Shoal Creek
Birmingham, Alabama · 18 holes · par 72 · Private. Designed by Jack Nicklaus, Jay Morrish, Thomas Pearson, opened 1977.
A caddie's yardage book for every hole: plays-like distance from USGS lidar elevation, reach and carry numbers for every bunker and water hazard, green front, middle and back, which way each green falls, and the lay-up zone on par 5s. Distances are from the back tees along the mapped hole; for a shorter tee, take off the scorecard difference.
Course profile
- At about 770 ft the ball carries about 1% farther than at sea level, so a 150-yard shot plays like about 149. Golfers visiting from low elevation should expect to club down.
- Biggest climb: hole 15, where the green sits 16 ft above the tee and plays about 5 yards longer.
- Biggest drop: hole 18, where the green sits 38 ft below the tee and plays about 13 yards shorter.
- 17 greens tilt 2% or more. Each hole below says which side of the hole leaves an uphill putt.
Maps: tee at the bottom, green at the top. The dashed line is the mapped hole; the gold band is the lay-up zone; the arrow on the green points downhill.
Scorecard
Tees
| Tee | Yards | Rating | Slope | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Five Star | Male | 7370 | 76.2 | 145 |
| Four Star | Male | 6970 | 74.2 | 142 |
| Chairman | Male | 6740 | 73.1 | 140 |
| Three Star | Male | 6535 | 72.3 | 138 |
| Two Star | Male | 5880 | 69.1 | 130 |
| One Star | Male | 5125 | 70.4 | 126 |
Hole 1 · Par 4
- Plays like
- 396-17 ft
- Green
- 388 · 402 · 414front · middle · back
- Green size
- 29 × 27yards deep × wide
- Fairway
- 35 ydswide at 230
- Green slope
- 3.5%falls to the front-right
In play
- Bunker left: 259 to reach, 282 to carry
- Bunker front-left of the green
- Bunker front-right of the green
Playing notes
- Plays about 6 yards shorter: the green sits 17 ft below the tee.
- Fairway bunkers on the left: 259 to reach, 282 to carry. Drives that finish short of 259 stay clear; otherwise the right side is the safer line off the tee.
- The fairway is about 35 yards wide at 230 and narrows to 27 at 280.
- Hazards guard both sides of the green; aim for the middle.
- The green falls from back-left to front-right, about 3.5%. Finish on the front-right side of the hole for an uphill putt.
Hole 2 · Par 4
- Plays like
- 414-19 ft
- Green
- 409 · 420 · 434front · middle · back
- Green size
- 39 × 35yards deep × wide
- Fairway
- 25 ydswide at 230
- Green slope
- 3.5%falls to the front-left
In play
- Water across the hole: 126 to reach, 137 to carry
- Bunker left: 281 to reach, 300 to carry
- Bunker front-left of the green
Playing notes
- Plays about 6 yards shorter: the green sits 19 ft below the tee.
- Dogleg right at about 285 yards.
- Water crosses the hole: 126 to reach, 137 to carry.
- Fairway bunkers on the left: 281 to reach, 300 to carry. Drives that finish short of 281 stay clear; otherwise the right side is the safer line off the tee.
- The fairway is about 25 yards wide at 230.
- The green is guarded on the left by bunkers; miss right.
- The green falls from back-right to front-left, about 3.5%. Finish on the front-left side of the hole for an uphill putt.
- The green is 39 yards deep: a back pin can play about 3 clubs more than a front pin.
Hole 3 · Par 5
- Plays like
- 523+4 ft
- Green
- 508 · 522 · 536front · middle · back
- Green size
- 33 × 26yards deep × wide
- Fairway
- 44 ydswide at 230
- Green slope
- 7%falls to the front-right
In play
- Bunker left: 242 to reach, 279 to carry
- Bunker left: 434 to reach, 442 to carry
- Bunker right: 457 to reach, 467 to carry
- 2 bunkers across the hole in front of the green: 487 to carry
- Bunker front-left of the green
- Bunker right of the green
- Bunker left of the green
- Bunker back of the green
Playing notes
- Fairway bunkers on the left: 242 to reach, 279 to carry. Drives that finish short of 242 stay clear; otherwise the right side is the safer line off the tee.
- The fairway is about 44 yards wide at 230 and narrows to 27 at 260.
- Best lay-up: 90 to 170 yards from the green, where the fairway is about 29 yards wide with no bunkers or water within 16 yards.
- Hazards guard both sides of the green; aim for the middle.
- Bunkers short of the green; take enough club to carry it.
- The green falls from back-left to front-right, about 7%. Finish on the front-right side of the hole for an uphill putt.
Holes 4 to 18
4 · Par 45 · Par 36 · Par 57 · Par 48 · Par 39 · Par 410 · Par 411 · Par 512 · Par 413 · Par 314 · Par 415 · Par 416 · Par 317 · Par 518 · Par 4
The rest of this guide has the same caddie detail for every hole:
- 15 plays-like yardages
- 61 hazards with reach and carry
- 14 green slope reads
- 3 par-5 lay-up zones
One-time purchase, no account needed. It unlocks in this browser; lost access? Email [email protected] with your receipt. Or join the free beta and get every course in the app.
Hole maps, hazards and playing notes come from mapped course data and USGS 3DEP elevation (public domain), not a visit. Plays-like numbers use the Skitty caddie's rule of one yard per 3 ft of rise, from the longest tee; altitude uses 1.16% of carry per 1,000 ft. Tees, hazards and conditions change; check with the course before you play. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0) via OpenGolfAPI. Scorecard yardages and ratings as published. See a mistake? Email [email protected].