[Jason Thurman]

Eagle Ridge is not a well known course. Opened in 2004, it's an Art Hills design and part of the Kentucky State Parks Golf Trail. It lies virtually on the West Virginia border, some 30 miles south of I-64. In other words, it takes some effort to find.

For Kentucky golfers though, it has generated quite a buzz. It has more than its fair share of admirers and many who also despise it. I know several people who travel from 2 or more states away to play it annually. I also know a few who consider it awful and will never play it again. It has often been discussed, sometimes been ranked, and generally drawn polarizing opinions.

Here on GCA, Doug Ralston has named it a personal favorite and advocated strongly for players to make the significant trek to see it.

I played it last week. I will profile it a few holes at a time. I hope to hear what GCA'ers think of it by looks of the photos. For my part, I'll be doing my best to remain neutral until all holes have been posted, at which point I'll share my own impressions of it. It plays 6630 from the tips, and slopes to something ridiculous like a 153. I played from one tee up, though with all the elevation change it doesn't make much difference. All yardages listed from the #2 tees.

1st hole: 382 yard par 4

The course begins with a relatively benign dogleg right par 4. Plenty of width off the tee makes it a fairly simple layup to the fat part of the fairway. A more foolish player could pull driver and try to carry the bunkers. I don't have a yardage guide in front of me as I write, but it really doesn't matter. Eagle Ridge features so much elevation change that the yardage guide is largely useless, and it's very difficult to know with any certainty how far away a target will play.



While Eagle Ridge features very severe terrain, the approach at 1 actually makes nice use of some ground contours left atop this mountain it traverses. Approaches can be run on from the right using some mounds, but an imprecise shot risks falling into a hidden hollow near the green.



From the hollow, some 4 feet below the green.



2nd hole: 385 yard par 4

The difficulty with profiling Eagle Ridge is showing the dramatic elevation changes on the property. It's really unlike anything I've ever seen on a golf course. While you can see there's a significant drop from the second tee, the steepness of it doesn't come through at all here. It's probably 150-200 feet down to the fairway. The bunkers on the right should be played left of off the tee, and really take a big blast to come into play.



A look from the forward tees shows the fairway, again with ample width in the landing area. That's my mother walking back to the cart (no reasonable human would walk this course) after her typical 190 yard drive. Remember that later.



From the landing area, the approach must traverse a huge ravine. There is no room to miss short or long, and it's extremely hard to hold the layup fairway to the right. It's a do-or-die approach that must be hit high, soft, and precisely, or will end up 20+ feet below the green.



3rd hole: 216 yard par 3

Another severely downhill tee shot. This one probably plays some 100 feet or so downhill. It's a long par 3, and you'll need to hit it perfectly, as there is no chance of finding a ball in that shaggy stuff anywhere on the course. The smart play here might be to aim at the fat tongue of fairway short of the green, but even that isn't much of a bailout. Eagle Ridge is dramatic and requires a lot of heroic shots.



4th hole: 572 yard par 5

The toughest hole on the course begins with another drive over a ravine to a small fairway that slopes fiercely right to left. Eagle Ridge earns that high slope rating by making topshot bunkers look like a high-handicapper's cakewalk.



Here's a shot from the end of the first fairway. All of this is blind from the landing area unless you smash a driver to the end of it. You can layup to the tiny fairway benched in the hillside, or hit one hard to the lower fairway. It's impossible to guess the yardage to either, and both present very very small targets. Everything surrounding them is an automatic lost ball.



A shot from the lower landing area showing the approach to the green and also the narrowness of this neck of fairway.



Looking back, showing the narrow lower fairway and the impressive cliff atop which the driving zone sits.



5th hole: 342 yard par 4

Upon reaching the 5th, let out a sigh of relief. You're finally playing a hole over mostly flat terrain. That doesn't mean the need for precision is gone though. You'll need to be sure to favor the left side of the fairway, as anything that leaks right is another automatic lost ball.



The approach. Again, you'll need to fly it all the way there and stop it quickly to avoid the severe dropoffs surrounding the greensite.



6th hole: 412 yard par 4

The 6th features probably the widest fairway on the course, a welcome site after the precision required through the first few holes. Favoring the left side might help a bit with the approach angle, but as you can see here, it's mostly going to need to be another high aerial approach.



A shot from the landing zone. My mother hit her 190 yard drive here right down the middle again. Unfortunately, the fairway runs out from the forward tees around 130 yards, leaving only this small tongue up the left side if you don't want to lay up. Laying up leaves a 180-ish yard approach at minimum. This seems pretty penal from the forward tee, and my mother's drive down the middle went way too far and turned into another lost ball.

As you can see, the approach is severely uphill and all over a ravine, making run-up shots impossible.



I'd love to hear thoughts so far. More holes to follow.

[Kyle Henderson]

That looks like some extreme terrain!


For fun: Type "eagle ridge golf course" into a search engine and see how unoriginal that name really is.

[David_Elvins]

For fun: Type "eagle ridge golf course" into a search engine and see how unoriginal that name really is.

There must be something about the name.  The Eagle Ridge on the Mornington Peninsula has some interesting features too.

[Alex Miller]

This is probably the first time Art Hill's bunkers haven't bothered me, but overall it looks like a MORE grueling Koolau without as cool of a setting (though still nice).

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

Here's a shot from the end of the first fairway. All of this is blind from the landing area unless you smash a driver to the end of it. You can layup to the tiny fairway benched in the hillside, or hit one hard to the lower fairway. It's impossible to guess the yardage to either, and both present very very small targets. Everything surrounding them is an automatic lost ball.

Jason,

Is that the end of the first fairway on the foreground of the picture, or is the photo taken from the end of the first fairway. Are there three fairways acting like steps?

Looks pretty extreme to me. How would a 18+ HCAP player manage on a hole like the 4th and 6th?

[Billsteele]

Jason-I played Eagle Ridge last year when I had some business in Huntington, WV. It is an interesting course but not one that made me want to run right  back out to the first tee. There is plenty at Eagle Ridge that screams DRAMATIC. However, the severity of the site and the amount of local knowledge required to play it well works against it. For example, on #2, the downhill nature of the tee shot makes it very easy to hit it into the ravine crossing the fairway (even with a fairway wood or a hybrid). I hit a 3 wood (and I am not long) that ended up at the edge of the chasm about 100 yards from the green.  if you are unfamiliar with the extreme downhill nature of some of the holes and how it affects your shot, you could (and, I assume, many do) get frustrated playing it. The other thing I took away from the course is that it does not have the type of width that lends itself to options or, for that matter, imprecision in shotmaking. For example, on number 4, the segment of the fairway that sits at the bottom of the hill (leading to the green) is very narrow and set at an angle. From the top of the hill, it is easy to hit what one thinks is a good shot that takes one or two bounces and ends up in the gunch or rock outcroppings. I realize that the severity of the site probably limited the ability of those who built the course to widen it to a desirable length but at some point it just becomes too difficult for average to below average golfers.

The par four on the back nine which plays toward the lake with the significant drop off the tee is a cool hole but again is pretty narrow and illustrates what seems like a constant battle at Eagle Ridge between the wow factor and playability.

As I said, it is an interesting course. Of the three Kentucky State Park courses that I have played (Wasioto Winds, Hidden Cove and ER), it is by far the most interesting...and the most difficult. My general impression of the other courses was that they were solid but, in general, gave me the same feeling I have when I play a number of tracks...nothing stands out, one course blends into one hundred in my mind. I read with interest your profile of Hidden Cove and while I find it a solid course, I thought your Doak rating of a 6, possibly a 7, is reflective of grade inflation.

For me, there are much better  public options in the Commonwealth. I played Peninsula for a second time this Spring with John Mayhugh and it reinforced my opinion that it is a very interesting golf course with plenty of options and interesting angles. There are a couple of mediocre holes but I would prefer to play it over the State Park courses. For drama, I think Old Silo strikes a nice balance between playability and wow factor. It is not an easy course but more playable than ER. I also think that Lassing Pointe and Kearney Hill are also more interesting and enjoyable.

I appreciate you posting these profiles of courses like Hidden Cove and Eagle Ridge. Too often the discussion on this board gets repetitive and rehashes many of the same golf courses and topics. I look forward to the rest of your profile.




 

[Matthew Rose]

Is it even possible to hit that tiny isolated fairway (on the par-five?). It looks no bigger than a kitchen table. It seems almost pointless to maintain it.

I've come across some strange par-fives on Art Hills courses.... that might be the weirdest looking.

[Jason Thurman]

Here's a shot from the end of the first fairway. All of this is blind from the landing area unless you smash a driver to the end of it. You can layup to the tiny fairway benched in the hillside, or hit one hard to the lower fairway. It's impossible to guess the yardage to either, and both present very very small targets. Everything surrounding them is an automatic lost ball.

Jason,

Is that the end of the first fairway on the foreground of the picture, or is the photo taken from the end of the first fairway. Are there three fairways acting like steps?

Looks pretty extreme to me. How would a 18+ HCAP player manage on a hole like the 4th and 6th?

Donal, the photo is taken from the end of the first fairway. The sliver of fairway you see is the "layup fairway" benched into the side of the mountain. I think it's almost not worth trying to hit, as it's just too small a target. The three fairways do act as steps.

I'm not sure how an 18 handicapper can play 4 or 6. I'm a 9, and I couldn't finish either hole following the rules of golf. My mother, who isn't a great player but regularly breaks 100, had no chance on either one and became very frustrated. Eagle Ridge just isn't a course for players who can't fly the ball a long way unless one has no issues with losing balls.

[Jason Thurman]

Jason-I played Eagle Ridge last year when I had some business in Huntington, WV. It is an interesting course but not one that made me want to run right  back out to the first tee. There is plenty at Eagle Ridge that screams DRAMATIC. However, the severity of the site and the amount of local knowledge required to play it well works against it. For example, on #2, the downhill nature of the tee shot makes it very easy to hit it into the ravine crossing the fairway (even with a fairway wood or a hybrid). I hit a 3 wood (and I am not long) that ended up at the edge of the chasm about 100 yards from the green.  if you are unfamiliar with the extreme downhill nature of some of the holes and how it affects your shot, you could (and, I assume, many do) get frustrated playing it. The other thing I took away from the course is that it does not have the type of width that lends itself to options or, for that matter, imprecision in shotmaking. For example, on number 4, the segment of the fairway that sits at the bottom of the hill (leading to the green) is very narrow and set at an angle. From the top of the hill, it is easy to hit what one thinks is a good shot that takes one or two bounces and ends up in the gunch or rock outcroppings. I realize that the severity of the site probably limited the ability of those who built the course to widen it to a desirable length but at some point it just becomes too difficult for average to below average golfers.

The par four on the back nine which plays toward the lake with the significant drop off the tee is a cool hole but again is pretty narrow and illustrates what seems like a constant battle at Eagle Ridge between the wow factor and playability.

As I said, it is an interesting course. Of the three Kentucky State Park courses that I have played (Wasioto Winds, Hidden Cove and ER), it is by far the most interesting...and the most difficult. My general impression of the other courses was that they were solid but, in general, gave me the same feeling I have when I play a number of tracks...nothing stands out, one course blends into one hundred in my mind. I read with interest your profile of Hidden Cove and while I find it a solid course, I thought your Doak rating of a 6, possibly a 7, is reflective of grade inflation.

For me, there are much better  public options in the Commonwealth. I played Peninsula for a second time this Spring with John Mayhugh and it reinforced my opinion that it is a very interesting golf course with plenty of options and interesting angles. There are a couple of mediocre holes but I would prefer to play it over the State Park courses. For drama, I think Old Silo strikes a nice balance between playability and wow factor. It is not an easy course but more playable than ER. I also think that Lassing Pointe and Kearney Hill are also more interesting and enjoyable.

I appreciate you posting these profiles of courses like Hidden Cove and Eagle Ridge. Too often the discussion on this board gets repetitive and rehashes many of the same golf courses and topics. I look forward to the rest of your profile.

Bill, I agree with most of what you said on Eagle Ridge. It's a unique course and a fun place to try some shots you can't hit elsewhere, but for a round of golf where you care about keeping score, it's extremely difficult and I would bet not much fun for a lot of players. It's certainly not "land fit for purpose," though it does have some entertaining moments.

I really enjoy the other courses you mentioned. Kearney is an old favorite and really a fantastic municipal complex. I agree totally on Old Silo's superior playability to Eagle Ridge. However, I don't think either compares to Hidden Cove. I thought Hidden Cove made better use of angles, handled a severe property better than Old Silo, offered better scenery, and also had the playability and green complexes to make it pretty outstanding. It's not a great course, but very good and I do think it's quite a bit better than either Old Silo or Kearney. I haven't seen Peninsula but have heard a lot of negative things about its conditioning of late and it's no longer on my to-do list for my limited rounds in the Bluegrass.

I stand by it as a solid Doak 6, held back by a lack of walkability and a lack of truly great holes but many very good ones and nothing weak. Of course, I'm using the literal definition that it's "Definitely worth a game if you're in town." If you're anywhere near Hidden Cove, you should definitely play it, because you'll probably never be near it again. It would be pretty easy to make it a Doak 5 if you just pictured it being in a frequently visited metro area though.

[Billsteele]

Jason=We will have to agree to disagree on Hidden Cove. To me, it is a Doak 4 ("a modestly interesting course").  There is nothing terribly wrong with the course, just nothing that stands out to me. That's why discussion boards exist and what makes life interesting.

The conditions at Peninsula were not bad back in April. I believe the course has a new owner or management. In any event, unless it's dirt or unplayable or down to rocks or liners in bunkers, conditioning is not that big a factor to me and the design at Peninsula is more interesting than any of the State Park courses IMHO.

One other thing about Eagle Ridge is that it is both unwalkable (due to the severe elevation changes) and dangerous in carts (the cart paths are unbelievably steep in spots). It is the only time I can remember when I was a bit afraid that the cart could not handle the path.

I was also interested in the comments about your mother playing Eagle Ridge. I would guess that her experience is very typical of the average to below average player who plays ER. One of the things that struck me when I played it was that, on a Sunday morning with perfect weather, the parking lot had five cars in it at mid-morning. I have a feeling that a lot of golfers would prefer a gentler experience than Eagle Ridge.

[Doug Ralston]

Ok, I guess I had better get in this. I will offer what I did on GKL, to start.

Thurman,

A few little things to add, to make the course less 'heroic' and more playable. Lots of bailouts!

#2 - Hitting the ball a bit long and right will mostly have it rolling right into the middle of the green down that slope that, when properly cut, will not hold a high shot.

#4 - Hitting right into the trees off the tee give I would guess an 80% chance of a fairway hit, and usually near the end, shorter hit than needed to approach around them. How bout that! Hitting 2nd shot left in rough on inside of of hillside will mostly appear in fairway too. Fun as hell hole!

#5 - I have been in that grass bunker on the rightside short of the turn several times. Leaves a high wedge to a large green, so bailout not needed from there.

#6 - I always (!) bail out long here, occasionally bound back onto the putting surface, but if not, a relatively simple chip.

#7 - Whatever you do, never give yourself a chance to end up in those hell bunkers WAY below the green. Longer approach from the right is not too bad. Great par-5 IMHO.

#12 - Cool little par-3. My one good club has always been my wedge and I have stiffed several here.

#13 - What can I say. I cannot reach the green, so I aim a bit right, and if i hit the rocks I mostly still find it in the fairway, though once I found it in the stream left! Ouchie. Do NOT go over and right. It is virtually impossible [at least for me] to hold the green on even a short chip from in there. I personally think driving for the green, even if you can, is a sucker play .... but most cannot resist, of course.

#16 - Even you can guess to bail left here, it has no place to go but onto the putting surface.

#18 - Here is my bugaboo! If the hillside left if cut shot, any shot hitting it will roll all the way across and into the crap below the rightside. You just can't bail, gotta hit the straight and narrow one here. Good luck

ER is really a thinking course, despite the appearance of my 'forced' shots. Too much fun.

Er is really a lot more playable once you learn it's eccentricities. Still, not everyone's cup of tea. But I am amazed what Forrest did with a piece of land that some have said 'was never really intended for golf'. I am in forced retirement, or I would still play there every opportunity.

Doug

[Jason Thurman]

Bill, I'll keep your feedback on Peninsula in mind and see if I can give it a shot when near Danville sometime. I actually almost played it a few weeks ago but ran out of time on the way to a buddy's wedding.

You're absolutely right about the dangerous cart paths at Eagle Ridge. On 13, we could see where a few carts had been unable to make a hairpin turn and flown off the path. I'm really surprised they haven't had a disaster yet, especially considering the original paths had to be rebuilt because they were too unsafe. I assume the new ones are an improvement, but they're frightening.

I'll share more about my play later, but due to a few events, we got to drive around the entire course and see that there were only three other groups playing. Granted it was a Wednesday, but it seems you have a problem when you have more staff working on a perfect summer day than groups on the course. I'm wondering how much longer the state can continue to operate a course like this in the red, which it must be by quite a wide margin considering the difficulty they must have with maintenance.

[Criss Titschinger]

Consider me a fan of Eagle Ridge, but the fourth hole was one I just did not enjoy. Really hard to hold a tee shot on the upper part of the fairway without it rolling off into the junk (which mine did). That ended up as an X hole for me.

Looking forward to the rest of your walkthrough.

I, like Doug, also liked 7 and 12. I have a good picture of 7 with someone in those hell bunkers, which gives you a good ideal of their scale. 12's a relatively easy par 3, unless you miss left. When I played last July, I hit a draw and missed the green slightly left; but ended up with a lost ball because the ball rolled down through the rough, over the cart path, and into the hazard. My provisional stuck to 6 ft, and I made bogey.

I think Bill mentioned the fun factor at ER, and that's what I came along with it. Yes, it's tough in spots. Almost unforgiving so. But there are a lot of interesting holes out there, which most become easier on the 2nd play.

I actually shot video of the cart path from 13 tee to the fairway. Probably not my brightest idea, but I did it. If I can find it still, I'll upload it to YouTube and embed the link.

[Jason Thurman]

Continuing the Eagle Ridge tour...

7th hole: 541 yard par 5

Another tee shot with a very narrow playing corridor. You can see the rough cut right, but there's not much of it before you reach the trees. You can also see the line left between "rough" and "gunch." The latter was unsearchable and unplayable and really dominates the course, though there are narrow buffers of rough on a lot of holes. Not much to the tee shot besides hitting the fairway.



From 220 out, you can play for the green (foolish, with all the bunkers) or lay up either short of long of the somewhat puzzling tree in the fairway. While 7 doesn't occupy one of the more extreme sections of the property, it makes up for it with plenty of features that create challenge.



8th hole: 196 yard par 3

Similar to the first par 3 on the course, the 8th plays downhill to a green with a fronting bunker and a bailout tongue of fairway. This hole seemed a bit more forgiving though, with more of the rough around the green mowed. A straightforward hole after the opening stretch.



I didn't take any shots of the 9th, a fairly short and narrow 320 yard par 4.

10th hole: 330 yard par 4

A second straight short par 4 begins with a tee shot to an angled fairway widest around the 250 mark and narrowing short and long.



From the landing zone, it's a flat and straightforward approach shot to a green dominated by the large bunker short left.



11th hole: 320 yard par 4

Another short par 4 with a left to right tee shot, the ideal line at 11 is over the bunker (an easy carry at only 191 yards). It's not a driver hole, and a simple long iron or hybrid shot should find the widest part of the fairway.



The approach plays downhill to another green offset almost 90 degrees from the line of play. This hole is really suffering in current conditions. You can see the stress in the fairway and the bunkers are all beginning to grow weeds and grass, even evident in this photo from some 120 yards back.



12th hole: 115 yard par 3

An interesting but somewhat unrealized par 3, the 12th features a huge mound obscuring the front right of the green. You can use it to run a shot onto the green and toward the hole (which I did, successfully, punching a half 9-iron off the mounds backside and running it to within a foot). It's a cool feature, but perhaps out of place on such a short par 3. It was fun hitting the shot, but it doesn't really make sense when you could just hit a stock wedge and would be a lot more fun with a long iron in hand. Nonetheless, this was probably my favorite hole on the course in concept at least.



The middle section of Eagle Ridge is perhaps a bit more playable, but a lot less exciting. Things get ratcheted up during the final six, which I'll profile in a day or two.

[Jason Thurman]

Criss,

Is Oinkgolf your site? If so, I've stumbled on it a few times from your posts on GKL and a few Google searches. I enjoy the profiles you do and have read quite a few when preparing to play new courses in the OINK area.

As far as Eagle Ridge and its fun factor, I'll withhold a response until I've completed the tour as I'm trying to stay as unbiased as possible, but it's safe to say our impression of the course is a bit different...

Doug, I'm certain you've played Eagle Ridge more than any GCA member and I'd love to hear more of your take on the course. As I've spoken with you about, it may be that conditions on this visit were quite a bit more severe than in the past. I looked at Criss' pics a few minutes ago and the deep rough looked much more burned out and barren, allowing balls to funnel back toward the fairway. On my visit, the deep rough was lush and left no chance of even finding a ball more than 5 inches in. Also, as we've discussed already, I'm not sure that I would ever endorse a hole where a player with a mountain of local knowledge suggests the best play is to "hit into the trees," as you suggest on the fourth hole.

I agree 5 is one of the more playable holes on the course, but still very difficult for low-ball hitters like my mother. The angles around that hole are just so severe. I think she had about 100 yards in after her drive, but couldn't go at the green because she doesn't hit her 100 yard club high enough to hold the green, and likely wouldn't have carried the ravine short. There's a case to be made that Eagle Ridge only has 3 holes or so that really allow a run-up shot. I hit the ball high and fairly long, so I had no problem with that. But my mother, who's a very good ballstriker as female recreational players go, just couldn't play some of the holes. She simply can't hit high shots that land on and stick to greens, and on our visit, missing a green angled to the line of play usually meant a lost ball.

As for 7, you mention laying up short right of the green. That would obviously be the play, except for the gigantic tree they left in the middle of the layup area on that hole! Eagle Ridge sure does involve aiming at a lot of trees. It's not a bad hole, but doesn't seem to have much strategy as it's pretty narrow and really dissuades you from going at the green in two while also heavily dictating the layup. I think it would be a much better hole without the bunkers (to make going at the green more enticing, as the hillside is plenty penalty for coming up short by itself but the bunkers make the layup much more obvious to the foolish player) and without the tree (to allow weaker players a chance at a clean layup and because, truthfully, it feels like they put a hole on mostly flat ground and needed a gimmick to make it fit with the rest of the course).

[Andy Troeger]

I think I'd enjoy giving Eagle Ridge a try, since I tend to enjoy mountain goat golf and have played quite a few courses of the type mainly in the west. There seem to be a few holes that look fun, at least for the better player. All of this is from the photos only so feel free to ignore, but #2 seems like it would be enjoyable. #3 as well assuming you werent trying for a medal score. The 11th and 12th greensites look interesting as well.

The two par fives on the front look like they are right up there with Art Hills' worst par fives, which takes some doing. #4 looks like it would at least be fun at some level, even if its not very playable. #7 with its narrow teeing area and a tree right where the second shot would otherwise be played just looks dumb. Jason, are you just being diplomatic with your comments on #7?

Even with that, I love unique golf and would give it a try.

[Doug Ralston]

Guys, look at the contour of the land beyond that tree in the middle of #7. If you hit a low liner RIGHT of the tree, it will run along the ridge and funnel happily down to a nice easy pitch just about where the cart is in jason's picture, even somewhat left of that. Forrest used the land. I think # 7 is a great par-5. Oh, and since I played from much shorter tees [your mom sounds like she hits it longer than me *blush*], I was usually longer but more right than the picture for the second shot. That made going right of the tree more feasable.

I only like #4 because I made my own strategies for how to play it, and for a 25+ handicapper like me, the fun trying IS the issue. Now, to stretch your credulity a little [and ask Joe, who most who know him know he is a Roman Judge], I actually birdied #4 once. A very high 5W from the #4 tee into my controversial bailout, which trundled almost perfectly to the end of the upper fairway. A low 5W to almost exactly 100yd marker, and I stiffed a wedge. Simple hole  .

Strangly, a hole that naturally gave me a pain is the easy #10. You call the long bunker left the dominant feature, but not for me. Almost all my misses in my golf career were right, because I always had a tendancy to not be able to finish the swing, and to block it right. On #10 that meant I was very often down 15 ft below the green trying to hit back on as I could, sometime with trees to pass.


Doug

[Andy Troeger]

Doug,
It seems like the ability to find the ball when in the woods makes a big difference out there. If you can find it regularly like you say, that helps a lot. If they let it go and it becomes auto-lost ball then the course wouldn't be much fun. Given the lack of length of a lot of the holes, the really good player probably finds it rather easy, while the rest of us have to be on our games.

My issue with #7 from that first photo is that lack of width of the driving zone. The tree doesn't help, but it seems like it does more to punish the guy wanting to lay-up than a strong player trying to go for the green. It could be the angle of the photo as well, or my experience with Hills' team leaving stupid trees in fairways on other courses. I can't say that I give him the benefit of the doubt with that!

[Doug Ralston]

Andy,

Since my shots naturally go right [or fairways are always built too far left  ], on #7 I do not worry about the horrors to the left and it turns out that, unless you fly it, you ball will mostly be findable in the rough beside the trees on the right. So, again, hitting right of the tree and a low runner will follow the contour and be placed nicely for a 3rd shot pitch with the bunkers essentially out of play. And that is the real key to #7. Unless you are an excellent long iron player and can go for it in 2, just leave those hell bunkers alone! Pretty hole too. This is a beautiful site, if nothing else. Course I am a hillbilly born and raised, and mountains will always be home for me.

Come on Jason, put up the 3rd nine. I wanna see if there is a way for a picture to really capture #13, and if you can show the truly heroic shot required for #18. Tough finale, that; but if you do hit it on, you will certainly walk away feeling good about your game.

Andy, Criss, Bill et al, I can see where Jason is going, so can you. I will only say that ER is the extreme end of love/hate courses. I would play it every chance I got when I was able. I would play it in preference to Greystone, Sultan's Run, Arcadia, etc. Others play it once and say "OMG, where is anything here having to do with golf?" LOL. I fear Jason may be right though, that the course is too far off the beaten trail, and too extreme to be sustained. If it goes, I think golf will suffer a unique loss. Oddly, I know at least a dozen players who come from states like Michigan, Minnesota etc just to play this course each year. I hope enough.

Doug

[Garland Bayley]

...
I stand by it as a solid Doak 6,...

Looks like a solid Doak 0 from the pictures.

Must I remind you that many state parks around the country allow you to go for a walk in the woods without asking a green fee. The walk certainly would be more enjoyable than playing what looks like a true monstrosity. It appears to me that this land is fit for the purpose of woods hiking. Hardly fit for the purpose of golf.

[Jason Thurman]

Garland, please note that the quote you posted is in reference to another course, not the subject of this thread.

As for the rest of your post, I'm still trying to stay unbiased and diplomatic about Eagle Ridge. But I couldn't agree more about preserving beautiful woodlands for hiking and outdoors activity rather than imposing golf courses on them.

[Jason Thurman]

On to the final six...

13th hole: 300 yard par 4

The most famous hole on the course, 13 is yet another short par 4 with major league excitement. It's over a 200 ft drop from tee to green. This photo gives some perspective, but doesn't nearly capture the elevation. From the tee, it looks like an easy 7 iron will reach the green. My 3 wood flew to the right edge of the green, hanging in the air for 10 seconds or so, and plugged below ground level on impact. It's a fun shot, without a doubt.



A better look at the green surrounds. Once again, not much forgiveness for the player who misses the target.



Looking back from the green. The tee sits at the very top of the hill in the background. The ride down is long and winding and the most frightening one I've ever had in a golf cart.



14th hole: 504 yard par 5

After a cart ride of probably over 1/4 mile, you arrive at the 14th tee. It's a narrow, straightaway par 5 with a fairway that pinches near the 250 yard mark.



The approach to another green offset severely to the line of play with bunkers on the short side.



15th hole: 314 yard par 4

If you're counting, this is the fifth straight par 4 between 300 and 330 yards. 15 has one of the more interesting tee shots on the course, with bunkers in the landing area requiring the player to make a decision about club and line. I didn't get a photo of the approach, as I had to cut over a hole or two and pick up a wedge I'd left behind...



16th hole: 378 yard par 4.

Initially, I thought we'd gotten crossed up and gotten back to the 6th tee, as this hole looks extremely similar (it plays parallel but in the opposite direction). It also plays similarly, although quite a bit shorter, as it's another tee shot that quickly runs out of room to the right...



Followed by another uphill approach to an offset green. Once again, long shaggy unsearchable rough is extremely close to the playing corridor, with everything sloping aggressively toward it.



17th hole: 195 yard par 3

The third 200-ish yard par 3 with a 45 degree angled green that opens from the right and features bunkers inside and a tongue of fairway right, and severe fallaway edges all around. It's a redan in shape but no in playing characteristics.



18th hole: 355 yard par 4

It's an uphill finish with a tee shot to a wide fairway by Eagle Ridge standards. The ideal line is actually to the left, despite the bunker right.



You can't see much from the landing area, but it's all uphill on the approach to a green that opens from the left.



It'll take me a while to summarize my thoughts, so I'll post those later.

[Garland Bayley]

Garland, please note that the quote you posted is in reference to another course, not the subject of this thread.

As for the rest of your post, I'm still trying to stay unbiased and diplomatic about Eagle Ridge. But I couldn't agree more about preserving beautiful woodlands for hiking and outdoors activity rather than imposing golf courses on them.

Thanks for the correction!

PS. No need to be diplomatic. This is gca.com. aka OK Corral.

[Criss Titschinger]

Jason, OINK Golf is indeed my site. I have write ups for Purgatory and The Quarry (in Canton) coming when I get a chance. The Quarry is another cart ball course with some serious terrain in places. Not nearly as severe as Eagle Ridge though.

I'm not sure I've ever played a course more polarizing than Eagle Ridge. There really is no middle ground opinion.

I will say when I played ER in July of 2011, they had the rough cut down pretty well, so it was fairly easy to find golf balls; unless they rolled down the side of a mountain.

Here are a couple shots of 9, to help fill out the tour...

Zoomed picture from tee. Fairly wide fairway to start, but a big bunker to contend with about 230 out.


I think this was from < 100 out. There's more green to the left than it appears. A left pin position is a sucker pin b/c missing the green left is bad news.

[Jason Thurman]

Finally had time to jot down a verdict on Eagle Ridge. It reminded me of a Hardee's Monster Burger: it's fun to eat one once a year or so, and it's hilarious that it exists, but it's more of a mockery of food than actual food. That's how Eagle Ridge felt to me as a golf course.

I actually played ok, and shot in the 30s on the back nine. But even when playing well, Eagle Ridge is an exercise in hitting forced, dictated shots. The 4th might be the worst hole I've ever played. Nothing like trying to hit a 15-yard wide angled fairway from a mostly blind cliff 150 feet above with an automatic lost ball on either side. The fact that people suggest hitting your drive into the trees on that hole as the best play from the tee is, to me, evidence of awful design. 7 isn't much better. I laughed out loud when I saw the tree in the fairway. It's like they went out of their way to build the most gimmicky golf course they could, and figured a tree in the layup zone would be the best way to spruce up one of the holes that didn't play off a 100+ ft cliff.

Every par 3 except 12 is basically the exact same hole, just with 17 playing uphill instead of downhill. The middle 5 par fours all play between 300 and 330 yards. It feels odd to say, considering the uniqueness of the terrain, but Eagle Ridge is the most repetitive course I've played. Almost every tee shot was another hybrid layup for me, almost every approach was another aerial target shot. And 13 is fun hole, but a one-trick pony.

Is it scenic? Probably not as scenic as it would be without a bunch of cart paths and fairways and land graded (in other words, it'd be more scenic as a hiking trail). I kept thinking what a shame it was that all the old forest had been cleared to build a golf course that sees 20 rounds on a busy day. It's especially frustrating to think about how much money the state has blown on a course that will clearly never come close to operating in the black.

I was very excited to play Eagle Ridge. I'll never be back. It is, without question, my least favorite course that I've ever played. It's the most gimmicky, ridiculous place I've ever seen, and it makes me glad that I no longer pay taxes in Kentucky. To summarize, I agree with Garland: It's a Doak 0, a cautionary tale, and a terrible step backwards for state-owned and municipal golf. Students at Kentucky universities should learn about it and throw fits next time their tuition gets raised while this course continues to operate in the red.

Doug and Criss, I hope you'll share why I'm wrong. Doug especially, as one of the course's biggest fans and as a high-handicapper. I watched my mother who loved Erin Hills and Pebble Beach, quit playing after six holes because the course was impossible for her. Were you able to play it according to the official rules of golf? She literally couldn't finish several holes without emptying her bag of balls. Do you see options that I don't see? Or do you just love the scenery and adventure of the challenge?

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