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First off, I want to thank Christopher and Jeremy for planning out the alt pins and the holes across A Street, and I want to thank the club for moving forward with it.
My synopsis of the new pins:
Hole 1, 50' past normal pin. I didn't like this at first as I didn't think it changed the shot enough, but playing to the anchor today it does play quit a bit differently. I had to disc up to a driver and throw a big anny, and couldn't reach it with a thumber. The trees definitely make it a different style shot.
Hole 2, pin straight and at tree line of 17's fairway. I like this one, its nothing special really but there isn't really anywhere else to put this pin. It changes the shot and makes it a little less technical for lefties/sidearm throwers. It seems more about range control than anything else now.
Hole 3, pin off to the right on the point in the woods. This pin is fantastic, I think it is very challenging but rewards good drive/upshot placement. There is risk/reward in going for the birdie on this one with the hairy green. You will definitely see scoring variation on this hole in tournaments.
Hole 4, pin off to the left about 50 feet into the woods. This is one of two pins that I'm not a fan of. I think its in the dreaded par 3.5 category. It is possible to bird with a decent amount of power for righties, but lefties don't really have a chance at bird without some ridiculous shot. I think pushing this pin back into the woods another 100 feet or so would make it a nice, fair par 4 where you had to make two well-placed shots for a 3. You could make a single moderate screw-up and get a par 4, and anything beyond that would be bogeyville. I just don't see much scoring variation happening on this hole.
Hole 5, pin 80' to the left of the current pin and down a bit. I like this pin, it requires a tougher shot to birdie than the normal pin, but is still reachable by anyone. There is a righty hyzer route, but it requires good execution to birdie that way. I think this balances out the slight lefty/sidearm bias of the normal pin. As an added bonus, this pin plays the route along path in the alternate old teepad placement for 5. This will come into play if the teepads for 5 and 6 ever get moved across the street.
Hole 6, pin to the right 100' and beyond the treeline. This was the other pin I wasn't a big fan of. I think the routes to the pin are pretty lucky, and you'll see a lot of boring 3's on this hole. All one has to do is avoid the right side of the fairway and its a 3 every time. That being said, I don't really know of a spot for an alt on this hole that changes the shot and makes for an exciting hole.
Hole 7, pin straight down the right side route. I like this pin, as it requires a straight shot through a fair opening. I'm thinking the some of the brush behind the basket should be cleared in order to punish ace runs that are too aggressive by not stopping them, as well as to make a decent size green for this one.
Hole 8, no alt pin. Possibly an alt teepad in the future, a little ways back into the clearing behind the current pad? That would add a some much needed difficulty to this hole.
Hole 9, alt pin back and to the left about 60 feet. I really like this pin placement. There is actually some risk to the hole now, and it requires hitting a good line for birdie.
Hole 10, alt pin back and to the right about 80 feet. This pin might be my favorite. You have to place your drive, then control your upshot onto the hairy green. There is risk reward, as trying to park your drive can leave you with a nasty upshot, and running long birdie putts can leave you without a return putts. A bad drive is punished with a much harder upshot, but a great approach can still save a 3. You will definitely see scoring variation on this hole in tournaments.
Hole 11, alt pin to the left of the road, about as deep as normal pin. I like this one. Its about range control. Too shallow, too deep, or too far left and you don't have a putt, but there is a large, fair green that rewards good drives with a good birdie opportunity.
Hole 12, alt pin to the left 100' and a little deeper. Its a little tougher to hit the right line than the normal placement. A bit righty favoring, while the normal pin has a bit of a lefty bias. Not much else to say.
Hole 13, alt pin through the new fairway on right side. This hole is sweet. You have to play the tunnel, and there are good routes at the end for righties and lefties. For righties, its a gentle hyzer-flip that comes back, and for lefties its a flat hyzer that fades late. This reminds me of hole 6 on the Porcupine course but plays more fairly. I would even go so far as to suggest that there be another alt pin placement added to the left and we could stop using the old pin altogether.
Hole 14, pin on the bump to the left of the path leading to the normal pin. I'm still a bit undecided on this one. I think the normal pin is great since you have to play golf on it if you don't have the power to reach it, and it requires you to hit your line very well to birdie it. This pin on the other hand is a very easy three, and birdieing it just requires a decent amount of power without much care for the lines you use to get there. I guess how I end up feeling on this one will be based on how hard it is to play the green.
Hole 15, alt pin is 3's normal pin. This is a good one. It requires hitting a late gap, and its unwise to overdrive this hole. [edit]This is not the official alt, I forget who told me it was. There currently isn't an alt for 15.[/edit]
Hole 16, alt pin is straighter and deeper than the normal pin. This one is fun, it requires a long, somewhat straight drive to birdie. Can easily leave you with a 4 if your drive is poorly placed. It plays sort of like Hawk 4 in this position. This one will probably have a good scoring range in tournaments.
Hole 17, alt pin is 50 feet to the right of the current position. This one forces you to throw a straighter shot than the other position, but is more forgiving of skips from shots that hyzer in.
Hole 18, no alt pin. I don't see a good place for an alt pin on this one. There could be a good place for an alt teepad, but safety could be an issue.
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