The Loblolly nine, with its gently rolling fairways, cathedral-like pines, and water-fronted greens, exudes a stately, Augusta-like quality.

The Canyon nine, carved from former hunting grounds where deer blinds remain nailed to the hardwood, is a thrilling stretch of target-style golf beginning with the first hole, a 501 yard par four that drops 200 feet from tee to fairway.

The Sherling nine may be the best nine on the entire trail. Drama takes center stage at Sherling's ninth hole which marches straight uphill past a deep ravine strewn with ochre boulders to a lolling tongue of a double green shared with the ninth on the Canyon nine. Above this green is a clubhouse set atop the highest point in Butler county, its verandah serving up expansive 30-mile views of Southern forest land.

The Short Course is a marvelous collection of par three holes laid out beautifully between the ridge and Sherling lake.