Post by Richie3Jack on May 25, 2010 11:36:55 GMT -5
The Frog is a course that is helped managed by Canongate, but they do not own the course. This gets most members on the course at a $33 rate instead of a $25 rate and they can only make tee times 3 days in advance and cannot book before noon on weekends and holidays.
The Frog is still a public course that I actually played well before it became a Canongate club. At one point it may have had the best greens in all of Atlanta.
The Frog is a Tom Fazio design playing 7,018 yards from the tips and with a 142 slope. However, it's a relatively easy golf course and my low round there is a 67.
The terrain is either very flat or very hilly on the holes. For example #1 thru #3 are flat, then 4 and 5 are very hilly, then 6 is pretty flat, then 7 is a bit hilly, followed by a flat #8 and then a very hilly #9. Despite the difference in terrain, the greens are rather flat and when the greens are in their tip top shape, they can be very easy to putt on. That's one of the reasons why I do not find the course overly difficult.
The other reason is the front side is very easy if you can get past #1 and #8. #1 isn't exactly tough, but sometimes the lie you can have on the approach can be very difficult. #8 is just a very long par-3 with water, but you have a wide open bail out to the right. Holes #2 and then 4-6 are birdie holes. A few years ago, when I wasn't playing I decided to take a week vacation and play the Frog for my only golf of the year and the third time I played there I birdie #2, #4, #5, #6, #7 and #9 (parred 1, 3 and 8). #7 and #9 are pretty good holes, but not exactly tough either.
The backside starts out a bit tough as #10 - #12 are difficult holes, but then it eases up with an easy #13 thru #15 and then a tough #17.
I'd say that The Frog's strongest holes are #4, #7, #10, #12 and #18. It's weakest holes are #2, #6 and #14. I think #5 is a bit goofy, but not all that bad.
I probably like #10 the best, even though that's the hole I took an 8 on after shooting 30 on the front (I wound up shooting 69 that day). It's an elevated tee to a somewhat tight fairway with a fairway bunker and hazard off to the right and trees to the left. It requires a quality, but not superb tee shot to allow for an easier shot into the pin or you can play it safe and take a 3-wood and a long iron into the pin. But there's also a creek to the right of the green. Just a good looking, quality golf hole.
Overall it's a top 5 course in the Canongate crowd and if you can afford it and are not afraid to travel to the middle of nowhere it's worth it. It's sort of odd that a respected course that is 7,000 yards and designed by Fazio could be thought of as easy, but it is for most experienced golfers. There are only a few holes with homes on them like #12 and #14. Probably the biggest difficulty with the course is getting the correct yardage, so bring a GPS.
3JACK