SENECA, Or. — When someone mentions that Silvies Ranch features reversible 18 holes, one of the first questions asked is, ‘so the next day you hit off the greens, back to the tees?”
No, it’s not like that. It’s all separate. You won’t find divots on putting surfaces nor tee blocks to interfere with your putts.
To best illustrate the essence of the reversible 18, check this picture, deep within the Hankins and Craddock layouts, at the courses’ highest point and farthest away from the clubhouse.
What you see on this day s a golfer playing the Craddock course. He’s hitting to his left, off a tee complex shared by both courses. He’s playing on Craddock’s back nine, the par-5, 550-yard 13th hole (the green is visible down range in the gap between the trees). He had just come off the par-3, 190-yard 12th (not shown).
Just below him on the left is the green for the par-4, 465-yard Hankins sixth hole, disabled for the day. It uses the same fairway as the Craddock course. On this day, everyone plays Craddock so the green below is not in play. Golfers hit their drivers well beyond it.
To the right of the picture – separated by the long line of trees – is the par-3, 200-yard Hankins seventh hole, also disabled for the day. There is no pin on the green nor horseshoe tee blocks in place. Should you play the Hankins the following day, you’d be coming toward this tee complex from the green below. Then you climb up to the elevated tee and point yourself right toward the Hankins seventh.
It’s kind of brilliant.