Pros:
Crooked Creek was a pleasant surprise the first time I played it back in 2008. Seven years later, I finally got to make my return visit to the course. The course was just as good the second time around. Let's just hope I don't have to wait as long for the next round here.
- Crooked Creek offers some of the best, most creative, most enjoyable holes for any course I've played. For a nearly exclusive wooded course, it's amazing how much variety this course offers. And with the creative side of the layout, the designers do an excellent job of offering interesting looks without crossing into gimmicky territory. The island hole on #7 is the perfect example of how a smartly designed hole shot look and play.
- Good variety of holes, several short holes to several long holes over 400 feet, sharp doglegs, holes with good elevation changes. The course does a great job of offering good birdie chances as well as tough par 3s throughout. Take any stretch of four or five holes, and you'll see one or two easier layouts as well as a tough one or two as well. For example, the stretch of holes #6 - 9 offers two sub 200 foot, high risk/reward layouts in #6 & 7. That's followed by two of the course's toughest layouts. #8 is an uphill, 425 foot (or 475 to position B), par 4. This is the first true, multi-shot hole on the course. That's followed by the new, tough layout on #9, the course's only hole longer than 500 feet. My scores on this stretch ranged from 2 to 6.
- Many holes have alternative/longer tee pads to make the course that much more difficult. While the multiple layouts are a wise choice on some holes, others should stick to one layout and offer a superior layout and/or challenge. For example, hole #3 in the longs is a great hole, and a challenging par 3. In the short position, it's a simple par 3, and loses some of its luster. Why not make this a good hole all the time, rather than dilute it some of the time?
- The course offers a great risk/reward factor. The course tilts heavily towards accuracy over distance. If you can hit your lines, you will see a lot of birdies and birdie putts. If not, you'll be hitting trees left and right. I was split pretty much down the middle with lots of birdie putts and lots of scrambles to save par, or bogey.
- Great tee signs - show hole layouts and distances. I like the holes that have the added marker to show what position the basket is in.
- Great park and facilities- numerous ball fields, tennis courts, rec center building, walking trails. I was surprised how good everything was for seeming to be in such a rural area. Oh yeah, and there's another 9-hole layout here as well. Just in case you didn't know that.
- Great tee signs - show hole layouts and distances. There are enough blind tee shots that good tee signs come into play.
- Good variety of holes, several short holes to several long holes over 400 feet, sharp doglegs, holes with good elevation changes.
- Great park and facilties- numerous ball fields, tennis courts, rec center building, walking trails. I was surprised how good everything was for seeming to be in such a rural area. Parks & Rec department has done a great job with things.
Cons:
- The first couple holes seem a little out of place compared to the rest of the course. Holes #1 -3 play close to the Rec Center building (#1 & 3) or the main road (#2). After that point, the course really takes off.
- Navigation could be improved at times, especially on the long transitions. There were usually at least one next tee sign. The problems is the signs usually didn't list what hole number it was pointing you towards, and with other holes nearby, it's not difficult to bypass a hole or two. For example, after finishing hole #11, the first thing you see is the tee for #13, followed by the basket for #12. I also, after finishing hole #1, went straight to hole #3, finished that hole, and got to #4 before realizing I was already off on my scorecard.
- There's major confusion as to what's going on with the new #9 and how it relates to #10. By that I mean the tee sign for #9 makes it appear that you can throw backwards down #10's fairway if #9's basket is in the secondary position. Then, after finishing #9, you see a secondary tee pad for #10, which makes it seem you play this hole back up #9's original fairway to the basket. I was totally confused, and was just glad the baskets were in their primary positions so I didn't have to improvise.
- Maybe this is petty, but there's got to be better attention paid to details for some of the little things. What do I mean? For starters, why is the map at the kiosk by #1 hand-drawn? This isn't a brand new, in-progress course. For a first timer, good luck interpreting the map to see where all the holes are. Second, why isn't there consistency in labeling which position the baskets are in? Some holes had locks on the tee signs to mark the baskets, but others didn't. Third, why is the scorecard that's listed on here, and the Columbia DGC's website, so outdated and inaccurate? The distances are off on many holes and the lengths for the different layouts are not all listed. Hole #17, for example, has four different basket positions. You wouldn't know that from the scorecard because it's more than 100 feet off in listed distance.
Other Thoughts:
Crooked Creek is one of my favorite courses around, plain and simple. There's a stretch of holes in the middle of the course (#8 - 11) that frustrate me, in part due to problems listed above. Also, because it's a tough stretch. After that, the course picks its groove back up and reminds me of why this is solid.
- There isn't anything overly amazing or challenging about this place. This is a course where you have a ton of good to very good holes and no real duds. The worst, or simplest, hole might be #1, so at least it get better from there.
- I really enjoy the island hole layout of #7. It's an evil, short hole at 177. I imagine many a player have walked away from that hole with a bogey or worse after landing OB and wondering how that happened. It seems like a simple shot, then you start focusing on the island green...focus some more...start thinking about what to throw...and suddenly that island green is looking really small.
- Call me crazy, but I think one of the better hole layouts is an 'accidental' one. Hole #15's primary basket position is on a raised mound. Me, I prefer the alternative layout that plays past the mound and in the trees. The reason being is that you now have the mound as an obstacle towards the basket, meaning low shots will be blocked. The hole is straight-forward and simple with a mound basket, but longer and more challenging in the secondary basket position.
- This is my favorite course in the Columbia area. Stoney Hill is another 20 - 30 minutes further out of town, so I'm not considering that 'Columbia' territory. Regardless, anyone in the Columbia area, or passing through on one of the three interstates should play here.