VICTORIA NATIONAL

RUNDOWN: Just saying were were excited about Victoria National would be a severe understatement! We have been looking forward to a visit here for well over a year now. After getting things lined up, Covid struck and took away our shot to go last year. The anticipation that built would almost make one worry that they were going to overhype the course and come away underwhelmed. We will tell you that it is not possible to do so! Everything about this place lived up to and exceeded the hype we placed on it!
The Dormie Network of course has the reputation of taking care of all needs you have on your visit, and then some. Their main focus lies upon their members and guests. They pride themselves on their service, their food and the golf. We would venture to say they do not lack in any area! They are in the process of building new lodging on property and there will be more to come. Exciting things are happening all around the Network and Victoria National is part of that.
The golf course attracts some of the best in professional golf. The Korn Ferry Tour plays their Tour Championship here every year and after playing the course we can see why. Everything about this place screams championship golf! Some of the best are tested to their limits here and we were tested beyond ours haha. The course can humble you in a quick hurry, but still allows for you to play the game we love. Bring a few extra golf balls and pray that you don't get caught up in all the trouble out there. Even if you lose a few golf balls, one thing is for sure, you won't regret your time here!

COURSE INFO AND DIRECTIONS

Designed by Tom Fazio in 1998.
Currently Ranked #1 in the State of Indiana on the Golf Digest Best In State Courses. Ranked #43 on America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses.
Private golf course, part of the Dormie Network.
6 sets of tees ranging from 5,010 to 7,242 yards.

https://www.dormienetwork.com/victorianational/

812.858.8230 2000 Victoria National Boulevard, Newburgh, Indiana 47630

REVIEW AND HIGHLIGHTS

Hole 3 - Par 5 578 Yards

The par 5 3rd hole really brings you into the difficulty you will find at Victoria National. The first two holes can have their difficulty but the approach shot here is as tough as they come. Hopefully you came into this hole swinging freely because you will need a solid drive off the box here. While not overly intimidating from the tee, you need to place yourself in a good position here. Left and right of this fairway will get you in trouble quickly and you may even be hitting your 3rd from the box. Really this hole will be determined by your approach shot. Let's say you placed it perfectly in the fairway, you will still be facing a blind approach into a fairly narrow green with nothing but problems surrounding it. Too far left on your approach and you will be in one of the three bunkers. Too far right will put you out of play or on a side hill that will require a solid short game to recover from. Long and you will be dropping for sure as playable ground runs out just paces beyond the putting surface. This may not be the hole to try and be a hero on, but even laying up will require some confidence to this tucked green!

Hole 4 - Par 4 355 Yards

Here you will find a fairly straightforward par 4. However, for us it was anything but easy to deal with! The tee shot provides the ability to layup or try to reach out as close to the putting surface as you can get. From some boxes it is even drivable, but it will not be an easy task to accomplish. Laying up will require a solid shot due to there being trouble in almost all areas of the hole. Pull it a little left and you will be be lucky to keep the ball dry. Push it right and you will deal with hill, deep rough and bunkers. The elevated green is is well protected by the deep bunker and a large ridge running through it. We seemed to either find trouble off the tee or find trouble around the green. I don't believe either of us scored well on this hole and that is why I chose to write on it. It is shorter than most but it will reach out and bite you quickly if you let up at all! Confident swings is the name of the game on this hole.

Hole 5 - Par 3 212 Yards

Chances are if you have seen images of Victoria National, this is one of the holes that you will recognize most! It sparks excitement and makes you want to play here and will also bring about uncertainty and fear from the tee box. This is one hole we never truly felt comfortable on, yet always looked forward to playing it in our round. This peninsula style green is actually quite large, but sitting in the water it will look like a small target. A long iron will be required here most times, unless you run into some wind and then you will be pulling rescue clubs or a wood just to get to the putting surface. The use of the land on this hole if phenomenal and I can only imagine how exciting it would be to discover this hole. I would imagine that most people walk away in awe of this hole, even if it beat them up on the scorecard.

Hole 9 - Par 5 558 Yards

This hole, like the 3rd, will require a precise approach into the green. However, from the box, it is a fantastic grip it and rip it hole! There are bunkers left and right of the landing area, but they require an off line tee ball for sure. Swing free here and you can crest the hill and watch your ball disappear down the fairway. If you are going for the layup here you will need to be decisive of where you want to be as a large bunker divides the fairway here. Pay attention to where the pin is and what angle will give you the easiest path to attack the pin. If you are going for it in two then you will need to be very precise! The deep bunker in the middle front of the green will force you to play to one side of the green or risk carrying it. Once again though, anything long here will most likely find the water and require a drop. The large, 3 leaf clover type, green provides a good target as long as you execute your shot. With multiple birdies here and a chance at eagle, we do feel like this is one of the more score-able holes on this side, so take advantage of it!

Hole 11 - Par 3 233 Yards

This was one of our favorite par 3's because it seemed like one you could attack and potentially score on. Also, once they have all the cottages completed, it's going to be an amazing place to sit out and enjoy a drink after your round. We love seeing all the cottages coming in and the progress of all the clubs under the Dormie Network! The large putting surface seems to be easier to hit then most all the other par 3's. It is protected by water short and to the left, along with a bunker, but there are plenty of bail out areas. You will want to be careful of going long right as it will provide a very difficult up and down to any back pin. We actually both hit some great shots here and each walked away with a couple of birdies on the card. Hopefully you have the chance to stay on property and enjoy the view of this green from your cottage!

Hole 14 - Par 4 471 Yards

Welcome to "The Gauntlet"! The holes that comprise "The Gauntlet" are some of the toughest we have ever played! They will test every aspect of your game and will not let up for a single shot. The 2nd handicap hole on the course will force you to accept the difficulty that lies ahead. A right to left tee shot will allow for the most playability off the tee. Anything too far right will block you out an approach to the green and anything too far left will place you in a bunker or deep rough as well. The second shot will be played with a long iron or a wood to an elevated green that is difficult to hold. Anything short will either roll back down the fairway or sit down in the long rough well below the putting surface. We did come away with some decent scores here which made us feel all warm and fuzzy, but in other rounds we walked away defeated. Something about this hole and the look of it sitting tucked in the trees just resonated with us though. While it may be one of the more difficult holes you will encounter, the overall look of it will leave a lasting impression.

Hole 15 - Par 5 548 Yards

Everything about this hole was difficult for us. Anything offline from the tee box can and will provide you with some of the most difficult lies you will deal with. At one time Kevin was hitting from the side slope of the hills on the right side and I was on the left side doing the same. Even the layup here requires a confident shot to avoid your ball bounding towards the water. The green does play downhill from the high point of the fairway but the shot in will require everything you have. Long is better than short but will not yield an easy up and down, however your ball will stay dry. There is room to bail out to the right here but you are still required to avoid the trouble. You would hope for a chance to score on this hole, but par will feel like birdie all day here! We absolutely loved the look of the hole, even if it wasn't kind to us.

Hole 16 - Par 3 208 Yards

During our wait to get to this course, this is probably the one hole we talked about the most! Everything about this hole is intriguing, yet scary. We knew we would feel the nerves once we got to this hole, but it didn't disappoint. We will say that being there in person, the hole looked a little more playable than in pictures. Not saying we hit it every time, because we did miss it, but it looked like you could actually hit the putting surface. There are a ton of tee boxes so you can challenge yourself as much as you would like. The great part is, everyone can feel like they have a chance on this hole that doesn't strike much confidence from the box. Our closest to the pin matches yielded some great and some awful shots. We usually played this with a mid iron and we faired pretty well. A couple of birdie chances that were not cashed in but we were happy to come away with a par. Anything left is almost guaranteed to be unplayable but you can really put yourself in a rough spot anywhere else but the putting surface. It is one of the most exciting par 3's we have ever tee'd it up on!

Hole 18 - Par 4 432 Yards

What a finishing hole! This hole embodies what this place is all about. It demands everything you have with your golf game and will also leave you excited about what you just went through! The tee shot requires you to be precise off the tee but will make you hit something fairly deep so you can reach the putting surface in two. Laying up too far will provide a forced carry to one of the most difficult greens on the course. With the wind up is almost impossible to cut the corner at all, but I imagine with a favorable wind you can cut some off this hole and allow a little easier approach. Everything around this green is meant to punish you. Too far left and you will land in a deep bunker that will force you to execute an amazing bunker shot just to hold the green. I was unlucky enough to plug so deep that you could barely see my golf ball. My first shot just uncovered my golf ball while my second shot sent the ball flying over the green and into the water. We both had the joy of hitting what we felt were good approach shots, only to see them continue to roll on the right side of the green and into the water. You will get your monies worth on this hole for sure. We loved staying in the cottage just above the green and looking out at what was in store for us later in the day. This course will chew you up and spit you out, but I bet you will walk away from it knowing it is deserving of its ranking in the top 100 courses. We loved it here and hope you will enjoy it if you get the chance as well!

Original Article published by OffTheDeckGolf.com
Read the original article HERE

Victoria National Course Review