Heading to Safari Golf Club? They’ve got a new entrance. Pull in at the zoo entrance and follow the green arrows. They’ve also got a new clubhouse, practice facility, and a few new holes. Above is the new number one hole at Safari Golf Club. As of today, they are still using a temporary green about 100 yards in front of the regular green. No. 1 is a downhill, 360 yard, slight dogleg to the left, par 4. Carved into the trees, no. 1 provides a narrow chute for your tee shot. It’s a great start to the course, but does it continue?
The starter said that there would be a bit of a stroll to no. 2 from the green at 1 – 300 yards was his estimate. I’m shooting for close to double that. The second hole is actually the former number 16. Safari eliminated the former no. 17 and converted that to a wildlife sanctuary. The former number 18 is now a 175 yard par 3.
No. 4 is the original no. 10. They removed no. 11, thank gawd. 11 used to be a short par 3 – a hole that seemed to have been an afterthought – perhaps after they realized they needed one more hole to make 18. No. 5 is the original par 5 no. 12. 6 is the former par 3, no. 13. 7 is the former par 4, no. 14. 8 is the former par 5, no. 15, and 9 is the former par 4, no. 7.
I just played the front nine. The first hole was very impressive especially once they begin using the permanent green. After that it was back to the same old Safari but in a jumbled order.
Here’s the green at the third hole – now a par 3. You may not be able to tell from this picture but Safari’s greens are tiny. Hopefully, there are plans in the future to update some of these greens. Walking the course is quite a bit tougher with the new layout. As I mentioned, they got rid of the former no. 11, so you have a bit of a hike from no. 4 to hole 5. As well as a bit of a hike from the eighth green to the ninth tee. It appears that they added a new 17th and 18th hole.
From looking at the scorecard for the back nine, it appears that the former par 4, no. 8 is now the par 3 tenth. Then there appears to be a huge journey to the tee at no. 11. 11 appears to be part of the original no. 9 but now it runs the opposite direction and is a dogleg right par 4.
It appears that Safari has added four new holes and significantly shortened two others. I’m not sure if these changes will make the original Safari experience that much different. It will be interesting to see what more they have in store for the former Riverview Golf Course.
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Andy writes this blog on central Ohio golf courses and beyond. And he can't wait to get out here soon to play some more Ohio golf!
Tiger’s shot on 13 ultimately did him in
Woods pulled off a miraculous shot at 13 which gave him the confidence to try what would have been an even more miraculous shot at 15, a slice 5 iron from 228 yards. The shot on 15 turn out to be ill advised. He did save par but in reality a par on 15 is a bogey especially when you are 3 behind at the time.
2007 Masters: A complete bore
Besides the lousy announcers (Faldo excluded), the 2007 Masters was a complete bore. Sure there was a little intrigue with Tiger trying to fight his troubled swing and come from three behind, but Masters tournament organizers had made the course so tough that the back nine on Sunday (typically the most exciting 9 holes of golf) was devoid of excitement. Where were the slew of birdies and eagles that allowed competitors to make a final 9 charge?
Granted Woods did have a back nine eagle and then completely blew it on 15 going for another, there were no other notable fireworks. Perhaps Masters tournament geniuses will figure it out next year and bring back the opportunity for the most exciting nine holes in golf.