News & Updates for Red Bridge Golf & Country Club
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- 9/7/10 - Msg Board Posting
| Red Bridge review |
t2green2 |
Bit of a hike from North Charlotte but well worth the drive. Overall the course plays firm and fast from tee to green. Bunkers and rough are well maintained. Greens? The greens? Well lemme tell you about those. They were excellent condition. Not as receptive bent which is acceptable and faster than the bernudas i have played on in the past.
My only copmplaints are a couple of holes (3 and 10) do not fit the eye as far as how or where to hit your drive.
The Green on 16. Well maybe not the green, The pin placement on the front is borderline nuts. I saw 2 putts from above and from the side of this pin roll off the fron of the green.
All in all it was a great course and should only get better. BTW we teed off early and were easily done in 4 hours.! |
- 9/6/10, Review by DrSchteeve - They are really working hard to make conditions perfect - saw people working on the course (cutting rough, raking traps, etc) on almost every hole. With the rough cut down, the course is very playable. Still for the better player, and you need to know the course and make the shots.
- 9/4/10, Review by malamute - course is in best shape of area courses greens in very good shape could barely make out the punch holes from when done very much worth playing now
- 8/28/10 - Msg Board Posting
| Greens update 08/28/2010 |
DrSchteeve |
Personally checked or played (except where noted):
Verdict Ridge: punched "about 2 weeks ago" - still quite bumpy, along with some bare spots that haven't responded to the punching
Olde Sycamore: punched about a month ago, unfortunately divots from poorly repaired ballmarks mar the surfaces significantly - in other words, they look ok, and in general are in good rolling condition, but there are just too many ballmarks so almost any putt is likely to hit a ballmark (or 2)
Emerald Lake: punched about 10 days ago, still top dressed with a lot of sand, along with other issues certainly not rolling true
Skybrook: some really nice smooth areas on many greens, but also bare spots and many plugs of (presumably) poa anna, overall not bad
Highland Creek: very spotty, bare areas galore, one green (#15) gone by report
Red Bridge: mostly in very good condition, only a few greens with some isolated issues (Red Bridge greens are mini verde per clubhouse); definitely the best greens of all these (except Cleghorn, see below)
Cleghorn (this from a month ago) - in Rutherfordton, a hike, but perfect Bermuda greens (and fairways), best overall conditions I've played in all year (and maybe ever)
Hope that helps somebody...
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- 8/7/10, Review by DrSchteeve - Other than a slow foursome in front of us (and no ranger to move them), everything was good. One green (#17) had some issues, otherwise greens were great, as were fairways. They have really trimmed the rough in a lot of areas, which makes the course easier and reduces time looking for balls.
- 7/26/10 - Msg Board Posting
| red bridge |
randy whitley |
| Played the course Sunday the 23rd July. I'm a 2 handicap. I have to say the greens are in the best shape of any that I've played this year. The mini verde greens and the heat that we have had have made them great |
- 7/25/10, Review by pga5f - The Bermuda greens at Red Bridge are thriving in this heat and may be the best in Charlotte right now. This course is quirky target golf but in my opinion one of the best tracks in the area. Their greens got hurt by the cold winter but now will fare better than most courses in this heat. The course still has some rough spots but for the money and the fact that many courses in Charlotte are losing their greens, it is the place to play.
- 7/18/10, Review by snake - i have been fortunate to play this course 3 times this month. feels good to play that much. wish i could play this course more often. Met Lew Farwell; the new club pro. great guy. could go a long way to help this course along. course is better and better. love #7; long par 3. played 10 from the tips; 5 iron to carry to the middle; fade it and your dead. easy hole, just hit it straight. just had to play 18 from the back; 648? gotta love it. longest hole in charlotte and i was happy to get par. played driver, driver, 8 iron. happy golfer today. well worth the money. as the course matures/ages i hope they raise the rates to get rid of the rif-raf. saw many golfers that should not try this challenging course. i understand the desire to play a tough round, but take a couple of lessons first. they got a good pro now.
- 7/17/10, Review by malamute - course coming back greens much better but slow and needed to be cut well worth the drive
- 7/15/10, Review by snake - i have played this course several times since openning last year. i read some of the comments writen and think most of you should take up another activity. stop talking about maintenance issues like cutting greens lower and "mostly dead" when you don't have a clue what is going on. these greens are bermuda, not bent. learn something about the 2 before writing and showing your ignorance. bermuda can be slow to transition in spring but will be spectacular in summer and fall. these greens are slow now, but many bent greens are suffering with the heat of summer. both will be great in fall. like all courses, this winter was brutal. Red Bridge is coming back strong. if you had a bad experience here, you are foolish to not give it another try. this is by far the best, most challenging layout in charlotte. it demands all the shots. play the course as it is and stop trying to compare one course to another. it will only get better as it matures. someone made a comment about hiring the right staff. don't speak of what you don't know. none of us have any idea of all the factors that go into managing a course from business to agronomy. golf is not like anyother business. they operate on very low margins and need a good amount of play to maintain viability. please keep your comments to your opinion of the round you played. anything outside of this makes you look stupid.
- 7/10/10, Review by tvrepairex - Course is in overall good condition.A couple greens have been resodded in places but it doesn't affect the putting much.The pin placements were fair, unlike a month ago when I played and the pin placements made some holes almost unplayable.There was a couple tee boxes that was in need of more grass and the traps need to be maintained a little better.
- 7/4/10, Review by snake - course has made tremendous strides in the last month. spoke to the assistant superintendent to comment on the improvement. he told me " not bad for a staff of 6" i was floored! i have wondered why i rarely saw maintenance staff while playing. i asked if i may speak with the superintendent. he mentioned that he was repairning an irrigation break and was not available. i've met a few supers. i can't picture any of the ones i met doing the actual work themselves. i usually get disturbed by 1 or 2 employees a round at other courses. it's no wonder i don't see them here. i have to say if they have six guys, they all need a raise. the job they are doing is fantastic. we would all do well to learn a little more about the inter-workings of the courses we play before we make some of the comments we do. i'll play here more often just out of respect for the amount of work these guys do to give us a place to play.
- 6/19/10, Review by malamute - great course nice layout greens on back 9 in bad shape course not as difficult as expected range is small and balls poor quality
- 6/5/10, Review by mattbeachum - Played Red Bridge several times since it's opening. Played from the tips for the second time last Saturday and, a bit of a fluke, shot a 78. When money gets tight, most courses skimp on taking care of their greens and spend every dime making their course "look pretty". Red Bridge has kept their greens immaculate. There are some spots that need some attention and only one pin location was placed a little too close to one of them. But overall, the pace of play was phenomenal, the staff in the clubhouse has an old school feel (even though it's still a mobile unit). Make sure your long clubs are working or #4, #10, and #13 might make you feel like a goober. And don't be intimidated by the 641 yard 18th. It's long but exremely wide. Enjoy!
- 6/2/10, Review by bgtsoil - the greens on the back nine need alot of work. They need to provide a map of the holes for the many blind shots. Otherwise the course held up very well during a series of thunderstorms. The staff is fantastic!!!!
- 5/7/10, Review by DrSchteeve - Played as a single, had a couple of rude groups that didn't even offer to let me play through. Course is in good shape. They have moved some of the tee boxes around to adjust for what were previously some ridiculous holes (#10 used to be a 220 yard carry over waste and #18 was a 620 yard hole, these from the WHITE tees?!?). Very friendly staff, good course, much better when you play it the second or third time, quite a few blind shots and tricked up greens that you need to know how to play to.
- 4/3/10, Review by TwinsDad - This is arguably the newest course in the metro area. It opened last July and still has some maturing to do. It has a nice practice green and a driving range right beside the first tee. The front nine is unconventional in that it has 3 Par 3's, 3 Par 5's and 2 Par 4's.
The greens are in good shape, but the fairways are still greening up, and will probably need another growing season to become fully mature. It is the type of course where you will lose a few strokes by not knowing the layout. If you are wild off the tee plan on losing some balls.
Staff was friendly and we saw the rangers and cart girl multiple times on the front and back nine. It has a temporary clubhouse currently, and there are only a handful of holes that have any houses on them.
It is worth the drive out to play and I will definitely play again. As long as they keep helping the course mature it will be a great place to play in coming years.
- 11/16/09 - Msg Board Posting
| Red Bridge |
Jamie |
I finally played Red Bridge Saturday 11/14. I had heard a lot about the course, so my buddies and I gave it a shot. A lot of comments posted on this board about the course are very accurate. We played from the tips - not advisable unless you are a low handicapper. I'm a 2, and I still shot 83. My brother and others friends are low to mid 80's golfers, and they both shot 92. Local knowledge is critical on this course, and if you have not played it before, you are at a big disadvantage. There are a lot of tight shots to fast, difficult greens, not to mention long forced carries, mainly because we were playing from the blues. There are also several blind shots that can catch you off guard. After 4 inches of rain, the course was very wet, and it likely played over 7000 yards in reality.
Overall a good layout, with an unusual variety of holes. I liked the uniqueness, but admittedly it is very difficult for the reasons I mentioned. There are several par 4's that would play like par 5's in these conditions for shorter hitters. There are also several areas staked as OB that make no sense, making some long par 4's that much more difficult. When I know the course better and it's dry, it will not be too bad, but I will have to bring my A game to shoot my handicap. |
- 11/1/09 - Update from Robert on 10/27: Played Red Bridge this past Sunday. It was a great experience. I had read that there were no yardage markers, but I had no trouble finding yardages on the sprinkler heads and 100, 150 & 200 markers in the middle of the fairways. The roughs were tough, but playable. You are supposed to be penalized for not landing on the fairway, but these were not like pro-tournament roughs. I am a 12 handicap and found the course challenging but fair. I remember every hole, no two were similar. This is the best golf course in the Charlotte area.
- 10/14/09 - Update from Steve: My 2nd time playing. One of my playing partners had the same comment I did the first time out - the course is "goofy". I, on the other hand, absolutely loved it this time around.
They have moved some teeboxes up, so that the distances are manageable instead of absurd. The greens have to be the toughest in Charlotte. Lots of mounds, lots of very tough pin placements, overall speed normal but with some downhill putts that are killers.
Bottom line is you have to have some course knowledge, but if you do this is a real thinker's course, and it requires every shot in your bag. Next time, I'll bring my GPS (assuming the course has been yardaged).
- 10/7/09 - Msg Board Posting
| Red Bridge |
Doug |
Played Red Bridge on Saturday (10/3). I'm into my second year of occasional golfing, so take my comments with a grain of salt. Nevertheless, I thought this course was far more difficult than it needed to be.
The fairways are narrow, most holes are surrounded by woods on either sides, plenty of elevation make for difficult shots (they don't have hole maps yet either), and there's thick stuff everywhere. The rough right off the fairway is always thick. Greens moved fast and there's no such thing as a straight putt on this course. The course caps off with a par 5 614 yards on the white tees.
I don't mind a challenge, but for an occasional golfer looking to have fun and score well...look elsewhere...or be prepared to lose plenty of balls. I suspect they'll eventually make s!
ome changes, but it's a monster right now.
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- 9/28/09 - Played in the Pickup18.com tourney here on Sunday. First, let me say, for anyone who enjoys a friendly competition where you have an honest chance to win a prize, you missed out. My partner and I took the Net top prize. We're both 11 handicaps and we won by a stroke. We also got a couple of skins on the side. Next time you are able, sign up to play on Pickup18.com. As for the course, I've played it 3 times now and the conditions have been better each time. The greens are now excellent and roll true and quick. I saw yardage markers in several fairways where they weren't there before. The beverage cart came around several times and there were no problems with pace of play (not enough play yet to be a problem). They have moved up the white tee on the long par 3 #7, but not on 18. So 18 is still a par 6 masquerading as a par 5 -- just brutal. Also, they won't be cutting the rough until this winter, so it's also brutal. Very easy to lose a ball. One last thing that bothers me is the mix of white (out of bounds) and red (hazard) stakes. It's very random. There are several holes where the OB stakes made no sense (#6, #9 and #18). They should either be red or not marked at all. In my opinion, OB should be reserved for personal property lines or roads, etc. The OB stakes made those holes much more penalizing for marginally off-line shots. So just know that for now, this course plays very difficult.
- 9/5/09 - Msg Board Posting
| Red Bridge |
J.D. |
Loved it. The course was extremely fun, very challenging and in fantastic conditions. In time, they'll need some yardage markers and some white/red/yellow stakes, but this is a great course.
One gripe -- there are far too many golfers at this course that have no business playing here...especially not from the more difficult tees. I witnessed at least 4 groups of golfers that could not come close to breaking 100 from the red tees...and they insisted on playing from the black and white. They slowed up play for everybody. Morons. |
- 8/31/09 - Msg Board Posting
| 2-Man Best Ball Tourney 9/27 at Red Bridge |
B-Man |
Rick Scherer, from PickUp18.com, is organizing a 2-Man Best Ball Tournament on Sunday, September 27th at 11am. The site is Red Bridge Golf & Country Club. Rick says "For anyone that hasn't played the course yet, it is awesome! I think everyone will enjoy the layout of this championship course. The course is new, but in fantastic shape."
The cost is $79 per person which includes lunch. The prizes are:
1st place Gross - $300 (team)
1st place Net - $250 (team)
Long Drive - $100
Closest to pin - $100
With Gross and Net Prizes, every handicap will have a chance to win! You can sign up for the tournament as a single player (You'll be teamed with another single of similar handicap) or as a team. Also, all prizes will be paid on Visa/American Express gift cards that can be used ANYWHERE! The gross winners will not be eligible for the net prize. There are only 10 team spots (20 players) for this first tournament. You can sign up for the tournament and pay the entry fee online here:
http://pickup18.com/#/tournament/4535378188
This is first come, first serve and you will not be registered until payment for at least one player on the team has been received.
Let me know if you plan to play. I will be competing and I'd like to meet some of you who enjoy the site and provide regular updates. |
- 8/17/09 - Msg Board Posting
| Red Bridge |
nicky helms |
| played 2 weeks ago for the first time..loved it.Shot 77 with a lost ball on #2 and was sort of pleased with the round.Most definitely will be back..... |
- 8/11/09 - Msg Board Posting
| Re: Red Bridge |
J.C. |
| I just played Red Bridge last week and I found that it was a hard course maybe unbearable by the lack of markers and even markers that I think were just way off in terms of yardage. I love a challenge and not being a scratch golfer means most courses offer me that, but to not have a reasonable marker set up or when you do to have the incorrect measurement is ridiculous. I would love someone to GPS map this course just to see how off their yardages are so until they get GPS I will not be back |
- 8/10/09 - Msg Board Posting
| Red Bridge |
Steven |
| I would have to say that this is one of the best new courses. I played the back tees and the carry on some of the par 4's play much farther than the yardage (I think they need someone to re-measure the course). I'm looking for some more people to play golf with. Any good sites out there? I saw a new site today and thinking about joining...pickup18.com...anyone join it yet? |
- 8/4/09 - Msg Board Posting
| Red Bridge |
Stephen |
I read some reviews on Redbridge and I have to agree. I am a scratch player and enjoyed certain aspects of the course. I play with a buddy who is a 4 handicap and 53 years old. There were multiple par 4's where the carry over trouble off the tee was 215 to 230 yards and he only barely made it a few times, others not so lucky. I like the 5 par 5's and 5 par 3's but the last hole is downright silly. I hit Driver, 6 iron, 8 iron, but my buddy hit driver, 3 wood, 2 hybrid (into the gulch) and wedge on. The greens are beautiful and it's nice to play a different surface than the traditional bent grass that's everywhere here.
So good luck and the 6700 yards from the black tees is misleading. It plays more like 7000 yards. |
- 7/19/09 - Msg Board Posting
| Re: Another opinion on Red Bridge |
Sean |
For a bogey golfer, there is a fine line between a challenging course and a ridiculously frustrating course. Redbridge is a ridiculously frustrating course.
We played on the first day that the back 9 was open.
Two of us normally shoot in the mid 90's and two usually shoot high 80's to low 90's. Our scores were 101, 102, 109, 112 (playing from the Whites).
My biggest problem with this course is that it doesn't give you any options. If you miss the fairway, you are in big big trouble. Most courses with tight fairways and lots of trouble seem to give you choices. There are plenty of times when I've played a par 4 or 5 hole and hit a 5 iron off the tee to be safe. But at Redbridge, many of the holes have water or other hazards that extend far enough out from the!
tee box, that you don't have the option of hitting a "safe" shot. And a 620 yard par 5 from the whites? Come on, that's just silly.
This is an incredibly gorgeous course and for very low handicappers, I think it would be a great challenge. But as an 18 HCP, I will NOT play this course again. Not unless I'm really in the mood for some self punishment. |
- 7/16/09 - Msg Board Posting
| Another opinion on Red Bridge |
B-Man |
Got this email a few days ago from Steven and thought I would share another opinion about this new course (see my review here):
"Played 7/12/09. Course is in great shape; the rough will need some taming. Needs significant tweaking unless it becomes truly private. My main word for the layout is: GOOFY. #10 has a long carry to a narrow and very sloped fairway. #18 is a 625 yard par 5 to a small green perched on a hill with a gorge in front of it (that is from the WHITE tees?!?). Lots of blind shots: if you were a member and knew the course well these might even be fun, but not for the casual occasional player. The gold tees play 5700, the white tees play 6400 - they need something in between. Overall not impressed and unlikely to go back." |
- 7/16/09 - Played this brand new course for the first time today. It just opened over the July 4th weekend and you can tell. The parking lot and many cart paths are still gravel. The clubhouse is a nice but temporary one. And there are hardly any houses or paved roads around the course right now. Which means it's all about the golf. I'll say the conditions of the fairways, rough and bunkers are pristine and lush. The rough is deep and tough, so watch your shots carefully. The virgin greens are solid (MiniVerde bermuda), but need to grow in so they can cut them shorter and make them smoother. For now, it's impossible to make a putt longer than 5 feet on purpose. Every putt is a bumpy, bouncy ride. You can't count on a putt holding its line. And the lips won't help putts drop either. The greens are about the only reason I'm not raving about this course. It is a fun, scenic and challenging layout that starts with a par 3 (!?!) and has 5 par 5's. That said, I do have a beef with two holes, the par 3 7th and the par 5 18th. The par 3 is 205 from the whites requiring a 175 yd carry just to get in the rough in front of the green. It's a full 190 carry onto the green. Impossible. Then you get to the 18th. It's 619 yards from the whites!!! So hit 2 great shots and you're still left with a 200 yd or so 3rd shot that is uphill over a hazard. Impossible. Looking at this hole in particular, there's no reason for the length -- they have plenty of room to move the tees up. So it makes no sense. One hole I thought was very cool was the short downhill par 4 17th. It takes a target tee shot and then a short approach over a hazard to a small green. I have a feeling people will love or hate this course. Right now I'll say I like it and think it could be a great one. One last note -- the course is not yet marked, other than the 200/150/100 plates in the middle of the fairway. No pictures on the scorecard either. So drive forward before your shot and gauge your distances carefully.
