TARGET GOLF AT ITS FINEST

Located east of Elgin, Rolling Knolls is the ultimate in target golf. Although the holes are generally short, you are not likely to score any better here than on longer courses because trouble is lurking everywhere. Bring a lot of golf balls so you don’t run out of them in mid round.

A quick look at the scorecard shows par is only 65, but before you start chuckling it really should be 70 because on five of the holes most people are not likely to hit the green in regulation. The estimated scores shown below are based on a typical golfer who usually shoots somewhere between par and bogey.


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Hole 1 – par 4 only 240 yards. Fairway is so narrow you are unlikely to hit it. If you do thread the needle, water on the right sticks out into the fairway to catch many drives. The green is crowned, so if you do not hit the center, it usually rolls off the side. 5 is a likely score here.



Hole 2 – par 4 under 400 yards, but it plays much longer than that. The second shot is blind to an extremely elevated tiny green, so it is not reasonable to expect to hit this green in 2 shots. Thus, this should be a par 5. If you miss the green to the left, you may be OB. If you miss to the right, it will bounce down a bank into the trees. 6 is a likely score here.

Hole 3 – par 3 under 200 yards, but the green is guarded by trees and traps, and it does not hold a shot. The only way to hit this green is to roll it thru the two front traps. Thus, play it from the back tees as a par 4. 4 is a likely score here.

Hole 4 – par 5 dogleg right. It takes a long accurate drive to reach the dogleg, and even if you do, you might be stymied by a tree in the middle of the fairway. The green is reachable on your 2nd shot, but you are not likely to hit it due to huge traps fronting it. If you play it out to the right to avoid the traps, you cannot hit it too far or else you will be in a dry creek bed. 6 is a likely score here.

Hole 5 – uphill narrow par 4. Unless you hit a really long drive, it is a blind shot to the green guarded by two large traps. 5 is a likely score here.

Hole 6 – downhill narrow par 4. A decent drive gives a lovely view of the green, which slopes away from you, so many shots end up on the back fringe. 4 is a good score here.

Hole 7 – long par 3 guarded by two large traps. The tee box is very long, so you can choose to play this from the front as a par 3, or from the back as a par 4, you are not likely to hit the green from back there. 4 is a likely score here.

Hole 8 – very short par 4, reachable with a perfect drive. However, it is very dangerous with trees surrounding the tiny green, and watch out for water on the left side of the fairway. 4 is a good score here.

Hole 9 – one of the most bizarre holes you will ever see. Short downhill par 3 with trees in front of the green, so you must choose to go over the trees or thru them. If you miss to the right, the ball will go down a steep bank into a grove of trees. The hilly terrain makes it an optical illusion to read a putt. 4 is a likely score here.

The sum of my “likely” scores for the front nine is 42. Don’t feel bad, the back nine is much shorter and easier, or is it?

Hole 10 – par 4 with OB on left, trees, trap and water on right, and in front of the green. A good drive is a must. A second shot missed to the right is in the water. The green is small and severly sloped. 5 is a likely score here.

Hole 11 – a gorgeous short downhill par 3 over a creek. The green is a little crowned, so unless you hit the center, your ball might roll off the side. 3 is a good score here.

Hole 12 – par 3 with nowhere to hit the ball but the left side of the green, which is severely sloped toward the creek on the right. Miss to the left and you are in the trees. A small trap guards the front so you cannot roll the ball onto the green. 4 is a likely score here.

Hole 13 – short par 4 strictly target golf. A short iron from the tee must be perfect to carry to the fairway, with water in front and on both sides. The 2nd shot must also be perfect to hit the very shallow green which is guarded closely in front by the creek. 5 is a likely score here.

Hole 14 – uphill par 4, very pretty and very dangerous. Drive must thread the needle to get thru the chute of trees on both sides. Second shot is tricky to a highly elevated and heavily trapped green. If you hit above the hole, you may find your putt rolling off the front of the green. 5 is a likely score here.

Hole 15 – downhill par 4, extremely narrow, trees on both sides several traps in front of green, which can be reached with a perfect drive. 4 is a good score here if you can stay out of the trees.

Hole 16 – easy par 3, no obstacles, traps are far enough to the side. 3 is a likely score here.

Hole 17 – longer par 3 with water on both sides and guarding the front right of the green. There are two tee areas, one of which is partially blocked by a tree. Tee shot must be perfect if you want par. Since few of us are perfect, 4 is a likely score here.

Hole 18 – unhittable par 3. Several years ago this was a par 4 with the green too close to the clubhouse, so they built a new green in the fairway which is like trying to hit a table top. It is about 4 feet higher than the fairway with steep banks and traps on all 4 sides. The only way this green can be hit is on a wet day with soft ground, so 4 is a good score here.


The sum of my “likely” scores for the back nine is 37. Yay, I broke 80, assuming I did not ever have to take any penalties or chip out of the trees, which is not very realistic here. If you can play an entire round here without losing a ball, I would have to say buddy, YOU GOT GAME!!!

Some people think The Yips are incurable. Maybe they are right, but for some people there are some worthwhile things to try. Most of the references to The Yips refer to putting, but you can also get The Yips for other parts of the game like chipping, pitching, and the full swing. Recently I saw on the Golf Channel's show on the 2006 PGA, Henrik Stenson had the full swing yips and to cure them he closed his eyes and trusted his swing mechanics. I personally have the Pitching Yips, whenever I take the club back all I can think of is I hope I don't chunk it, shank it, or skull it, and of course that brings my probability of success down to 1 out of 4, not very good odds.

Then I tried Henriks's suggestion first on putting, and it worked great because there is little chance of a mechanical error on a putt. By trusting my stroke, the visual distraction was eliminated, making it easier to follow thru straight toward my target every time. Then I tried it on pitches, by starting my backswing with my eyes open and then closing them. To my surprise, by trusting my stroke with my eyes closed, I hit several pitches perfectly. However, the next day, brimming with confidence, I tried this again and whiffed the ball completely. Shocking disappointment, thinking I am so screwed, thinking nothing will ever work. I think it may have been due to lack of trust in executing the swing without looking. Some time later, I found another mental tactic that seems to work, and that is from the movie Caddyshack, BE THE BALL, in other words, just stare at the ball while swinging without being distracted by swing thoughts.

The lesson here is to think about how the stroke should feel with your eyes closed, and then execute that stroke with eyes closed and feeling the same feel as before, and not quit too soon, keep concentrating all the way until the follow thru is completed. This takes total concentration, which you cannot afford to lose, so if you cannot maintain this level of concentration then this method may not be for you.