I headed out to Evergreen, Colorado for a little vacationing as well as some golfing. We decided to hit the local muni, Evergreen Golf Course, which is owned by the City of Denver. We had a 1:40 p.m. tee time on a Friday and the course was packed. Despite that, they were running 10 minutes ahead of schedule and we got off almost as soon as we arrived. Unfortunately, we had to rent clubs which I would strongly advise against because the rentals were absolutely lousy. Oh well, at least you could rent a three wheeled push cart if you chose to walk. Be forewarned however as walking ain’t so easy in the mountains at altitude.
A look back at the clubhouse from the 1st green
As you can see the views that the course afforded were absolutely amazing. You just don’t get this kind of scenery in Ohio. The course in general was typical of your local muni – short, small greens and tight fairways. Despite the amount of play it received, it was in good shape. The first is a straightforward, uphill par 4 that plays about 290. The hole helps slicers with a bank along the right side of the fairway which kept many a slice well in play.
I recently visited Raymond Memorial after not having played there for a couple years. I generally try to avoid Raymond in the prime golfing months as it gets a whole heck of a lot of play and the people playing there are not too current on their golf etiquette. Despite this, Raymond Memorial does have its charm. And if you visit it when it gets a bit cooler, many of the blue collar crowd will be noticeably absent.
Raymond is known for its huge greens, mammoth sand traps, meaty par 3’s, and surly employees. It is also known for its double greens. Back when it was built in 1952, Robert Trent Jones, the designer, constructed two tees and two greens for each par 3 on the course. The idea was to speed up play. If someone was really slowing you down, you could always pass them on the par 3’s by playing whichever green the others were not playing. It probably led to a lot of confusion and the practice was abandonned but Raymond has always maintained the extra greens/tees. Raymond was using the alternate par 3 for the fifth hole which I had never seen done before in my years of playing there.
Holes of note on the front side include the par 5, first hole. Its a fairly straightfoward par 5, and I remark on it because it can be an easy birdie to start your round with. Just note where the flag is and make sure to hit to the appropriate level on the green.
Fourth hole at Raymond Memorial Golf Course
The fourth hole is a par 4, 90 degree dogleg right. If you are daring, you can take it right over the trees. Aim farther right than you would think. I’ve often ended up past the original no. 5 tees on my drive because I didn’t aim far enough right. On this day, we played from the blues, and I took it way right over the trees and ended up just left of the right bunker in this picture. If I went further right, I would’ve ended up in the trap. It would take a gutsy and powerful drive to hit this green in one but it may be possible.
I always like the short par 5 number 6. It provides for another birdie opportunity as the green can be easily hit in two. No. 7 is a really long par 4. I finally birdied it two years ago, and I believe that that was my only remaining hole that I hadn’t birdied on the front nine.
#9 and Raymond
No. 9 is a dogleg left. You used to be able to take it over most of the trees and leave yourself a short shot to the green. Raymond has planted a lot of new trees which prevent this, and they have added a lot of trees all around the course in general.
Overall, Raymond is a good time – just avoid the crowds in the summer.
I just picked this up from Amazon.com. Used it Sunday and hope to take it out on the course again on Friday. Perhaps after a trip to the range, I’ll have enough feedback to write up a little review of the Taylor Made Golf- Rescue Mid Hybrid Iron/Wood Graphite.
I’ve never been a big fan of rescue clubs. The Taylor Made Golf- Rescue Mid Hybrid Iron/Wood Graphite still has not made me a big fan of rescue clubs. The Taylor Made Hybrid that I purchased is similar to a two iron in loft. I was thinking that it would be a good club to hit on my second shot into par 5’s. I think it would also be useful to keep the ball lows and get out of trouble under trees. I haven’t had much use for it off the tee as of yet. Perhaps a higher loft Taylor Made Rescue club would come in handy on more par 3’s.
I hit mine about 215 yards, and it does loft the ball much higher than a 2 iron. It is easier to hit than an iron but, in my opinion, not as easy to hit as a wood. I’ll keep working with it and keep you posted.
Update 3-23-08 I’m still not a huge fan of hybrid clubs. Perhaps, I should have purchased a higher lofted rescue club. I don’t use it off the tee much and rarely use it on other shots. It could come in handy as a good chipper though. I’ll look for more opportunities to use the rescue this season.
Looking for a quick nine in Girard, Pa, we came upon Overlake Golf Course. Overlake gladly obliged as we got there in plenty of time before they decided to call it a night. Apparently, the course sometimes closes early if things are a bit slow. They started us out on the back nine although I had heard that the front nine was the way to go if you were just playing nine holes. Well, we didn’t have much choice in the matter and the back nine was still fun. Hole 13 was a particularly memorable hole. A short par 4 that is reachable from the tee, I put my drive just to the left of the green and made a decent effort of trying to chip it in for eagle. I settled for a tap in birdie. My dad’s cousin wanted to give me the putt but the golden rule is you putt your birdie putts. If you don’t earn it, what’s the point?
Par 3, 14th at Overlake Golf Course
Here’s the par 3, 14th, I went by their yardage and ended up hitting it over the green. The 15th is another reachable par 4 but with a narrow fairway. The 16th is a dogleg par 5. 17 is another short par 4 with water to the front and right of the green. 18 is a dogleg left par 5.
Overlake is a fun little track. A bit short but offers some challenges from the tee. I hope to get back there soon.
