Courses I've played : Eagle Canyon Country Club : 4/10

The first time I played this course, I came off after 12 holes, beaten into submission by the cold, the rain and the layout. The next time I played I shot one of my best scores ever but I swore I wouldn't come back after seeing how my playing partners struggled and after this visit I suppose I would probably play here again for the test of target golf that it is, but the same problems that formed my first opinions of the course still exist and the overall impression remains that it wants to punish the high handicapper or the better player having an off day) purely because they do not possess the ability to play target golf and may not have the recovery skills required.

To my mind, there is a reason the Eagle Canyon has special offers and reduced fees with carts thrown in and that is because the majority of golfers who play there once, realise that they don't enjoy being made to feel foolish on the golf course and never come back and as is the case with a social game, they tell their friends and playing partners and the pool of people who want to play the course reduces. Case in point being the number of balls our fourball lost or put out of bounds: 15 (5, 10, 15 & 16 handicaps), thats between R300 and R450 worth of balls - I can remember my normal fourball loosing that many over a month, even when we where all playing badly.

For this review, rather than rambling on, I thought I would try to list all of the for and against points I had in my mind, if only to make it easier for the the reader to see how my opinion was formed.

For:

- Spectacular views from clubhouse and up to it from the course and its surrounds.
- Layout is certainly dramatic routing around the quarry and many water features
- Excellent greens - they are in great condition, well looked after, true to their lines and consistent from a speed perspective
- Cheap (R200 for affiliated visitor + a cart)
- I have only ever had good spotters on this course
- Clubhouse is one of the best I have ever seen
- The halfway house is very nice and reasonable priced.
- The pre and post game service from all the course staff was excellent
- The changes that have been made to the course since I last played there have improved some of the more unfair/dangerous areas

Against:

- The course is overly punitive, both in layout and the in designers ignorance of natural flows of water i.e. the 400m stroke 2 lies next to and on a level with the largest water feature of the course with the natural consequence that the fairway is very wet right in the landing zone for a good drive forcing an accurate and (very) long second shot in most cases (given that the green is tucked away between some water and the next tee box)
- There is almost an element of the course trying to hard to 'fit' into quarry layout with too many blind shots that require pinpoint accuracy to ensure a workable next shot.
- Many run-offs and slopes in landing areas are unfair, it almost seems like course designer was determined to make players loose balls.
- Players are punished for good shots/forced to compromise and a there are number of holes with no chance to take a risk
- Good players are punished for being long off the tee (par 5 5th has a sloot right in the driver landing area; high handicappers have more than enough room to play to, but better players are forced to compromise in order for the hole to be able to defend par, and there are two par 4's in a row on the back 9 that do not allow for the use of a driver off the tee)
- You are surrounded by a sea of crowded housing in pretty much any direction you choose to look
- The are areas of the course that look like a building site
- One hole specifically almost looks like the developer thought it was not memorable enough so he stuck a 300m long, winding flower bed down the left side of it, using planting that is totally out of character with the rest of the course.
- The course is still dangerous in some areas - playing to greens over/near tee boxes and blind shots that will put the fourball in front of you at risk if you don't have a spotter.
- Driving up and down some of the cart paths can be interesting
- The elevation changes and tight landing areas can be overly punitive when the wind is blowing and can make club selection a guessing game at best (in all probability the winner of the previous hole will have to sacrifice their tee shot so the rest of the fourball can get an idea of what to do)

My favourite holes on the course are the 475m par 5, 2nd and the 160m+ par 3, 4th, both holes that don't use any smart tricks or compromises because of the quarry layout. The 2nd is a dog-leg left from the 200m in mark, it has an ample fairway and rewards a good drive with a chance to go for the green in two and has opportunities to go offline on every shot. The green on this hole is as good as any on the rest of the course and my opinion is in no way biased by the eagle that I got! The 4th is a great par 3 (after the somewhat inane par 4, stroke 1), with a carry over water to a wide and not very deep green that slows from back to front (so you don't have to worry about holding your shot on the putting surface. It has a bunker on the left and a bank of rough around and the back and to the right (where it is possible to recover from). The reason it is great? Because so many golfers get intimidated carrying the water instead of worrying about their club selection and knowing how to play to their shot shape, it forces the golfer to think about other things than just the shot at hand.

My advice for the first time player: take the reputation that the course has seriously, play within yourself and think your way round the course, play with someone who knows the course, take a spotter, bring a lot of balls and prepare to be frustrated (and drink to your sorrows afterwards and enjoy the view from the clubhouse balcony)