Course 159: Eastward Ho!

When I check off a new golf course, I post a review on Instagram. If you are interested in reading the review early, and reading some additional thoughts that go beyond the Instagram caption limit, you can become a Supporter or Founder.

Over the course of a round at Eastward Ho!, players are challenged with blind shots, uneven lies, lovely views, and wild greens.

Plainly put, Eastward Ho! is brutal and beautiful.

A Kyle Franz renovation has created some different visuals. Sand scrapes and waste areas have replaced trees.

The first hole is an introduction to a lot of what lies ahead over the round - A rather generous tee shot, tough bunkering, a blind approach shot, and a severe green.

Add in a touch of wind, and all the Eastward Ho! ingredients are there in the first 15 minutes.

Franz's work included expanding greens, and the first has some new spots that can truly break someone's soul. The greens also have larger false fronts and run-off areas. It's the type of course where you can't stop watching your ball. It might roll an extra 10 yards after you've slid your club back into your bag.

While holes 4, 6, 7, and 8 are on the water and many holes have water views, there are inland holes, and they are very good. The par-5 11th is a nice introduction to the inland set of holes on the back nine and one of the standout inland holes on the course.

There are massive swales and bowls that catch and reject shots. The greens are a bit smaller and a little less receptive because the wind plays less of a factor.

The standout holes are the par-3 6th, which experienced a big alteration. The green was expanded to feel a bit like a Biarritz. It's a partially blind shot with a stunning view.

The sixth is probably the most pictured hole on the course and maybe the toughest.

However, the 8th might ignite the imagination more than any hole on the front nine. It's short, but a pot bunker in the middle of the fairway, along with a set of bunkers cutting in front the left will create a discussion on the tee. A 180 yard shot is safe and easy, but there's a temptation to take on some risk.

On the back, the 14th and 15th are a stunning pair of holes.

Eastward Ho! is golf on a razor's edge. Balls can tumble toward or away from the hole. It will challenge your patience while smiling at you with ocean eyes.

It's a course you pull strings to play and never turn down an invite.

Additional Thoughts:

/pay

Playing golf with a variety of players is one of my favorite parts about this quest. My round at Eastward Ho! was with a family friend named Pete who had just turned 81 years old. He was kind enough to host me and we played with two other retirees.

It provided me with an interesting perspective on Eastward Ho! with regard to the challenge the course offers.

First, I was in some respects flying solo. Picking lines off of tee boxes at Eastward Ho! is tough because a lot of the horizon is just… the sky. When the wind blows, precision becomes even important. So, playing with golfers who don’t play from the same tees or hit the ball a similar length makes a tough course even tougher.

And Eastward Ho! is absolutely a challenge. Even if I played with three players who were all 3-7 handicaps, hitting the shots is important, but there are a few spots where picking the right club and line off the tee is vital.

However, the other perspective I got from playing with Pete and his friends is how golf course design can have a serious effect on aging golfers and their experience on a course.

Eastward Ho! has deep bunkers and long grass. The land is extreme, too. The new restoration makes playing golf for the older recreational class of players tougher. There was one moment where I was getting ready to call 911 when one of the gentlemen in my group climbed on top of a bunker on the 17th green. We all encouraged him to just move the ball from the wispy grass, but he refused. One false step and he would have fallen six feet into a pit of sand.

It seems the restoration has impressed many players, both members and guests. The work has created stunning views across the golf course. However, some older members don’t love the changes. The sandscrapes and blowout areas are too much to navigate and have altered the visuals that they had grown accustomed to over the years.

Change, as they say, is hard.

I think the views are stunning, and the new aesthetics are wonderful. I had not played Eastward Ho! in maybe 8-10 years. The work on the back nine was more drastic than the front, at least from how I remembered the course. The back nine felt as though you were dipping into the woods for a short spell, especially from holes 11-13 before the dramatics of 14 and 15, and then the closing holes bring you back down the middle of the property towards home and the creshendo of the 18th hole.

Now, it never feels like you leave the water. The tenth, set next to the clubhouse, is tucked inland, and so are the 11th and 12th tee shots. But that’s kind of it. If you want to see the water in some form or fashion, you can on almost every hole if you know where to look.

I think some folks liked the stretch of holes away from the water, they set up a bit of give and take. Trees would frame holes.

The green expansions are impressive. They have created a lot of areas where balls can be rejected and pushed away. Which can be taxing over the course of 18 holes.

The fourth is the most dramatic green. A biarritz on the water, one member called it a “butterfly green” because each side of the swale mimics a butterfly’s wings.

Eastward Ho! is a taxing golf course full of challenge and stimulation. The opening stretch of holes can leave one’s head spinning due to the combination of golf shots and views.

But I do think a lot about my three playing partners who love the club and the course, but push up against the wall of challenge that it provides because of the deep bunkers, wickedly fast greens, and hungry fescue.

I think Eastward Ho! is an exceptional course and one of the best in the state. I’m glad I saw it through the eyes of golfers older than me who experience the game differently than I do.

Thank you for being a paid subscriber of the BSG Newsletter.

I am grateful for your support.