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Matt Bosela

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Last week, I had the distinct pleasure of experiencing Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club in Quilchena, British Columbia.

Two-time PGA Tour winner Richard Zokol is the visionary behind this project and shares design credit with Rod Whitman and Armen Suny.  For those that don't know the story behind Sagebrush, there were two key moments that inspired him to create his own private golf and fly fishing getaway.

First, a trip to Redtail in Port Stanley, Ontario in 1994, the exclusive private club owned by Chris Goodwin and John Drake.  Zokol really enjoyed the whole experience at Redtail, specifically the low-key nature of the club and the camaraderie between friends over fine wine in the Redtail lounge after the round.

Shortly thereafter, Zokol was sitting in the clubhouse at Warwick Hills during the Buick Open, listening intently as Ben Crenshaw passionately discussed the new project he was working on with Bill Coore in Nebraska.  Of course, Crenshaw was talking about Sand Hills GC and that was the moment that Zokol became inspired with the concept of minimalism in design.

It took another eight years before Zokol’s dream started coming to fruition, as he started his partnership with Terry Donald in 2002 and that started the journey to getting Sagebrush off the ground.  The club purchased 400 acres of land on the 100,000-acre Quilchena Cattle Ranch just off Nicola Lake, about an hour south of Kamloops.  It opened late last year for limited play and the full course finally opened in 2009.

I made the two and a half hour drive from Vernon, going through Kamloops down highway 5A.  The vision of the club on the hillside in the distance, with Nicola Lake in the foreground, is just stunning and really sets the tone for the experience.

Sagebrush Entrance –





You park your car in the modestly-sized parking lot, strap your own clubs into one of the carts that are sitting there and head up the road to the golf shop, which is housed in one of the two Yurts on the property.  

I met Mr. Zokol there and he gave a few of us a quick orientation of the property and the course itself while on the point where the lodging will be built.  Construction on the lodging starts in early 2010 and will be able to accommodate around 30 members and their guests.

Future Lodge Location –



Richard ended up giving me a bit of a tour of the property afterwards in his truck before getting our clubs and heading out on the course.  

Before going into detail on each of the holes, I think it’s important to talk about the intended playing conditions at Sagebrush.  Zokol and company wanted to build the first minimalist ‘links-style’ course in Canada and one of the reasons for locating the club in the Nicola Valley was due to the natural dry climate in the region.  Very fast and firm fairways would be a prerequisite and at 2200 feet above sea level, the course plays substantially faster and shorter than courses of a similar length.  As such, Sagebrush is meant to be explored through the ground game by design.

This is golf on a very grand scale, with wide fairway corridors and at times, extremely large green surfaces which range from 4500 sq.ft. to over 20,000 sq.ft.  Wind is a huge factor out here and the wide fairways are an important part of the playability of the course.

Like Ballyneal, there are no specific tee markers at Sagebrush.  It’s meant to be a match play course and the player with the honour gets to select where the group tees off.  There are up to four or five tee decks per hole and one of the things Richard was most proud of was how beginner-friendly Sagebrush was built to be, with almost every hole having a tee deck on a flat area of the fairway for novices, thereby eliminating the forced carry.

There are rocks placed at the 150 yard mark to the middle of each green but those are the only markers on the whole course.  A yardage guide was in the printing stage when I played so that will help but this is a golf course where you need many rounds under your belt before truly understanding how far or high to hit the shot.  Richard mentioned on more than one occasion that it took him about twenty rounds to really understand how to play the bumps and knolls at St. Andrews and he feels that Sagebrush requires the same amount of attention before becoming an expert.

I had the great fortune of playing an entire round with Mr. Zokol himself.  His passion for the club, the course and his vision for the finished product really rubbed off on me.  I think the course itself is tremendous and it was just awarded the best new course in Canada for 2009 by ScoreGolf Magazine.

I played about 19 holes with Richard then went around again on my own to hit some more fun shots and take photographs, many of which you will see here.  I intend to go through the course on a hole-by-hole basis to allow for some discussion, as I truly think there is something special here.  There are at least two GCA’ers who were heavily involved in the course construction and design: Jeff Mingay was in charge of overseeing construction and Philippe Binette was instrumental in shaping the golf course.  I’m hoping to get some of their input within this thread and hope that they will correct anything I say here that might not be factual.  Mr. Zokol himself occasionally lurks on this site and I’m hoping he will email me if there is anything he’d like to add as the conversation progresses.

1st Hole: Par Five – 508 yards (Championship Tee)

A relatively short par five designed to gently ease the player into the round.  It is uphill all the way, however, so it definitely plays much longer than the scorecard indicates.  From the back tee, you need to hit your shot over the left corner of the cross bunker, which is about a 225 yard carry.  It’s a much shorter carry from the other tee decks.

View from the Back Tee



View from just in front of the fairway



There is a bit of room left of the cross bunker but you have a semi-blind second shot where you have to hit over the sagebrush and more fairway bunkers if you’re looking to hit the green in two.

View from left side of fairway



View from middle of fairway



You get a good view of the bunkering right away on the first hole: rugged and wild, with islands of fescue grasses ready to gobble wayward shots.  Richard told me how excited he got when he was able to persuade his fellow collaborators into keeping the fescue islands.

View of the left fairway bunker



The layup is no bargain, with a deep bunker sitting about 100 yards from the green.  You can see the huge false front and the very deep greenside bunker on the right side in the picture below.

View from approach area



It’s an enormous green, something you don’t really appreciate until getting there, as much of the green is hidden from view down below.  There is a punchbowl effect at the back of the green, as balls hit long right will come right back toward the middle of the green.  This is an intentional design feature and one that is prevalent throughout the golf course.  

View from behind the hole looking back to tee



A fun opener with enough width to allow most players a birdie chance if they play the hole well and it is a great introduction to what is in store the rest of the day.

More to come!
« Last Edit: August 05, 2010, 11:12:24 PM by Matt Bosela »

Peter Ferlicca

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Re: The Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club Experience (1st Hole Posted)
« Reply #1 on: August 24, 2009, 02:42:20 PM »
WOW, that is all I can say is WOW.  That looks amazing.  I can't wait to see more pics of the golf course

Carl Nichols

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Re: The Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club Experience (1st Hole Posted)
« Reply #2 on: August 24, 2009, 03:24:45 PM »
Matt:
Looking forward to seeing the rest of the pics.  Perhaps use smaller images so we don't have to scroll left and right to see everything?

Matt Bosela

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Re: The Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club Experience (1st Hole Posted)
« Reply #3 on: August 24, 2009, 03:29:12 PM »
Matt:
Looking forward to seeing the rest of the pics.  Perhaps use smaller images so we don't have to scroll left and right to see everything?

Can do!

EDIT: Pictures have been reformatted for this forum.
« Last Edit: August 24, 2009, 04:04:01 PM by Matt Bosela »

Matt Bosela

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Re: The Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club Experience (2nd Hole Posted)
« Reply #4 on: August 24, 2009, 04:13:04 PM »
2nd Hole: Par Four – 454 Yards (Championship Tee)

A long par four that plays considerably shorter than the yardage on the card, as the fairway slopes downhill and left to right.  Tee shots played toward the tall tree through the fairway or slightly to the right of it will work best, catching the slope and shortening the approach shot.  

View from back tee



Big hitters can try to gamble and aim down the right hand side, as the hole does swing slightly in that direction and there is a bit of a slope that will kick balls off to the left, as you can see in the picture below from the landing area.

View from landing area



The approach shot should be played a bit left of the green and you can use much less club than you normally would with that distance, as a low, running approach will bounce off the hillside (yes, even out of the sagebrush) and kick down toward the green.  Shots missed even slightly to the right will likely be swallowed by the huge front right bunker.

View from approach shot



The green slopes considerably from left to right and features many cool bumps and undulations, as you can see below.

View from in front of green



View from behind green looking back up fairway



Just a lovely hole with Nicola Lake in the background and one that can play reasonably short in the morning when the conditions are calm or one that can be an absolute bear when the tradewind blows in your face.

« Last Edit: August 24, 2009, 04:46:18 PM by Matt Bosela »

Matt Bosela

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Re: The Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club Experience (3rd Hole Now Posted)
« Reply #5 on: August 24, 2009, 04:39:33 PM »
3rd Hole: Par Four – 416 Yards (Championship Tee)

An absolutely gorgeous mid-length two shotter that swings dramatically from right to left off the tee.  The play off the tee is slightly left of the fairway bunker on the far right, as the fairway slopes considerably from right to left.  Longer hitters can try to challenge the carry bunker on the left side, perhaps aiming a little right of the pot bunker in the distance.

View from back tee



View from the member’s tee



The hole traditionally plays downwind and actually functions as a short par four.  Richard told me to ‘really give it a rip’ here and I hit a high draw that kept bouncing and rolling until it finally came to a stop about 30 yards short of the green.  And yes, we were playing the back deck!  380+ yards?  Needless to say, you couldn’t wipe the smile off my face after that one!

The carry bunker on the left is absolutely huge – if I’m not mistaken, this may have been the first hole they worked on at Sagebrush and when Jeff and Philippe were working on this bunker, Richard kept saying “BIGGER!  DEEPER!” – he really wanted to take this one as close to the edge as possible.

View from approach area



If you avoid the trouble, including the little centerline pot bunker, you’ll have a short second and perhaps even just a pitch shot into a green that slopes sharply from right to left and back to front.  The ground game works very well on this hole but I certainly found it very tough to get it close to the front pin position from in close.

View from left greenside bunker



View from behind green looking back toward tee



Like many great short par fours (the hole plays only 278 yards from the front deck), you can elect to layup off the tee or you can challenge the hole with driver, bringing trouble into play.  This was one of my favourite holes on the course and the backdrop here is just unbelievably beautiful.

« Last Edit: August 24, 2009, 04:46:45 PM by Matt Bosela »

Jeff_Mingay

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Re: The Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club Experience (3rd Hole Now Posted)
« Reply #6 on: August 24, 2009, 05:09:00 PM »
Matt,

Very cool review, and photos thus far. I look forward to more, and will chime in where I see fit.

You're doing such a good job, I don't have anything to add at the moment  ;D
jeffmingay.com

Carl Nichols

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Re: The Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club Experience (3rd Hole Now Posted)
« Reply #7 on: August 24, 2009, 05:14:32 PM »
Those pictures of the 2nd green are stunning!

George Freeman

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Re: The Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club Experience (3rd Hole Now Posted)
« Reply #8 on: August 24, 2009, 10:55:19 PM »
unbelievable!  the course looks AWESOME!  Congrats to everyone involved...I'm drooling in anticipation for the rest of the thread to unfold.

I'm really surprised this hasn't stirred up more responses!
Mayhugh is my hero!!

"I love creating great golf courses.  I love shaping earth...it's a canvas." - Donald J. Trump

Ben Sims

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Re: The Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club Experience (3rd Hole Now Posted)
« Reply #9 on: August 24, 2009, 11:03:32 PM »
The nouveau western golf links continue.  What a look, what a movement.  Big scale, options, ground game, wide open vistas and spaces.   It's like Manifest Destiny for golf courses.  I think I've got an idea for my first book....

Tiger_Bernhardt

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Re: The Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club Experience (3rd Hole Now Posted)
« Reply #10 on: August 24, 2009, 11:12:41 PM »
Thanks for the pictures and introduction to the project. I am sure I can say for GCA that we hope the Gods of good fortune are with this project and it goes well. One does not need to promote on here. Most of the treehouse will see through promotion talk.

Rob Rigg

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Re: The Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club Experience (3rd Hole Now Posted)
« Reply #11 on: August 25, 2009, 01:31:32 AM »
I visited Kamloops for a hockey tournament many moons ago and thought that the Okanagan was a spectacular area with a great climate for golf (and living!).

Looks like the team has totally killed it with Sagebrush - seeing a course like this in BC, with that high desert vibe, makes me want to drive up from Oregon stat.

Congrats to all involved - more pictures please!

I am worried by the cart in one of the pictures - please tell me it is walking friendly despite the undulating terrain . . .

K. Krahenbuhl

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Re: The Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club Experience (3rd Hole Now Posted)
« Reply #12 on: August 25, 2009, 03:21:22 AM »
Beautiful photos.  The 2nd hole looks like a blast to play.

Philippe Binette

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Re: The Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club Experience (3rd Hole Now Posted)
« Reply #13 on: August 25, 2009, 04:00:39 AM »
Nice pics, keep going...

surprise to see the yardages: 508 for the first hole from the back ????, never thougth that... of course being really uphill.
I haven't seen anybody shooting yardages during construction there.

I don't know if you've seen the course in windy or non-windy conditions. In 2007, the conditions were really steady: sunny, calm until 2pm and then at 2pm a 35 km/h wind would kick in... we were joking that there should have 2 course record for the course, the one for those finishing the round before 2pm and the one for those strating after 2pm.

If the trade wind stayed the same:
first hole: wind from right to left
second hole: into the wind
third hole: downwind
fourth hole: left to right
fifth hole: into the wind
six, seven, eight, nine: downwind but changing angle from hole to hole
ten, eleven, twelve: right to left
thirteen, fourteen: left to right
fifteen: into the wind,
sixteen: downwind
seventeen and eigtheen: into the wind.

The course is almost walkable (but a severe walk it would be), the climb between 8 and 9 and between 11 and 12 makes it a real hard task though

Just a note, those bunkers are built... you can't just dig a hole and find sand there, for some reason it's called the rocky mountains

Matt Bosela

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Re: The Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club Experience (3rd Hole Now Posted)
« Reply #14 on: August 25, 2009, 09:27:05 AM »
Nice pics, keep going...

surprise to see the yardages: 508 for the first hole from the back ????, never thougth that... of course being really uphill.
I haven't seen anybody shooting yardages during construction there.

I don't know if you've seen the course in windy or non-windy conditions. In 2007, the conditions were really steady: sunny, calm until 2pm and then at 2pm a 35 km/h wind would kick in... we were joking that there should have 2 course record for the course, the one for those finishing the round before 2pm and the one for those strating after 2pm.

If the trade wind stayed the same:
first hole: wind from right to left
second hole: into the wind
third hole: downwind
fourth hole: left to right
fifth hole: into the wind
six, seven, eight, nine: downwind but changing angle from hole to hole
ten, eleven, twelve: right to left
thirteen, fourteen: left to right
fifteen: into the wind,
sixteen: downwind
seventeen and eigtheen: into the wind.

The course is almost walkable (but a severe walk it would be), the climb between 8 and 9 and between 11 and 12 makes it a real hard task though

Just a note, those bunkers are built... you can't just dig a hole and find sand there, for some reason it's called the rocky mountains

Philippe,

I spent the whole day at the course so I saw the calm, early morning conditions then had to deal with the strong tradewinds in the mid to late afternoon.  I have a good picture of the long par three sixth that will show how windy it was. :)   As you said, it makes for an entirely different course in the wind.  Your description of the tradewinds on each hole is right on the money.

There aren't yardages on the scorecard but there is a handy yardage sheet that is on every cart.  The 1st hole is 508 from the middle of the tee deck and it likely can stretch out to about 530+ yards or so if you play from the back of the deck and if the hole is cut in back.  The hole plays only 448 yards from the member tee and 402 from the front tee.

From what Richard told me, everyone involved wanted this course to be walkable but as Philippe indicates, there are a couple really long green to tee drives up the hillside that make it difficult.

Matt Bosela

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Re: The Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club Experience (4th Hole Now Posted)
« Reply #15 on: August 25, 2009, 10:24:50 AM »
4th Hole: Par Three – 210 Yards (Championship Tee)

A downhill par three that plays much shorter than the yardage on the card.  The tradewinds whip from left to right here and the fairway short of the green also runs from left to right.  Richard wanted to hit a low stinger here toward the left edge of the green in order to get the kick off to the right but he pulled his slightly and ended up in the greenside bunker.  I took the aerial approach and flew it on the green.  Options even on the par threes!

View from back tee





It certainly qualifies as one of the prettier spots on the course, with Nicola Lake in the background.

View from in front of green



In the picture below, you can see one of the two Yurts on the property up on the hillside.  That is currently functioning as the golf shop and sits right alongside the piece of property where the lodge will be erected in 2010.

View from left side of green



View from behind green looking back toward tee



You can see just how far this hole plays downhill and how well the ground game works from the tee.


Jason McNamara

Re: The Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club Experience (4th Hole Now Posted)
« Reply #16 on: August 25, 2009, 11:43:55 AM »
Looks like the 2nd is going to a barrel of fun if you miss your drive.

ps.  Odd to see "trade winds" used at 50 degrees latitude.   :)

Matt Bosela

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Re: The Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club Experience (5th Hole Now Posted)
« Reply #17 on: August 25, 2009, 12:27:02 PM »
5th Hole: Par Four – 430 Yards (Championship Tee)

Another risk/reward type of tee shot, similar to the third hole only this time you have a dogleg right and the wind in your face.  The more you cut off the dogleg, the longer the shot needs to carry.  The ideal shot is aimed at the 150 yard rock through the fairway.  You can see the green sitting at the bottom right hand side of the photo below.

View from back tee



The approach is similar to that on the second hole but even more pronounced, as you can land the ball up to forty yards short and left and the ball with still likely tumble down toward the green.  I had about 220 yards in for my second shot after hitting well left off the tee – Richard wanted me to hit a 170 yard stinger so I punched a six-iron that landed well short and left but 15 seconds later, we saw the ball rolling toward the cup, stopping about 15 feet away.  Tremendous fun!

View from approach area





Approach shots that get a bit frisky can roll through the green right down a large slope, leaving a tremendously difficult pitch shot back up the hill.  The front right bunker, shown below, also gobbles up a lot of balls.

View from in front of green



View from behind green looking back toward tee



Yet another great hole where the ground game is embraced.  The approach is similar in some respects to the second hole but the tee shot here is much more intimidating, which offsets the fact that the green is a bit more receptive than the severely sloped second.


Ulrich Mayring

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Re: The Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club Experience (4th Hole Now Posted)
« Reply #18 on: August 25, 2009, 12:32:43 PM »
Quote
there are a couple really long green to tee drives up the hillside that make it difficult

That kills the whole experience. Scaling a hill while playing a golf hole is fine, if it is a good hole. But lugging the bag up a cart path is zero fun. Never mind if you can do it fitness-wise, but for me it just spoils the whole experience, especially if others in the group are riding.

We have a spectacular course like that here as well, which is affiliated with my home course, so I can play there for free. But I rarely go there, despite the great architecture: it is no fun at all to walk.

Ulrich
Golf Course Exposé (300+ courses reviewed), Golf CV (how I keep track of 'em)

Rob Rigg

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Re: The Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club Experience (4th Hole Now Posted)
« Reply #19 on: August 25, 2009, 01:36:35 PM »
Quote
there are a couple really long green to tee drives up the hillside that make it difficult

That kills the whole experience. Scaling a hill while playing a golf hole is fine, if it is a good hole. But lugging the bag up a cart path is zero fun. Never mind if you can do it fitness-wise, but for me it just spoils the whole experience, especially if others in the group are riding.

We have a spectacular course like that here as well, which is affiliated with my home course, so I can play there for free. But I rarely go there, despite the great architecture: it is no fun at all to walk.

Ulrich

I agree with Ulrich - that is really sad that the course sounds like an extremely challenging walk with steep green to tee transfers.

It sounded like Mr Zokol had wanted to create a "pure" golfing experience in the vain of BN and SH - so the cart golf aspect is rather unfortunate. I know that the terrain sometimes dictates cart golf regardless of the developer's desires. But is it still a shame.

Walking is what makes courses like Bandon, BN and SH as special as they are because you see the entire course at a pace that allows you to take it all in. I guess one could hitch a ride between greens and tees where necessary and just walk the holes.

Matt Bosela

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Re: The Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club Experience (6th Hole Now Posted)
« Reply #20 on: August 25, 2009, 04:02:56 PM »
6th Hole: Par Three – 264 Yards (Championship Tee)

A very long par three that plays decidedly shorter than the scorecard yardage due to the tradewind at your back.  The play here is to aim for the right side of the green or even a bit further, as the fairway and the hillside both slope right to left and toward the green.

View from back tee



I hit a 4-iron from the back deck (!) with the winds whipping from behind and I pushed it about 10 yards further right than I wanted.

As it was in the air, Richard told me to grab another ball and hit again, thinking it might get stuck in the sagebrush.  I turned to my bag, grabbed a ball and then heard laughter from the group, as my ball just then trickled onto the front of the very large green.  Again, even the sagebrush is forgiving at times out here.  Richard knocked his 2-iron to about 6 feet…easy hole! ;)

View from side of green



Philippe mentioned earlier how fierce the winds can be in the mid-to-late afternoon and you can definitely see the effects in the photograph below.

View from green



View from behind green looking back toward tee



In the picture shown above, you can see how the hillside will take balls back toward the green and the open front allows the player the opportunity to run the ball in to the green.  You don’t often think of long par threes being fun but this one certainly qualified for me.  The hole does play much shorter from the member tees (184 yards) and the front tees (132 yards).


Ian Andrew

Re: The Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club Experience (6th Hole Now Posted)
« Reply #21 on: August 25, 2009, 04:34:48 PM »
Jeff or Matt,

I like a lot of what I see.

A couple of questions:

Is the property as severe as it seems even from the photos?
Does it soften later in the round?

Ian
« Last Edit: August 25, 2009, 04:43:34 PM by Ian Andrew »

Jeff_Mingay

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Re: The Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club Experience (6th Hole Now Posted)
« Reply #22 on: August 25, 2009, 05:05:13 PM »
Ian,

Interesting question.

This probably isn't a very illustrative answer, but the "severity" of the property at Sagebrush is subjective. Playing from tee to green, most holes aren't really that severe. Some of the transitions between holes though are a tad severe relative to our "ideal golf course". 

Based on what you're seeing in the photos posted thus far, I wouldn't say the property "softens"; no.
jeffmingay.com

Emil Weber

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Re: The Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club Experience (6th Hole Now Posted)
« Reply #23 on: August 26, 2009, 06:49:26 AM »
That looks wonderful., Thanks for the photos, Matt, you must have had a great day.

Is the 4th green bulit up severely?
How minimalist is the course in general? The site is beautiful and spectacular, but looks a bit too severe in places

Philippe Binette

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Re: The Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club Experience (6th Hole Now Posted)
« Reply #24 on: August 26, 2009, 07:39:47 AM »
Ian:

come on Jeff, if we could see the course compare to flat land, it is a severe property (120 meters of elevation change)... even the flattish holes have 40 feet of elevation change....

but

the key is the routing:

outside of 1 (uphill) and 4,13 (downhill) the course plays sort of around the mountain, remarkable on the strecth 6,7,8,9,10,11 where you go from the western tip (6th tee) of the course to the eastern tip (11th green) of the course climbing probably 60 meters along the way while playing uphill, downhill and sidehill shot along the way.

is it a severe site yes, but it's not a flat, canyon, flat, canyon as seen on many course in that part of BC... outside of 1, there's no hard hole to walk out there, just the transitions makes it hard to walk

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