WEEDSPORT - We found the rough. We found the water. We found the trees. We even hit one in the road. But at least we didn't have the worst round of golf this weekend. Thanks, Phil Mickelson.
Meadow Brook Golf Club is no Winged Foot, but the average golfer can get into almost as much trouble as Lefty.
“There's water on seven of the nine holes,” Meadow Brook clubhouse manager Bev Scarbrough said. “You've got a shot at hitting it in the water on almost every hole.”
Two brooks on opposite sides of the road cut through five holes. On Nos. 6, 7 and 9, the brook crosses the fairway about 150 to 200 yards out, just far enough to ponder a lay-up. But be prepared, it's a very long seven seconds if you opt to bomb your drive over the hazard.
Ponds guard the greens on Nos. 2 and 7, while two larger ponds sit just off the first tee box and third fairway. The water hazards on No. 3 - all three of them - were actually the product of runoff. The course's owner, Marlon Hutton, could never figure out a proper drainage system for the third fairway, which always had a problem with standing water. So instead of removing the water, Hutton decided to work with it, building two ponds in the area where the water drained.
“We get all the runoff from North Brook, which runs all the way from Hoopes Park,” Scarbrough said.
Meadow Brook is literally a cow pasture transformed into a nine-hole course, though you'd never know it. The area is anything but flat, especially on the clubhouse-side of the course. You may be able to keep your ball dry but you'll probably find yourself with a few side-hill lies. There's nothing like taking a swing at a ball that's chest high.
That doesn't mean the course isn't in immaculate condition, though.
“(Hutton) believes in keeping the course very fine,” Scarbrough said. “He's very fussy about it.”
Fussy in a good. Hutton is constantly making improvements to the course and takes pride in being the first course each year that can send carts out.
Meadow Brook isn't the most difficult course, but it will force you to use your brain. Do I hit it over the trees or around? Do I hit an iron or my driver? The rough isn't that long, so straight isn't a must. It's much more important to stay away from the trees and the ponds.
One thing's for sure, there's no shortage of entertaining shots on this course. There's grass in some of the creek beds, giving the golfer an opportunity - not necessarily a smart one - to give some life to a ball that was thought to be dead. Of course, you'll learn your lesson quickly as we did. Apparently a hard swing on an upslope can cause you to lose your footing and fall backward into the creek. We never could figure out that gravity thing.
But then again, at least we didn't hit our drive into a tent - or a trash can for that matter. We're saving those shots for when we have a gallery.
“There's water on seven of the nine holes,” Meadow Brook clubhouse manager Bev Scarbrough said. “You've got a shot at hitting it in the water on almost every hole.”
Two brooks on opposite sides of the road cut through five holes. On Nos. 6, 7 and 9, the brook crosses the fairway about 150 to 200 yards out, just far enough to ponder a lay-up. But be prepared, it's a very long seven seconds if you opt to bomb your drive over the hazard.
Ponds guard the greens on Nos. 2 and 7, while two larger ponds sit just off the first tee box and third fairway. The water hazards on No. 3 - all three of them - were actually the product of runoff. The course's owner, Marlon Hutton, could never figure out a proper drainage system for the third fairway, which always had a problem with standing water. So instead of removing the water, Hutton decided to work with it, building two ponds in the area where the water drained.
“We get all the runoff from North Brook, which runs all the way from Hoopes Park,” Scarbrough said.
Meadow Brook is literally a cow pasture transformed into a nine-hole course, though you'd never know it. The area is anything but flat, especially on the clubhouse-side of the course. You may be able to keep your ball dry but you'll probably find yourself with a few side-hill lies. There's nothing like taking a swing at a ball that's chest high.
That doesn't mean the course isn't in immaculate condition, though.
“(Hutton) believes in keeping the course very fine,” Scarbrough said. “He's very fussy about it.”
Fussy in a good. Hutton is constantly making improvements to the course and takes pride in being the first course each year that can send carts out.
Meadow Brook isn't the most difficult course, but it will force you to use your brain. Do I hit it over the trees or around? Do I hit an iron or my driver? The rough isn't that long, so straight isn't a must. It's much more important to stay away from the trees and the ponds.
One thing's for sure, there's no shortage of entertaining shots on this course. There's grass in some of the creek beds, giving the golfer an opportunity - not necessarily a smart one - to give some life to a ball that was thought to be dead. Of course, you'll learn your lesson quickly as we did. Apparently a hard swing on an upslope can cause you to lose your footing and fall backward into the creek. We never could figure out that gravity thing.
But then again, at least we didn't hit our drive into a tent - or a trash can for that matter. We're saving those shots for when we have a gallery.
The Citizens' Say
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