Blue Ridge Shadows
I guess that’s why all the times were filled when I went looking for somewhere to play.
Good luck! Happy to provide any insights I can.
Good luck! Happy to provide any insights I can.
- Thread starter
- #3
Any course knowledge or insights are very much welcomed!
Is elevation change nuts? Is the rough bad? Any tips on certain holes? Is the water as in play as it looks on the back 9?
#1 is a dogleg left. In front of the tees is a deep ravine with your landing area roughly at the same elevation as the tee boxes.
The red line represents a ridge. At that point the fairway slopes steeply down to the green (roughly 40ft drop). If you can catch that ridge you’ll get plenty of roll but will probably have a wedge with downhill lie.
Miss right and you’re either by the cart path or atop a small hill with a good look at the green. Left is bad.
#2 is a straightforward par 4. Tee boxes face an uphill fairway but it’s open. Second shot will be uphill to a relatively flat green.
#3 is downhill par 3, fairly open, long but wind should be helping. Par is good here.
#4 is a par 5. Tee shot is uphill to the dogleg right. It’s not an exaggeration to say right is death - it’s a deep ravine and a miss here will be a red stakes drop. Stay right of the bunkers and you should have a good chance to score.
#9 coming back the other way requires an accurate tee shot. Death again right and there is left OB. If you can carry the right edge of the bunker on the left you should catch a slope for some extra roll. Slight downhill approach to a big green.
The pictures on the BRS website are kinda lame, but here is #5 from the area of the blue and black tees. Again, death awaits for wayward right shots.
Man, this course isn’t going to make it easy. Will make victory even sweeter!
Go out, and play the most boringly normal, no surprises round of golf, that you have ever played!
6 runs along a small ridge. It’s a pretty open tee shot and carrying the bunker complex on the right should get you some extra roll. There is OB along the line of backyards right. The fairway slopes a bit left. Just below the red 7 on the left edge is a sort of funnel to a natural low point, a ball here will run down to about 25’ below the fairway.
7 coming back has elevated tee boxes to a flat(ish) landing area. The natural funnel continues across to the right side where it drops steeply again. It’s an uphill approach (50 feet or so from the bottom of the fairway) to a long but narrow green. Absolutely nothing wrong with par here.
8 isn’t pictured well, (the back tees are just above the white 271 tag) but it’s probably the best par 4 scoring hole on the front. Relatively flat and open with a big green that does have some subtle undulations.
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This is behind #10 green. 10 is and interesting par 3 in that the closer the tee box, the more uphill the shot. The green sits atop a hill with a deep ravine in front. There’s a drop area if you fail to carry. Big green slopes back left to front right.
11 isn’t pictured but it’s a tight driving hole doglegging left. Trees and a hill left and a waste area plus bunker right. 11 plays to a large green shared with 13. The tee boxes are elevated on the hill with about 60’ of drop to the fairway.
- Thread starter
- #11
That’s the plan. Keep the ball in play and avoid the water.
You drive uphill to reach the 12 tees. It’s a flat shot to a big green (pay attention to pin placement for club selection). Usually plays into the wind. Left is a safe bailout.
The back tees for 13 are by the pond guarding 12. The fairway is designed to funnel shots back down the hill to its half of the shared green. You’ll likely have a downhill lie for your approach. Rough on the right is shaggy but you should be able to find misses there. Left is the bad miss here.
The back tees for 13 are by the pond guarding 12. The fairway is designed to funnel shots back down the hill to its half of the shared green. You’ll likely have a downhill lie for your approach. Rough on the right is shaggy but you should be able to find misses there. Left is the bad miss here.
14 is a risk/reward par 5. Your eyes will draw you to the left of the bunker for your tee shot. It’s safe but too long and you might get wet. It you can hit the green circled area you should have a shot at the green. The trees are still budding so everything should be visible from here. Carry the creek and at worst it’s a short pitch for your 3rd, otherwise lay up fairly well left of the bunker to give the best angle in.
You’ll go back uphill to beside the clubhouse for the 15 tees. Prevailing wind is usually at your back but accuracy is key here as your landing area is quickly narrowed by the right pond and left creek. Even with wind expect a long approach to a wide, narrow green with a false front and center ridge that funnels balls left or right.
#16 is probably a 3 shot hole unless you can put your tee shot at the end of the first fairway. Left is bad and right is wet (I have hit both the hotel left and pond right
). 16 has a Biarritz green. It will be visible on the right as you drive into the course so make a mental note of its location. (1 green is visible left, also.)17 and 18 have the potential for scoring with good tee shots. Left miss is okay on 17. Left and right miss are okay on 18 with the left miss giving a better angle. Just make sure to carry the creek with your second.
To answer your questions here:Any course knowledge or insights are very much welcomed!
Is elevation change nuts? Is the rough bad? Any tips on certain holes? Is the water as in play as it looks on the back 9?
Rough is typically playable, but it’s been cool and wet so the grass is thick. It will depend on how close they have it cut. Waste areas used to be left long but they have been cutting them to help speed play. You should be able to find your ball here but expect to have to chunk it out.
Elevation changes: yes, many. From gentle to dramatic. Club choice will matter. Back 9 water is definitely in play everywhere you see it.
Saturday looks to be a nice day up this way. BRS is quite playable if you keep your ball in front, but gets challenging quickly if you get out of position.
Fairways and greens!
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- Thread starter
- #18
Heartbreaker. I drove it great all day and ended up in the rough everytime I hit the fairway but I just grinded everytime from some weird bounce. The asst director even came to help search one ball because we saw it land on the left side of the fairway. Somehow the ball ended up in the right rough
. I did get birdie somehow and nearly got an eagle from that lie. On the 18th hole I had 150 to the pin. I hit the 8 iron the best all day and it all over the pin and then suddenly a gust kicked up and stone walked right over the rocks and dropped it back in the water. I lost by one stroke. It was the worst drive back ever. I thought I just hit the tournament winning shot (Par would have done it but this was gonna be a birdie putt inside 10 ft. My group was even like oh that’s money.). My group you could tell wanted to say something but realized nothing would help. I led for like 15 holes after a slow start (I had a lost ball on 1 when I over shot the green in that field to the right.)(Also a group picked my ball up on the back 9. Another group told me and suddenly the group came back with the ball. WTH.)
Hoping that it stings a little less this morning, although I suspect it doesn’t. It sounds like you had your A game with you though. And how the heck does anyone pick up a stray ball during a tournament?Heartbreaker. I drove it great all day and ended up in the rough everytime I hit the fairway but I just grinded everytime from some weird bounce. The asst director even came to help search one ball because we saw it land on the left side of the fairway. Somehow the ball ended up in the right rough
(Also a group picked my ball up on the back 9. Another group told me and suddenly the group came back with the ball. WTH.)
Was the course in good shape? Were you playing from the tips?
I was going to ask this too! What is wrong with people.
- Thread starter
- #22
It doesn’t lol. It’s gonna sting for awhile. So many terrible breaks that I kept overcoming and couldn’t overcoming the last one. As far as the ball thing I have NO IDEA. A group told me my ball was picked up and I’m like what?! They go yeah it was right here. Suddenly a group comes racing back and asked if I had a ball with a S on it? I’m like yeah cuz that’s my ball. I had to go back to my group to tell them so I could take a drop with no penalty. My group was just like WTH are you all doing touching a ball in a tour event? The rough on the two holes are shared (I think it was 11 maybe? The course was in great shape. We played Alittle in front of the tips. The tour has its own tee markers it uses.
Mind boggling tbh. It’s a shared hole as far as rough and my ball is clearly marked uniquely. Should be a disqualification.