So, it’s booked… Officially… Yes, just a few weeks out of surgery on my leg, I’ll be participating in the first event of my 2018 Season at The Golf Club at Redmond Ridge. From the tips, the course plays just over 6500 yards and will take some major tune up work to get ready for. I’m officially a 3.4 handicap walking in to this one, so I’m not going to get much help in general in the net scoring department. Still, lets take a quick look at the course and see how this should set up for my game.
The course opens up with a short, 341 yard par 4. It’s a slight curve to the right off the tee without any major trouble on the hole. A driver here may be the play even though the distance isn’t needed. It takes the left fairway bunker out of play and leaves a solid wedge into the green. The second hole, a par 3 that measures just under 190 is next up. The downhill hole plays to more of a 7 iron than a 6 iron, but it will depend on the weather and pin placement. There’s a full 3 club swing from the front of the green to the back, so pin placement will be key to club selection. The par 5 third is where things get really interesting at Redmond Ridge. A very long, very straight tee shot (it’s 350 to the break in the fairway) will leave a very long second shot that will be a layup. The 613 yard hole is just not reachable in two so it’s a three shot hole to be sure. A seven iron would follow a standard drive here to leave me 120, or a full 51° wedge into the green. Hopefully this is how the round starts out.
Moving to the next three holes on the front side, we have a 160 yard par 3, which will play again into pin placement. A pitching wedge plays to the front, a 9 iron to the middle and an 8 iron to the back. Simple, but to cash in on a birdie, I’ll have to nail that pin placement and keep the ball straight. A 450 yard par 4 comes up next on the list. It should play somewhere around a driver/7 iron or driver/8 iron, but so much of this course will depend on keeping the ball straight off the tee. There won’t be many hybrids on this course from those back tees, but if the driver is working, then I should be fine. The second three holes are finished up with a 501 yard par 5, and the first of the hybrids to come out for the round. If my tee shot goes as planned, a solid 5 iron or a nice 19° hybrid should score well on this hole and give me a decent shot at a birdie.
The 7th hole is the third par 3 on the front side and should be a scoring opportunity. Playing just about 160 up a slight hill, it should be a soft 8 iron to the front, solid 8 to the middle and a soft 7 to the back. It’s all about pin placement again on this one, so we will have to wait and see what it calls for. The narrow 8th hole plays between houses and should be a tough tee shot. There is more room to miss left on this one and it only leaves a good gap wedge into the green. I’ll be playing this one down the right side with a draw to give myself the biggest margin for error possible. The front side finishes with a final par 4 that plays about 360 yards. This is a perfect hole for me not to play well on. It has a fairway bunker right at my landing distance which would leave me a 56° wedge into the green. If I can cut the ball off the tee and keep it left of that bunker, I should be clear, but this is a disaster hole if I try to do too much with it.
I’ll highlight the backside over the next few days as I setup my bag for this one and get a few practice sessions in over the next few weeks before the event. Again, I’m still about a week away from hitting balls at full speed, but the short game sessions can start Friday. I’m hoping the weather stays good and I can get out a bit and get some feeling back in the swing. It’s been a tough layoff for me, but what the heck, lets go get this one.
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