Cherokee Town Club South Course

driveandputtmachine · September 12, 2016

I was lucky and was invited for a work shamble today and got to play the re-designed and with brand new greens South course at Cherokee Town Club today.

So for those of you that did not see it before the re-design, there were quite a few changes. Most notably......

First all bunkers were removed and placed to where they are in the 280 - 300 yard range from the back tee box, bringing them more into play than before.

18 - Par 5 of 569 from one tee up from the tips. The fairway and bunkering is somewhat similar, however the green has been lowered by roughly 30 feet. So you are no longer playing uphill blindly to a green that you cannot see any of.

11 - Completely regraded fairway and new bunkering. The green was moved some 100 feet left and a retaining wall built in the lake so that it is more of an obstacle for approach shots.

15 - green was re-built and edges were raised with a retaining wall in the lake rather than a slope down to the water. Previously balls could hit and run through or to the left of the green and down into the water on what was a pretty good shot. This has made the green bigger, and made some more demanding looking pin placements.

New tee boxes have been added on numerous holes or existing ones have been expanded adding quite a bit of length to the course. The greens had their first rounds this past Thursday and are VERY new. The problem being maturity right now. Very inconsistent grain currently, but they are fast and roll smooth. Surprisingly they were not as hard as I would have expected them to be for just being opened. Normally the first year or two on new bermuda greens they are very hard, while I would not classify them as soft, well struck wedges with a urethane ball hold their position pretty well. The less spin and lower your ball flight the more trouble you will have until they get some thatch and root depth.

All in all this makes the South course, which tended to be looked upon as the red headed step child, an equal to the North course. They are not the same, but they are both very good.

If you get the chance to play either 18, jump at it right away.