By a 12-handicap who's played the Laurel Highlands more times than I can count

If you're a woman who plays golf seriously, meaning you break 90 on a good day and refuse to be talked into the forward tees "just to be safe," Nemacolin is the trip you've been waiting for.

Tucked into the Allegheny Mountains about 70 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, this resort has two Pete Dye championship courses that will either humble you or hand you the best round of your life. Sometimes both, in the same round.

Here's how I play it, and what I put in my bag before I go.

The Two Courses, Honestly

Mystic Rock is the beast. It's the former home of the 84 Lumber Classic, stretches to 7,526 yards from the tips, and carries a slope of 149 from the championship tees, one of the highest ratings in the country. Play it from the appropriate tees. I mean it. I play the whites or a hybrid set, and I still feel like I earned my glass of wine at the end of the round. Water is in play on twice as many holes as Shepherd's Rock, the bunkers are Dye's classic sprawling Sahara-style menaces, and the trees force you to actually think off the tee.

Shepherd's Rock is the newer sister (opened 2017), and while she's no pushover at 7,290 yards and a 138 slope, she's more playable. The landing areas are more generous, but Dye still makes you pay on approaches and around the greens, which, by the way, are some of the most interesting putting surfaces I've ever stood over. The 11th hole is postcard-famous, and the closing stretch with waterfalls near the 18th green is the kind of finish that makes you forget every three-putt from earlier.

How I Actually Play These Courses

Play Shepherd's Rock first. Everyone treats Mystic Rock as the trophy round and saves it for the second day. I do the opposite. Shepherd's Rock lets you get your legs under you, calibrate to mountain elevation, and figure out how the ball is flying up here. Then Mystic Rock on day two, when you're not fighting the terrain and the course at the same time.

Take the forecaddie seriously. The forecaddie fee is included in the green fee, and these people know where the ball is going before you hit it. On a course with this much elevation change and this many blind shots, that local knowledge is worth every dollar of the tip.

Club up. Then club up again. Yes, the ball flies farther at elevation. Nemacolin sits at roughly 2,000 feet, so you get maybe 3-4% more carry. But that math flips the second you're hitting into an elevated green, and half your approaches at Nemacolin are exactly that. I hit one more club into most greens than my rangefinder tells me to, and I've stopped feeling weird about it.

Play to fat parts of greens. Dye greens punish you for aiming at pins. Especially on Shepherd's Rock, where the contours will feed a slightly-off shot into places you don't want to be. Center of the green is a great score. Two-putt and walk.

The Gear That Actually Belongs in Your Bag Here

The topography is the whole story. You will have uphill lies, downhill lies, ball-above-feet, ball-below-feet, and blind tee shots, sometimes all on the same hole. Here's what I bring:

• A rangefinder with slope function. Non-negotiable. The elevation changes on these courses will lie to your eyes. I use mine in "practice mode" so I know both the actual and slope-adjusted number before I pick a club.
• A high-lofted fairway wood or two hybrids. I carry a 5-wood and a 4-hybrid instead of long irons. Elevated greens with firm Dye bunker complexes in front demand a shot that lands soft. Long irons don't do that.
• A 60-degree wedge you actually trust. The greenside bunkers are steep-faced and deep. If you're not comfortable opening the face and committing, you'll be in there for a while.
• Softer premium ball. I play a urethane-cover ball at Nemacolin (Chrome Soft, Pro V1x, or similar). You need spin to hold these greens on approaches, and the mountain air rewards a ball that stops.
• Real spikes, not sneakers. Side-hill lies on wet mountain grass are not the moment to test out those trendy spikeless shoes. Bring proper soft spikes with grip.
• Layers. Mountain mornings in the Laurel Highlands can be 20 degrees cooler than the afternoon, even in summer. A quarter-zip and a light vest live in my bag from May through October.
• A rain jacket you can actually swing in. Weather rolls through these mountains fast. The heavy plastic-y rain suits are useless. Get a stretch shell you'd wear even on a clear day.
• Extra glove. Humidity plus grip pressure on side-hill lies eats gloves. I go through two in a round here, easy.

What I Wish Someone Had Told Me the First Time

Book a lesson or a warm-up bucket at the practice facility before you tee off. Nemacolin's practice complex is 60,000 square feet of bentgrass tees with target greens and real bunkers. It's not a driving mat behind the pro shop. Twenty minutes there dialing in your ball flight at elevation will save you three strokes on the front nine.

And take the cart with GPS unless you're a serious walker with a caddie. These courses climb and plunge. Save your legs for your swing.

Nemacolin is one of the great American resort golf experiences, and it plays even better when you show up prepared. Bring the right gear, respect the topography, and let Pete Dye do what Pete Dye does. You'll leave already planning your next trip.