![]() ![]() A recurring theme during Master’s Week is that “you have to miss it in the right spot.” At Tot Hill Farm it’s very rare for there to be a good miss. If you watch any professional golf you’ll hear commentators talk about a “good miss”. In those 6,500 yards, Tot Hill Farm makes you use not only every shot in your bag, but something even more rarely called for in many designs: self-restraint. That’s practically a pitch-and-putt course by today’s standards, but I doubt that many will walk off the 18th green wishing for more length. For starters, it plays just 6,500 yards from the tips. That’s fitting, because Tot Hill Farm isn’t your average golf course. ![]() Ask anyone who’s played there and you won’t get a tepid opinion – the consensus is that you may love Tot Hill Farm or you may hate it, but you aren’t likely to forget it any time soon. ![]() Voted the 7th hardest course in America in 2007, Golf Digest gave it 4.5 stars in 20 and named it to their coveted list of Best Places to Play in 2010. I don’t know if these two gentlemen ever met, but after a day at Tot Hill Farm I’m positive that Mike Stranz and Dirty Harry share a philosophy: “A man’s got to know his limitations.” What’s important is the connection between “Cowboy” Mike Stranz and Clint “Dirty Harry” Eastwood. Thanks for playing, you can now forget that I ever mentioned Kevin Bacon. There’s a picture in the clubhouse at Tot Hill Farm of Mike Stranz sitting on a horse, wearing a cowboy hat, as he surveys the property that would eventually become Tot Hill Farm.Clint Eastwood got his start playing cowboy Rowdy Yates in Rawhide.Kevin Bacon was directed by Clint Eastwood in “Mystic River”.I think that I can connect Kevin Bacon, star of Footloose, to Mike Stranz, designer of Tot Hill Farm in Asheboro, North Carolina: All in all, Tot Hill is a good play and worth the drive.Since you’re using the Internet to read this I’m sure you’re familiar with the game “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon”, where you see how quickly can you connect Kevin Bacon to any other actor in the world. They were in good shape for the time of year, but very fast and severely sloped. We each 3 putted 6 times during our round. We both agreed that the biggest monster here is the greens. We lost 2 each and were playing mediocre, at best. We also found that you aren't likely to lose too many balls if you just trust your yardage guide and play it safe. Other than that, the course flows competently. We began to speculate that maybe the back tees had been extended in recent years to keep Tot Hill among "the top 20 most difficult courses in the USA". ![]() The #3 green and #4 tee boxes are INSANELY close to one another, and seem jammed in. We were somewhat surprised however at the cramping of a couple holes. The course is still beautiful and unique, with ALOT of elevation change. With Tobacco Road and Tot Hill on the same latitude and just an hour drive apart, it was slightly disappointing. We were a bit surprised to see that the fairways were not overseeded like it's sister course (Tobacco Road) which we had played 2 days prior. There is a nice snack bar and "pro-shop" with some cool and affordable souveniers too. We had a nice chat with the pro prior to being let out and he brewed us a fresh pot of coffee while we waited. I should start out by saying that the staff were wonderfully accomodating and friendly. We only paid $29 each through to play it, so we were able to look past a couple of small disappointments. It was a cold start at 42 degrees, but it warmed up nicely when the sun broke through (around the 7th hole). My cousin Bob and I played Tot Hill on the morning of 02/23/11. ![]()
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