Wild Wing’s Avocet Course delivers the type of round golfers love, blending opportunities for birdie (hello, no. 14) with substantial risk.
If you post a good number, you’ve earned it. Conversely, if you fire your worst round of the year, you can’t blame architects Jeff Brauer and Larry Nelson for a layout that is unnecessarily punitive.
That being said, there are three holes where the prospect of a big number looms. Here is a look at the three challenges at Avocet you have to survive.
● After opening with a pair of shortish par 4s, the 399-yard (all distances from white tees) third hole (pictured right) demands both power and precision. The tree-lined fairway offers approximately 50 yards of width. If you are in the pine straw, your chances of reaching are negligible because wetlands that run throughout the property bisect the fairway approximately 60 yards from the front of green, making it difficult to run the ball up. Throw in a two-tiered green guarded by bunkers and No. 3 has all the ingredients for a blow-up hole.
● When talking about the biggest challenges at Avocet, there is No. 6 (top photo) and then every other hole on the course. The 406-yard par 4 is the day’s toughest drive with water on the left and woods on the right. If you miss in either direction, a penalty stroke awaits. The sixth shares a long double green with No. 17 and when the flag is in the middle of the multi-tiered complex, a long approach and a difficult putt await. If you are a mid to high handicap, five is an outstanding score. Seriously. Survive and advance is the goal on the sixth.
● The back nine is the shorter of the two sides at Avocet, but you would never know it on the 430-yard 16th, the course’s longest par 4. The challenge isn’t complicated and you shouldn’t lose a ball, but any two-shotter this long will be difficult, and No. 16 (pictured right) is no exception.
Golfers that survive holes 3, 6, and 16 without posting a big number, should be positioned for a good day at Wild Wing Avocet.
