Holly Ridge Golf Links is live: wind, water and a little life in Archdale, NC

Holly Ridge Golf Links is live on the members server.

This one is a bonus course. A gentleman commissioned me to build it, and once he had his copy, I put it up on the server for all of you. Before anything else, a big thank you to him. More on that at the end.

A little history

Holly Ridge sits in Archdale, North Carolina, just south of High Point and about 20 minutes from Greensboro, right along U.S. 311. Jim Bivins designed it in 1994. It's a public course with a links-style feel, open and breezy with plenty of water, including a big lake crossed by two wooden bridges. The wind out there makes judging distances part of the challenge.

What it plays like

Par 72, 6,536 yards from the black tees. There are seven sets of tees, from the blacks down to junior tees around 3,400 yards and a par 3 set around 2,300, so everyone in the house can get around.

The 5th is the No. 1 handicap, a dogleg right with a lake guarding the left side of the green. Water comes back into play on 12 and 13, and 18 is a good risk/reward par 5 to finish, with two bodies of water down the left.

The details

I built a replica of the clubhouse for this one, along with the patio, the landscaping and the parking lot out front. The old whiskey barrels that hold the hole signs on every tee are in there too, and there are drinks stations out on both nines.

The mowing got extra attention as well: stripes that follow every fairway, cleanup laps around the edges, and rough laps that follow the shape of each hole.

Some life on the course

Like Meadow, I wanted this one to feel alive. Cars and trucks run up and down 311 and the roads you can see from the course, golfers pull into the lot and park, and the maintenance truck heads out to the shop. Turkey vultures circle overhead, crows cross now and then, Canada geese hang around the ponds and deer wander the fields. The clouds move, and their shadows drift across the course as you play.

You'll hear it too: bugs and a breeze, wind in the oaks, the creek below the dam, traffic out on 311, a rooster on the farm next door and the odd jet passing over.

If you run into anything, performance or otherwise, let me know and I'll get it cleaned up.

Thank you

A big thank you to the gentleman who commissioned Holly Ridge. Courses like this one don't happen without people like him, and it was a real pleasure bringing it to life. I hope he enjoys playing it as much as I enjoyed building it.

If you'd like a course of your own built, whether it's your home club or somewhere that means something to you, take a look at custom course builds.

What's next

I'm already into the next one and will have more to share soon.

Enjoy Holly Ridge, and let me know what you think.