Played 10/16/09
Layout
(8.0): PCC is about 1/3 tree-lined, demanding accuracy off the tee, and about 2/3 open, offering plenty of chances to bomb the driver. A good mix of par-4's, with several long iron second shots needed, as well as some second shot wedges. #'s 9 and 18 are fun, simlar finishing holes to each 9 - doglegs left with second shots to very elevated greens. The par-3's are very strong, among the best sets I've played - 3 mid-irons, and one short-iron to a classic Ross raised green. Hole #1 is particularly interesting, a drivable par-4 (290 yds) from an elevated tee that lies about two club lengths off the back of the clubhouse, and views of Casco Bay in the distance. I found no fault with any holes, though did find it curious that the design wasn't able to make more use of the oceanfront sections of the property. There is little elevation change away from the clubhouse, making PCC a very comfortable walk.
Condition
(8.5): Immacualte fairways, even at this late date in the season. The greens rolled fast and true, and the tee complexes are understated and level (uneven tee boxes are a big pet peeve of mine). The rough was low, but even. The one bunker I was in had soft, deep sand.
Aesthetics
(8.0): The clubhouse area (1 tee, 9 and 18 green) offer superb views of Cason Bay and the islands off of Portland. The city comes into view on the 8th fairway. I'm partial to the look of an open layout, and alomst half of the course is visible from the clubhouse, which dominates the scene from atop its perch.
Amenities
(8.0): PCC has many of those special touches that come with being a private facility. Buckets of balls waiting for you at the range. Spacious locker for changing into golf gear after lunch. Excellent menu in the bar (a solid haddock sandwich and clam chowder). Another underrated perk: playing with members who know each other and enjoy a friendly competition (we took the overall and the back, but lost the front and a press).
Place in Golf
(5.5): PCC is in my top 5 Maine courses, and it has hosted several State Ams. I believe it frequents the magazine-based top 5 in the state, as well. It is a true Donald Ross design, and is among Maine's premier private clubs.
Sentimental Value
(6.0): This is the second year of earning this invitation, and it is a nice way to ease into the winter. I played my best round of 2008 at PCC, so good memories will always great me here.
My Round
I was unable to mtach my 2008 round, but managed to eke out an 83, somewhat reversing a recent stretch of lousy play on courses with fast greens. For my money, this is really a third shot course, as the green complexes are classic Ross designs - lots of raised greens and very few flat spots. Outside of the par-3's, there is not much stress off the tee (I was only in trouble twice), and my difficulty hitting greens was self-inflicted. There is just no way to get around PCC, though, without good lag putting and delicate chipping.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Sunday River (7.3)
Played on 10/12/09
Layout
Ben (8.5): A very strong layout at SR. Excellent use of both uphill and downhill holes. Routing presents all wind directions. Enough forest cleared to give the course continuity (unlike Sugarloaf, at which each hole is an island unto itself). I only found two holes objectionable: No. 15, which is a blind, uphill tee shot, with a sandy wasteland unseen in the landing area of a good drive, and No. 10, which is a visually intimidating tee shot, with no attractive landing area.
Jody (8.0): The course is well laid out, with good continuity from hole to hole. The course makes good use of bunker-type wasteland areas on several holes that for the most park work very well as an alternative to typical water/sand hazards (with the exception of No. 15 as Ben mentioned). The course is hilly (which is to be expected on a mountain course) and would be very unpleasant to walk. I much prefer walking to riding, and try to walk whenever I can; the practical inability of walking Sunday River (I'm not sure they even allow walkers) is the primary reason my "Layout" score is not higher.
Score: 8.25
Condition
Ben (7.5): The greens were fast, firm and smooth. Tee boxes recently aerated. Bunkers not consistent - some fluffy and others hard-packed. Fairways excellent, despite rain. Only a few rough patches. Obviously, the geography and weather make condition difficult at SR, but they make it work.
Jody (8.0): For mid-October, I thought the course was in fantastic shape. As Ben mentioned, the greens were fast, but they rolled true; I can't blame any bad putts on the condition of the greens. The tee boxes were all dead level and well maintained, I felt the sand in the bunkers appeared to be in good condition for the time of year, and the fairways held up well despite some wet spots. SR is a fair test for the mid-high handicapper. It is a very playable course from the white tees. Fairways are tree-lined, but wide enough to allow for a moderate slice or hook. Hazards are in play, and punish errant shots, but not so prevalent as to punish small mistakes.
Score: 7.75
Aesthetics
Ben (9.5): During foliage season, the most scenic course in Maine, and probably rivals any mountain course in the world. 360 degree views of towering, orange mountains. Almost no housing on the course. One in our group exclaimed "This is already worth it" upon exiting the car as we arrived.
Jody (9.5): I hesitate to give SR a "10" here only because it is the first course we're rating. Having said that, I think we'll be hard pressed to find a course in Maine that is more breathtakingly beautiful than SR at peak foliage. Almost every hole offers spectacular views of the surrounding mountains. Truly a remarkable experience.
Score: 9.5
Amenities
Ben (6.0): Rustic, log-cabin-esque ski lodge clubhouse. Full driving range. Pre-made chicken salad and cranberry sandwich at the turn with Red Gatorade. All solid.
Jody (7.0): Large welcoming clubhouse with an appropriate design for the setting. Very nice folks in the proshop and at the bar. Not fancy, but definitely not low-rent either.
Score: 6.5
Place in Golf
Ben (5.0): Robert Trent Jones design, though never broken through the Sugarloaf/Belgrade hammerlock in the ranking magazines (that I know of). Hosted some local club pro events, but never the State Am. Definitely a top tier course in Maine, and deserving of more recognition.
Jody (6.0): I'm going a bit higher than Ben here because SR has to be one of the top-5 courses in Maine, and, thus, definitely "above average" in the gold world.
Score: 5.5
Sentimental Value
Ben (6.0): A small bump for our annual Columbus Day end-of-season pilgrimage, and another small bump for my first round at SR - the day before I started law school.
Jody (7.0): Columbus Day Golf Bump, plus a bump for getting to play SR with my dad.
Score 6.5
My Round
Ben: Decent day off the tee, but shaky approach shots and horrendous around the greens. Could not adjust to the speed and slope of the greens when chipping and lag putting. This course is definitely playable, though hitting from the white tees took driver out of my hands more often than I like. The white tees also leaves only short par 3's (8-iron was my longest club). In general, this is a second-shot course, owing to the many uphill approach shots and the severe sloping in the greens.
Jody: Played like a putz, although I did have a couple of great shots. The speed of the greens did take a little getting used to, but at least they were consistently fast so I was able to adjust. I played fairly conservatively and still couldn't break 100, but that's more my fault than the course. It was an odd round in that I had 2 birdies (Hooray!) but still shot 105 (taking an 8 on three holes on the back nine tends to inflate one's score). If consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, then I was Stephen freaking Hawking at SR. Could I shoot 85 at SR? Not likely. Could I get close to 90? Definitely.
Played on 10/12/09
Layout
Ben (8.5): A very strong layout at SR. Excellent use of both uphill and downhill holes. Routing presents all wind directions. Enough forest cleared to give the course continuity (unlike Sugarloaf, at which each hole is an island unto itself). I only found two holes objectionable: No. 15, which is a blind, uphill tee shot, with a sandy wasteland unseen in the landing area of a good drive, and No. 10, which is a visually intimidating tee shot, with no attractive landing area.
Jody (8.0): The course is well laid out, with good continuity from hole to hole. The course makes good use of bunker-type wasteland areas on several holes that for the most park work very well as an alternative to typical water/sand hazards (with the exception of No. 15 as Ben mentioned). The course is hilly (which is to be expected on a mountain course) and would be very unpleasant to walk. I much prefer walking to riding, and try to walk whenever I can; the practical inability of walking Sunday River (I'm not sure they even allow walkers) is the primary reason my "Layout" score is not higher.
Score: 8.25
Condition
Ben (7.5): The greens were fast, firm and smooth. Tee boxes recently aerated. Bunkers not consistent - some fluffy and others hard-packed. Fairways excellent, despite rain. Only a few rough patches. Obviously, the geography and weather make condition difficult at SR, but they make it work.
Jody (8.0): For mid-October, I thought the course was in fantastic shape. As Ben mentioned, the greens were fast, but they rolled true; I can't blame any bad putts on the condition of the greens. The tee boxes were all dead level and well maintained, I felt the sand in the bunkers appeared to be in good condition for the time of year, and the fairways held up well despite some wet spots. SR is a fair test for the mid-high handicapper. It is a very playable course from the white tees. Fairways are tree-lined, but wide enough to allow for a moderate slice or hook. Hazards are in play, and punish errant shots, but not so prevalent as to punish small mistakes.
Score: 7.75
Aesthetics
Ben (9.5): During foliage season, the most scenic course in Maine, and probably rivals any mountain course in the world. 360 degree views of towering, orange mountains. Almost no housing on the course. One in our group exclaimed "This is already worth it" upon exiting the car as we arrived.
Jody (9.5): I hesitate to give SR a "10" here only because it is the first course we're rating. Having said that, I think we'll be hard pressed to find a course in Maine that is more breathtakingly beautiful than SR at peak foliage. Almost every hole offers spectacular views of the surrounding mountains. Truly a remarkable experience.
Score: 9.5
Amenities
Ben (6.0): Rustic, log-cabin-esque ski lodge clubhouse. Full driving range. Pre-made chicken salad and cranberry sandwich at the turn with Red Gatorade. All solid.
Jody (7.0): Large welcoming clubhouse with an appropriate design for the setting. Very nice folks in the proshop and at the bar. Not fancy, but definitely not low-rent either.
Score: 6.5
Place in Golf
Ben (5.0): Robert Trent Jones design, though never broken through the Sugarloaf/Belgrade hammerlock in the ranking magazines (that I know of). Hosted some local club pro events, but never the State Am. Definitely a top tier course in Maine, and deserving of more recognition.
Jody (6.0): I'm going a bit higher than Ben here because SR has to be one of the top-5 courses in Maine, and, thus, definitely "above average" in the gold world.
Score: 5.5
Sentimental Value
Ben (6.0): A small bump for our annual Columbus Day end-of-season pilgrimage, and another small bump for my first round at SR - the day before I started law school.
Jody (7.0): Columbus Day Golf Bump, plus a bump for getting to play SR with my dad.
Score 6.5
My Round
Ben: Decent day off the tee, but shaky approach shots and horrendous around the greens. Could not adjust to the speed and slope of the greens when chipping and lag putting. This course is definitely playable, though hitting from the white tees took driver out of my hands more often than I like. The white tees also leaves only short par 3's (8-iron was my longest club). In general, this is a second-shot course, owing to the many uphill approach shots and the severe sloping in the greens.
Jody: Played like a putz, although I did have a couple of great shots. The speed of the greens did take a little getting used to, but at least they were consistently fast so I was able to adjust. I played fairly conservatively and still couldn't break 100, but that's more my fault than the course. It was an odd round in that I had 2 birdies (Hooray!) but still shot 105 (taking an 8 on three holes on the back nine tends to inflate one's score). If consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, then I was Stephen freaking Hawking at SR. Could I shoot 85 at SR? Not likely. Could I get close to 90? Definitely.
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