Rod Whitman and I are heading out to Sagebrush with a group of friends for some golf this weekend. Having spent much time at creating the course, I'm really looking forward to teeing it up for the first time, there.
Will offer more upon my return, I imagine...
Well Jeff, I've given you a couple weeks but now I must bump this to see what you think of the place you helped create! What did you like? Any regrets now that you've seen the final result? Did you curse the little indentation in the 18th green? What were Rod's impressions overall?
Matt,
Rod and I, and our guests, had a great time at Sagebrush last weekend.
The weather was typical Nicola Valley; nearly perfect. And, the course played really fun. The ball was bouncin' and the greens were excellent. Golf course superintendent Norley Calder had the greens firm and fast, but not over the top. If you played your ball to the correct position, putting was reasonable. Playing out of position though almost always resulted in 3 or 4 putts! The slope and contour in the greens at Sagebrush is consistently, and purposefully, bold.
The ground is really a factor at Sagebrush. There are so many ways to play nearly every shot; and, so often, aiming directly at the flagstick isn't the best option. This is the course's greatest attribute. It's fun... but, I can certainly see staunch "card and pencil" types becoming easily frustrated. Sagebrush is definitely a better match-play course; which is what we had in mind from the outset.
I'm glad to see so many compliments on the bunkers, at this thread. These bunkers were a challenge to build because soil conditions are so poor. In many places, the soil is like powder. So, we'd cut a great looking bunker, only to watch rain and irrigation water melt beautiful edges away. As much as people like the look of the bunkers, I think they could be even better... and probably will get better as time goes on. (Frankly, I'd rake the bunkers more often, too. But this is Mr. Zokol's call.)
Due to elevation, slope, and firm fairways, I thought the course played shorter than the scorecard indicates as well, which is great. And, there's plenty of width throughout; there weren't too many lost balls amongst our group of average golfers.
The indentation in the 18th green is an interesting story: The current location of the green is location #3! We actually had a green built lower and slightly right of the current green. After some debate, we moved the green to its present location, making a fill over an irrigation valve (whoops!). The valve had to be dug up and removed. The pipe was capped. Unfortunately, this particular spot didn't compact properly, and sunk... resulting in the indentation. It'll be fixed though; no big deal.
The 18th hole was one of the most debated throughout construction. After playing the course a couple times, I think it's actually one of my favourites. I particularly enjoy the look of the hole from the tee; especially late in the day.
Overall, Rod's impressions are similar to mine. He's happy with the end result; and, I'm pleased to report that the club has exceeded expectations in its first year of operations. The course has been extremely well-received by golfers. We can't ask for more than that.