Scotty Cameron
Head Pro
OK, so 4 of us went to play on the new Cathedral Course at Ramside yesterday (New Years Eve) and I thought I would let everyone know what it was like. Winter green fees are in operation and its £80 per 4 ball.
The course has just been opened a few month as of writing and to be truthful it shows. There is still a lot of work going on and that can be seen all around you, bridges being finished off, new tarmac paths and so on. The course is a par 72 and plays 7176 off the Blues, 6877 off the Whites, 6558 off the yellows and for the girlies reading this it 5687 with a par of 73. Yes, this course is pretty long. Walking from the Clubhouse/Pro shop is about 8-10 minutes to the first tee, so make sure you are not late for your tee time, I knew this and we set off well in advance of our time slot.
First hole is a nice and easy par 5 of 495 yards off the tees of the day which were yellows, there was no white or blue tees played out. The tee boxes are long and nice and flat which will give the green staff plenty of scope for the marker placements. The course is an undulating one with narrow fairways and a lot of fairway bunkers which are well positioned to catch you out. Most holes had at least two or more fairway bunkers on either side, the second bunker was always on the opposite side of the first and a few yards further back which made it really hard not miss either if you had a wayward shot.
As well as the fairways being undulating the greens are even more so, there wasn't a flat green on the course and the pin positions could end up in some really nasty positions, there is loads of reading to be done on these greens even if you land your approach 3 foot from the pin.
Water comes into play on about 7 or 8 holes and there is a beck runs along the 12-13th holes which is part of the so called Amen Corner section of the course. All of the ponds were frozen over when we played and there was lots, I mean lots of balls just sitting on the ice, I can see these being full in the summer from players that hit wayward shots.
There is 4 par 3's. 4 par 5's and the rest are par 4's ranging from 295-444 yards off the yellows. From the Blues there are 4 par 4's over 450 yards so you can see its set up for the big boys to play. Most of the tee shots are to blind fairways, you have to aim for the markers in the middle, we found it pretty hard going as it was the first time any of us had played the course, after two or three rounds you will remember where the traps, hazards and green are positioned, we just played blind golf really. There is a lot of doglegs as well which makes it harder to see the greens and greenside bunkers, some of the green are well elevated and we were just hitting and hoping we were somewhere near.
The greens are really nice, with some cracking contours in them and I would really enjoy playing them in the summer when they would be a bit more bedded in, I would definitely say they are USPGA specced. The fairways still need a lot of bedding in, most were hollow tined and were a bit rough, but they can only get better as the year goes on. Not many trees around and its pretty exposed to the wind so will be a hard slog if there is a 15 + mph wind blowing, the courses protection are the strategically placed bunkers and undulating, sloping fairways.
On the whole I enjoyed myself even though I lost 3 balls (all on the par 3's) and it was a cold day. The walks between some of the greens to the next tee box are quite long and it is a bit hilly as well, especially around Amen Corner. Will definitely be going back late summer as the course should play a lot better after the grass is bedded in.
The course has just been opened a few month as of writing and to be truthful it shows. There is still a lot of work going on and that can be seen all around you, bridges being finished off, new tarmac paths and so on. The course is a par 72 and plays 7176 off the Blues, 6877 off the Whites, 6558 off the yellows and for the girlies reading this it 5687 with a par of 73. Yes, this course is pretty long. Walking from the Clubhouse/Pro shop is about 8-10 minutes to the first tee, so make sure you are not late for your tee time, I knew this and we set off well in advance of our time slot.
First hole is a nice and easy par 5 of 495 yards off the tees of the day which were yellows, there was no white or blue tees played out. The tee boxes are long and nice and flat which will give the green staff plenty of scope for the marker placements. The course is an undulating one with narrow fairways and a lot of fairway bunkers which are well positioned to catch you out. Most holes had at least two or more fairway bunkers on either side, the second bunker was always on the opposite side of the first and a few yards further back which made it really hard not miss either if you had a wayward shot.
As well as the fairways being undulating the greens are even more so, there wasn't a flat green on the course and the pin positions could end up in some really nasty positions, there is loads of reading to be done on these greens even if you land your approach 3 foot from the pin.
Water comes into play on about 7 or 8 holes and there is a beck runs along the 12-13th holes which is part of the so called Amen Corner section of the course. All of the ponds were frozen over when we played and there was lots, I mean lots of balls just sitting on the ice, I can see these being full in the summer from players that hit wayward shots.
There is 4 par 3's. 4 par 5's and the rest are par 4's ranging from 295-444 yards off the yellows. From the Blues there are 4 par 4's over 450 yards so you can see its set up for the big boys to play. Most of the tee shots are to blind fairways, you have to aim for the markers in the middle, we found it pretty hard going as it was the first time any of us had played the course, after two or three rounds you will remember where the traps, hazards and green are positioned, we just played blind golf really. There is a lot of doglegs as well which makes it harder to see the greens and greenside bunkers, some of the green are well elevated and we were just hitting and hoping we were somewhere near.
The greens are really nice, with some cracking contours in them and I would really enjoy playing them in the summer when they would be a bit more bedded in, I would definitely say they are USPGA specced. The fairways still need a lot of bedding in, most were hollow tined and were a bit rough, but they can only get better as the year goes on. Not many trees around and its pretty exposed to the wind so will be a hard slog if there is a 15 + mph wind blowing, the courses protection are the strategically placed bunkers and undulating, sloping fairways.
On the whole I enjoyed myself even though I lost 3 balls (all on the par 3's) and it was a cold day. The walks between some of the greens to the next tee box are quite long and it is a bit hilly as well, especially around Amen Corner. Will definitely be going back late summer as the course should play a lot better after the grass is bedded in.
