Tobacco Road - Mike Strantz's masterpiece in North Carolina

Only a few German golfers know the US-American golf course designer Mike Strantz. This is certainly also due to the fact that this design genius died far too early in 2005 at the age of just 50. Although Strantz only designed nine courses in his architectural career with his Maverick Golf Design, he was named one of the ten most important golf course architects of all time by Golfweek in 2000. Anyone who has ever played one of Strantz's courses is likely to be impressed, as he understood like no other how to integrate courses into landscapes, but did not shy away from massive land movements. The designer's best-known square in Europe is Tobacco Road near Sanford, North Carolina. Here, the American, who liked to lead the construction work from the back of a horse and did not draw up classic construction plans but rather almost photo-realistic sketches of his courses, created a golf course that is as challenging as it is visually impressive. This is mainly due to the pronounced use of sand, as Sanford is part of the Carolina Sandhills, which has plenty of sandy soil, from which Pinehurst also benefits.

Blind shots on Tobacco Road

Playing Tobacco Road means rethinking your game strategy with every shot. Many blind shots await on the round, and you sometimes get the impression that the proportion of grass and sand (sometimes as waste areas, sometimes as bunkers) is almost equal. In combination with many differences in elevation, clearly undulating greens and slopes along the fairways, the course gives the impression of an adventure playground for golfers rather than a classic golf course, especially when you first play it. But that is precisely the attraction: you have to read and understand a course designed by Mike Strantz, then the round is one of the most beautiful that golf has to offer, especially on sunny days.

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Mike Strantz and the Par-3s

It is almost impossible to single out individual holes at Tobacco Road. As with almost all Strantz courses, the Par-3s are particularly successful, but also challenging. On the front nine, the extremely sandy hole 2, the first par-3 on hole 3 with a green framed by sand including extreme undulation or the rather short par-4 uphill on hole 5, where you play around a crater landscape of bunkers on the right, are particularly memorable. Again and again you realize: if you play the wrong part of the green, you are well served even with a three putt.

In the second part of the round, the dogleg right uphill on hole 11 with its huge sandy landscape on the right-hand side up to the green is a delight. The up to 573-yard par-5 on the following hole is one of the most photographed, especially as the elevated, transverse green not only almost reaches the road, but is almost completely enclosed by hills at the front. The Par-3 on hole 14 must be played from elevated tees over water towards a long green that is slightly offset to the left - here you should definitely enjoy the view from the green back towards the tee. The final hole is without exception challenging and visually convincing: the par-4 dogleg left, where you start with a blind tee shot over a waste area uphill. Once again, Strantz has hidden the green behind hills - you can often hear how good the shot to the flag was from the cheers or groans of the guests on the clubhouse terrace.

Tobacco Road often gives the impression of a sculpture rather than a classic golf course. Strantz knows how to make his holes look intimidating like no other. You should therefore play the course several times if possible, then you will quickly realize that some design elements that seem intimidating at first glance can be used by golfers to their advantage. This course should not be missing from any golfer's CV!