Greensmere - A Scouting Summary?

[fundonny]

Playing a bunch of the boys from the old days tomorrow at Greensmere and I've never played there before. Can anyone give me a Coles notes version of what I should expect, any secret tips, etc? Bugs bad there?

[gbower]

Which courses are you playing????

[fundonny]

Ugh, don't know, the organizer made our tee times. It's 36 holes, correct?

[gbower]

Right now it's 27 holes. The "white" nine is fairly wide open without a lot of trouble. The "black" nine is a little more interesting with some elevation changes and a couple of really good par 3's, one with about a 60' downhill shot over water. The "gold" nine is newer and you must stay in the cut portion or kiss your ball goodbye. It has a number of elevated greens and some really nice views. Hit the fairways and greens and you'll have no trouble. There are some holes that are still somewhat wet and a few that still have some winter damage and these are mainly on the white and gold courses.

Enjoy your day as the weather looks to be great

What time you playing????

[jonf]

my one piece advice is to use driver on the tractor hole. Take it right out of play. If you go left, you'll often roll back down the hill towards the fairway. If you go right...well, you get to play from #6, but it's not bad. Nothing more frustrating than hitting a good shot with an iron or wood and smacking that tractor.

[Indio]

My one piece of advice is to greet your buddies, see them off at the first tee then go back to the patio and get a head start on them Money well spent

[Hacker]

My one piece of advice is to greet your buddies, see them off at the first tee then go back to the patio and get a head start on them Money well spent

[Brewskie19]

My advice is, if you play the gold... rent a power cart!

[fundonny]

My one piece of advice is to greet your buddies, see them off at the first tee then go back to the patio and get a head start on them Money well spent

You should know that I don't need a head start on anyone. The Lord blessed me with talent.

[Indio]

You should know that I don't need a head start on anyone. The Lord blessed me with talent.

That he did

[Foddz]

I'll give you my best attempt at a hole by hole overview - there's a course tour at http://www.ottawagolf.com/greensmere/tour/holeG01.htm if you want to take a look.

White #1-9: WYSIWYG. Only trouble is OB right along #4 and #5, and FAR right along #2 and #6. Bombs away

Black #1: Short par 4 You only need a 220-230 yard tee shot for a good layup (~115 yd range for me). Keep the driver in the bag for this hole if you're a long hitter.

Black #2: Longer hitters will reach the hill, and with the lack of grass growing on it this year, the extra roll will take you inside 75 yards from the center of the green. If you don't make it to the hill, the elevation change is roughly 50-60 feet down, so adjust your club accordingly.

Black #3: Beautiful short par 3 across a pond that will take your breath away unless you've got a cart - you have to climb 60ft up to the tee box Bring a selection of clubs with you as I find the wind always feels different up there than down below. Hole plays about 115-120 from the blacks in the calm, but the wind really seems to affect the ball - I've hit anywhere from 8i to SW. Don't miss right.

Black #4: You need a good 220-230 yard drive from the blacks just to get around the corner of this par 4, but 270-280 will put you too far. The closer you can cut it to the trees on the left, the shorter your approach will be. You can cut the corner with a high enough tee shot, but don't bite off more than you can chew

Black #5: Mid-length par 3. Only good miss is short and right. Everything else has you in sand, trees, or water.

Black #6: Scenic par 4 with a large pine blocking out the dogleg right. The trees straight away are in play for longer hitters, so a fairway wood tee shot and a long iron into the green isn't necessarily a bad idea.

Black #7: Par 5 with a pretty view from an elevated tee. Tons of room to miss right so let 'er rip. Only reachable in 2 with a good drive down the left side, and lots of trouble to the right and left of the green.

Black #8: Signature short par 4 with a large mound dead center of the fairway with the tractor and birch up top. As mentioned, hit driver and take the mound right out of play, misses to the left and right are rarely penalized.

Black #9: Par 5 finisher. Lots of room to land, just don't miss right. Easy birdie with a good tee shot (I'm a 26 capper and I have 3 of my 4 birdies this year on that hole )

Gold #1: Loooooooooooonnnng par 5, especially into the wind. Need a monster drive to reach the corner of this dogleg. Trouble on both sides of the landing area. Good luck!

Gold #2: More room right off the tee than it looks, but your best approach is left side of the fairway. Green is 75 yards front to back, narrow, and severely sloped from front left to back right. Par's a good score.

Gold #3: Need a good drive with a right to left shape to safely get inside 150 yards. Then its up past Dolly Parton to the green. You'll see what I mean

Gold #4: Short par 4 to an elevated green. You can bomb it over the water and sand trap to inside 50 yards with a very good drive, otherwise take aim at the generous landing area surrounding the 150 yard marker.

Gold #5: Your long walk from #4 is rewarded with a straightforward par 4. No surprises here.

Gold #6: The closer you can play it to the water on the right, the better your approach to the green will be. Sprinkler heads and staked yardages are measured across the land bridge perpendicular to your line of play, so the distance is shorter than what the markers imply. Extremely long hitters can try to bomb it to the far side of the lake if they're feeling gutsy and the wind is favorable.

Gold #7: Another long par 5 with a generous landing area. There's a good layup area in the 75-125 yard range, but beyond that it gets tight. Tough approach no matter the angle if the pin is on the upper tier.

Gold #8: Very difficult tee shot from the black or gold tees with water hazards on both sides of the fairway. Good hole to lay up and play from 150 yards out. There's no room long with a lateral hazard running only a handful of yards behind the elevated green.

Gold #9: Finally a par 3! Long from the Black and Gold tees but otherwise straightforward.

[fundonny]

Now THAT, was throrough! Thanks Foddz!!!!!!!!!! TO THE PRINTER!!!!