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Post by cloran on Jul 14, 2011 9:02:05 GMT -5
I rented a house in West Dennis for vacation next week. I'll be on the Cape from this coming Sun to the 22nd.
I'll have my sister's family with me and my Brother-in-law is a good golfer. He and I will try to get out twice during the week (most likely once, unless I feel like bringing a masseuse to the house for my sister and wife... which I don't). If anyone would like to join us, or can recommend a course we should try let me know.
We are looking at:
Bass River (Donald Ross, 68.5 rating par 72, 6100 yds blue tees)
Dennis Pines (Henry Mitchell, 72.2 rating par 72, 6500 yds blue tees)
Hyannis Golf Course (72.7 rating par 71, 6700 yds blue tees, hosts many local AM & NEPGA events)
Cranberry Valley Golf Course (Geoff Cornish & Brian Silva, 71.6 rating par 72, 6500 yds blue tees, Voted 2011's best Public Course on Cape Cod)
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Post by tightdraw on Jul 14, 2011 21:44:12 GMT -5
see if you can find someone with a connection at Eastward Ho. Excellent golf course
TD
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Post by cloran on Jul 18, 2011 14:05:17 GMT -5
Got out late afternoon yesterday to play the back 9 at Bass River. Built in 1900, designed by Donald Ross. It's the first par 38 I've ever played. The front is a par 34.
There was a steady 15-20 mph wind with gusts around 30 mph. The kind of gusts that knock you back on your heels and move your ball on the green... both of which happened more than once. My bag toppled over more than I care to remember as well.
That being said, I shot a +3 for a 41 and RAN!!!! The greens were SO small it was ridiculous. To give you an idea of just how small the greens were here's how my putting went for the day: 1,3,1,1,1,1,1,1,1. 11 putts, lol.
I think I may have come across my favorite green of all time while playing. The green on #17 is about as big as a VW Beetle, has bunkers guarding the right, left, and looping around the rear. There is a ridge bisecting the green that goes from left-to-right, effectively making the small green even smaller. The pin was cut in the front tier when we played and that area is about 9x9 yrds, lol. According to Google Earth the green is 13 yds across and 17 yards deep at its widest points, but it's is also pair shaped (upside-down pair as seen from the fairway) and not as large as those figures sound. Just a really neat little green.
I love the old Ross designs. The front was of each green was always left open for the possibility to run one up, but shots even slightly off line were not going to result in putts. Lots of fun despite the weather.
Getting up-n-down for a sandy par on #18 made it a special round indeed.
cloran.
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ioz
'88 Apex Redlines
Posts: 195
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Post by ioz on Jul 18, 2011 15:29:09 GMT -5
great round cloran! congrats man.
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Post by Richie3Jack on Jul 18, 2011 20:09:31 GMT -5
great round, bro. One thing I loathe about modern equipment...it's made so many donald ross courses obsolete for me. back in the day of persimmon and metal with balata balls, ross courses were a legit thrill to play.
3JACK
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Post by cloran on Jul 20, 2011 4:44:11 GMT -5
Thanks guys. Playing Bayberry Hills this morning. 27 hole complex. 18 being traditional American style, and 9 set up in a links style layout. Not sure which 18 I'll be playing. EDIT: Sorry for the GIANT pic. I think we'll be playing from the blues this morning. Also, I wonder if the course rating/slope has changed since the pic of this scorecard was taken. Their website has rating/slope for each course as: Gold Tee 75.3/132 Blue Tee 72.0/128 (Red Course) Gold Tee 73.9/128 Blue Tee 71.0/124 (White Course) Gold Tee 74.2/130 Blue Tee 71.2/126 (Blue Course) These numbers make the Gold Tees look MUCH more difficult to play from than this scorecard does. hmmm? I think we'll stick with the blue tees anyway.  |
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Post by pavaveda on Jul 20, 2011 9:21:51 GMT -5
Good luck today and nice shootin' in your last round.
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Post by tightdraw on Jul 20, 2011 10:12:02 GMT -5
have fun and keep up the fine play
make Spencer proud :-)
As an aside, the key to a Donald Ross course being a Ross course is that the superintendant/greenskeapers know its a Ross course and maintain it accordingly. Can't build out the greens; have to keep the collection areas cut, etc. every designer knows a way to protect par and designs around doing so. Ross had his way and one can still protect par on a Ross course if done right and maintained accordingly
TD
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Post by gmbtempe on Jul 20, 2011 10:32:57 GMT -5
Man that red course must have some tricky shots as 74.3 is a pretty serious rating.
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Post by cloran on Jul 20, 2011 11:29:36 GMT -5
Got back just over an hour ago. Shot a 91 w/ some abysmal putting. I just couldn't get a feel for the speed of the greens. I was either blowing it by by 6 feet or leaving it short... For never playing the course before, not warming up, and getting about 4 hours of sleep I'm not going to beat myself up too much over it. We played from the blue tees.
I'm not sure why the rating is so high from the Gold tees though. They were MAYBE 10-15 yards farther back on each hole, but never set at a more difficult angle. There's nothing to carry over off the tees, not a lot of hazards, etc. Apparently this course (from those tees) is only 1 stroke easier than Bethpage Black, lol. That is laughable... I said this to my Brother-In-Law and he just laughed and said "nope."
It cost $85 (w/ mandatory cart), BUT you get a voucher for another round that you can use within the next 7 days and only pay for the cart. We'll probably take advantage of that just to save a few clams. 6 of the first 9 greens were in pretty bad shape. A difficult winter damaged things pretty bad and the turf is just healing. I've never played with "ground under repair" signs on the greens before. Overall it was a pretty fun track.
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