In less than 24 hours and starring in our own adaptation of Ground Hog Day, we were back at Lincoln Hills to play the 18 holes of the Hills Course. Possessing the same quality but quite a different layout than the Orchard Course, we checked in with Ryan, one of the Assistant Professionals and our go to guy for the two days we played at Lincoln Hills.
The opening hole is a downhill Par 4 and this is the approach shot view.
There are many hard working people on the team working under the guise of General Manager Tony Marino. Along with Ryan, Linda in the Pro Shop was on the receiving end of many calls from the walkie talkie of starter Mack Tucker, who actually has a bigger presence in golf than organizing a busy course with Linda , especially on a frost delay day.
A fantastic Par 5 awaits on the second hole, a really great challenging hole.
When we told him we were from Vancouver Island, he told us he played in a Q school event in Courtenay, BC at Crown Isle Golf Course which is less than an hour from our home in Parksville, BC. The big strapping Tennessean was in total control of the 2 courses from his starter command post right beside the driving range and when he barked out a group’s name they responded without delay or a second command came bellowing out, “Hanson, let’s go, you’re on the tee”.
Perry showing good form in hitting his tee shot on the par 3 5th.
There was nothing abrasive about his demeanor and no golfer would take offense. If anything starters like Mack are not only a talking point amongst the golfers warming up, but are appreciated and effective too.
Myra shows the men how its done on the par 3 7th hole.
Off we went and it was immediate to me standing on the first tee that The Hills was the more scenic and interesting of the two courses. Although we teed off as a twosome, it was apparent that by the time we got on the first green a twosome behind was already on top of us. We were behind a foursome of average skill so we suggested to Steve and Perry, two retired golf buddies both originally from California, that we join up as a foursome. So from the second tee on we played as a foursome. The rolling layout has a great mixture of holes and of significance were the Par 3’s as three of them were downhill shots.
Steve plays the Par 4 9th the way it should, nailing one down the middle.
In the two days of play at Lincoln Hills, I parred 7 of the 8 par 5’s and birdied the other. But today, it was the par 3’s that required intense concentration yielding only one par between Myra and me on this cool 50F day.
The best of the 4 par 3’s Steve’s birdie hole, the 12th.
Steve on the other hand displayed some mastery on the Par 3’s making a very impressive birdie 2 on the downhill 12th and then the self proclaimed “hacker” made it birdie number two rolling in an 8 footer on the Par 4 17th. Perry not to be out done tucked his approach shot inside Steve’s to about 5 feet, but saw his own birdie chance just slide past the left lip for the ultimate of pars, the one inch tap in!
Uphill all the way ends the round on a blind shot par 4 18th.
After putting out on 18, the fellows bid us a fond farewell and another great day at Lincoln Hills was in the books. Boy we had a great time and again it is obvious why this great facility run by a solid team is a popular choice amongst retirees and locals.
