Slothman
13th January 2014, 01:33 PM
Ok.. before reading this it might be a touch biased because..
- It was a card drawer and I put my name down. Was the second group called 10 minutes after my name went down so no warmup, less time for sunscreen, no drinks/food purchased....bad timing.
- It was HOT. DAMN hot. So without water/sunscreen/food etc...it got bad..REAL bad.
- Never played the old layout so no idea on layout etc.
- I played POOR. Very poor. I kept the fairways aired with the amount of "digging" I was doing.
- 90% of the work on the course and the new clubhouse is provided by members....and a great job they have done.
So on saying that what did I think of the new greens and fairways with the new irrigation system?
Ok well it has been less than a year since installed and Denmark/Albany has been VERY dry this Winter/Summer compared to others. This has not helped.
The fairways played surprisingly well. Considering they had a "preferred lie" on the fairways, I only used it once and at the request of a member :) They where never brilliant but not "bad" either.
The greens need some more water/time/work. But they have a GREAT start to them. They where like shag carpets and very very slow but needed to be. However they rolled very true. This time next year they will be a delight. However, I noticed that some of the greens where rather scarey with their slopes and runoffs (drainage issues). Once the greens speed up these greens will be diabolical. A challenge yes, enjoyable...time will tell.
When I played they where just TOO slow. My brain kept talking myself out of cracking them and I came up a meter or 2 short on nearly every putt.
The fringe of the greens where rough and not bump and run material. Which meant you had to carry to the greens, which where hard, so stopping a ball was a challenge. I was the only one in our group who was stopping balls on the greens. They where that hard I never cleaned a mark all day, just couldn't dent them, that and I kept missing the damn greens :)
As far as course challenges, it is a country course. No bunkers but a couple of the holes used the terrain and trees nicely. Good variety with 3 woods needed on some tees and some long carry options for those driving better than I was on the day. There was a nice little "water hazard" that would look great when it fills up in winter. This came into play on 3-4 holes and one of them you walk into the small "island" to tee off. In winter Tulips flower around this island and would look magic.
I was playing poorly, missed fairways all day long, dug into the core of the earth and missed putts for par/birdie most of the day. Still shot a 93 but should have been able to easily hit below 85.
Would I play it again. Yes! Will I got out of my way to play it again. Not YET!!! Give it a year and will be nice. But if you are in the area, for the price (sub $20 I think) its worth a visit.
*Be aware I do not remember much of the day or the drive home to Albany. The heat REALLY got to me (it was that hot my pair of shoes in the car MELTED and some plants in the car might never recover) and with lack of water or food....I got seriously dehydrated. Still have a shocking headache 2 days later.*
- It was a card drawer and I put my name down. Was the second group called 10 minutes after my name went down so no warmup, less time for sunscreen, no drinks/food purchased....bad timing.
- It was HOT. DAMN hot. So without water/sunscreen/food etc...it got bad..REAL bad.
- Never played the old layout so no idea on layout etc.
- I played POOR. Very poor. I kept the fairways aired with the amount of "digging" I was doing.
- 90% of the work on the course and the new clubhouse is provided by members....and a great job they have done.
So on saying that what did I think of the new greens and fairways with the new irrigation system?
Ok well it has been less than a year since installed and Denmark/Albany has been VERY dry this Winter/Summer compared to others. This has not helped.
The fairways played surprisingly well. Considering they had a "preferred lie" on the fairways, I only used it once and at the request of a member :) They where never brilliant but not "bad" either.
The greens need some more water/time/work. But they have a GREAT start to them. They where like shag carpets and very very slow but needed to be. However they rolled very true. This time next year they will be a delight. However, I noticed that some of the greens where rather scarey with their slopes and runoffs (drainage issues). Once the greens speed up these greens will be diabolical. A challenge yes, enjoyable...time will tell.
When I played they where just TOO slow. My brain kept talking myself out of cracking them and I came up a meter or 2 short on nearly every putt.
The fringe of the greens where rough and not bump and run material. Which meant you had to carry to the greens, which where hard, so stopping a ball was a challenge. I was the only one in our group who was stopping balls on the greens. They where that hard I never cleaned a mark all day, just couldn't dent them, that and I kept missing the damn greens :)
As far as course challenges, it is a country course. No bunkers but a couple of the holes used the terrain and trees nicely. Good variety with 3 woods needed on some tees and some long carry options for those driving better than I was on the day. There was a nice little "water hazard" that would look great when it fills up in winter. This came into play on 3-4 holes and one of them you walk into the small "island" to tee off. In winter Tulips flower around this island and would look magic.
I was playing poorly, missed fairways all day long, dug into the core of the earth and missed putts for par/birdie most of the day. Still shot a 93 but should have been able to easily hit below 85.
Would I play it again. Yes! Will I got out of my way to play it again. Not YET!!! Give it a year and will be nice. But if you are in the area, for the price (sub $20 I think) its worth a visit.
*Be aware I do not remember much of the day or the drive home to Albany. The heat REALLY got to me (it was that hot my pair of shoes in the car MELTED and some plants in the car might never recover) and with lack of water or food....I got seriously dehydrated. Still have a shocking headache 2 days later.*