Green Hills Golf Course
This past weekend, a friend and I went and played out at Green Hills Golf Club
in Mt. Vernon. I have grown up around Mt. Vernon and played most of the courses
in Southern Illinois and I can tell you that this is a very fun and challenging
course to play. We only had time to play nine, so we played the front and I
will take you on a hole-by-hole overview of the first nine. I actually believe the
back may be a little harder, but we settled for taking it easy on ourselves for
the day. The front is par-35 and the back is par-36 and a total yardage of
roughly 6,710 yards from the blue tees.
Hole one is an inviting par-5 which allows you to put all your power into
your first drive of the day. At about 130 yards out you encounter a ditch and a
hill that is about 20 to 30 feet tall with the green perched nicely at the top. This
is a good hole to start your day out with a birdie, even an eagle if you are
accurate and long of the tee, but just make sure to avoid the bunkers on both
sides of the green. (I of course started with a double; 2-over on the ay).
Hole two is a par-3 which is pretty simple from white tees at about 155 yards, but
gets more difficult from the blue tees playing about 205 yards. The green is sloped
down with a bunker on the right. Par for me; still 2-over.
Hole three is a par-4 playing about 405 to 425 yards depending on the tee. It has a hill
in the middle of the fairway which is very nice to be able to hit on the
downside of it off the drive. You are then left with a 120-yard shot into the green. Par again for me; 2-over.
Hole four is a short par-3 with an enormous green. You better stick it close or
you are in for a long putt. There is sand on all sides of the green which
I hit and ended with a bogey. 3-over.
Hole five is another par-4 that goes over water and you are not able to see the
green. There is a slight dogleg right with trees on the right-hand side lining
the hole. After your drive you are at about 100 yards out with a downhill shot
into the green with bunkers on either side. I birdied, back to 2-over.
Hole six is a very, very long par-5, playing 570 yards from the blues, 505 yards from the
whites. It also has a ditch at about 225 or 230 yards, so you have to decide to try to
clear it or fly it on the drive. Your next shot is still about 300 yards out and
is uphill as well. When you finally get to about 75 yards way you have to manage
to hit a very small and usually fast green. The pin position is also usually
difficult on this hole. I boogied, back to 4-over.
Hole seven is a very simple par-3. The hole only plays 120 yards from the white, 160 yards
from the blues and has a downhill slope. There are bunkers on each side of the
green as well. The key here is to not go over the green, because it leaves you
with a hard chip shot back on. I birdied; 3-over.
Hole eight is a par-4 with a ditch at about 125 yards. Its very straight and you can
really lay into a drive. The only problem is the very steep hill on which the
green lies, probably 40 feet up . Its very deceptive too because the green is
about 15 yards back after you reach the top of the hill, so make sure not to
leave it short. I boogied (sighs). Back to 4-over.
Hole nine is the final par-4 before the turn and it has a hill on the left with some woods on the right. There is also a small ditch about 50 yards from the tee box which shouldn't cause a problem. The green has a bunker on the right and in back, but overall isn't to hard to hit. I pared and ended my round at 39.
This is only the first nine, but hopefully you realize how nice this course is and how much of a challenge it can be to play. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to go out for a round of golf on a weekend, just make sure to make a reservation if you are teeing off in the morning. The phone number is 618-244-3961. I hope all of you go and try it out!
