Highlands Course

The drive requires a left-to-right shot to turn the corner and shorten the distance for the second shot. Most likely a short iron shot will be played into a deep three-club green that can be hard to get close depending on the hole location. Players need to take extra care to guard against long or left as shots winding up in either of these places can spell disaster. Stay below the hole. 

A sharp dogleg left that requires a very well-placed tee shot in order to be able to attack the flag on the second shot. The tee shot is deceptive in that it looks like a player should drive the ball left over the bunkers, but in most cases this will be a mistake. The carry is 290 yards from the back tees to clear the last bunker and anything that does not carry will be blocked out for the second shot. There is plenty of room to the right but this will lengthen the hole considerably. Bunkers are also positioned straight away at 310 yards out. There is a perfect landing area just around the corner that will leave a short-iron shot. This downhill approach shot to a well-protected green will test the nerves of the best players. .

A drive that turns the dogleg left hole may put a player in “go territory” for their second shot. From this distance, the approach shot is long and very demanding as water protects the right side of the green from 100 yards out. Anything short and right is going to be wet. A tee shot that does not turn the corner may leave a player with a tricky lay up shot for their second. The landing area tightens considerably the closer you try to get to the green. Most lay up shots will want to be well short of this lake so they leave a full shot for their third. 

This is the shortest and tightest par 4 on the golf course. The objective off the tee will have little to do with length, but rather with a player's ability to control the distance that he hits the tee shot. This is a sharp dogleg right hole that has tall pines lining both sides of the fairway. A bunker on the right side steers tee shots to the left center of the fairway but players need to make sure they do not hit too far down the left side or they can be blocked out for the second. An iron off the tee will be the smart play for most players. A short-iron approach shot to this slightly elevated green will require pinpoint control of distance in order to get the ball close. 

This is a slight dogleg right that gives the appearance of offering very little landing area from the tee. Massive bunkers protect the left side up to 350 yards out from the back tees and the right side up to 330 yards out. Right off the tee is dead because the second shot will be out of thick rough and most likely blocked out. The ideal tee shot will be down the left center of the fairway, making sure to stay inside the bunker that borders the left side of the landing area. From here, a short-iron approach to the most severe green on the course must be negotiated. Large bunkers in the front will make a player be sure he has taken enough club to carry onto this elevated green. 

Intimidating is the only way to describe this 227-yard par 3. This is the longest and most difficult par 3 on the course. The hole plays slightly downhill but extremely difficult with a large pond that guards the entire right side of the green. This pond starts well in front of the green, completely hugs the right side and wraps around the back right corner. It was also a turning point for Jerry Pate during the final round of the 1976 U.S. Open when Pate strung a 2 iron down the water line to within 8 feet and made 2. This hole would be the start of AAC's version of "Amen Corner," and it was a turning point in the 2001 PGA Championship when David Toms made a hole-in-one during the third round on his way to defeating Phil Mickelson for the championship.

This is a narrow, long, uphill par 4. Players will tend to favor the left side off the tee, but the fairway quickly runs out, and from this position the player will be blocked out by trees for an approach to a left side hole location. A driver off the tee is probably necessary but some may opt for a fairway wood off the tee to keep it in play, The players who hit the driver will need to thread the needle as the landing area tightens the further you drive it. A perfectly placed tee shot will still leave a difficult uphill short iron second to a green. 

This is Highland's signature hole and one of the most beautiful holes on the course. Stair steps of elevated tee boxes overlook a huge lake that surrounds most of the 17th green. Beautiful as it may be, this hole plays extremely difficult and will be a critical hole especially this late in the round. Playing downhill, the distance can be a little misleading. Any shot that is mis-hit is going to be wet. Beyond the green is dry, but well--protected by bunkers and very difficult to stop any shot coming back downhill towards the water. The far-left hole location is the toughest. The hole plays longer to this corner and the shot has to be struck perfect if a player is going to take dead aim at the flag. 

This demanding Par 5 finishing holes requires accuracy for all 3 shots. For those bold enough to try and reach in 2 into the prevailing wind, the second shot is all carry over the lake that fronts the green. Players choosing to lay up must control the spin on the wedge shot as the green is severely sloped from back to front.