Village Greens sets standard for indy links

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Jul 30, 2008

OZAWKIE -- Village Greens Golf Course is one of those local courses that always makes The Capital-Journal sports staff's rotation.

I've played there in howling winds, driving rain and both chilly and boiling temperatures.

I can't ever remember, however, playing the course the same way twice. One time I'll go out there and tear up the par 5s. On our trip there last week, I was brutal on the last three long ones.

No. 4 almost always gets a ball in the pond, no matter how well I've been hitting my driver to that point. No. 14 should be a rather simple hole and yet I always struggle with it.

Village Greens is sneaky that way. You can spray it all over the place on some of the holes, but you'd better be darn accurate on others.

And you'd better have your putter working. The course has some of the toughest greens around, mainly because many of them have some bend to them and a few have some pretty serious slope. You do not want to be above the hole on No. 7. Ever.

It's hard to beat the place, particularly whenever their April special is in place. The Vanderpools have pretty much set the standard by which all "Mom and Pop courses" should be measured.

I can't wait to see how I'll play it on my next trip.

SIGNATURE/TOUGHEST HOLE

Anyone that's ever played Village Greens knows the one hole that stands out above the rest -- both as its signature and arguably toughest -- is the 393-yard No. 11. You can get into all kinds of trouble off the tee with OB left and a grove of trees right that make cutting the corner of the dog-leg near impossible. Hit one too straight and long off the tee and it's OB, too. The approach is through a narrow opening to a small green and over a small creek.

HOW OWNER MERIL VANDERPOOL SAYS YOU SHOULD PLAY THE HOLE:

If you don't get past the trees on the right, play it like a short par 5 and pitch your second shot short of the creek and hit a short iron in. A good drive will put you 150-180 out, leaving you anywhere from a 9-iron to 5-iron into the green.

HOW THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL'S

MAYCOCK PLAYED THE HOLE:

Well, the triple-bogey curse finally ended, so that was nice. I hit a long straight drive - almost too far as I drove it through the fairway and flirted slightly with going into a backyard pictured below. Fortunately the rough was thick and held my ball up. I had to go over the left trees on the approach and from 140 out, contemplated a 9-iron but hit an 8. I hit it long and just right off the green, but pitched on to 18 feet and two-putted for bogey.