Shainin Fairways V2.1
Course Documentation
Thanks for your interest in Shainin Fairways! I hope you enjoy this course as much as I do. The challenges it presents are unlike any course I've seen. If you have any comments to make about the course, I would like to hear them, so please email me. This document describes the course and gives tips for playing the course.
Course Description: Shainin Fairways has ABSOLUTELY NO ROUGH AND SAND throughout the entire course. However, it is still one of the hardest golf courses I've ever played. Trees essentially take place of rough. However, unlike other courses, fairways exist under the trees, presenting both opportunity and heartbreak -- opportunity because fairways give the golfer a chance to hit the green because of distance and spin control; heartbreak because golfers often get greedy when surrounded by trees when they have a good lie, and they often make matters worse by hitting a less-than-perfect shot and staying in the trees. Water appears on some of the course, making matters worse. And perhaps the worst thing of all: OB is in play more often than in other courses. All of these things give Shainin Fairways a unique greatness unlike any other course.
Tips For Playing Well On Shainin Fairways:
1. Play safe: Unless you are really hitting the ball well, stay away from trouble. An easy example is the first hole, which is surrounded by bushes, but is reachable for an eagle putt. If you think you can hit a perfect shot, go for the green; otherwise, lay-up well short of the bushes that guard the green. If you go for the green in 1 and mishit it into the bushes, a score of 10 or more isn't out of the question. And that is a tough way to start a round.
2. Play different shots: I can say this one from experience. I used to always lob my shots inside 30 yards; I would never chip the ball. However, if you have the far-right pin location on hole 2, the green is so shallow and elevated that it is tough, if not impossible, to lob the shot such that it says on the green. The play that I learned was to chip the ball into the slope below the green such that the ball hits the slope, bounces on the green, and stops because of the spin put on the ball by the slope. It is a much easier shot this way. The moral of the story: Don't be afraid to try different shots to get the job done, because this course demands a variety of shotmaking skills.
3. Don't get frustrated: I can say this from experience -- not my own, but other peoples' experiences. I have played with people that get into trouble on Shainin Fairways and can't (or rather, refuse) to get out of trouble. They play the aggressive shot, mishit the ball into trouble, and only compound the problem by trying to hit a perfect shot in a difficult position. They normally mishit the ball again, making matters worse. After 10 shots, they get frustrated and are either exhausted for the rest of the round, or quit. If you hit the ball into trouble, I know it is extremely tough to play it safe, but get the ball back into play and accept bogey as the worse score you could make on the hole. This goes especially for tournament or stroke play. If you are playing match play or skins, this doesn't apply as much, because a 10 on a hole only gets you out of contention for the hole and not for the entire match. A 10 in tournament/stroke play is devastating and normally can't be recovered from. However, even in match/skins play, this is a good rule to follow, because hitting 10 shots on a hole gets you tired. (Of course, you can conceed in match/skins play, but I am not one to conceed to easily, especially on this course, because I have tied my competitors before in match play with a triple bogey on the extremely difficult holes).
Remember, if aren't playing as well as you would like to, this is one of the hardest courses I've ever played. Of course I want everyone to play it, but it is intended for advanced players, because it involves precision hitting AND a smart strategy. Mishits are penalized more than on other courses and a wide range of shotmaking skills are required to play the course. So good luck, and above all, have fun! I'll be looking for you, at Shainin Fairways.
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