Course Review:
Stonebridge Golf Course is a course that I play often. Located in Waxhaw (Monroe), North Carolina, Stonebridge is a Fuzzy Zoeller designed course that will challenge you off the tee and give you a legitimate chance to putt for birdie on almost every hole. In addition to playing this course this weekend for the purposes of this blog, my wife and I also played in a couples tournament, so I will be re-capping my experience from both.
The course was in fantastic shape this weekend. Even with the cooler temperatures, the bermuda grass was in perfect shape and the greens were very healthy and maintained. Usually by this time in the season, the courses are beat up and in need of a break, however Stonebridge looked as if it was in early season form. There were a couple tee boxes that need some attention from the grounds crew, but other than that, the course was in excellent shape.
The opening hole at Stonebridge a a modest par 5, with the iconic "stone bridge" over a man-made creek near the men's landing zone. On this hole, a fade is the shot to play. Landing around 280 just right of center will put you into good shape with a 240+ yard second shot. Long hitters can go for the green in 2, but don't miss left or right. Left puts you out of bounds, in the road and right will put you in the woods. Smart play here is to lay up and go for a wedge into the very large and receptive green. Putting on this course is very do-able, even for the average putter. Large, rather flat greens make the game more about getting to the green, rather than 3 putting once you get there. Fuzzy had the amateur in mind when he designed this course. In sharp contrast to a course designed by Donald Ross (Pinehurst #2), who used the greens to separate the average golfer from the exceptional.
Hole #2 is a dead straight par 4. Pros will tell you that the dead straight holes are the toughest, and I agree. It's narrow and all up hill. This hole and one other on the back 9 are my nemesis holes on this course. While the hole is short (right at 300 yards from the men's tees), it remains a very tough and daunting hole for those golfers (like myself) that struggle to hit the ball straight off the tee.
Fast forwarding to hole 4, is a 90 degree dog leg right. A long hitter can put the ball really close to the green by going over a hill and trees, however the safe play is just down the right and then take a 7 or 8 iron into the green. In 10-15 years, this hole will be definitely increase with difficulty unless the grounds crew prunes the trees along the right of the dog-leg. When the trees there get really high and full, men will have to play it into the corner and then down the hill to the green.
After hole 5 (toughest on the course), the holes become rather tame. Hole 5 is difficult because of the narrow gap that you have to drive the ball through, and the slight pitch right of the fairway, but if you aim to the left of the green on your approach, you should be fine. I miss-hit my approach just left of my target and still ended up on the green because of the hill to the left.
On the back 9, there is a different feel on the course. Shot selection needs more thought and you have to play to your next shot often. Hole 10 is a beautiful hole with water on the right. Take less than driver and play a fade and you should be fine. Approach shots will be about 125 in and the green is a great one to putt on.
Hole 12 is the second most difficult on the course for me. The landing zone is quiet narrow to hit off the men's tees but a well placed tee shot will give you about 150 in, over a creek. There are mounds to the right and behind the green that act as a backstop, so approaches to this hole are not as bad as it seems.
Hole 13 is another dog leg right, where you take less than driver off the tee. Long hitters can go for the green, over a wooded area, but anything short of 300 will fall victim to a punch out second shot and some well placed fairway bunkers make this hole a "Pray for par" hole in my opinion.
After 13, the holes are all very "par-able." Two moderate lengths par 5s and a par 3 over water aren't bad at all to deal with. Hole 16 could be an issue if you are shot off the tee, but hitting over a large, rocky water hazard isn't all that bad.
Hole 18 is a great finishing hole. I can picture myself walking up 18 with a tournament style atmosphere. 18 is a reachable par 5. The Eagle putt my be difficult if there is a back pin placement and the water just to the front and right of the green can be a monster, but birdie to finish the round is VERY do-able here.
The pro shop is small, but packed with great golf deals. Surprisingly, the cost of the items inside aren't your typical pro-shop prices. I personally bought a par of Nike Golf shoes there and paid less than if I had purchased them at Golf Galaxy. Boyd Everling and his staff are excellent to deal and the cost of the golf isn't too bad either. ($30-$45 during the week and $50+on weekends during the summer is about the going rate for the area.
Course rating : 5 out of 5 because of several factors....Cost is reasonable, Staff is excellent, Course shape is amazing and the greens are very forgiving. Every amateur in the area should play Stonebridge on a regular basis.
Tournament review: The tournament was a "couples" tournament....however it was a 4 person scramble. This made things a bit awkward, since you were playing with someone that you didn't know in a captain's choice format. My wife and I are pretty good golfers....and to put us with some unknowns made us uncomfortable at first. Well, the discomfort was quickly wiped away when the couple we were scheduled to play with wanted to play with someone else, and another couple didn't show.....so we got to play as just a pair. We shot a combined 66....NOT TOO SHABBY for a pair playing against foursomes.
Boyd, the head Pro, went over the instructions and sent us out on the course. The pace of play was only slightly slow. When playing in captain's choice tournaments, I plan for 5 hours...but we were done in 4. There was another group playing a tournament on the course at the same time, which was not an issue at all until the end. Both groups found themselves trying to use the social hall for the awards and banquet at the same time.....or pretty close. The group other than us "over-stayed" their welcome in the banquet room which slowed the start of our awards down. Anyway, it was a VERY good experience playing a tournament at Stonebridge this past weekend. I will do it again!
Stonebridge Golf Course is a course that I play often. Located in Waxhaw (Monroe), North Carolina, Stonebridge is a Fuzzy Zoeller designed course that will challenge you off the tee and give you a legitimate chance to putt for birdie on almost every hole. In addition to playing this course this weekend for the purposes of this blog, my wife and I also played in a couples tournament, so I will be re-capping my experience from both.
The course was in fantastic shape this weekend. Even with the cooler temperatures, the bermuda grass was in perfect shape and the greens were very healthy and maintained. Usually by this time in the season, the courses are beat up and in need of a break, however Stonebridge looked as if it was in early season form. There were a couple tee boxes that need some attention from the grounds crew, but other than that, the course was in excellent shape.
The opening hole at Stonebridge a a modest par 5, with the iconic "stone bridge" over a man-made creek near the men's landing zone. On this hole, a fade is the shot to play. Landing around 280 just right of center will put you into good shape with a 240+ yard second shot. Long hitters can go for the green in 2, but don't miss left or right. Left puts you out of bounds, in the road and right will put you in the woods. Smart play here is to lay up and go for a wedge into the very large and receptive green. Putting on this course is very do-able, even for the average putter. Large, rather flat greens make the game more about getting to the green, rather than 3 putting once you get there. Fuzzy had the amateur in mind when he designed this course. In sharp contrast to a course designed by Donald Ross (Pinehurst #2), who used the greens to separate the average golfer from the exceptional.
Hole #2 is a dead straight par 4. Pros will tell you that the dead straight holes are the toughest, and I agree. It's narrow and all up hill. This hole and one other on the back 9 are my nemesis holes on this course. While the hole is short (right at 300 yards from the men's tees), it remains a very tough and daunting hole for those golfers (like myself) that struggle to hit the ball straight off the tee.
Fast forwarding to hole 4, is a 90 degree dog leg right. A long hitter can put the ball really close to the green by going over a hill and trees, however the safe play is just down the right and then take a 7 or 8 iron into the green. In 10-15 years, this hole will be definitely increase with difficulty unless the grounds crew prunes the trees along the right of the dog-leg. When the trees there get really high and full, men will have to play it into the corner and then down the hill to the green.
After hole 5 (toughest on the course), the holes become rather tame. Hole 5 is difficult because of the narrow gap that you have to drive the ball through, and the slight pitch right of the fairway, but if you aim to the left of the green on your approach, you should be fine. I miss-hit my approach just left of my target and still ended up on the green because of the hill to the left.
On the back 9, there is a different feel on the course. Shot selection needs more thought and you have to play to your next shot often. Hole 10 is a beautiful hole with water on the right. Take less than driver and play a fade and you should be fine. Approach shots will be about 125 in and the green is a great one to putt on.
Hole 12 is the second most difficult on the course for me. The landing zone is quiet narrow to hit off the men's tees but a well placed tee shot will give you about 150 in, over a creek. There are mounds to the right and behind the green that act as a backstop, so approaches to this hole are not as bad as it seems.
Hole 13 is another dog leg right, where you take less than driver off the tee. Long hitters can go for the green, over a wooded area, but anything short of 300 will fall victim to a punch out second shot and some well placed fairway bunkers make this hole a "Pray for par" hole in my opinion.
After 13, the holes are all very "par-able." Two moderate lengths par 5s and a par 3 over water aren't bad at all to deal with. Hole 16 could be an issue if you are shot off the tee, but hitting over a large, rocky water hazard isn't all that bad.
Hole 18 is a great finishing hole. I can picture myself walking up 18 with a tournament style atmosphere. 18 is a reachable par 5. The Eagle putt my be difficult if there is a back pin placement and the water just to the front and right of the green can be a monster, but birdie to finish the round is VERY do-able here.
The pro shop is small, but packed with great golf deals. Surprisingly, the cost of the items inside aren't your typical pro-shop prices. I personally bought a par of Nike Golf shoes there and paid less than if I had purchased them at Golf Galaxy. Boyd Everling and his staff are excellent to deal and the cost of the golf isn't too bad either. ($30-$45 during the week and $50+on weekends during the summer is about the going rate for the area.
Course rating : 5 out of 5 because of several factors....Cost is reasonable, Staff is excellent, Course shape is amazing and the greens are very forgiving. Every amateur in the area should play Stonebridge on a regular basis.
Tournament review: The tournament was a "couples" tournament....however it was a 4 person scramble. This made things a bit awkward, since you were playing with someone that you didn't know in a captain's choice format. My wife and I are pretty good golfers....and to put us with some unknowns made us uncomfortable at first. Well, the discomfort was quickly wiped away when the couple we were scheduled to play with wanted to play with someone else, and another couple didn't show.....so we got to play as just a pair. We shot a combined 66....NOT TOO SHABBY for a pair playing against foursomes.
Boyd, the head Pro, went over the instructions and sent us out on the course. The pace of play was only slightly slow. When playing in captain's choice tournaments, I plan for 5 hours...but we were done in 4. There was another group playing a tournament on the course at the same time, which was not an issue at all until the end. Both groups found themselves trying to use the social hall for the awards and banquet at the same time.....or pretty close. The group other than us "over-stayed" their welcome in the banquet room which slowed the start of our awards down. Anyway, it was a VERY good experience playing a tournament at Stonebridge this past weekend. I will do it again!