Lake of the Woods GC, Mahomet IL

I played Lake of the Woods GC in Mahomet IL on Monday with my son.  It is a par 72 by Robert B. Harris that opened in 1951.  There are a lot of mature trees on rolling hills and a forest off to the side.  It is a relatively short course.  The staff, proshop, and course are all top notch and the battery powered carts have plenty of zip.  In the fall I suggest avoiding yellow or orange golf balls because of the leaves from the trees.  The fairways that run parallel to each other are protected and segregated from each other by some of those mature trees.  It is also quite something to rake your footprints from the sand and those of the deer that live in the forest.

I enjoyed the company, the scenery, and the golf but did I enjoy the course?  Lake of the Woods GC has rolling hills with trees and some water with the emphasis on rolling hills.  After the first hole I struggle to remember a hole where the tee box and green were at the same altitude.  Maybe they ski or sled on it in the winter.  I do remember the hole where the GPS told me one distance and the score card distance another - 50 yards longer.  I went with the wrong club and landed the ball near the tee box for the next hole.

Thinking back I would have to say that once the novelty of hitting down hill and up hill hole after hole wore off it became more of the same.  It was cool on the first few holes to hit a drive and watch it roll a whole lot farther down hill.  It was pretty cool to hit a monster drive up hill and wonder if you managed to catch the downward slope on the other side and have a huge amount of roll out.  I live in East Central Illinois where most courses are relatively flat with more flat to break up the monotony.  I think it just became more of the same.

My lasting memory of the greens is of landing zones on top of small hills where there was a strong chance of rolling off the back or the side.  Of course some of the greens had sand to stop that problem.

All in all I enjoyed the golf and the course but it became rather predictable.  Not necessarily a bad thing and well worth your time.

Yes and I have even posted one some time ago.  I intended the post to go in a completely different direction but it got away from me and became a review.  Maybe I'll transfer it.  Thanks.