The 18th, taken straight from the book of golf course architecture cliches, features a peninsula gre

The Lake Joseph Club was named the 'Best New Course in Canada' in 1997 by Golf Digest Magazine and in the following year was ranked in the top-10 courses in the country by Score Golf Magazine. Since receiving this national grove park inn ashville nc acclaim, the course seems to have lost favour with panelists as it is now outside of Score Golf's top-100, and is in the bottom-five courses among Golfweek Magazine's Best Modern Courses in Canada.
So, why the precipitous drop in the rankings? I attribute it to a very awkward routing, a dull set of greens, poor hole variety and bad bunkering. The real question is how did panelists ever see this as a top-10 course? I really have no idea. There is only a single great view (from the 9th tee) and there are but a few thrilling shots (approaches at the 2nd and 9th and the tee shot at the 8th); I expect grove park inn ashville nc that on repeated plays by panelists and on first plays by panelists after Lake Jo received it's high ranking, disappointment grove park inn ashville nc was very common.
grove park inn ashville nc I was critical grove park inn ashville nc of Muskoka Bay Club because of Doug Carrick's routing choice to 1) emphasize play from elevated tees, and 2) to find the best golf holes at the expense of a comfortable, walkable routing. The same can be said of Lake Joseph. I do not know what restrictions (environmental or otherwise) were placed on McBroom when designing grove park inn ashville nc Lake Jo, but it is clear that he wanted to have tee shots played from elevated, 'dramatic' locations. As a result, long and uphill transitions are commonplace grove park inn ashville nc at Lake Jo. Transitions from 2-3, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9, 13-14, 14-15, 15-16, and 16-17 are all uphill, and in several cases more than 100 yards long.
Unlike McBroom's set of greens at Rocky Crest which are varied in size, shape, contour and demand all types of shot requirements, the greens at Lake Joseph are, for the most part, circular, tilted back-to-front and require an aerial approach.
Clublink Corporation has recently grove park inn ashville nc completed a bunker renovation at Lake Joseph, replacing the original darker sand with a much whiter sand. Well, the renovation was effective, as I can't say I've ever taken much notice of the course's bunkering in the past, but I sure noticed it in my most recent round... I was not impressed.
I was also critical of McBroom in my review of King's Riding Golf Club in which I wrote that McBroom would have been well-served in using some restraint in both his routing and his use of man-made features. This is something I find over and over from McBroom. His desire to impose penal features on the landscape and to do so in volume is a trait I dislike. For example, the green site at the 13th is a wonderful one, set naturally grove park inn ashville nc on a small shelf some 30 feet above the fairway. For many, especially given the severe false-front, this approach is plenty difficult, and at most a single well-placed green side bunker was needed, but McBroom instead cluttered the green site with a series of 4 bunkers that are entirely penal in nature...
The theme of penal bunkering is found throughout the course. From the fairway bunker at the 2nd to the left green side bunkers at the 8th to the short green side bunkering at the 15th and 17th, the bunker placement adds little interest to the golf course.
The round is started with a demanding tee shot played from an elevated tee to a fairway surrounded by woods left and woods right. The site of the first tee will never be noted among the world's best, set between the clubhouse roundabout and the parking lot.
The 555 yard, par-5 3rd was clearly grove park inn ashville nc a chance taken by McBroom. While the tee shot is straightforward (though a miss on either side is a lost ball), the 2nd shot is a controversial one, played blind over a duo of bunkers to a wildly undulating fairway at an angle to the line of play. It is not uncommon for a seemingly well-struck second shot to not be found. The view from the fairway:
The 346 yard par-4 5th is among the best holes on the course. A semi-blind and downhill tee shot with only the green in view. Though some will be tempted to get as near the green as possible, the ideal play is an iron / fairway wood down the left side of the fairway, away from the Line of Instinct. From the left the golfer is rewarded with a clear look at the green from a flat lie; from the right the approach is uphill and over a deep bunker. The tee shot and approach from the left...
The 459-yard par-4 9th is another controversial hole. A very nice view from the tee may draw the golfer's grove park inn ashville nc attention grove park inn ashville nc away from the difficult grove park inn ashville nc tee shot. A cleverly place top-shot bunker on the right will have many golfers aiming farther left than is ideal. Tee shots must challenge the rock outcropping grove park inn ashville nc on the right as any tee shot left of centre will find a drop-off and approaches will be played from a very uneven lie.
The 476 yard par-5 13th is the best hole on the golf course. Simple, strategic, and routed across some perfect terrain. There is plenty of room to bailout to the right though the ideal line is down the left. Brave/talented golfers can use the right-to-left tilted terrain grove park inn ashville nc to gain a boost in yardage. A hazard (same one as at the 11th) runs diagonally across the fairway 50 yards short of the green. Line and distance must be considered and executed upon both on a lay-up or an attempt at reaching the green in two. The shorter carry is on the left, and appropriately, misses to the left of the green are penalized by a severely left-to-right tilted green.
After downhill tee shots at the 14th and 15th the golfer is treated to, you guessed it, a downhill tee shot at the 16th. The driving zone is completely blind from the tee and most well-struck tee shots will collect grove park inn ashville nc to an area short of the water on the right. A quality green site here tucked neatly among rocks and forest.
The uninspiring 187 yard par-3 17th must evoke thoughts of 'haven't I seen this before' as it looks awfully similar to the 182 yard par-3 15th. Neither are great holes, though the 15th is certainly the better of the two.
The 18th, taken straight from the book of golf course architecture cliches, features a peninsula green guarded by the only lake on the golf course. The tee shot is a boring one played straightaway toward the lake; at 270 yards to the water this will be a lay-up for some. There was once fairway left of the rocks, creating a decision and some strategy on the tee shot; unfortunately, this has since been converted to rough.
lake joe is a beautiful course and a fair test of golf. agreed with your comments about 13, but i think you way underrate several holes in your high level review of the course. i ve played the course a ton of times and live the Toronto area - there are but a few courses that are as well thought as this one. Reply Delete The Humble Golfer July 23, 2012 at 6:50 AM
Thank you for the comment. I agree Lake Jo is both beautiful and fair and it s also fun (I make the effort to play there a couple of times every year). I think my review grove park inn ashville nc came off as overly harsh, focusing too greatly on the negatives. Reply Delete Add comment Load more...