The Quarry at Giants Ridge

[cary lichtenstein]

Bette and I played the Quarry at Giants Ridge today and thought it was an outstanding course, brilliantly designed and routed in a most difficult site.

Curious as to what others thought of this course?

[Brad Klein]

I liked it a lot, except for the last two holes - across the road and out of character. But the front nine is wonderful with all the outcrop and a great number of good short holes. Lots of risk/reward on those par-5s, too.

[Matt_Ward]

Cary:

I have never heard a poor comment on The Quarry at Giant Ridge but take note of where the national magazines rate the course. It will both shock you and amuse you.

[Brad Klein]

Matt, Cary,

if raters took their responsibilities more seriously and turned in their votes, then the course would be more properly ranked!

[cary lichtenstein]

Brad:

Bette and I both had the same comment about 17 and 18, both holes looked out of charachter with the rest of the course, but nonetheless, it was an excellent course.

Cary

[Pete Buczkowski]

Cary,

There is a lot of discussion in these threads, Jeff himself commented quite a bit:

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forums2/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=18404

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forums2/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=18491

My wife & I played it a few times this Spring and loved it.  I thought 17 was a decent hole if the gap from 16 to 17 wasn't so long, but didn't like 18 at all (though the tee shot plays better from the back tees, and you can run in a shot to the green by using the sideboards).  The short 4s are phenomenal on that course.  I'm not a fan of the mound behind 8 green but that's about it - solid Doak 7 and maybe an 8 depending on your tastes.

[John_Conley]

Quass:

I hope you had great weather.  I was at the Classic at Madden's on Friday, Deacon's Lodge on Saturday, and Golden Eagle on Sunday.  Today was Go-Karting and Paul Bunyanland with even better weather than we'd been enjoying!!

[Brian Cenci]

Cary,
     I played it recently on my golf trip out west and back and while I liked the course, and it offered probably some of the best shot values as far as risk/reward, I felt it was somewhat ranked a little too high and hyped up a little much.  I really did not like the last two holes and their routing, especially as I walked the course.  But, ranked #16 on GD?  I felt it was more in the #40 to #60 range.  On my trip I personally liked Lakota Canyon, Redlands Mesa, The Harvester, Wild Horse, Greywalls and Circling Raven better and all are either unranked on ranked higher in regards to GD.  But, a very good course, all in all still.

-Brian

[Jeff_Brauer]

Brian,

Its not unusual for new courses to get higher rankings with GD.  While it doesn't have a natural beauty, it is an unusual site, which usually adds to best new type rankings.

They are looking at in compared to perhaps 20 new courses vs. the top 100.  Also, they are supposed to look at shot values, vs. maintenance, traditions, etc.  So, if those rank high - which they did - it should have a high ranking. BTW, it did strike me as odd that you said it had the best shot values, and then ranked it in the lowest third of your trip!
 
As to holes 17-18, I guess I reluctantly agree.  At one time, we considered buying the property south of 2 green to get all 18 holes on the same side of the road.  We also considered putting the range north of the clubhouse, but it was an old railyard, and the Fed mandated cleanup of that site might have cost the Owners millions (by law, it is literally unlimited liability)  So, we squeezed two holes in as 17 and 18.  I actually had a layout with only the 18th playing as a long par 3 over the Quarry lake, but the Owner nixed it, not liking an 18th hole par 3.  Still would have been a walk.

The lake on 17 was an existing quarry area, where we added liner because you need an irrigation lake somewhere.  I don't find 18 to be that out of character, but the 17th I would have preferred to play over native sand.  Of course, Brad Klein will never like that hole because he witnessed the horrific death of a squirrel under the wheels of our cart. I still think he was on a suicide mission myself, but Brad blames me for the death!

[Brad Klein]

Jeff, you choked - on the brake - as you were coming around the turn, probaly too busy chatting away about this or that stupid architectural feature. Now look what you've done: Sacrificed a life for your art.

As you recall, we were all playing pretty tolerably until then, but then all four of us hit it in the water on that par-3. Squirrel's revenge.

[Jeff_Brauer]

Yes, discovering that I could be a cold blooded murderer did kind of take my mind off golf for the last few holes, and probably caused me to down at least one more beer in the lounge afterwards.....

If we keep talking about this, that squirrel will loom larger in legend than Casey Jones dying at the throttle....

[Brian Cenci]

Jeff,
     Don't get me wrong, I liked the course.  I had stated previously that on a trip like I took when you are having ""prime rib and lobster", so to speak, every day its hard to distinguish what may be better than another.  And yes, the shot values were probably the best of the ones I mentioned.  I also liked that one hole that had the big bowl in the front of the green.  I ended up on the front of the green with the pin in back.  Don't worry, I cleanly chipped it over the bowl without damaging the green.  Why is that there because it looked as though the collection area was the sprinkler head or drain at the edge of the green in the fringe, do balls actually collect down further into the ruff?
     Anyways, I've played a lot of great courses and very few like the Quarry, but I would put the Quarry in the same "type" of course as Greywalls (as being an unusual and probably rather difficult site in which to make a course).  But, when comparing, Greywalls is better, IMO.  I grew up playing "up north" courses (that's northern michigan) and this had the same feel, but I guess I am a little hard on it because of the ranking with GD.  I expected a lot going in.  I happen to like Eagle Eye (which was 5th amongst GD's best upscale public this past year) a little better.
     I wish there were more "quarry" involved as well in the course.  Part of me expected a lot of rock mounds, rock cutouts, etc. (like Greywalls) or like the Quarry 9 @ Bay Harbor (I know one of the par 3's has some rock bulging out).  The many rock waste areas were cool except the starter expected people to take drops out of there?  Is that normal standard play there?  Because if you go in a hazard you shouldn't get a free drop.  One of my favorite things about playing a course in Florida called Hammock Bay was that if you went into the waste areas you hit off of sea shells, scratch up those clubs!
     Also, a great course in my book has to make me feel like I'm in my own world once I step on the 1st tee...all there is, is just me my clubs and 18 holes.  I get that at Bandon, Harvester, Wild Horse, Greywalls....just didn't get it at the Quarry.  Maybe that was because it was the 16th different course I played in 16 days, not sure, but I would definetly go back.

-Brian

[Jeff_Brauer]

As long as you would go back, that is all the course recommendation I would need to hear. There are a lot of great new courses out there, and certainly each will have its fans, with every golfer having a slightly different reason.

And I do understand that on a trip of "must play courses" the course has already finished pretty high on your personal list, and both expectations and trip length and rotation affect a perception of any course.  My opinion of many movies is directly opposite of my expectations going in on account of reviews. It is hard to have a higher opinion of the highest ranked new course than a higher opinion of an unranked course.

The collector on six is just to provide a target within a target, hoping a golfer will get lazy on the approach with such a big green.  For those thinking ahead, perhaps an incentive not to lay up to conservatively by getting a longer shot.  But, mostly, its one of those things put there to make golfer say "huh?"  Generally, resort courses have to give something you don't see every day, IMHO.

[Brian Cenci]

Well it made me go "huh", and take several pictures of it so I guess it worked.  You ever going to do any courses in Michigan?  There's a few spots in Michigan with a top 10 course in the waiting for the right architect.  The coast of Lake Michigan along the southern end of the U.P. has great golf course written all over it.  Sandy dunes, great views (very Pine Valley feel).

[Dan Kelly]

Yes, discovering that I could be a cold blooded murderer did kind of take my mind off golf for the last few holes, and probably caused me to down at least one more beer in the lounge afterwards.....

If we keep talking about this, that squirrel will loom larger in legend than Casey Jones dying at the throttle....

Gentlemen --

Just back from 10 days in northern Minnesota, quite a ways west of Giants Ridge -- which explains my tardiness in saying:

I do believe that the creature in question was (emphasize: WAS) a chipmunk, not a squirrel.

But you'll have to ask Jeff McDowell. In case he can't remember for sure: We might check to see if there's some poor rodent's DNA still on the heel of his right golf shoe.