Hole 1 is a straight drive from the open into a small clearing.
The fairway runs downhill gradually and back uphill within 50' of the
basket. The basket is surrounded by small pines on the left and
one large, forked tree on the right. Watch out for the two large
poplar trees demarking the red tee!
Hole 2 drives straight under a tree that bends over the fairway and
drops many a shot close to the tee. The fairway then takes a 90
degree turn to the left and continues up a narrowing alley to the
basket. A long, straight drive dying suddenly left should put you
in good position to continue on the fairway, but more often than not,
you'll need a good out shot.
Hole 3 runs down an alley to the last open space you'll be seeing for a
while. From the clearing, the fairway continues downhill with a
slight right to left. An excellent shot (possibly with some skip
action) could put you in prime real estate: just inside the entrance to
the woods, looking down the hill at the basket. Those unlucky
enough to find themselves to the deep left or right will be surrounded
with smaller trees and likely few options to get out again.
Hole 4 tees off downhill between two trees and bottoms out briefly
before sloping back uphill to the basket. One large, and a few
small, trees block the straight approach to the basket and separate the
fairway into two pieces. Control is essential on this short hole.
Hole 5 is a slight right to left over the crest of the hill down to the
dry creek bed at the bottom, then straight uphill to the pin.
Great shots stay over and land in the middle of the fairway at the
bottom of the hill, leaving you only the tough approach shot on the
basket. Trees block completely straight shots at the basket as
the fairway narrows down to one person gaps, but there is a small
clearing allowing you to putt out.
Hole 6 slopes easily to the dry creek bed continuing from the previous
hole, then rises uphill to the basket. The fairway is split up
the middle by small trees into which unlucky disc frequently
collide. The fairway becomes solid again for a moment before a
cluster of trees block straight shots at the basket again. The
clearest putts are to be had pin-high from the right, but don't go past
the basket.
Hole 7 drops to the creek and rises sharply from left to right to the
pin. This short hole is one that you want to go for the ace on
because landing on the hill makes for a more difficult second shot than
it has to be. Falling off the fairway on the steeper part of the
slope will almost assuredly lead to par.
Hole 8 flies out over a quick down and uphill and doglegs left.
Finding a way on this hole is a reason for celebration because a good
late skip could leave you in range for a quick deuce. Off the
fairway is the usual set of wooden obstacles approaching the basket
from the left is difficult but workable, or a bad throw/kick could send
you into the swamp pin-high to the right.
Hole 9 looks initially like hole 2 as it shoots out under a tree
leaning over the fairway. Good drives are imminently obtainable,
though, and the fairway runs slight left to right downhill then up a
sharp slope to the basket. There are a pair of large pine trees
about pin high that make shots at the basket from the right a little
more difficult, but if you land at the base of one, you should have a
decent putt.
Hole 10 drives straight down the fairway then doglegs right. To
the right of the fairway are small trees, some shrubs, and lots of low,
dead pine branches that will make any normal putt on the basket into an
upshot. This skip-aceable hole is great for a right-handed
forehand, but a small tree standing in front of the basket can take
that all away. Deep shots may end up in a group of small trees to
the left of the basket.
Hole 11 runs downhill and flattens out over the creek, flying slightly
left to right. The unlucky may find themselves in the creek past
the bridge on their drive. The very unlucky will find themselves
in the creek before the bridge, having to shoot blindly uphill and
trying to avoid the small trees at the top. The basket is
surrounded by "the cage" which is a number of small, straight trees
that rule out almost all approaches from becoming lucky putts.
Bad putts/approaches are at least as likely to land/roll downhill into
the creek, making your next shot that much more difficult.
Hole 12 is evil. It makes a reversed S-curve through the woods
and what begins as a narrow fairway turns into a path to the
basket. The "fairway" splits into the regular right to left and
the blue, slight left to right, fairway which is a bit wider, but no
more clear. The local route is a big, long right-handed anhyzer
cutting through the woods, but whacking wood can end your run
prematurely. It is imperative to keep a cool head on this hole as
people who chuck a disc toward the hole in anger are more likely to hit
a tree five feet away than to get lucky. Hell, you're likely to
hit a tree five feet away anyway, but this is a bad hole to blow up on
because it doesn't get much easier when you get to...
Hole 13 does much the same as hole 12, only with flatter curves and is
more open. A straight shot out past the large beech tree then
fading right quickly, should put you in a spot to thread the needle
either to the right or left of the pine tree in the middle of the
fairway. After doglegging left, it's a relatively straight shot
to the basket, which sits out from another large beech.
Hole 14 shoots out straight then turns right uphill. To the right
of the tee is affectionately known as "Plinko" for the small trees off
of which your disc could ricochet and land you in trouble. To the
left of the tee is a fence over which is out of bounds. Most
people need never worry about this, but an unusual yank or terrible
kick could send you over before the fairway turns right up the
hill. As usual, the fairway splits around a group of trees
beginning with a large beech tree in the middle. The basket is
tough to see from many places on the hole, and even regulars at the
course forget exactly where the pin is. It's up the hill and
slightly to the left... Somewhere.
Hole 15 is the signature hole at Elk Creek and is identified with the
tree on in the Elk Creek banner on the main page of the site. The
fairway runs out straight and then turns sharply left and
downhill. A long, straight shot fading left is necessary to put
yourself in good position for your next shot down the hill toward the
basket, but even most other shots are workable. The final
approach goes through the fork in the tree into the basket and is
always a tempting putt. This is a deceptively difficult hole, but
good control is the key to a low score.
Hole 16 is where you finally get to air it out again, throwing into a
wide open field. A good, long, straight shot with very little
left fade will leave you in position to shoot the gap between the woods
and a large island of trees, wild blackberries and undergrowth.
Falling in either the briars to the left or the woods to the right of
the gap makes your next shot tough at the very least and possibly
painful, and a large tree in the middle at the end of the gap threatens
to kick you into either of these. Shots that fail to line you up
for the gap may make it necessary for you to go around the stand of
trees to the left and turn back up the hill to the right. The
basket is in the open beyond the island. Tall grass can make this
hole unpleasant during the summer.
Hole 17 you get no less than two fairways to choose from: a long, easy
left to right or a long, straight shot with left fade, both across a
steep valley. There are no areas of particularly great pain on
this hole and is fairly easy to hit.
Hole 18 shoots straight down a narrow fairway to the basket with a
little die-right at the end. Yanking it right into the woods from
the tee is problematic as you're dealing with the small pines from hole
10, and the possibility always exists to have a tree kick your disc way
out to the left. The area surrounding the basket is mostly clear
except for an oak in front and slightly to the right. An easy
second shot will lead to a simple shot for par, or a good drive may
just leave you parked for birdie.