At par 72 and 6,589 yards, the West Course is not long by today’s standards, but remains one of the finest tests of golf around with shot making over 18 holes unusually requiring nearly every club in the bag. The brilliance of the course firstly lies with its routing of holes that orientate in numerous directions as allowed by the generous piece of beautiful rolling sandy heath. Typically greens and tees are located on high ground or mid-way up a dune making for dramatic settings and views from the tee of the hole ahead. Along with the routing comes wide and generous fairways giving a range of strategic options off the tees. Contrasting the broad and rolling manicured fairways is a dramatic native landscape of largely unkept dry sandy heathland which is open in some areas and wooded in others.
I might be going out on a limb but, in some ways, what the West Course lacks in comparison to Cypress Point’s dramatic landscape it makes up for in subtlety, particularly with the greens. The putting surfaces are amongst the finest anywhere, with gentle and subtle flowing shapes which, combined with their trueness and famous speed, means the challenge always remains until the ball drops. Guarding the greens are typically large and cavernous sand faced bunkers with hard edged lips.
