Links Of Rockway Glen

1	A zig-zag of a starting hole, gently to the right, then back to the left. Avoid the big pond to the right of the drive zone, as well as the bunkers that frame the landing area. The second shot is played slightly uphill, with a short-iron or wedge approach to a good-sized green.
2	In spite of its scorecard length, this hole is long. Playing into the typical prevailing wind, subtract fifteen yards from your drive. Avoid the bunkers right and left in the drive zone, then assess the approach over the deep swale that fronts the green. Take one more club for the wind, and one more for the uphill approach. Anything that lands short, stays short. Two bunkers protect the putting surface. A vale runs down the middle, affording an opportunity to hole a longish putt to a center pin.
3	The first of four solid par three holes, number three hides nothing. Three beads of sand ring the green. Short is a good place to aim, as the pitch or chip from down low is fairly straightforward. Taking the proper club from the tee brings the sand into play. Remember the adage: play for bogey and you might make par; play for par and you might make double (or worse!)
4	Another strategic hole, even from the tips a driver is hardly required. Bang a long iron down the pipe, avoiding the orchards and OB left, and the two fairway bunkers. Approach to a green protected by a front-center bunker, and have a run at birdie. Too much brawn here makes a risky proposition.
5	Another hole where local knowledge comes into play. See the university tower in the distance? Aim to the right. Everything kicks left on this hole, and apparently solid drives have been known to end up in the left rough. The green is elevated, and protected by a large sand pit on the right.
6	Par three number two has the prettiest set of stacked/tiered tees in the region, but you won't see this until you look back from the green. Over the river and sand to a fortified target, this is another hole where short, then pitch and putt, is a viable, even suggested, option. The green is somewhat large yet puttable, so once you make it to the short grass, you have a shot at a one-putt.
7	Another demanding par five, protected by sand on both perimeters in the drive zone. The second is played optimally to the left, away from the water on the right. The left side affords a better approach angle to this two-tiered green. What seems to be a horrendous height difference between front and back from 100 yards out, instead results in a gentle drop down. Be wary of the mound on the front-center portion of the green; it dictates the fate of putts that traverse the slope.
8	The monster of the course, all 470 yards of it. Length is the chief obstacle here, as bunkers serve to retain, rather than punish. A solid drive leaves a 200-225 yard approach to a green set behind a deep, front-left bunker. Aim right, as both the wind and the ground push approaches toward the bunker. The green, like many at Rockway Glen, is a three-leafed clover, with the front leaf on a bit of a slope.
9	A terrific finishing hole on the front, with a daunting drive to start. The landing zone slopes gently uphill, with a bunker right, and orchard trees separating the fairway from the first fairway, some ten yards below. The approach is played uphill to a perched green, also adorned with a necklace of sand. When chipping from front to back, play the break from right to left and give it enough oomph.
10	The back nine begins with a mid-length par four, doglegging to the right around a pair of fairway bunkers. The approach comes in to a green again framed by sand. A fair, not extreme, beginning to the inward half.
11	Two clubs longer than the tenth, number eleven continues the journey away from the clubhouse. In spite of the fairway shaping, the hole is essentially a straightaway affair. The bunker on the right is reachable from the white tees, not so from the golds. The approach, played typically with a mid iron, has the option of bounding in to a scottish-style green, where the fairway invisibly blends into the putting surface. Two more bunkers protect the sides of the green.
12	Heading back toward home, this par five is boundried by the road and OB on the right, and trees and number eleven on the left. The conventional playing of the hole aims for a fairway that maneuvers between two landing-zone bunkers. The second shot is played with all one's might toward the green. A second fairway bunker on the right, some 100 yards shy of the green, serves to retain rather than penalize. The green complex is reminiscent of number seven, as a large front bunker precedes a two tiered green set at an angle to the fairway. The journey up or down the slope is not overwhelming, merely whelming. A fine par five.
13	A gambler's hole, the large and hidden pond on the left may be eliminated with a daring and solid, 250 yard carry over the corner. A tee shot that follows the trace of the fairway leaves a mid-iron to a green protected one more by a large front bunker. In all cases where the large front bunker protects the majority of the putting surface, a narrow opening has been crafted at lower left for the run-up option. Thirteen is no different.
14	The third solid par three, the green appears more open and larger from the tee, than it is in actuality. A large pond on the right, designed to come into play on number fifteen, will snare the poorly sliced tee ball here. Another pond, this one on the left (shared with the previous hole), will grab shots played short. Bunkers behind the green protect balls from going into the maintenance area.
15	One of the finest examples of how to use natural terrain to create a deceptive golf hole. Alistair MacKenzie would be proud! The visible fairway bunker represents the right perimeter of the hole. That you can see the green directly over it, is reason enough to aim at it. Well, don't!! Aim way left of it, so that your worst slice or draw will only skirt its edge. Water lurks to the side of it, ready to claim your ball for the golfing gods. The well-played tee ball, aimed away from the green, will find a verdant pasture for momentary repose. The approach is played to another target where the physics of golf, a la Dave Pelz, come into play. Land the ball well short, and it will bound onto the putting surface. Land it just shy, on the upslope, and it will bounce straight up, short of the 1.5 tiered green.
16	The final par five, and certainly the trickiest. Can you hit it in two? Sure. Poke a drive into the center, then aim straight for Dolly Parton (local knowledge). There is a pond on the left from one hundred yards in, so keep everything right of the flora. The green, by the way, is thin, with a tremendous slope down to the water. Par is well-earned at this hole.
17	They call it an easy hole, while it's anything but. A wide-open drive lulls you to sleep, as the left-side bunker is fairly easy to avoid. The approach, played over a mini-swale, aims for a green protected front-right by a sizeable bunker. The putting surface itself is canted, resulting in many a side-hill putt. If that's not enough, the prevailing wind, just like number two, is in your face.
18	One golf hole never in doubt was this one. Originally the ninth, it truly deserves to be the finishing hole at Rockway Glen. The most demanding shot, the largest green, the most scenic terrain, all are found on number 18. Standing on the Gold tee, wind in your face, with a three-iron in your hand, is exhilarating, astonishing, and downright scary. Hit it flush, and you'll never forget the sensation, the moment, the result. No, your work isn't done, as the largest green on the course demands your finest effort(s) with the flat stick. When the final shot is played and a glance is taken back across the waterway, the score will have been earned.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	FRONT
	5	4	3	4	4	3	5	4	4	36
MEN	515	397	192	364	395	180	556	470	414	3483
WOMEN	455	294	164	315	285	130	431	375	263	2712
	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	BACK	TOTAL
	4	4	5	4	3	4	5	4	3	36
MEN	385	409	564	423	207	388	505	350	200	3431	6914
WOMEN	338	307	492	366	119	317	451	296	112	2798	5510