A Caddie's Perspective
Written: Jun 10 '02
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Pros: Beautiful course, helpful staff, great history
Cons: Difficult greens (but that makes it great)
The Bottom Line: Interlachen is truly Minnesota's greatest course. Play it if you can, or check out the Solheim Cup here in September 2002.
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| Bobo654547's Full Review: Interlachen Country Club |
As Golf Magazine's 63rd-best rated course in the United States, and thus Minnesota's highest-rated course, Interlachen is truly a beautiful place to play a round of golf. Opened in 1911 and designed by Donald Ross, an architect of 413 golf courses worldwide (including the majestic Pinehurst #2 in North Carolina), Interlachen has been host to a number of major golf events, including the 1930 U.S. Open and the 1993 Walker Cup, and will host this year's 2002 Solheim Cup and the 2008 U.S. Women's Open.
The 6800-yard, par 73 course (75 for women) spans some 280 acres, includes over 2,500 trees of some 47 varieties, and incorporates 93 bunkers and 14 bodies of water over its 18 holes.
As a 2-year veteran caddie at Interlachen, I walk up and down Interlachen's 18 brilliant holes 6 days a week during the summer months, usually from mid-May until late-August. Yet I never have to pay the $275 guest fees or even the $100 greens fees. In fact, I am the one who gets paid. As I get this privilege, I figure it is my job to show others the beauty of this course, hole by hole.
Hole #1: Par 5, 530 Yards
The first hole starts from a slightly-raised tee box overlooking a wide open fairway. Fairway bunkers are located on both the left and right sides of the fairway, and both come into play with a 240+ yard drive. Any 200 yard drive sliced right will surely end up in the large pond adjacent to hole #9. The best play off the tee is to the right side of the fairway, as the hole is a slight dogleg left. The green is reachable by some in two shots, but for most the second play will be a layup in preparation for a 100-120 year approach shot to the raised green. Two more ponds come into play right of the fairway, each marked with a willow tree. The green, as with many at Interlachen, slopes downward from back to front, and a shot below the hole is preferred. This hole plays as the third most difficult hole on the course
Hole #2: Par 4, 351 Yards
The second hole is a short but difficult par 4. An errant tee shot here will leave you with no second shot to the green, as left and right are both tree- and bunker-ridden. A 3-wood off the tee is a good play here, preferably on the right side of the fairway over the bunker. The left side of the fairway slopes greatly down to the left toward a bunker and overhanging tree branches. The tiny elevated green is protected by bunkers left and right and once again slopes downward from back to front.
Hole #3: Par 3, 179 Yards
A redesigned green by Robert Trent Jones has turned Interlachen's third hole into a most challenging one. The length of this hole is somewhat compromised by an elevated tee box, but this is by no means an easy iron on the green. Left is worse (water and sand), but right is no better (sand). The pin is difficult to attack when it is placed back and left, and a 3 here is a great score.
Hole #4: Par 5, 530 Yards
Hole 4 takes the golfer on a roller coaster ride up hills and down into valleys, yet still finds ways to show off two bodies of water and five sand traps. Bunkers left and right come into play off the tee, where a good drive typically stops on the top of a large hill overlooking the approach. The second play is either onto the severely sloping elevated green or a layup on the left side of a rightward sloping fairway toward a pond. If the golfer lays up, he or she will find a short but difficult approach uphill to a barely visible pin. Anyone above the hole will be lucky to 2-putt as it becomes extremely difficult to stop the ball at the hole and prevent it from rolling off the front of the green.
Hole #5: Par 3, 175 Yards
One of ICC's easier holes, the par-3 fifth has a pin that is easy to attack and protected only by bunkers. This downhill hole that plays more like 160 yards is the club's second-easiest hole.
Hole #6: Par 4, 350 Yards
Another short par 4. A 3 or 5 wood here for longer hitters will put the golfer in perfect position for an 130-year approach to an elevated green. Trouble off the tee occurs when the golfer misses the narrow fairway right, where a fairway bunker snatches many drives. Once again, the green is protected by bunkers — a missed shot right awaits a sand shot up a large hill to a well-protected pin.
Hole #7: Par 4, 346 Yards
Number 7's tee box can be seen well from the clubhouse, and a breathtaking view it is. The hole plays primarily uphill after the drive which can find water right if one is not careful. Trees line this hole, but the true difficulty of this hole spawns from the tilted green.
Hole #8: Par 4, 424 Yards
The most difficult hole at Interlachen, the eighth is a long dogleg left. Bunkers to the right side of the fairway just at the dogleg turn make a good target for a drive, but longer hitters may opt to draw the ball around the dogleg. Anything too left, though, will leave the golfer with nothing more than a pitch out to the fairway. The approach to the large green must be kept below the hole. Too far right and you're out of bounds.
Hole #9: Par 5, 520 Yards
The front nine's third par 5 is also its most beautiful. The green is reachable in two with a drive that lands just before the large, fountain-containing lake, some 220 yards from the green. The safer play travels alongside the lake, being careful not to hit shots which can slope down to the water. Two bunkers protect this relatively easy green, making this hole the second-easiest of the five par-5's on the course.
Hole #10: Par 4, 341 Yards
Another short par-4 with a looming green on top of a hill and a narrow fairway opens the back nine. One fairway trap lines the right side of the hole, but the true difficulty of the hole comes from the approach and putting. The green slopes severely downward from back to front, so below the hole here is highly recommended. If you're over too far, out of bounds comes into play.
Hole #11: Par 4, 465 Yards
After a brisk walk across Interlachen Boulevard over a bridge, golfers encounter a slight reward: the course's easiest and shortest par-5. The hole bends to the right, but cut the corner too close on the drive, and you'll hit some trees with the possibility of landing in the pond. The hole plays longer than what it shows on the scorecard because it is primarily uphill, so reaching the green in two shots is not a given. The green is protected by sand traps and out of bounds to its right. A three or four here is entirely possible, and a five is almost necessary.
Hole #12: Par 5, 541 Yards
After the "treat" on 11 comes the longest and second most difficult hole on the course. The tee shot is tricky — even the slightest slice will travel out of bounds, and too far left will leave no easy second shot. An elevated green here makes going for it in two almost impossible. As on 10, the green slopes severely downward back to front, and anything above the hole has 3-putt written all over it. It's not uncommon to see 7s, 8s, and 9s on this hole.
Hole #13: Par 3, 181 Yards
After hole 12, anything is a relief. After grabbing a quick drink or bite to eat at the shack on 13, golfers face a large, easy-to-hit green surrounded by five bunkers. The hole plays well downhill, so the 181 becomes more of a 160-165. The green here is relatively flat, so birdies and pars are quite common.
Hole #14: Par 4, 440 Yards
Hole 14 is a long and large dogleg right that contains one of ICC's most wide-open fairways. The green is pretty large and easy to attack, but the length of this hole makes it the fourth most difficult on the course.
Hole #15: Par 4, 409 Yards
Yet another challenging par 4 follows the difficult 14th. Hole 15 is another dogleg right, and the play here off the tee is a slight fade over a sand trap on the right side of the fairway, just around the bend. This should leave the golfer with a 150-175 yard approach to a heavily slanted and difficult green. Too far right and you're out of bounds, too far left and you're pitching out under some trees.
Hole #16: Par 4, 313 Yards
With an easy 5-wood or long iron off the tee and a 110-yard approach to a fairly easy green, the 16th plays as the easiest hole at Interlachen. During the 1993 Walker Cup, some players opted to hit a draw with their driver around the dogleg left and drive the green, but this is a safe birdie hole with just an iron off the tee and an easy approach. Bunkers protect the front of the green.
Hole #17: Par 3, 226 Yards
It may be hard to believe, but golfers today are lucky the 17th isn't as long as it once was. In the 1930 U.S. Open, this par-3 played 262 yards long — giving it the distinction as the longest par-3 in U.S. Open history. Bunkers everywhere but behind the green make this shot a challenging one. Many golfers even have to lay up here to a small valley on the right side of the fairway and pitch up for their second shot. Still, a relatively easy green makes this Interlachen's fifth easiest.
Hole #18: Par 4, 400 Yards
The challenging and picturesque 18th ends a truly spectacular round of golf. A blind drive into an open fairway valley starts off this beauty, and a long climb up a large hill to the course's toughest green finishes it. The second shot plays 15-20 yards longer than its given yardage, and 10+ foot breaks are common on this small green. Even after a perhaps disappointing finish on the scorecard at 18, the golfer is always impressed by its sheer magnificence.
For more information about Interlachen Country Club, visit http://www.interlachencc.org
Recommended:
Yes
Green Fees Paid (US$): 100
Speed of Play (typical weekend): 3 to 4 Hours
Look Out For: Trees
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Bobo654547
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Reviews written: 7
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