The trees I spoke about regarding the 18th -- they were only in play when you played the tip tees. From the other tee positions that would not be the case.
The issue boils down to forcing in holes on a tough piece of property and that's especially the case when you get to the early holes on the back nine -- the stretch between #10 and #13.
Matt,
They are geeeeeetting there.
Due to family logistics and traffic, I played Pound Ridge yesterday for the second time as it is 12 minutes from our house.
1. Someone said here that the 18th tree was lost in a storm, but it looked like they cut the left branches to me.
2. I actually like the 11th hole even though it is visual overkill -
http://www.poundridgegolf.com/course/hole-11 You are correct that all four 10-13 holes are squeezed and it kind of starts off the backside on a tough stretch. I lost 3 balls on #13
and decided to "walk it off".
I think the front side is actually pretty good. I like 16 and 17 on the backside along with 11. The rest on the back are just toooo much Pete Dye do or die for me on a daily basis.
The disparity between 6700 and 6300 tees is striking. I was playing with a twosome as a single. They played back at 6700 and me mainly 6300. I moved back a few times due to cart logistics as I was walking. Many holes were too short at 6300 as I almost drove the water near the green on #2, and then on some you want 3 wood in your hand. 6500 yards would be perfect, for me.
They have cut down much of the fescue but they should keep going, IMO. You still lose balls just a few feet off the fairway. The rough is very thick and could be shorter too, again IMO.
There is no game plan with the clubhouse, I was told.
They are trying to create more of a club and have dropped the rates a little. I paid $195 for a 1PM walkup. On a day when my wife needed me home at 6PM, it worked great. I played a 3:30 round walking and that is hard to do anywhere around NY on a perfect Saturday afternoon. That is often "couples time" and the course was empty as I can't see many women liking PR.
Clearly on weekend mornings they are getting play, but it seems crazy that they don't adjust their pricing for afternoons. Like I said, the wifey was happy when I was at the house before her and the barbeque was all set up.
Would I go back? Hey its 12 minutes away and Yale is 40. Some days, it is certainly worth it to pay up for a quick play and no waiting.
There are some interesting shots out there for sure, and in general the greens are very good. I hope they make it as it is a nice logistical alternate to Yale for me, but they need to do some more work for me to play more than once or twice a year.