Playing a Round at Creighton Farms Golf Club

I’ve played a lot of high caliber golf courses, Congressional, Pinehurst, Treyburn (that’s Michael Jordan’s club in Durham, NC) just to name a few. It takes more than a gate and a high initiation fee to stand out. Along with perfect conditions the layout must be challenging, the setting spectacular, and the service impeccable. It was no surprise to me that Creighton Farms Golf Club was added to that list. This past Columbus Day Creighton opened the gates to the public with the proceeds going to the Wounded Warriors Project. I rounded up a foursome and along with about 50 other golfers we had an outstanding day on the links. Here’s what we saw…

First things first, don’t come here off your game. If you are hitting it the least bit sideways off the tee it’s going to be a long day. I can also see where the greens could get down right unplayable, something like Augusta on a Sunday afternoon in May. As you would expect from a Jack Nicklaus design, precise ball striking is required to score well here. A couple of my playing partners found that out the hard way when they landed in fairway bunkers and had no chance of hitting the green in regulation.

One of the things I loved about Creighton Farms was how different each nine was. Both play to a par of 36 but the front is slightly shorter and much more open. If you are going to shoot a good score here you need to take advantage early. I ended up making three birdies on the front and still shot 38, it’s not hard to imagine a windy day wreaking havoc on your front 9 scorecard.

Stepping to the 10th tee you are aware that things are going to be different. After a relatively flat front nine I don’t think there is a level tee shot on the back nine until the 18th. Just about every hole is tree lined and the extra 100 yards on the card seemed more like 300. All four of us scored much worse on the back side as there is just no room for error. One of the photo’s below is the 15th, a downhill par 3 over 200 yards. It epitomized the back nine for us, we needed 7 tee shots from our foursome and no one came close to par.

Everyone has their own determination of what makes a course good. For me it’s whether or not I could play it every day. I always felt part of the allure of golf is the opportunity for something new with each round. Never mind the excellent conditions and million dollar homes, Creighton Farms is an excellent course because it offers a new challenge every time you tee it up. Enjoy the photos, and if you ever need a fourth give me a call!

Cheers,
Mike

P.S. – I hit that shot from the trees on #10 to the front of the green, too bad I three-putted for bogey!