Played a wonderful little twilight round on Friday at South Hills CC and what a great time it was. I wasn't expecting too much from SHCC in terms of layout and challenge, but it exceeded all my expect... Continue »

Played a wonderful little twilight round on Friday at South Hills CC and what a great time it was. I wasn't expecting too much from SHCC in terms of layout and challenge, but it exceeded all my expectations across the board. We played from the white tees and enjoyed a wonderfully well manicured course that seemed to keep getting better and better with every hole. The front nine is of course very nice in terms of conditions, but is almost park-like in its flatness and pattern around the property. But slowly each new hole takes on a much more thrilling character and by the time you reach the back nine, every hole is distinct, challenging and inspiring. The best hole? For me it has to be the par 4 16th. From the highest point on the grounds and with Mt. Baldy looming large in the background, a gorgeous fairway invites you to try your luck down the middle, then bends down and to the left towards a challenging green with trouble in the form of bunkers, wind calculation and an awkward slope. The view from the tee box is terrific. South Hills simply keeps getting better and better with each hole, and that is a rarity. It's great fun and there really are some tricky angles to navigate, but if you do, the rewards are really, well, rewarding. I have been to private courses that had more lush fairways from tee to green, but only a very few holes had a trouble spot here or there. For the most part, ample coverage and almost always a perfectly good lie. The rough was certainly penal and served its purpose to nudge you towards the fairways. Bunkers were in pretty darn good shape. Again, have seen fluffier elsewhere, but complaints would be seriously nit-picking in this case. And the tee boxes were fantastic - all level, well covered, and nicely positioned for the hole before you. Greens were in very nice shape and running around 11 to 11.5. Challenging! Certainly want to stay beneath the holes here or your putts can run away from you very quickly. For some reason though I was dialed in with the flat stick and was pretty excited to count only 28 putts at the end of my round, especially for a tough track I'd never played before. I had not heard much about South Hills before I had the chance to play, but I won't forget the name anytime soon. I look forward to coming out again in the near future if I'm lucky enough to get the invite one more time. Great time had by all.