The Walker Course at Clemson University – Played September 2020
- Rankings: None of my four lists
- Location: 210 Madren Center Drive, Clemson, South Carolina
- Year: 1995
- Architect: DJ DeVictor
- Course Access: Public
- Walking Rules: Carts Available
Score Card Information:
- Tiger: 6,911 yards, Par 72, 72.6 Rating/137 Slope
- Tiger/Champion: 6,771 yards, Par 72, 71.9 Rating/136 Slope
- Champion: 6,560 yards, Par 72, 71.0 Rating/131 Slope
- Champion/White: 6,239 yards, Par 72, 69.3 Rating/130 Slope (Men’s), 75.6 Rating/137 Slope (Women’s)
- White: 5,934 yards, Par 72, 68.4 Rating/122 Slope (Men’s), 73.9 Rating/134 Slope (Women’s)
- White/Gold: 5,536 yards, Par 72, 66.3 Rating/117 Slope (Men’s), 71.7 Rating/126 Slope (Women’s)
- Gold: 5,405 yards, Par 72, 65.2 Rating/115 Slope (Men’s), 70.4 Rating/121 Slope (Women’s)
- Red: 4,667 yards, Par 72, 66.5 Rating/115 Slope
In my time at Clemson University, I only played the Walker Course about 10 times. There were some other more budget-friendly options that didn’t eat into my beer money!
That being said, when a friend reached out and asked me to play it I was more than willing. The reason for my willingness is that The Walker Course underwent a greens replacement a few years ago where they installed Zoysia grass. The course is also one of the homes of the Clemson University golf team, the 2003 National Champions.
So on a busy Friday afternoon we set out to tackle the course. All yardages are from the Champion tees.
Hole 1 – 470 yards – Par 5
The first hole is on the shorter side for a par five but a creek cuts across the fairway and up the left side. If you stray left with a wood it will be in the water. I never hit driver here.
Hole 2 – 364 yards – Par 4
You’re hitting out of chute on the second tee. A fade starting inside the bunker works very well to set you up for the uphill approach shot.
Hole 3 – 377 yards – Par 4
It looks open but this is a somewhat tight landing area. High grass lurks on the left and a sharp drop-off to the trees is on the right.
The green is pretty shallow. Short is better than long.
Hole 4 – 207 yards – Par 3
The par three holes on the front side are definitely a test of your longer irons. This one plays over a deep grassy area that you can recover from.
Hole 5 – 489 yards – Par 5
It’s easy to get jacked up thinking about birdies on this tee. There is more room on the left than it appears but you can get blocked out a bit.
Hole 6 – 403 yards – Par 4
This is one of the holes you can see from the road driving around campus. In fact, we can see it from our normal tailgating spot. It is a wide-open fairway as long as you don’t go left down the hill.
Hole 7 – 380 yards – Par 4
Without knowing the course, you might not know where to aim here. Longer hitters can carry the three bunkers on the left but hitting between them and the one on the right is the best play.
You’ll want to be on the correct tier to have a good chance at birdie.
Hole 8 – 200 yards – Par 3
Like I said before, the par threes are on the longer side. Luckily we got this hole playing downwind. The greens played firm so you could get away with landing your ball on the front to run it up.
Hole 9 – 445 yards – Par 4
This is undoubtedly my least favorite hole on the course. It’s long but it’s hard to bust driver on anything but a perfect line. A creek cuts in from the left and across the fairway, so you must go up the extreme right side but not too far.
If you play back for safety, you’re faced with a 200-230 yard approach over water to an elevated green. I’m never a fan of forcing people into long, difficult shots.
Hole 10 – 395 yards – Par 4
It’s tempting to take on the bunker on this dogleg right. If you play out to the wide portion of the fairway the approach is straightforward and also lessens the chance for big numbers.
Hole 11 – 405 yards – Par 4
You cannot see the huge hill on the right but it’s there. It feeds down to the 16th hole but it’s a very difficult approach from down there. The drive is definitely the hardest shots here.
Hole 12 – 160 yards – Par 3
The tees were moved up for us so we had shorter clubs into this downhill one-shotter. We also had a front pin so it was playing as short as possible.
Hole 13 – 367 yards – Par 4
I value precision over power on this tee. If you get careless down the left the ball can bound down a hill into a penalty area. Good tee shots in the fairway leave you with a short approach.
Hole 14 – 509 yards – Par 5
Depending on your length you have to make a decision on this hole. An area of rough splits the fairway and it is a long carry to the second area of short grass. For me, I usually play a three wood since I cannot get home in two.
Below is the second shot view as the hole turns to the right.
Hole 15 – 337 yards – Par 4
This is another hole with a drop-off on the left. My advice is to play your fairway finder just inside the fairway bunkers.
It’s fairly obvious you don’t want to go long here.
Hole 16 – 508 yards – Par 5
The final stretch features the views of Lake Hartwell. On a big game Saturday you could hear the roars of the crowd at Death Valley. There is room past the trees on the right.
Hole 17 – 175 yards – Par 3
This would be the “signature hole” at the Walker Course. The bunkers form a tiger paw with the green. It’s a bit gimmicky but I like it. They’ve occasionally dyed the sand orange to really drive it home.
Hole 18 – 369 yards – Par 4
In a scramble at least one person is going to take a shot at this green. When I’m playing my own ball I play to the far left bunker to leave myself with a straight shot to the green.
The Walker Course won’t be confused with a golden-age design but it serves it’s purpose as a university amenity quite well. It isn’t overly long and is wide enough to accommodate all levels of players. It’s a great facility for Clemson students and locals.