点评:Furry Creek is a beautiful but extremely target-oriented and challenging golf course. As the filming location for Happy Gilmore, it would be a must-play if they could manage the pace of play—our round took six hours, which was obnoxious. A course map showing the distances of the required carries would be a major improvement. Several holes require laying up or playing short to avoid trouble, and there are a surprising number of long forced carries. On one par 5, a well-placed layup is needed to set up a carry of more than 120 yards over 100 feet of elevation. Because none of this is visible from the tee, it’s easy to start the hole out of position.
The course suits my game because I’m fairly long and straight, and I ended up having a very good round. I’d enjoy playing it again now that I know the layout and could approach some holes differently.
The starter gave us excellent advice to club up at least one—and sometimes two—clubs on the carries. I used two extra clubs every time, and on one hole wished I’d taken three. Importantly for women, the forward tees don’t eliminate these forced carries—the ladies are still required to carry the same hazards rather than having tee boxes positioned on the other side of the trouble. That makes an already demanding course particularly difficult for women who aren’t long hitters. Even laying up just short of a forced carry can still leave a substantial shot to get across. For shorter-hitting or higher-handicap players, regardless of gender, I think some holes could be extremely difficult, perhaps impossible to play as designed.
The views on several holes are spectacular and among the course’s highlights, although other areas are less peaceful because of significant road noise.
Unfortunately, the biggest problem was the six-hour round. We didn’t see a marshal until the 16th hole, and he said nothing to our group about pace. He was also the person who greeted us at bag drop and wasn’t particularly welcoming in either role.
Services and amenities are surprisingly minimal. There’s no driving range, the chipping area is beat up and requires you to use your own balls, and towels aren’t provided. When I asked the marshal/bag-drop attendant for one, he seemed genuinely confused about why I would want it.
The enormous clubhouse suggests Furry Creek was once a much busier destination. Now, much of the space is bare or filled with seemingly random furniture. The pro shop has limited merchandise and offerings, with no reference to Happy Gilmore anywhere. Come on.
There’s a lot I like about the course itself: it’s unusual, strategic, challenging and, at times, absolutely gorgeous. I’d play it again because it fits my game and a second round would be even more interesting. But the six-hour pace is unacceptable and would keep me from returning.
翻译:Furry Creek是一座风景优美,但极具挑战性且对精准度要求极高的高尔夫球场。作为电影《Happy Gilmore》的拍摄地,如果球场能控制好打球节奏的话,这里绝对值得一游——而我们这一轮打了六个小时,实在令人难以忍受。如果能提供标明各洞所需击球距离的球场地图,将会是一大改进。有好几洞都需要球员选择短打或控制击球距离以避开障碍区,此外需要长距离强力击球的球洞数量也多得惊人。在一座标准杆为5杆的球洞上……要想实现超过120码的击球距离,同时克服100英尺的高度差,就需要精准的短切击球来为后续击球创造条件。由于从发球台根本看不到这些地形情况,很容易导致开球位置出错。
这条球场很适合我的打法,因为我的击球距离远且路线稳定,最终我打出了非常出色的一轮成绩。如今我熟悉了球场的布局,也能用不同的策略来应对某些球洞,因此很乐意再来打一次。
发球员给我们提供了极好的建议:在需要长距离击球的球洞上,至少要多用一支球杆——有时甚至需要多两支。每次打球时我都会多带两支球杆,甚至在一个洞上真希望自己带了三支。对女性球手来说,使用前排发球台也并不能避免这些必须跨越的障碍区——女球手仍然需要面对同样的障碍,而发球台也并未被设置在障碍区的另一侧。这就使得原本就颇具挑战性的球场对那些击球距离不够远的女球手而言愈发困难。即便把球打在必须跨越障碍区的前方位置,接下来要击球越过障碍区仍需要相当长的距离。对于击球距离较短或差点较高的球手来说,无论男女,我觉得有些球洞会极其难打,甚至可能无法按照设计意图来完成。
有几个球洞的景色极为壮观,堪称球场的亮点所在;不过由于周边道路嘈杂,其他区域的环境则相对不那么宁静。
遗憾的是,最大的问题就是一轮球打了六个小时。直到第16洞我们才见到巡场员,而他也完全没有对我们的打球节奏提出任何意见。他也是那个在球包寄存处接待我们的人,但无论在哪个角色上他都显得不太热情。
这里的服务和设施少得令人惊讶。没有练习场,切击练习区破旧不堪且需要自己携带球,甚至连毛巾都不提供。当我向那位巡场员兼球包管理员索要毛巾时,他似乎真的搞不懂我为什么需要它。
这座规模宏大的会所表明,Furry Creek曾经是个热闹得多的地方。如今则不然。球场的大部分区域都空空如也,或者摆放着一些看似随意放置的家具。专卖店里的商品种类也很少,完全看不到任何与《Happy Gilmore》相关的元素。真是可惜。
不过,球场本身有很多值得称道的地方:它独具特色、富有策略性、极具挑战性,有时甚至美得令人惊叹。我会再来打球,因为它很适合我的打球风格,而且第二轮会更有趣。但六个小时的耗时实在难以接受,这会让我不再愿意光顾了。