Lakes of Taylor Flyover

The starting hole requires a well-placed tee shot to avoid the large fairway bunker on the left. Most players will have a mid to long iron into this green that is protected by a bunker on the right, which guards against all approach shots from the right side of the fairway.

The smart play on this hole is to hit your tee shot about 200 yards at the fairway bunker leaving a full swing into the unreceptive green. Longer players may be tempted to go for the green from the white tees since it is only 260 yards to carry the water.

The longest par 3 on the course has a two-tiered green. The ideal shot is a high left to right ball flight for pins on the lower tier, try to land the ball on the upper tier and allow it to release down the slope towards the pin. When the pin is on the upper tier avoid going long-left.

The fourth hole is a dogleg left. There are two different plays off the tee; you can hit a 200-230 shot down the center of the fairway leaving about 160 yards to the green. Or, you can aim at the center of the trap, and carry at least 235 yards leaving about 100 yards into the green. The green slopes from the middle to the front and the back making the middle pins the most difficult.

This par 3 requires a well-planned shot, depending on the pin placement you may need to hit a draw or a cut. The green is guarded short-right and short-left by bunkers.

The sixth hole is intimidating because of the perception of a long carry which is actually only 130 yards. There is a fairway bunker on the left that long hitters will carry with ease only 210 yards. The green has three areas the front third and back-left third are fairly flat but the back-right third slopes to the back right corner.

Players playing the white or blue tees will be faced with a tee shot through a shoot and over wetlands. There are wetlands down the entire right side just 10 yards from the edge of the fairway. It is recommended to leave a full swing into this green as well which has a bunker short left, anything right of the green is probably in the wetlands, and the green is very undulating.

Hole eight requires a long tee shot to reach the blind corner of this dogleg right par 5. Your second shot will either be a carry over a creek and wetlands which is not as far as it appears, only 100 yards from the 250-yard marker, or a forced lay-up if your tee shot was not well struck. When going for the green there are three traps that protect short and the entire right side of the green.

Your tee shot on the ninth hole will have to carry a creek that cuts across the fairway; it is about a 200 carry on the right side and 235 down the left. There are also three bunkers on the right side which require 250 yards to carry. The green has five traps short right, anything long will more than likely be a downhill lie. The best angle to leave for the third shot is from the left side of the fairway.

The tenth hole is the longest hole on the course; it takes two very well-struck shots to reach in two. There is an earth bunker on the left of the landing zone off the tee, and two sand traps that protect the green one shot left and one that catches all shots that roll through. Other than the bunkers the only danger on this hole is the OB down the entire right side.

This par three has a unique feature of two greens. The scorecard yardage is to the center of the mound in between the two greens. Avoid all three bunkers, they make this short par three almost impossible to par. When you find yourself on the wrong green it is best to take you free drop and hit a pitch shot instead of putting across the ridge.

The twelfth hole has OB down the entire right side as well. The best tee shot would be a cut that is started down the left side of the fairway that ends up center to right center of the fairway. There is a greenside bunker on the left that protects most back pins, the right side of the green slopes towards the fairway.

Your tee shot is from an elevated tee down to a stadium-style fairway. The hole plays longer from the left side of the fairway than the right. The green, for the most part, slopes towards the fairway and is tricky to read. The bunker short right usually should not come into play.

Fourteen is the longest par 4 on the course; it requires a well-hit tee shot. There is a large heather hill down the entire left side and a lake down the right side. The front of the green is very hard to hold since most players will be hitting a mid-iron and it slopes away from the fairway. There is a large bunker on the right and a collection area on the left, it is recommended to miss into the collection area.

Another long par four was wetlands snaking down the left side of the hole, there is an opening about 225 yards off the tee. The green is two-tiered with the ridge running from the front right to the middle left, most shots landing shot of the upper-tier will trickle to the left side of the green. It is difficult to hold the green with any shot that lands on the back tier.

There is a small pot bunker on the right, about 250 yards carry from the white plate. Most players aim at this bunker, since being on the left side of the fairway forces players to hit a high draw. Longer players may have to decide to keep the diver in the bag to stay short of the wetlands that come halfway across the hole at 285 from the tee. There are hills on the right side of the green that can kick your second shot onto the green or into wetlands and there is a drop off on the left and backside of the green that will result in a blind pitch at worse.

The signature hole at the Lakes of Taylor is this long par 3. It is an impressive peninsula green with no room to miss the green on three sides. There is a bailout area to the left of the green, but it a tough up and down depending on the pin location. You can also miss short left and have an easier up and down remaining. If your tee shot finds the water, use the drop area the plays about 80 yards.

The eighteenth is a tremendous finishing hole there is trouble down both sides the entire length of the hole. Off the tee, there are two bunkers on the left, carry of 260, and water down the right. For a lay-up shot, try to leave yourself 100 to 120 yards, there is water in play on the right and water on the left if you strike it a little too well. There is water just off the left side of the green and three traps and large mounds on the right. To reach the back of the green players must contend with the ridge that runs from side to side.