Lakeview Golf Club

Once again on vacation in the Lakes Region this year, I was glad to play Lakeview. It’s a nine-holer of medium length that’s good fun, yet not short on challenges. All of the holes are at least decent. Here are the ones, though, that stood out:

Four, par-4, 435 (blues):
One of the most rigorous holes at Lakeview. Playing straight uphill and long from the tee, I selected driver/5 iron here. With little trouble unless you stray badly, the fairway is welcoming, but the raised green–protected by flanking bunkers and thick rough–is tricky to hit on the approach.

Five, par-4, 230
The first of two tough par-3s here, the green is surrounded by woods and a pair of bunkers. Yet It opens in the front, but because the green is so small and the bunkers magnetic, it resists GIR’s like a fortress. The best strategy off the tee seems to be to fly the ball in short of the putting surface to let it run on. Hitting over the green will often spell double-bogey.

Six, par-4, 450
The hole that offers “two fairways” because of a centrally placed copse of trees down the middle, which divides the wide landing zone, though not quite in half. Both off the tee and into the green, accuracy is a must if you expect to par the hole.

Eight, par-5, 560.
A superb par-5 and the #1 handicap index, the eighth starts with a bending fairway on the tee ball, then a second shot to a narrow and tilted strip of fairway running somewhat steeply downhill to the green. The hole opens up a bit on the third shot, which players will try to land on a putting surface that runs away from them. A gaping bunker guard’s the green’s left flank, with woods right.

Along with these excellent holes, Lakeview also tests you with two more appealing and challenging par-3s at seven and nine. The last hole, especially, is a brute, running steeply uphill 205 yards to a well-guarded green by the clubhouse. You may feel a bit of pressure chipping and putting here if there are onlookers inside at the bar.

All told, Lakeview provides good conditions and a sound test of golf, making it an excellent value proposition.The hilltop site, which rolls quite a bit itself, is a pleasant, secluded, and quiet place, even though Lakeview is situated less than a mile from Route 3 near Winnisquam Lake. What I appreciate most about this track is the smart design with appealing old-school qualities, basically emanating from British Isles golf. It uses the land’s given contours to “find” good golf holes, without too much disruption of the existing terrain or the natural surroundings. This course does just that, quite nicely.

Lakeview Golf Club sits about half a mile up the street on Ladd Hill Road from a sizable Laconia-area shopping center, yet it seems worlds away from civilization. While Ladd Hill is populated by typical suburban houses and the neighborhood seems a bit sleepy, once you step onto the first tee there is little connection with civilization. The layout, perched on top of a sprawling hill, is not flat but rather rolling, moving either up or down to varying degrees on every one of its nine holes. Only one water hazard–a small pond–appears on this course, lying 10 yards in front of the second tee. Yet water hazards seem irrelevant on a classic layout like Lakeview. The views also comprise beautiful, mature trees that may line the fairways (or appear intermittently), the tall, sandy-hued grasses that comprise the deeper roughs situated well off the fairways, the nearly polar white sand in these recently refurbished bunkers, and, on a sunny day, the blue skies above. And the central New Hampshire mountains, occasionally glimpsed above the trees, add to the sense of remoteness and seclusion: no houses line any part of the course’s periphery.

LAYOUT:

Three Long Par-3s:
Measuring an average of 207 yards from the blues, the par-3s demand skill with the longer clubs. There are two tigers: the slightly downhill 230 yard fifth and a closing hole that moves dramatically uphill (to the height of about a four-story building). The ninth’s bite carries greater force when you miss a shot on the short side.

Four Worthy Four-Pars:
Yes, the second and third are short, even driveable, par-4s. But the big “but” is that these are the only real birdie holes on the course. Missing the fairway is generally costly at both. Most golfers will not have birdie uppermost in mind on the other two, given that they average 442 yards. How about just scratching out pars? Four plays uphill to a green protected by bunkers and an array of mounds.

Tough Pair of Par 5s:
The opening hole measures 515 yards, but traveling uphill, it plays about 20 yards longer. Its driving area is tighter than the room supplied for the second shot, while the green is slightly plateaued and flanked by bunkers. On the other hand, the eighth (#1 index) moves downhill some 550 yards, and the second shot is much tighter to an unforgiving, canted fairway. This is the one hole on at Lakeview where the feeling of openness is gone, and where erring shots often will be punished severely. Two big bunkers are embedded within a shelf to the left of the green.

Favorite Hole: the sixth, par-4, 450, blue tees.
While all are solid holes at Lakeview, I most liked the 6th, playing off the tee to what is essentially a double fairway: in the landing zone are three huge pines that dictate a drive to one branch, left or right, of this wide fairway. Woods guard the right side, deep rough is left. The approach plays slightly uphill; the green is protected by flanking bunkers.

CONDITIONS:
Good overall. The fairways, roughs, and tees were all respectable, as were the greens, which rolled quite smoothly and predictably, if a bit on the slow side (some of this was morning dew). The new bunkers were excellent. Despite the dry summer, the course is relatively green although there are the expected areas of turf that aren’t.

OTHER:
Good facility, and at check-in (and providing directions when I could not access Google maps) Beth was very accommodating, friendly, and helpful; she was outstanding!

SOME CONCLUSIONS:
Designed in 1970, this design has a great feel that is much older, making it seem as if you’ve emerged from a time warp and are playing back in the 1920’s, golf’s Golden Age. Equally important is the strength of this nine-hole layout. Lakeview plays long, as alluded to above, and, with an NHGA course rating of only one shot below par (69 versus 70), is in fact quite challenging. It may well be underrated right now in this area, but the course appears poised to make a comeback after waning for a few years. It’s great to see ownership taking conditioning and other improvements seriously. Hidden gem? That pretty much nails it, but it shouldn’t stay so hidden for long, and the value is outstanding.