From the moment you step onto the first tee intimidation is the most consistent emotion you feel. In order to advance the ball toward the first green you have to hit over the 100 yard watery chasm that is the Sheboygan River. But you have to layup as your driver will likely put you in the woods or a dangerously placed sand trap. If you survive the first shot you look up at the green which is at least 50 yards elevated and makes you scratch your head because without walking up to see what the green looks like you are shooting into the unknown. If you miss (like I did) then your ball starts falling down the cliffs of doom into one of many sadistically placed sand traps and puts you in the position of hitting from sand straight up another 20 or 30 feet. Three or four strokes into the hardest par four you have ever played you are now ready to hit out of another sand trap onto a concrete putting surface. At least that is how fast the greens seem to putt. From what I understand these greens were slow the day we played our fateful 18. I rarely three put and I three putted four or five times on the front nine for a total score of 56! Ouch!
As if my horror were not complete after the first hole and a seven on the score card the second hole introduced me to the largest sand trap I have ever seen in my life! The sea of sand was about 150 yards long by 50 yards wide running the entire length of the first part of the fairway. There was literally a stone staircase built into the side of the embankment just to get down to your ball.
When you play this course I recommend that you watch where you drive the cart because there are many steep drop offs and places where you could fall into the abyss. While fear and trepidation were the most common emotion among my threesome we all agree it was an enjoyable experience much like people who like the horror genre love to be scared. Seriously I think I would like to go back again and see if I could score a little better. Below are some photos I took along the way. And here is the link to hi-res images I shot during the day.
