A touch of Augusta

Oldgolfdawg makes a point of playing Darby Creek in Marysville at least once or twice a year and must confess he's never broken 80 there. He's been close but is still looking for his first cigar.

The course, designed by Brian Silva and opened in 1993, measures 7,087 yards from its longest tees for a par 72. Oldgolfdawg struggles from the blue tees (6,645 yards) where the course has a 71.3 rating and a slope of 124.

The front nine's classic links layout is exposed to the elements like the surface of the moon and can be difficult to play on a windy day. The back nine strays from the links theme and morphs into a classic tree-line layout beginning at No. 12 until one emerges from the woods on No. 16.

It's the transition hole, No. 12, a 411-yard par 4, that is etched in Oldgolfdawg's memory. In particular, it's No. 12's demanding second shot into the green that stands out as a challenge and is why the hole is the seventh member of Oldgolfdawg's Elegant Eighteen.

It was pointed out to Oldgolfdawg by a friend that the hole seemed to be modeled after No. 11 at Augusta National. Oldgolfdawg's impression of No. 11 at Augusta is formed only by watching the Masters on television over the years, but he had to agree. The elevation change is more extreme at Augusta than at Darby, but the second shots into the greens do have similarities.

The right-handed golfer hopes to hit a slight draw with his drive to take advantage of a fairway that begins to slope down toward the green about 200 yards from the tee box. He must avoid a reachable trap on the right and the start of a tree line on the left. As most often is the case, the longer the drive the better. The degree of difficulty for the second shot increases with its length.

The left side of a slender green at the end of the fairway is protected by a pond that acts as a vacuum for shots with any kind of draw or hook action in them. There is a bailout area to the right of the green that most players take advantage of out of fear of the pond. The confident ball-striker who can hit a high fade or educated draw definitely has an edge on this hole. But even then, the second shot is all about risk/reward. This is the kind of hole that washed up driving range pro Roy McAvoy of Tin Cup fame would rather take a double bogey on than just play it safe. My friend and former co-worker Scott "Dutch" Davis would simply call it a "manly" test.

For more information about Darby Creek, check out: http://www.darbycreekgolf.com/sites/courses/view.asp?id=423&page=12111