AETNA SPRINGS

THE FIFTH AT AETNA SPRINGS (COURTESY OF LARRY LAMBRECHT)

This is the final installment of the my Aetna Springs trilogy. It is a truly special little course and worth getting out to see. It was fun working in such a pretty environment and great to get back there and see how it turned out. (Video and hole by hole review after the jump)

1. The first hole is a short four that plays downhill to a fairway bisected by a creek. The green sits across another creek and is one of the best on the course, with a diagonal shelf running through the middle of it.
2. The second hole is a long par three. The green slopes strongly back to front and the hole requires a well struck long iron or fairway wood. On a short course, this hole really stands out because of its difficulty.
3. The third hole plays back towards the western hills. two bunkers guard the inside of the dogleg and there are two more bunkers cut into the hillside. The slightly elevated green sits over the toe of a slope and is best approached from the left side of the fairway. This is hole is one of Aetna’s best and would stand out on any course.
4. The fourth is an amazing short par three that plays up a wide draw in the hills. The green is nestled amongst bunkers, long grass, and towering oaks. In my opinion, this is one of two world class holes on this little nine-holer.
5. The fifth plays back into the central valley. A creek runs across the fairway at about 220 yards from the tee. The player needs to make a decision to lay-up or blast it over the creek. The second shot plays uphill to the top of a hill. This is my least favorite hole on the course.
6. The tee shot is semi blind and unless the player really smokes it, the second shot can also be blind. The green sits at the bottom of a hill underneath a majestic oak. The backdrop is stunning.
7. Immediately adjacent to the sixth green, the seventh tee points the golfer back towards the clubhouse. To me this is one of the coolest spots in golf. A wood fence runs diagonally away from the golfer, lining a charming country road. A vineyard stretches away on the other side of the road. There is a small pond in the distance. The view produces an amazing sense of place. The player hits their tee shot over the corner of a hill to a fairway that cants right to left. The fairway must be one of the widest in golf as it extends all the way into a corner made up by two country lanes. Staying on the high side is rewarded by a better angle to a green protected by two deep bunkers on the left. Seven is the second world class hole on the course.
8. The eighth is an interesting short par five. The tee shot must navigate a series of crisscrossing streams. The approach is over two fairway bunkers to a tiny green (Doak has called it the smallest in Renaissance Golf Design history) that sits between a few massive oaks.
9. This short four plays up hill to a heavily contoured green protected by a series of fronting bunkers. It is a drivable hole that is fun for both the long and short hitter.

Aetna Springs is a rare thing in golf; a challenging yet playable nine hole course that holds up over repeat playing.

For more on Aetna Springs and also the recent decision by the Napa Valley Board of Supervisors to halt the Lake Luciana project down valley see here and here.