The South Course- A Course Review and Study Guide
Here is my hole by hole review and perspective on the South Course at Eagle Ridge. I will add pictures as soon as I can get time to do so. As I’ve said in a previous post the South will present you with many different feels so that it’ll be like playing 5 courses. My goal here is the same as previous posts; to provide first time golfers an idea of what to expect and some insight that can only come after playing the course a few times.
First I’ll speak a little of the Club house and amenities. The clubhouse has 3 main areas. There is a dining area, a Pro Shop, and downstairs a set of locker rooms. There is also a patio area to watch golfers finish their rounds from. The pro shop like the General isn’t overly large and has a smaller selection of items than the General. The food and service in the dining area is really well done as well.
That being the area where I think the course’s amenities suffer the greatest – the practice facilities. There is no driving range at the course itself. There is one driving range for the whole resort. It is located across the street from the North Course’s clubhouse. Golfers have to park at the North Course, get their range balls there and then drive/walk across the street to the range. The range does have golfers hitting off of the grass from an elevated tee, down to the range itself.
The hole by hole description and strategy is written playing from the Gold tees. Chances are if your playing from the tips at the black tees you won’t need the insight presented below. The greens are usually a 10 on the Stimpmeter. They are fast, but not blazingly so.
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Hole #1 – 359 yard Par 4 – Green 34 yards Deep by 23 yards wide
This is a fairly simple by the books par 4. It has a slight dog leg to the right. Avoid spraying it too far right off of the tee and you won’t find trouble here. On your approach shot to the “egg shaped” green avoid the bunker on the front left hand side.
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Hole #2 – 522 yard Par 5 – Green 31 yards Deep by 24 yards wide
This hole is very much just a longer version of first hole. Like before it has a slight dogleg to the right at the end. There is a creek running along the left side of the fairway up towards the green. On your approach shot to the “left foot” shaped green avoid the bunker on the front right hand side.
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Hole #3 – 136 yard Par 3 – Green 32 yards Deep by 32 yards wide
The third hole is the first hole where water truly comes into play. The amount of water to cross is dependent on the tee you are playing from, and which tee box they have been moved around too. The green is large enough to hit, but missing short or left or right will find water, creek, or woods respectively. There isn’t a huge area behind the green either.
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Hole #4 – 325 yard Par 4 – Green 47 yards Deep by 15 yards wide
This is one of the trickier par 4’s on the course. Its very short, but shot placement is key here. It doglegs to the right, to a very thin green which slopes to the water on its left hand side. Put away the driver here. Hybrid or iron is fine. What you want is a club you can hit between 190-215 yards long. Because the green is so thin you want your first shot to be hit with a club that will leave you with a yardage on your second shot that you have a go-to club for. So for me I’ll hit it a hybrid 200 off the tee and be left with the ideal distance for my 9 iron which I am accurate with. The dogleg is actually more severe than the scorecard shows. On the right side is a steep upward sloping hill of trees and brush which end at a rock wall. The fairway itself is narrow and if you go with a wood, then expect to go through the fairway in to the rough and beyond into the trees. As I mentioned this is the deepest and thinnest green at Eagle Ridge of any of the courses. If you play it smart then a par should be what you walk away with. Dead eye accuracy on the second shot will be needed for a birdie.
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Hole #5 – 401 yard Par 4 – Green 27 yards Deep by 41 yards wide
#5 is a downhill dogleg to the right. Although that may not immediately apparent off of the tee. The course really opens up on these next two holes. Gone are the tree-lined fairways for the next two holes. 5 and 6 are wide open rolling hills. Both make greater use of fairway bunkers as well. While you’re on the 5th hole you might as well sneak a peak at the hole location on the #6 green. The two holes mirror each other. The tee shot will beg for a driver because of how open it is. Just don’t drive through the dogleg and go into the bunker on the left side. The green is well below where your tee shot will land. A bunker guards the front right of the green.
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Hole #6 – 466 yard Par 5 – Green 20 yards Deep by 26 yards wide
This dogleg left will have you hitting from tees which are below the fairway. Break out your driver and just swing away. You can test your nerve and see how much of the of two bunkers guarding the left side of the fairway you want to try and go over. It will be risk/reward to hit it over the traps to try and shorten the hole If you hit to the right side rough expect to face a row of large but widely spaced trees. If you can not see the green on your second shot then aim at the crazy looking dead tree (As long as it hasn’t been removed that is). The approach to this small green has a slight valley in the fairway from about 80 yards out that builds back uphill to the apron of the green. So do not count on being able to roll your shot up and on the green. The green is pretty small so if your going to miss, then miss right as there is a cloverleaf shaped bunker on the left side.
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Hole #7 – 162 yard Par 3 – Green 38 yards Deep by 18 yards wide
There are slightly elevated tees here in relation to the green. The hole is lined by trees and is a singular flat spot on what is otherwise a large right to left downward sloping hill. There is a large bunker guarding the left front of the green and it is much lower than the green. There is another rock wall similar to what was on the 4th hole on the right side. Ricochets off of this wall are something you don’t want to contemplate. The green is very deep but narrow. A good approach off of the tee for someone who hasn’t found their game with the mid iron clubs would be to just roll up a 6 or 7 iron. The depth of the green will allow it to hold.
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Hole #8 – 348 yard Par 4 – Green 31 yards Deep by 23 yards wide
#8 is a large dogleg to the right. The hole itself is very short for a par 4. There is no advantage to hitting a driver off of the tee. A 5-wood, hybrid, or low iron will put the golfer in a good spot to attack the green. There is water in the form of a creek running down the right side of the hole, which then cuts through the fairway in front of the green and feeds into the larger water hazard on hole #9. Your approach shot to the green has to fly the water hazard (Not hard) and the large long sand trap which guards the entire front of the egg shaped green. This is a course management hole. A smart tee shot will dictate your success here.
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Hole #9 – 380 yard Par 4 – Green 36 yards Deep by 21 yards wide
The hole is long enough that most golfers (including me) will always go driver off the tee. There is a significant water hazard off to the right of the fairway, which is 242 yards from the tee. And a good size sand trap to the left of the fairway, which is 264 yards from the tee. The widest part of the fairway, which offers the safest landing area is only 221 yards from the tee. So pick you club carefully off of the tee. The green is somewhat narrow and made more so by the sand traps guarding it left and right and the water on the far right. It is an intimidating shot. The hole has the ability to make you feel frustrated and flustered no matter how well the previous eight holes went. I usually walk away from it feeling like I let a great score for nine slip away at the end. My strategy this year will be to try and go long and left. I’ll flirt with the bunker but will actually try and go into the rough. It will leave me with a good angle into the green. However this hole makes you feel, prepare yourself to feel worse after #10. Not surprisingly the handicap for the two holes show them as being the second and most hardest holes on the course.
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Hole #10 – 408 yard Par 4 – Green 32 yards Deep by 25 yards wide
This hole has a split fairway. The one you drive to on the left, and one which is elevated on the right. The one on the right has trees and water preventing even Tiger Woods from hitting it from the tee. This is the hardest hole on the course. In my mind the hardest hole at Eagle Ridge. It is far harder than #13 at the General or #9 on the North course. The drive from the tee is tighter than it looks. Avoid going right at all cost. Long and left is the plan here. The rough does transition into weeds and tall grass. This is the one part of the course where some Scott’s Fertilizer + weed control formula would do some wonders. I have lost my ball in them. I hate taking strokes because dandelions have swallowed the rough. The approach to this green is protected by water in the form of a creek, sand traps left and right of the green and weeds all around it. The green is actually a good size, but from the fairway it will look small as a postage stamp. Don’t beat yourself up here if you bogey it. Depending on your tee shot, playing a lay up shot for your approach to the elevated right fairway may be the smartest thing you can do.
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Hole #11 – 481 yard Par 5 – Green 30 yards Deep by 34 yards wide
#11 is your reward for finishing the two hardest holes on the course. It is pure fun. It is a beautiful significantly downward sloping dogleg to the left. It is open enough that even the fade hitter won’t be penalized to harshly. The only thing it needs is a bell that the group ahead of you could ring to let you know they are leaving the landing area. Because of the shape of the hole and the elevation change that happens about 215 yards out from the tee you most likely will not be able to see the group ahead of you or where your ball lands. The straight and draw hitters will have the best advantage on this hole. To the left of the fairway is a large pine tree about 177 yards out. If you can drive it right over that then you will be in excellent position. The ball will hit the fairway and roll down significantly towards the hole following the contour of the hill. The green is well protected by 3 sand traps guarding the left, center and right of the green. There is also water behind and to the right of the green.
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Hole #12 – 327 yard Par 4 – Green 32 yards Deep by 24 yards wide
This is a fairly standard, flat, no frills par 4. There are trees to the right of the fairway and a large sand trap to the left of the fairway. Avoid these pitfalls and the sand trap to the right of the green and you’ll be fine.
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Hole #13 – 197 yard Par 3 - Green 33 yards Deep by 34 yards wide
This is the longest Par 3 at the South Course. The tees are elevated slightly in relation to the green. There is a ravine with water in front of the green. There is also a large sand trap on both sides of the hole. The green is large though so fire away. I always use 1 more club here than what I normally would hit for this distance. It is easy to come up short here.
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Hole #14 – 364 yard Par 4 – Green 39 yards Deep by 19 yards wide
This hole has a strong dogleg to the right. The tee shot will be tight. The trees lining the right side of the fairway are thick and should be avoided. Left opens a bit, but tall grass awaits anyone who pulls it. Try and hit a fade off of the tee. The green is protected center and right by sand traps.
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Hole #15 – 429 yard Par 4 – Green 33 yards Deep by 35 yards wide
This is the longest par 4 on the course. Avoid going too far left or right. Both are trouble you don’t want. The green is slightly down hill of the fairway and has a large bunker protecting it front and right.
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Hole #16 – 535 yard Par 5 – Green 37 yards Deep by 19 yards wide
This is the Longest par 5 on the course. It’s a double dogleg. First it doglegs right then left. Only the super long hitters with supreme control of their fairway woods will attempt hitting this in two. The fairway goes downhill from the tee, then it goes uphill as it goes to the right. The green is about 100 yards behind a large oak tree on the left side of the fairway. From the fairway you won’t be able to see just how much space there is between the tree and the green. It is more than it looks like.
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Hole #17 - 137 yard Par 3 – Green 36 yards Deep by 21 yards wide
This is a nice, simple, relatively flat par 3. Check the wind here. Other than that the hole is straight forward. Avoid the traps.
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Hole #18 – 384 yard Par 4 – Green 41 yards Deep by 24 yards wide
A beautiful finishing hole. From the tee it will appear longer than it actually is. The tee is very elevated in relation to the fairway landing area. A stream runs through the fairway from right and flows into the same large water hazard on the right which you faced on #9. If you are a long hitter with your driver then leave it in the bag. You will most likely find the water. For the long hitter go 3-wood off of the tee. This long green is boxed by 4 sand traps and elevated higher than the fairway.
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Ariel View
