeps. I think it's an easier driving course from the tips.

But on this Sunday, we played the white tees, and all of us left strokes out on the course we shouldn't have. There was some real good and bad golf played this week. The good? Beef opened up with 6 pars to start the round, and had 7 on the front. But his disastrous triple of the par three number 9 really hurt, and he shot 40 up front - with a triple! But is was to be Beef's day as he posted low score of the round. But we have all played really good rounds in the past on this course. Hit it well, and you can.

Joe Red and I tried to keep pace, as we both birdied the par 5 number 5. My 41 on the front was solid, and could have been sub 40 with a couple of short putts missed. But I would lose my game on the back, with a ailing back and I fell victim to double bogey-itus Joe Red played better as the round wore on, recovering from a quad on number two, with sand trap lip problems a plenty. But Red pressed on and put up a real nice 42 on the back. Tex shaved off a ton from front to back to finish strong, and post a good figure for him on this challenging course. The front doesn't set up well for him, and many of the fairways have a creek cutting them in half, inclusind the first 4 holes. The back 9, although probably harder overall, less water in play.

But is was Beef's day. He was the most solid all day long, with few peaks and valleys. Red had some sand issues, and I had 8, (count them) 8 punch out shots on the day, as I had a hard time finding the center on the day. Tex hung in there all day long and didn't let the round get away from him.

Course highlights? All 4 par 5's are great. All challenging, but all can be scored on if you drive it smartly. I played them even on the day. Also, the par 3's are not overly brutal, but many par 4's are tough. Including the very tight number 2, 3, 4, 10, and 11 which is long right and thin. Number 18 is no picnic either. Course's biggest teeth? Holes 9 - 12, gotta keep the damage light.

We love this golf course. Always in good shape, nice people, and challenging. I far more enjoy this course from the deeps, where if you can hit, you can drive the ball better in many cases. But it can play to any skill level. Although, I would not recommend that beginners tee it up here. there are better courses for them.

Scores

Beef 85
JoeRed 88
Wynn 89
Tex 99