Tobacco Road - Strantz mind games or just blind shots?

[EagleEye_Ed]

Played Tobacco Road for the first time last Friday. Went in expecting the usual Sandhills stuff, pines, wiregrass, whatever. Got something else entirely.

First hole is a blind tee shot over a hill. Cool I guess. Then it just keeps going like that. I think I hit maybe four shots all day where I could actually see the ball land. The waste areas are enormous, like football fields of sand, and half the time you're not sure if you're supposed to be in them or not. My buddy lost three balls and never left the property.

Here's the thing though. I shot 84 and had a blast. The greens are insane in a good way, huge punchbowls and shelves that funnel balls back to you. I hit a 7 iron on one of the par 3s that landed 20 feet short and rolled up to 4 feet. Felt like cheating. And the par 5 with the green tucked behind the waste, I think it's 11, I stood there for a solid two minutes just staring at it. Never seen anything like it.

Paid $185 on a Friday morning. Felt fair for what it is. But I keep going back and forth on whether it's genius or just weird for weird's sake. Strantz stuff seems to split people hard. My buddy hated it, said it was target golf with extra steps and too many blind shots to be fair.

So which is it. Am I supposed to love this place or is it a novelty?

[mike_harris88]

Strantz is the only guy who ever built a course that makes you feel stupid and lucky at the same time. I've played Tobacco Road probably six times now and I still stand on 11 and just look at it. My wife thinks I'm having a moment.

But your buddy isn't totally wrong about the blind shots. The thing that changed it for me was playing it a second time. First round is basically a scavenger hunt. Second round you know where the ball's going and suddenly all those punchbowls and shelves start working for you instead of against you. I went from 89 to 78 between my first and third time out.

That said, I'll die on the hill that 84 your first time there is legit good. The place punishes indecision more than bad swings. Half the "unfair" stuff is really just not committing.

Also $185 on a Friday is a steal compared to what they were charging peak season a couple years back. Did you get the tee time early or did you book day of?