A Beautiful Day of Golf at Westhaven Golf Club

A deep blue sky and temperatures in the low seventies along with a beautiful and challenging golf course-a combination that made my palms sweat. I'm a twelve handicap, which means I'm not bad, but I'm not real good either. Playing Westhaven Golf Club, a private club in Franklin Tennessee, was going to be a lot of fun.

The course measures nearly seven thousand yards from the back tees. We moved up one tee box and played the blue tees which measure 6,513 yards. Certainly tough enough for me. The course was designed by Arthur Hills/Steve Forrest & Associates. If you've ever played their courses before, you know that they usually include some significant carry shots over wetlands, ponds, or other hazards--and a lot of sand traps. This course does not disappoint in either of those areas! I'll give you some of the highlights (and lowlights) of my round on this beautiful day.

Hole Number one is a very fair starting hole at 399 yds. from the blue tees. It doglegs right so the best shot is the left center side of the fairway. I hit the green in two but three putted the fast but fair green for my first bogey of the day. I was sure there were many more to come.

Hole 2 is a short par four at 292 yds. Water guards the entire left side of this hole. One of my playing partners pulled it into the lake so I cautiously hit an iron off the tee. A wedge from a hundred yards out and two putts later gave me a par. Wow, I thought, I'm on fire!

Hole 3 is a 484 yard par 5 with all sorts of trouble along the way. I avoided most of the problems and managed to par this hole.

Hole 4 is a 160 yard par three with an elevated green surrounded by sand traps. I avoided the traps but three putted for another bogey. Oh well, welcome to my world.

Hole 5 is a 390 yard hole into the southerly breeze. I barely carried the fairway but on my second shot I hit a good fairway wood right in front of the green. A good chip and one putt gave me a par. Things were looking up!

I bogeyed the tough 6^th hole, a 585 yard par 5 into the wind, and managed a par on the 180 yard par three 7^th hole.

Hole 8 is a shortish par 4 at 342 yards. With the wind finally at our backs, I hit one of my better drives leaving me about 80 yards to the flag. A good hard sand wedge and a one putt gave me my first birdie of the day. Wonders never cease!

Hole 9 is a very tough par 4 at 438 yards. Here I was, standing on the ninth tee with a chance to break 40 on the front with a bogey. I bet you can almost predict what happened. A good drive, a lousy second shot, an even worse third shot and three putts gave me a 6--good for 40 on the front. Certainly a good score, but golfers always seem to look at how they could have scored better--a putt here, a missed drive there--shoot, I could have been two over par!

Hole 10 is a long par 4 at 444 yards with a very elevated tee--maybe thirty or forty feet above the fairway. A beautiful view of the area, but today there was a very tough cross wind. After several bad shots I three putted for another double bogey 6. Now things were getting back to normal.

Hole 11 is a short par 4 at 280 yards. An iron off the tee left me 100 yards to an elevated green. Unfortunately, if you don't hit an elevated green you end up way below the hole--which is where I ended up. Another bogey on one of the easier holes on the course! I guess that's why I'm a twelve handicap.

I had a par on hole 12 which is a 355 yard par 4 with a sharp dogleg to the right and a bogey on the very difficult par 4 13^th hole which measures 451 yards (good thing the wind was behind us).

The 533 yard par 5 14^th hole is one of the prettiest holes on the course. A very elevated tee gives a great view of the surrounding countryside. The hole has more fairway bunkers than I could count so the challenge was to get good distance but avoid the traps. I did both on that day and managed to par the hole.

The 15^th and 16^th holes are back to back par threes--a real opportunity to make or break your round. The beauty of this portion of the course is breathtaking. The sun filtered through the mature trees and you could both hear and see a nearby river tumbling over the rocks. I guess I was able to focus enough on the game to par the 126 yard 15^th hole and actually birdie the 180 yard 16^th hole. Things were looking up!

The 531 yard par 5 17^th hole is bordered by a large lake on the left side and a series of fairway bunkers on the right. Into the wind, I was happy to walk away with a bogey on this hole.

The finishing hole at Westhaven is a tough 422 yard par 4. Fairway bunkers are again a factor and the green is literally surrounded by sand traps. Par is an excellent score. I hit a very average drive and was short of the green on my second shot. In an almost eerie duplication of my efforts on hole number 9, I hit a bad chip and three putted for another double bogey 6. That gave me a 42 on the back for a total score of 82 for my round. I was thrilled!

Westhaven Golf Club is a fantastic golf course-tough, but fair. The greens are large, undulating and fast. The fairways are dotted with bunkers--but there is always a reasonable target. Every hole gives the golfer an opportunity to think about which sort of shot will yield the best result. It is both beautiful and challenging. I look forward to going back.

By Tom White, Husband and Golfer