Hack Attack Week Nine: Slow Shawneeki Sucks at the Pocketbook

Shawneeki's Closer: Slow Greens and Uninspired Layout

Course: Shawneeki Golf Club

Date: Thursday, 30^th June, 2008

Weather: Hot and humid, with a prolonged rain shower, 25C.

Tees used: Blue (6307 yards) Rating 70.0 Slope 130

Score Shot: 84 – not a good day at the office!

Tee time intervals: 9 minutes

Time taken: 3 hours, 45 minutes

The Course

Shawneeki's 13th

Quality of service:

The people in the pro shop and clubhouse were very friendly so I’ve no complaints at all. Actually, the course was very quiet (a sign of the times?) and I didn’t see a beverage cart all day.

Goat Track or Weekend in Paradise:

While I hesitate to call it a goat track, Shawneeki certainly would never be my idea of a weekend in paradise. There’s little or no variety and I can’t think of a good risk/reward hole at all.

How the rock rolls:

The rock rolls slowly at Shawneeki, at least it did on the day I was there. The surfaces were very patchy but the ball rolled quite smoothly – I just couldn’t hit it hard enough to reach the hole.

The 15th at Shawneeki

Conditioning:

Average and mediocre were the words that kept springing to mind as I played Shawneeki. There’s nothing drastically wrong, but there’s nothing worth writing home about either. Maybe it’s because of the wet weather that the fairways seemed a little long and the first cut a little deeper than I expected. While it’s nothing to affect play, the edges of the bunkers weren’t cut sharply – the whole place just looked a bit untidy.

Making the Cut:

I find it hard to get excited about Shawneeki. While there are no real Mickey Mouse holes, there’s nothing memorable either. I don’t want to be overly critical of a relatively low budget golf course, but I found it quite boring. I was unable to find any online information about the course architect, so I presume it wasn’t a well known name in golfing circles.

Shawneeki's opener

Hacker’s Highlights:

Maybe in an effort to put some variety into the golf course, there is a very unusual change being made to the 15^th hole. A large man made pond has been constructed in the middle of the fairway about 240 yards from the Blue tee blocks and about 215 from the Whites. While Bubba Watson might be able to make the 300 yard carry to the other side, mere mortals are forced to lay up and hit an approach shot from around 175 yards. There is a tiny sliver of fairway on either side of the pond, so I suppose the more adventurous among us could still take their chances with a driver!

They’re also making changes to the last hole, but this time slightly more conventional and more pleasing to the eye. The hole is a slight dogleg to the left and a well positioned tee shot is required to leave a short iron approach over water to a new slightly undulating green surrounded by grass mounds. Saving the best for last?

Hit To Your Pocketbook:

I paid 57 dollars to walk. It’s an easy walk, with no major elevation changes and no long hikes between greens and tees.

Hacking Away: 70%

Shawneeki currently isn’t worth any more than 40 bucks of this hacker’s money.

(Final rating is an indication of what the course is worth versus the green fee charged. According to the Hacker, a poor course could be worth less than the green fee charged, while a strong course that offers value might actually be underpriced.)