Prince’s Grant is one of Peter Matkovich’s best designs, a standout layout in hilly terrain with a variety of impressive holes. Highly enjoyable to play its primary weakness has been in my experience slow greens. I particularly like his concept of adjacent first and tenth holes leading away from the front of the magnificent clubhouse/lodge. It’s an attractive looking and clever design feature, unique among the Top 100. Most courses finish with a hole or two in front of the clubhouse; Matkovich has turned that thinking on its head. This is all about starting the round, not ending it. PG’s ninth and 18th greens are out of view to the sides of the clubhouse. Together, Nos 1 and 10 convey a sense of spaciousness for the opening tee shots, although you still need to split the fairway to avoid trouble. The tee boxes are well apart from each other. Bunkers, 15 of them, beautifully frame the two fairways; the first green is plainly visible lower down to the right, the tenth is on a higher plateau on the left. Each hole has its own distinctive character. They set the tone for two brilliantly contrasting nines.
