South Shore Harbour - Shore Course Review

South Shore Harbour - Shore Course Review

Review of South Shore Harbour Shore Course

South Shore Harbour is home to three nines, each of which has it’s own unique characteristics and personality but common to all is a fairly traditional layout with flat to gently rolling fairways, water hazards, plenty of bunkers, challenging greens, and a steady wind that beats off the bay.  Each of the nines was originally designed by Dave Marr and Jay Riviere and was renovated and augmented by Jeffery Blume in the late 1990s. 

The Shore Nine is regarded as the most challenging thanks to tough greens, thicker roughs, and tighter fairways.  The Harbour Nine has water on 7 holes but it’s a little shorter and more forgiving from tee to green.  South plays the longest and has the highest slope and rating, but plays easier than the Shore Nine and harder than the Harbour nine.  Read our review of South Shore Harbour's Harbour Course.

The Shore Course at South Shore Harbour is a joy to play - its demanding but fair, has some good holes that you won't get tired of playing, the conditions are good, and the greens are fast and tough.  It's fairly straight forward and traditional and generally regarded as the toughest of the three nines – after trying most of the bunkers and playing out of a lot of the rough, two and three putting, and taking a dip in the water a couple times, I would agree it's pretty challenging. 

Compared to the other two nines, the Shore Course fairways are a little tighter, there is water on 7 holes, the rough is a little thicker, and the greens are guarded, fast, and undulating.  But don’t let that scare you – there are 4 sets of tee boxes, the course is fair, and if you play strategically you’ll have a fun and enjoyable round. 

The Shore nine offers good variety, with each hole being a little different than the previous holes, and they are all fun because each hole offers something that will force you to focus if you want to score well, for example:

• #1, a 431 yard par 4 and the #2 handicap, requires some accuracy from tee to pin to avoid the bunkers on the left and right side of your tee shot landing zone, then the lake encroaches into the fairway and needs to be avoided, and the approach shot best miss the two larger bunkers
• #4 has a very challenging green with two tiers and lots of slope plus a bunker on the right and water on the left
• On the 547 yard par 5 # 6 you can pull out the big dog and let-er-rip on a long and wide fairway but if you spray it left you’re in a back yard and if it’s right, you’ll be lost in some dense brush
• #7 requires a good approach to a green with water three fourths around it plus 2 front facing bunkers and lots of mounding
• The ninth hole is fun and requires a life jacket or accuracy to avoid the water that crosses in front of the tee boxes than goes from the tee to the back of the green along the right side of the fairway plus sprouts an arm that crosses in front of the green - a two ball loss for me

When we played in November, the Shore Course was in very good condition from tee box to the pin.  The fairways range from ample to a tad tight and most are flat to gently rolling and contoured.  They are firm providing some extra roll and the rough is wide and fairly thick but playable.  You’ll really need to spray it to end up in the back yard of some beautiful homes that line one side of some of the holes or if you spray it the other way, you're lost in some dense brush.

The TIF Eagle greens on the Shore Course are large, but not huge, fast and true, and hold the ball well. That’s the good news, the bad news is they are all guarded, some are raised, and you’ll encounter some challenging putting surfaces – multiple tiers, lots of severe slope, plenty of contour, and some subtle breaks.  Practice putting before you head out.

The bunkers also range in size and shape from average to some huge treacherous monsters.  The sand was wet thanks to a recent rain but when dry I would image they are soft, and thick and fun to play out of.  The faces are manageable but don’t end up stuck right in front of them.