Damaikis
Fairway Finder
I have a membership at The Walker Course at Clemson University in Clemson, SC, so I figured I'd share some about it here. It's a very nice course and a good layout in my opinion. The course is kept in good condition with the only real blemish I can think of being the 16th green which has a bunch of dead spots since it gets almost no sunlight during the day. Otherwise the greens are good; they roll well but are maybe a bit slower than some people are used to. The fairways and tee boxes are kept up very nicely and the rough is good and thick. The bunkers are also in good shape with nice, soft sand. Here is the 16th green that I spoke of:
The clubhouse is very nice and full of Clemson-themed stuff such as both wood and putter head covers, shirts, hats, and other things. The majority of the clubs sold there are PING, with some Titleist. They sell a variety of different golf balls by the sleeve, and also sell Titleist balls by the box. They are certified PING and Titleist fitters, and that includes a PING fitting cart in the shop. The practice facilities outside are kept in good condition and they have just about any kind of practice you could want. They have a long driving range with grass tees, a large putting green with various cups and undulations, a chipping green with several pins that provides a variety of different lies, and even a practice bunker with its own separate green to hit onto. They offer rounds either with a cart or walking if you would like to save money, which I personally love because I can't afford to pay cart fees all the time being in college.
The front 9 starts out heading away from Lake Hartwell, but by 9 you have circled back to the clubhouse. The back 9 then goes off in the other direction sort of towards the lake, with the 3 finishing holes bordering the lake to bring you back to the clubhouse with some gorgeous views. There is a mix of challenging holes with good scoring opportunities throughout the course. It plays a par 72 with four par 3s (2 on the front, 2 on the back) and four par 5s (two on the front, 2 on the back). In my opinion, the most challenging hole on the course is #9 with the easiest being #1 or #16.
#9 is a tough par 4 that doglegs left and has water running down the left hand side then cutting through the dogleg. There are bunkers at then end of the fairway, so you have to take care not to drive through it. Also, it is a long approach shot over water uphill to the green, so you want to hug the left side of the fairway without going in the water. A good drive down the middle or left hand side can leave you with 175-200 yards into the green. #1 is a relatively straight and short par 5. If you put your drive in the fairway, the green is reachable in 2 for most and there is not much trouble around what is a pretty easy green. If you go too far left, however, there will be trees obstructing your shot to the green, forcing you to lay up and hit a wedge in. And finally, #16 is a long, straight par 5 that is very wide open. While not reachable in 2 for anyone but long hitters, it provides ample fairway to find with your tee ball, a generous layup area, and that just leaves a short wedge shot into a large, easy green with not much danger around it. Here's an overhead view of each #9 and #1:
The final 3 holes of the course are probably the most beautiful 3 hole stretch I have ever seen on a golf course before. #16 is a long, uphill par 5 with your tee shot over water and a spectacular view from the elevated tee. #17 is the famous "Tiger Paw" hole on the course, a medium-length par 3 over water with 4 circular bunkers spaced behind the green so that it looks like a tiger paw. Finally, #18 is a shortish dogleg right par 4 with water to both the left and right of the driving area. Here are some pictures of those holes:
Keep in mind that the dry summer has caused the water level in the lake to be very low, so the water does not get all the way up to be in #16 or #17, but I think you can see where it would be.
There are other very good holes on the course, one of my favorites being #6. It is a par 4 that dog-legs from right to left sharply. You have to clear a gorge with your tee shot to get to the fairway, and as you aim farther left to try to cut off some of the dog leg, the fairway stretches farther away from you as well as becoming narrower. A tee ball hit right can still find the fairway as it is very wide over there, but it can leave you as much as 200 yards or maybe even more into the green. The green is very shallow and because of that is tough to hit. It has bunkers short and left, and the only opening to the green is on the extreme right side of it. Here are some pictures of it:
Here is a look at the scorecard for the whole course:
For more information such as a course tour, more information on the pro shop or memberships, and other things, you can go to their website here: http://www.clemson.edu/centers-institutes/madren/golf/.
Spoiler

The clubhouse is very nice and full of Clemson-themed stuff such as both wood and putter head covers, shirts, hats, and other things. The majority of the clubs sold there are PING, with some Titleist. They sell a variety of different golf balls by the sleeve, and also sell Titleist balls by the box. They are certified PING and Titleist fitters, and that includes a PING fitting cart in the shop. The practice facilities outside are kept in good condition and they have just about any kind of practice you could want. They have a long driving range with grass tees, a large putting green with various cups and undulations, a chipping green with several pins that provides a variety of different lies, and even a practice bunker with its own separate green to hit onto. They offer rounds either with a cart or walking if you would like to save money, which I personally love because I can't afford to pay cart fees all the time being in college.
The front 9 starts out heading away from Lake Hartwell, but by 9 you have circled back to the clubhouse. The back 9 then goes off in the other direction sort of towards the lake, with the 3 finishing holes bordering the lake to bring you back to the clubhouse with some gorgeous views. There is a mix of challenging holes with good scoring opportunities throughout the course. It plays a par 72 with four par 3s (2 on the front, 2 on the back) and four par 5s (two on the front, 2 on the back). In my opinion, the most challenging hole on the course is #9 with the easiest being #1 or #16.
#9 is a tough par 4 that doglegs left and has water running down the left hand side then cutting through the dogleg. There are bunkers at then end of the fairway, so you have to take care not to drive through it. Also, it is a long approach shot over water uphill to the green, so you want to hug the left side of the fairway without going in the water. A good drive down the middle or left hand side can leave you with 175-200 yards into the green. #1 is a relatively straight and short par 5. If you put your drive in the fairway, the green is reachable in 2 for most and there is not much trouble around what is a pretty easy green. If you go too far left, however, there will be trees obstructing your shot to the green, forcing you to lay up and hit a wedge in. And finally, #16 is a long, straight par 5 that is very wide open. While not reachable in 2 for anyone but long hitters, it provides ample fairway to find with your tee ball, a generous layup area, and that just leaves a short wedge shot into a large, easy green with not much danger around it. Here's an overhead view of each #9 and #1:
Spoiler
#1
#9

#9

The final 3 holes of the course are probably the most beautiful 3 hole stretch I have ever seen on a golf course before. #16 is a long, uphill par 5 with your tee shot over water and a spectacular view from the elevated tee. #17 is the famous "Tiger Paw" hole on the course, a medium-length par 3 over water with 4 circular bunkers spaced behind the green so that it looks like a tiger paw. Finally, #18 is a shortish dogleg right par 4 with water to both the left and right of the driving area. Here are some pictures of those holes:
Spoiler
#16 Tee Shot
#17 Tee:
#18 Tee
#18 Approach:

#17 Tee:

#18 Tee

#18 Approach:

Keep in mind that the dry summer has caused the water level in the lake to be very low, so the water does not get all the way up to be in #16 or #17, but I think you can see where it would be.
There are other very good holes on the course, one of my favorites being #6. It is a par 4 that dog-legs from right to left sharply. You have to clear a gorge with your tee shot to get to the fairway, and as you aim farther left to try to cut off some of the dog leg, the fairway stretches farther away from you as well as becoming narrower. A tee ball hit right can still find the fairway as it is very wide over there, but it can leave you as much as 200 yards or maybe even more into the green. The green is very shallow and because of that is tough to hit. It has bunkers short and left, and the only opening to the green is on the extreme right side of it. Here are some pictures of it:
Spoiler
From the tee:
Around the green:

Around the green:

Here is a look at the scorecard for the whole course:
Spoiler


For more information such as a course tour, more information on the pro shop or memberships, and other things, you can go to their website here: http://www.clemson.edu/centers-institutes/madren/golf/.
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