Architect: Davis Love III- Year: 2009
- Date Played: 04/24/2017
- Score/Tees: 86/III
- Yardage (Rating/Slope): 6,099 (70.3/131)
- Golf Digest 2016 World #52
- Golf Magazine 2015 World #38
First Impression: Wow this property is vast! Diamante is over 1,500 acres of beauty.
Practice Range:
#1 – 526 yards – par 5
After a terrible warm-up on the range, I was pretty nervous standing over this tee shot. But, the golf Gods smiled down on me and I piped a drive down the left side of the fairway leaving myself a real shot at hitting the green in two – much thanks to an elevated tee and firm fairways. I had about 240 left and hit a 3 wood a little heavy and came up just short of the green.
#2 – 201 yards – par 3
I love this par 3! Thanks to the elevated tee box, I believe I went with a 6 iron here. Still battling nerves, I pulled it left into sandy waste area that can’t even be seen in this picture. Needless to say, I did not get up and down for par.
#3 – 341 yards – par 4
Another hole, another elevated tee. I really like how DLIII set up visuals from the tee. I hit a long drive up the left side that was just a step into the sandy waste area – much thanks to Carlos for finding my ball. My approach into the green found the deep, second greenside bunker on the right below the hole, and that’s where it’s gets magical. I splashed it out to save par – doesn’t happen often.
#4 – 323 yards – par 4
After a stop at the “comfort station” for beer and snacks, comes a really fun drivable par 4. Of course I let Carlos talk me in to going for it, this hole plays very downwind and has an elevated tee. I ended up in hole high in the sandy scrubby stuff you see splitting the fairway and green (if you look at the last picture it’s on the left) – so close to being really, really good. With my approach I threw a lob wedge up really high and it needed to carry another couple paces, so I was in the front bunker. Popped it out and two putted for bogey.
#5 – 143 yards – par 3
This was the first hole that the ocean winds showed their teeth. I played a five iron and still came up short and right with the wind cutting against and left. I hit a good chip and Carlos gave me a great read for par. I feel like I had a cheat code on the greens, they roll perfect and Carlos was spot on every putt! Jeff nailed a long one from downtown for birdie!
#6 – 468 yards – par 5
Don’t let that yardage number fool you, thanks to the wind this one doesn’t play that short. DLIII put a lot of thought into wind directions, yardages, and has several half pars throughout the course – makes it very fun. Hit my drive to the right side, just staying in, hit a three wood second over the bunkers on the left side of the fairway, and a wedge into the green. Definitely plays uphill into the green.
#7 – 223 yards – par 3
This is a fun par 3! At 223 yards, usually my 3 wood is the only club I could get there, but again downwind, away from the ocean, and an elevated tee. I played my 200 yard club (hybrid) and I was a good 20 yards over. I think I could have gone as low as 5 iron and still reached. But, long is better than short. I putted from the elevated fairway past the green and lagged it down to about 12 feet, and once again, Carlos gave me the perfect read for par!
#8 – 355 yards – par 4
The wheels kind of came off on this one. Downwind again, I tried to crush a drive and wound up in sandy stuff on the left. I had a clean lie and about 80 yards and I chunked a 54 degree. Then I had some chipping issues, that I won’t detail, and wound up with double bogey.
#9 – 440 yards – par 4
I hit a good drive in the fairway up the left here and played a 6 iron approach into an elevated green with nice views of the clubhouse behind. The approach was just right of the green, chip on and two putt.
#10 – 145 yards – par 3
This is a short par 3 with a really neat green complex. Thanks to winds I played a gap wedge and instead of hitting it full-boar like I should have, I tried to flight it down and came up just short. Luckily I narrowly avoided the front left bunker (you can see it in the bottom picture). I chose to use my putter from off the green and it again served me well, as I got up and down for par.
#11 – 428 yards – par 4
Bomb squad! I smoked a drive that just cleared the bunker in the middle of the fairway – over 300 yard drive, no big deal. Yes, elevated tee, yes downwind. Gap wedge into the green (GIR) and sank the putt. Birdie! And the best part, another comfort station awaits!
#12 – 165 yards – par 3
Of all the par 3s, this one played the closest to its true yardage. The green is elevated, but the shot was downwind. I played an 8 iron and it was the right club, but unfortunately I pulled it into the upslope of the first big bunker on the left. Got it out without any issues, and two putted for bogey. I wish I had a picture from behind the bunker to show the sand wall to the elevated green – this picture does not do justice to the magnitude and size of those bunkers.
#13 – 482 yards – par 5
I took an aggressive line off the tee and paid dearly for it. My drive got swallowed up by the winds and wound up in a massive dune on the right. I chipped out and left myself what I thought would be a good yardage, but thanks to the winds I left myself a 5 iron in. Chipped on from up by the cart path and bogeyed. This hole started my favorite stretch on the course with some great views.
#14 – 327 yards – par 4
After my two playing partners deliberated for a while on how to play this tee shot, I was so confused as to where this hole actually went. They layed up in the fairway to the right, but thanks to Carlos I pulled driver and it paid off big time. This hole actually turns left of the mountain in the background so my line split the two mountain peaks like goal posts. I hit a good one and ended up maybe 10 yards shy of the green. There’s a neat monument thing out there in the middle of the fairway by some bunkers that can’t be seen from the tee. 
#15 – 544 yards – par 5
I absolutely loved this hole, even though my snowman says I shouldn’t. This played dead into the wind, they were definitely at their strongest on this hole 40+mph. Jeff’s hat kept flying off. I absolutely crushed a drive right down the middle, that might have gone 200 yards, but I doubt it. I followed it with a really good stinger 3 wood, a 3 iron, a 9 iron, and I still wasn’t on. My 9 iron actually hit the middle of the green (btw, I hit a 9 iron from 75 yards if that tells you anything about these winds), but thanks to wind and the green sloping so harshly from back to front, it didn’t hold. Hole was back left and I just couldn’t get it there. Even though I carded an 8, if I were to make it back to Diamante this is one of the holes I would most look forward to playing.
#16 – 359 yards – par 4
Still into the wind, but not near the wind tunnel that 15 was. My drive got pushed hard right by the wind but still managed to find the generous fairway. I overcompensated for wind with a 5 iron approach well left of the green. Another bogey, but a beautiful hole with great ocean views. I’m glad they reworked the back 9 to be more around the ocean as opposed to the original routing around the lagoon that is now the Oasis par 3 course.
#17 – 130 yards – par 3
With the wind in your face the elevated tee doesn’t help you on this beautiful par 3. I played a 5 iron and came up probably ten yards short on a wedge distance shot. Jeff knocked in another long putt playing the slope just right for his second bird on the day.
#18 – 499 yards – par 5
A fun closing par 5 going away from the ocean, means it plays downwind. With the elevated tee box we were getting absolutely sandblasted by the wind, I’ve never experienced anything like it. There’s a large dune in the middle of the fairway that, if cleared, can be used almost as a speed slot. I cleared the dune and was in the fairway but was just left of ideal position. I hit a hybrid into the elevated green and came up just shy of the right side of the green (a trend for the day seemed to be I was just short a couple paces from ideal). So I promptly played three shots to get out of the giant bunker on the right and one putted for bogey. Not an ideal finish to a great round, but my sand game isn’t a strength and the wall on this bunker is unlike anything you’ll find in Kentucky.
El Archo
flopshotfred 