B-Man’s Review of Red Bridge Golf & Country Club on 7/7/12

Red Bridge Golf & Country Club

Date: 7/7/12 Sat Afternoon
Overall Rating:

"Great course"
Conditions: Good - normal wear/tear
Pace: 3 1/2 Hours
Cost: $39
Username: B-Man
Profile: Golf Addict (more than once a week)
Handicap: 6
Today's Score: 88
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I finally got back to Red Bridge after almost 2 years. Other than the routing changes on the front 9, not much has changed — and that is good and bad. The good is that the course is still very well maintained. The mini-verde greens are in fine shape, as well as the fairways and most tee boxes. There were a few holes where the white tees were up or back (mostly up). I missed all the bunkers so I didn’t notice any issues there. Also good was the new routing — the 412 yard par 4 is a much more logical starting hole than the old one, the 129 yard par 3.

On the flip side, however… I was disappointed to see the course is still not well marked. All you get on most holes is the 50 yard markers. There are plenty of sprinklers but 90% of them don’t have a yardage. There’s also little information on the tees about carry and hazard distances. So if you don’t play here often, you can get into trouble with what you think is a good shot (happened to me on #8). I would think by now they would have yardage markers, pictures of the hole on the cart or the tee boxes, some kind of help.

While the greens were immaculate in condition, I am not a big fan of the mini-verde grass. There is such a dramatic difference in speed and break on any kind of slope — very slow uphill and almost unstoppable downhill. With several of the greens severely sloped, there are many unfair places to put the pins and I ran into a few today (front on #5, front on #10, and front on #16).

I was also not pleased with the pace of play. I was a single and took 3.5 hours (most places I get around in 2.5 to 3). When I called to check before coming (~3:00), the guy had me make a tee time (for 3:44), took my name and phone number (?), and told me they were clear for 30 minutes around my tee time. Shortly after I got there (3:30), though, not one, but two twosomes somehow get in front of me (never saw them check in). The first was gracious to let me tee off #1 ahead of them, no problem. I caught up to the second group on #3, said hello, but received no offer to play through. I was not in a big hurry so I took my time and played behind them the rest of the front 9. At #9, I hit the clubhouse for some water and when I get to #10 tee, another (!) twosome has jumped in front of me. Why would the clubhouse let them start on #10, with a single on #9? So I played the whole back 9 trailing these 2 twosomes in 95+ temps. Not fun.

Overall, I still enjoy the uniqueness of the layout and find it challenging yet rewarding. I just think it is still a little rough around the edges.