Walnut Grove

Par 27 - Level 3 - 74 Slope Rating

Plays from 1,030 – 1,529 yards

Map

Walnut Grove shares a starter shack with its sister course, Briarwood - and that alone makes the pairing unique. There are several “sister” courses in The Villages that share a starter shack. How many can you name? Click here for the answer. 

But Walnut and Briar go beyond convenience. Walnut Grove sits entirely inside Briarwood’s nine, like one course wrapped gently around the other. It’s less a coincidence and more a relationship.

That closeness resonates with me. My family has a pair of sisters with a similarly deep connection - two wonderful personalities, each complete on their own, but exceptional together. That bond was broken years ago with the passing of my wife’s younger sister, far too soon. She was the life of every gathering and would have loved The Villages. Whenever I can, I try to play Walnut Grove and Briarwood together because it reminds me of them and of how rare and meaningful those connections can be.

And when two courses are this close, comparisons are inevitable:

• Briarwood has more distinctive individual holes, including the single hardest drive on either course at #9.
• Walnut, on the other hand, is more relentlessly difficult - especially from the 4th hole on.
• Both courses feature immaculate greens, some of the best in town, and both are all par threes.
• But where Briarwood’s holes feel like strong individuals that could be dropped onto any course, Walnut feels like each hole is related, interdependent, and intentionally sequenced. Briarwood circles and surrounds. Walnut changes direction - eight times, to be exact.

Sisters aren’t meant to be the same. They’re meant to complement each other. Walnut Grove and Briarwood certainly do that.

The opening three holes at Walnut are your best chance to score, so you’d better come out sharp. The first plays slightly uphill - aim left, away from the sand, and don’t go long, as the green crowns in the middle and runs away in back. Hole #2 stretches a bit farther but offers a wide, flat green. The third is the shortest of the trio, a final moment of relative calm.

Then the tone changes.

The fourth green is brutal, sloping hard left. Miss right and your downhill putt may not stop on the green at all.

Hole #5 looks intimidating - so much sand that the green seems invisible - but that’s an optical illusion. The green is wide and flat, and at just 128 yards from the gold tees, the shot is more mental than physical. Carry it cleanly, let gravity help, and don’t stare at the sand.