Scrap Iron
On The Eh Team
A short drive 20 minutes out side the city of Calgary in the foothills of Alberta lies a gem of a golf course that has twice hosted the LPGA Canadian Open. Priddis Greens is a 36 hole lay out hosting two 18 hole golf courses "The Raven" and "The Hawk", for this review I will be discussing The Raven.
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The Country Club is private and you must be a member or accompanied by a member. Prices for non members will vary from $89.00 for a twilight round up to $200 for a weekend round. As a family orientated club they offer a weekend rate for friends and family of $109 after 3:00pm on the weekend and with a late sunset that still leaves plenty of time to get in a full 18 holes. $200 is a steep price for a round of golf but with all the pricing options I will give it a grade of B.
The practice area is the best I have seen in this area. There is no price on balls and you are always well stocked by the helping staff who fill up the individual stalls. The driving range is well marked across all the stalls starting at 75 yards are marking all the way to 275 yards. The range reaches past the 275 yard marker and falls into dense trees at the 300 yard mark. Areas are cut out to simulate hitting into a green. Depending on the day the have the option of using high quality matts that resemble hitting out of 1 inch rough or a tight lie fairway or using natural grass.
Driving Range
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Two chipping areas are set up one is small and good to practice green side chips and the other is 35 yards and hosts a sand trap using the same sand and depth that is used throughout the 36 holes and two pins to shoot at one being on the front of the green and the other at the back of the green. Balls again are free and a nice touch is they are all in Ping den caddies.
Two putting areas are available to members and guests a large one consisting of 17 holes and a smaller one with 12 holes. The club is very meticulous about the care of the greens and are identical in speed and similar characteristics of what awaits you when you tee off.
As I made mention nothing in this area has this much area to practice and with this much care. Grade A.
The Raven course opens with a nice par 5 that if played smart will set your round off on a positive note and that is something that I really enjoyed. With 9 sets of tee boxes each player can find a distance they are comfortable with and have a challenging yet fair round of golf, however I found that when playing with a Jr a senior and a very short hitter were hitting off of 4 different tee boxes and that became a nascence and slowed down our group. Fairway bunkers are statigicaly placed around landing areas. They are just off the fairway and if your having a bad day getting off the tee it will make you think about laying back or trying to carry them. One thing I did appreciate is any really harsh dog legs had a bunker at the apex to catch your ball and not have you roll though the fairway.
While the fairways are generous and not many holes are extremely tight if you stray off of them the rough is thick and sticky and more often than not you will need to club up. If you venture off of the rough the entire course has thick forest and finding your ball can be a lost cause.
The fairways were cut tight and had no soft spots or burnt areas from the sun (keep your snow in September jokes to yourself). Each cart either driving or walking is equipped with a bottle of sand and seed to fill your divots and on some short par 4's the fairway has large beaver pelts littered all over the popular landing area's. Around the green the sand is light and white it is very easy to use your bounce and get the club under the ball and get ample amount of spin on the receptive greens. During my time playing it was posted that the greens were running an 11 on the stimp and with lots of undulation if you have a heavy hand you could easily end up 8 feet past the hole with a nasty comeback putt and caused many a 3 and 4 putts in my group. The large greens were true and had plenty of break in them. The course designer developed a large variety in the shapes of the greens and how you hit into them from large and round to hitting at an angle to a kidney shaped green. Many of the bunkers were placed to challenge the skilled golfer and bait him/her to hitting at a tucked pin where success could be greeted with a birdie and failure could get you a double bogey and waiting for the snack cart to make another trip around. This is the most immaculate course I have played and give it a solid grade of A.
Opening Par 5
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The unfortunate part of my round was the pace of play despite the amazing scenery. A University tournament was being conducted between 3 school on a Sunday afternoon. My round took close to 5 hours and no marshals were on the course in spite of the group ahead us was a hole and a half behind. A member in my foursome did call the clubhouse yet nothing was done to get them to speed up.
Approach shot on 10
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A large clubhouse was filled with friendly and helpful staff that guided you to the layout of where everything was located. A nice selection of clothing and accessories was on hand from shoes to clothing in both men's and women's. Along with a large variety of balls in all price categories. Clubs and putters were available to buy and look at inside but the real nice thing was the staff bags filled with the latest lines of the major OEM's at the driving range for anyone to try. The locker room was huge and storage is only available to members but it does have a drop off for shoe shinning. Multiple saunas are available the restrooms were spotless. The restruant and food was very underwhelming and pedestrian. Some food was burnt and steaks over cooked. It may have had a geourgous view but I would have rather just ate at the halfway house. If the food was cooked well I would easily give this a B but since it is very lack luster I will give it a C.
#11 Par 3
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Overall this is the best golf experience in the area. Staff and members are friendly. The course is a challenge for all levels and still maintains a family focus with a nice emphasis towards Jr golfers. If your able to golf on one of the special rates it's absolutely worth it but at $200 I would want a properly cooked steak and more watering stations and a larger focus on pace of play. The scenery course design and enjoyment are a solid A at the price I paid $109. This is a gem and really makes you realize that golf is a real pleasure in life.
The Country Club is private and you must be a member or accompanied by a member. Prices for non members will vary from $89.00 for a twilight round up to $200 for a weekend round. As a family orientated club they offer a weekend rate for friends and family of $109 after 3:00pm on the weekend and with a late sunset that still leaves plenty of time to get in a full 18 holes. $200 is a steep price for a round of golf but with all the pricing options I will give it a grade of B.
The practice area is the best I have seen in this area. There is no price on balls and you are always well stocked by the helping staff who fill up the individual stalls. The driving range is well marked across all the stalls starting at 75 yards are marking all the way to 275 yards. The range reaches past the 275 yard marker and falls into dense trees at the 300 yard mark. Areas are cut out to simulate hitting into a green. Depending on the day the have the option of using high quality matts that resemble hitting out of 1 inch rough or a tight lie fairway or using natural grass.
Driving Range
Two chipping areas are set up one is small and good to practice green side chips and the other is 35 yards and hosts a sand trap using the same sand and depth that is used throughout the 36 holes and two pins to shoot at one being on the front of the green and the other at the back of the green. Balls again are free and a nice touch is they are all in Ping den caddies.
Two putting areas are available to members and guests a large one consisting of 17 holes and a smaller one with 12 holes. The club is very meticulous about the care of the greens and are identical in speed and similar characteristics of what awaits you when you tee off.
As I made mention nothing in this area has this much area to practice and with this much care. Grade A.
The Raven course opens with a nice par 5 that if played smart will set your round off on a positive note and that is something that I really enjoyed. With 9 sets of tee boxes each player can find a distance they are comfortable with and have a challenging yet fair round of golf, however I found that when playing with a Jr a senior and a very short hitter were hitting off of 4 different tee boxes and that became a nascence and slowed down our group. Fairway bunkers are statigicaly placed around landing areas. They are just off the fairway and if your having a bad day getting off the tee it will make you think about laying back or trying to carry them. One thing I did appreciate is any really harsh dog legs had a bunker at the apex to catch your ball and not have you roll though the fairway.
While the fairways are generous and not many holes are extremely tight if you stray off of them the rough is thick and sticky and more often than not you will need to club up. If you venture off of the rough the entire course has thick forest and finding your ball can be a lost cause.
The fairways were cut tight and had no soft spots or burnt areas from the sun (keep your snow in September jokes to yourself). Each cart either driving or walking is equipped with a bottle of sand and seed to fill your divots and on some short par 4's the fairway has large beaver pelts littered all over the popular landing area's. Around the green the sand is light and white it is very easy to use your bounce and get the club under the ball and get ample amount of spin on the receptive greens. During my time playing it was posted that the greens were running an 11 on the stimp and with lots of undulation if you have a heavy hand you could easily end up 8 feet past the hole with a nasty comeback putt and caused many a 3 and 4 putts in my group. The large greens were true and had plenty of break in them. The course designer developed a large variety in the shapes of the greens and how you hit into them from large and round to hitting at an angle to a kidney shaped green. Many of the bunkers were placed to challenge the skilled golfer and bait him/her to hitting at a tucked pin where success could be greeted with a birdie and failure could get you a double bogey and waiting for the snack cart to make another trip around. This is the most immaculate course I have played and give it a solid grade of A.
Opening Par 5
The unfortunate part of my round was the pace of play despite the amazing scenery. A University tournament was being conducted between 3 school on a Sunday afternoon. My round took close to 5 hours and no marshals were on the course in spite of the group ahead us was a hole and a half behind. A member in my foursome did call the clubhouse yet nothing was done to get them to speed up.
Approach shot on 10
A large clubhouse was filled with friendly and helpful staff that guided you to the layout of where everything was located. A nice selection of clothing and accessories was on hand from shoes to clothing in both men's and women's. Along with a large variety of balls in all price categories. Clubs and putters were available to buy and look at inside but the real nice thing was the staff bags filled with the latest lines of the major OEM's at the driving range for anyone to try. The locker room was huge and storage is only available to members but it does have a drop off for shoe shinning. Multiple saunas are available the restrooms were spotless. The restruant and food was very underwhelming and pedestrian. Some food was burnt and steaks over cooked. It may have had a geourgous view but I would have rather just ate at the halfway house. If the food was cooked well I would easily give this a B but since it is very lack luster I will give it a C.
#11 Par 3
Overall this is the best golf experience in the area. Staff and members are friendly. The course is a challenge for all levels and still maintains a family focus with a nice emphasis towards Jr golfers. If your able to golf on one of the special rates it's absolutely worth it but at $200 I would want a properly cooked steak and more watering stations and a larger focus on pace of play. The scenery course design and enjoyment are a solid A at the price I paid $109. This is a gem and really makes you realize that golf is a real pleasure in life.
