First tee jitters are real for most of us. Playing with new people especially, the first shot of the day often brings forth some nervousness when you're standing over the ball. There's nothing worse than topping one 30 yards and ask if everyone is fine taking two off the first. Well, one thing's worse. Topping one thirty yards and have that ball trickle on top of a passing car...

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Stanford introduces new players to the course with one of the more interesting first holes I've ever seen with the tee boxes looking directly over Juniper Serra Boulevard on its way out to the fairway. The landing area is no slouch either. It's a challenging, dogleg left par 5 with a pair of bunkers on both sides of the fairway forcing you to hit two good shots to give yourself a chance at starting your round on the right note.

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After the first hole, the rest of the front nine is pretty flat. Both 9's are par 35's, and the front gets there by having three par 3's. The first of which is a long and difficult third hole. At 215 from the back tees, you have to commit to one of two plans: bailout to the right (but not too far right as the landing area is rather narrow) or go for the green and fly the large bunker directly in front. Fortunately, like the entire course, the bunkers are incredibly well maintained and you still have a chance to get up and down for par if you find your way in.

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Good bunkering is a common theme at Stanford. The par 4 fifth hole has a pair of wisely placed fairway bunkers on the left side before getting to a green with a bunker on the right side. With the greenside bunker on the front right, a tee shot up the left side is ideal placement, but the fairway bunkers provide an excellent challenge in order to be in position 1A for a potential birdie. 

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By the time you get to number nine, you start creeping back up the hill that you hit down when you started the round. At only 365 yards from the back tees, the uphill slope works to protect the front nine finisher.

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The back nine is really where Stanford comes into its own. With excellent views and wild animals abound, the back nine at Stanford proved to be a lovely Sunday evening walk. Sticking with the theme of the front nine, the bunkering on the back nine is fantastic.

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Well placed fairway bunkers are plentiful throughout all of Stanford; however, one of my favorite holes, number twelve, abstains from them. Number twelve stands out for a number of reasons. An elevated tee shot gives you an excellent view of the entire hole and some of the surrounding wilderness. Twelve does not need fairway bunkers because a tall tree sits directly in the middle of the fairway. That tree is not alone, though. About 150 yards past the single tree is a pair of two even larger trees forcing you to pick sides and hope for the best!

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The bunkering, though, is not invisible on twelve as a now outdated deception bunker sits about twenty-five yards in front of the green. With rangefinders, deception bunkers are antiquated, but they certainly added to the difficulty when the course was originally constructed.

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The bunkering on the course is essentially mandatory for this course to be able to be home to one of the best college golf teams in the country. A relatively short course, the bunkers protect the course from the new generation of golfers who are seemingly driving it longer and longer every year.

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Playing Stanford in the fall provided the absolute perfect setting for this golf course. It is very well maintained, especially considering the university does all the course maintenance. It also helps that the course does not get a ton of play. 

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Not many people can play Stanford so the pace of play was great. With flush rough, well-manicured greens, and never waiting for another group, it's hard not to enjoy a round at Stanford.