Saturday, August 13, 2005
Sun Ridge Canyon
6766 yds, slope 152, Par 72
Golfweb: http://www.golfweb.com/courseguide/ocdata?st=detail&gwid=20715
Keith Foster Architect: http://www.golfweb.com/courseguide/ocdata?srchkey=advanced&couky=&pk=&hhk=NON&staky=&cntyky=&citky=&prox=&pdist=5&punit=mi&zipky=&ik=&phoky=&bk=any&lk=keith+foster&gk=
My goodness Keith Foster has done some good 'uns, besides SunRidge: Anthem, Eagle Nest, and two Texas courses of some notoriety, Bandit & The Quarry.
52 Course Rankings: http://people.consolidated.net/DBADave/Golf/PGC.htm
Tried to play Talking Stick North course Friday evening. Got rained out on the 6th hole. Our partners had already fled to the Clubhouse that is adjacent to the 6th green, but I'm standing there with soaked with my hat blown off, trying to 2-putt from 35 feet in a 40 mph wind because I'm only 1-over so far. But Mr. Science is waving me over from our cart, "Bring my ball, too, willya?" His game was no-good that day and he was happy to quit. We had a couple of beers and called it a warmup for SunRidge. Lost my reading glasses in the hubbub, too.
The view from the first tee, looking east over to Four Peaks at sunrise, is purty dang inspirational. Sadly, the golf to start off was not. I double-bogied the first 3 holes from blocking my drive out in the desert. I knew I should have eaten brekky instead of warming up on the driving range. I forget what Mr. Science's trouble was, bad-iron play or something, but we righted the ship by #5, the # 1 handicap hole, and both almost birdied. Mr. Science left his chip hanging over the hole, but it wouldn't fall in.
We were a twosome, in between a bunch of 4somes, so it seemed we were always waiting -- it's always hard to get a tempo going in situations like that, but then this course keeps you off-balance all the time, anyway.
Is it harder than Las Sendas? Is it better than Eagle Mountain? Is it a better value than either, or worse? Hard to say. It's worth playing more than once; it's worth playing regular if you're not on a Mission that takes you away. It left us thinking we could do better next time, having seen the course once, like on # 10 where there seems like there is an arroyo crossing the fairway at an awkward angle and an awkward distance, but it really poses very little hazard: your ball would probably skip right thru it, its so shallow, and anyway a good drive would get over, but we laid up, not knowing any better. On # 11 I had to prove to myself heuristically that the same principle does not apply to its arroyo, which is fortified with a rock wall and deep, gravelly sand.
We neither one had a birdie all day, tho' we had many chances, but any putt over 15 ft, is going to break, a lot.
While we waited on the last par 3, one of those gimmicky, long-or-short, double-green holes that suddenly seem as common as split-fairways, we chatted with the foursome behind us. They said the course was great and the weather very nice (below 100!). I, in turn, lamented that the only bad thing was that having played Friday, with only two of us, we had no more interesting conversation or funny stories to tell that we hadn't already heard.
"Well, we haven't heard them!" said the foursome.
"Ah," I cleared my throat in preparation.
"Yeah," interrupted Mr. Science, "you've heard them."
Oh, they thought THAT was witty. They thought that was VERY droll.
I'm going to start carrying "business" cards with this blog url on it, then make hand signs when I give them away, like a mute selling pencils.
Golfweb: http://www.golfweb.com/courseguide/ocdata?st=detail&gwid=20715
Keith Foster Architect: http://www.golfweb.com/courseguide/ocdata?srchkey=advanced&couky=&pk=&hhk=NON&staky=&cntyky=&citky=&prox=&pdist=5&punit=mi&zipky=&ik=&phoky=&bk=any&lk=keith+foster&gk=
My goodness Keith Foster has done some good 'uns, besides SunRidge: Anthem, Eagle Nest, and two Texas courses of some notoriety, Bandit & The Quarry.
52 Course Rankings: http://people.consolidated.net/DBADave/Golf/PGC.htm
Tried to play Talking Stick North course Friday evening. Got rained out on the 6th hole. Our partners had already fled to the Clubhouse that is adjacent to the 6th green, but I'm standing there with soaked with my hat blown off, trying to 2-putt from 35 feet in a 40 mph wind because I'm only 1-over so far. But Mr. Science is waving me over from our cart, "Bring my ball, too, willya?" His game was no-good that day and he was happy to quit. We had a couple of beers and called it a warmup for SunRidge. Lost my reading glasses in the hubbub, too.
The view from the first tee, looking east over to Four Peaks at sunrise, is purty dang inspirational. Sadly, the golf to start off was not. I double-bogied the first 3 holes from blocking my drive out in the desert. I knew I should have eaten brekky instead of warming up on the driving range. I forget what Mr. Science's trouble was, bad-iron play or something, but we righted the ship by #5, the # 1 handicap hole, and both almost birdied. Mr. Science left his chip hanging over the hole, but it wouldn't fall in.
We were a twosome, in between a bunch of 4somes, so it seemed we were always waiting -- it's always hard to get a tempo going in situations like that, but then this course keeps you off-balance all the time, anyway.
Is it harder than Las Sendas? Is it better than Eagle Mountain? Is it a better value than either, or worse? Hard to say. It's worth playing more than once; it's worth playing regular if you're not on a Mission that takes you away. It left us thinking we could do better next time, having seen the course once, like on # 10 where there seems like there is an arroyo crossing the fairway at an awkward angle and an awkward distance, but it really poses very little hazard: your ball would probably skip right thru it, its so shallow, and anyway a good drive would get over, but we laid up, not knowing any better. On # 11 I had to prove to myself heuristically that the same principle does not apply to its arroyo, which is fortified with a rock wall and deep, gravelly sand.
We neither one had a birdie all day, tho' we had many chances, but any putt over 15 ft, is going to break, a lot.
While we waited on the last par 3, one of those gimmicky, long-or-short, double-green holes that suddenly seem as common as split-fairways, we chatted with the foursome behind us. They said the course was great and the weather very nice (below 100!). I, in turn, lamented that the only bad thing was that having played Friday, with only two of us, we had no more interesting conversation or funny stories to tell that we hadn't already heard.
"Well, we haven't heard them!" said the foursome.
"Ah," I cleared my throat in preparation.
"Yeah," interrupted Mr. Science, "you've heard them."
Oh, they thought THAT was witty. They thought that was VERY droll.
I'm going to start carrying "business" cards with this blog url on it, then make hand signs when I give them away, like a mute selling pencils.
