| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 691.1 | well kept,clean and fairly tough i give it a '8' | TIDES::SWANEY | is this the other side of Paradise?? | Thu Jul 20 1989 15:11 | 33 |
|
Well,
I can tell you all about the back nine , which ive played
a half a dozen times. The 10 is a 160yd par 3 w/ small green,sand
and trees swallowing it up. 11 is a short par 4 the first 100yds
are very tight and the fairways opens right up. the approach is
up hill on a two tered(sp.) green. 12 is also a par short to it's
downhill with water protecting the green it can't be to much longer
than 310 or so. Most people hit a 3,5 wood or a low iron and lay
up in front of the water. I usually drive it and stay left. 13 is
a very short par 5 435yds it's a dogleg left and can only be reached
in two with a perfect drive. the green is also on a hill.14 is a
par 4 nothing special but it has a couple of valleys in the fairway.
the 15 is about the same par 4 but a little narrower. 16 is a par
4 it can only be reached in to with a nice straight drive of atleast
250 only beacuse it's an extreme dogleg left.17 is also a par 4
and is kinda tough. you have to options if you hit a big drive (like
me sometimes) you paly your drive over the trees and then a 9 or
pw to the green becuase it's also a dogleg but right or you hit
straight to the fairway and have a low-mid iron shot to the an out
of sight green. The 18 is one of the hardest finishing holes Ive
played it's a par 3 215yds all up hill and you can's see if your
on or not.
Holden is semi-private and every time weve gone up there were
always on the back. The say the front is even more hilly( i find
that hard to beleive).
good Luck
Bill
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| 691.2 | Narrow! | STUDIO::PIEL | | Thu Jul 20 1989 15:38 | 14 |
| RE:0
About 4 years ago when I first took up golf on a serious basis, I
played Holden Hills. While I cannot recall anything about specific
holes, the narrow fairways have always left an impression on me.
Generally, the course is well kept, at least it was four years ago.
I plan on buying a dozen balls before I play there, I'm in the league
too and look forward to the challenge of playing there.
Best of luck on the 18th !!!!!!
Ken
|
| 691.3 | exit | SDEVAX::GRYGLIK | When's our tee time? | Thu Jul 20 1989 17:01 | 37 |
| Holden Hills is a great course! It's one of the toughest in the
area. If you spray a lot of your shots, there's plenty of jungle,
rough, and water to make your day miserable. The greens are usually
like airport runways and as fast as jets. Most greens are elevated
above the fairways. I vaguely recall that the course rating is
something like 73.? and the slope 127?
The first hole is a straight par 4 with the fairway sloping
severely to the right. Your drives will generally find the right
rough. The rough is deep enough on this course to lose balls in.
The second hole is a 600 yd par 5 with a pond that comes into play
if you play for the flag. You must stay left. The third is a 180
yd par 3, the fourth is a dog leg par 4 with a creek running diagonally
across up by the 150s. Your second shot to the green may be blind
depending on how where your first shot lands. The 5th is a par 4
dogleg right with the same creek running across the dogleg. The
creek will come into play depending on where the tees are. The
6th is a 160 yd par three with water from the right front of the
green wrapping around to the back left (the same creek). The 7th
is a par 4 dogleg right with a pond at the bend preventing you from
trying to cut the corner. It's very deceptive. The water extends
farther into the left than it appears from the tee. The 8th is
a long par 5 with an extremely high elevated green. There's water
on the left that comes into play if you hit your drive down the
middle or left. Shots landing short on the slope approaching the
green will roll back down to the fairway in good conditions. If
they decide to mow the slope to rough height, good luck! The 9th
is a blind par 4 straight away. Trust the markers, the distance/depth
perception here can kill you. Don't be long or left on your approach
to the green.
See Tom Davis' reply for the back nine. Don't play this course
in the fall unless you've got a bagfull of shags to lose.
Mike
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| 691.4 | I'm ready | STUDIO::PIEL | | Thu Jul 20 1989 17:18 | 7 |
| RE: .3
It sounds fantastic !! I can't wait to play. Maybe I will bring
2 dozen balls !!!!!
Ken--
|
| 691.5 | Then get going! | SDEVAX::GRYGLIK | When's our tee time? | Fri Jul 21 1989 08:59 | 11 |
| Ken,
I haven't played there yet this year, but if I recall
correctly, Holden Hills takes tee times beginning at 7 or 7:30 am
Thursdays for the weekend. Last year greens fees on the weekends
were $25 before 2:00 PM & $15 after 2 PM. On a Saturday in June
of last year, my partner & I went around in 3:45 with a 6:30 AM
tee time! I highly recommend this course. It's a challenge!
Mike
|
| 691.6 | Holden Hills Score Card | HPSRAD::POULSEN | | Fri Jul 21 1989 11:49 | 18 |
| Holden Hills Golf Club
HOLE YDS PAR HOLE YDS PAR
1 354 4 10 164 3
2 592 5 11 269 4
3 163 3 12 278 4
4 309 4 13 433 5
5 312 4 14 359 4
6 147 3 15 341 4
7 340 4 16 414 4
8 476 5 17 327 4
9 348 4 18 216 3
--- ---- -- -- ---- --
OUT 3043 36 IN 2783 35
OUT 3043 36
TOTAL 5826 71
U.S.G.A. Course Rating - 71.9
|
| 691.7 | holden | BTOVT::HOGANP | | Fri Jul 21 1989 12:37 | 63 |
|
HOLE
----
#1 keep drive left towards pine trees on hill everything
kicks right. to be safe play short of green long is golf
hell
#2 very long par 5 . lay up behind pond to the left.
#3 hit it staight or your in trouble. be short if anything
#4 go fot it or play an iron in front of fairway bunkers.
again don't be long into the green
#5 iron off the tee keep it left watch out for the brook
#6 no mystery just don't be long brook behind the green
#7 irom off the tee keep it left away from water five
or four iron is plenty
#8 what you see is what you get. watch out for pond on left
tough green to hold
#9 drive down left side of fairway if you leak one right to
much you will run down the hill. well bunkered green
#10 be carefull
#11 iron off the tee dog right opens up pretty much double
teared green can be a nightmare
#12 can hit a 6 or 7 off the tee. can be reached off the
tee but fools rush in were wise men never go
#13 par 5 dog left can reach in two but well bunkered green
#14 narrow can hit three wood off tee and be okay
#15 same as above
#16 long par 4 need big drive to make corner if you make
the corner youe aokay
#17 tricky par four dog right tough green hit an iron off the
tee position is everything
#18 long par three. 3 wood might get you there. keep it right
well have fun it's a very challenging course and you will pay for your
mistakes. i do.
pete
|
| 691.8 | Holden Hills ? Just Say No... | MRKTNG::VARLEY | | Mon Sep 21 1992 11:24 | 11 |
| Mr. Mod - if thre's already a note on this place, please feel free to
move it.
Finally played Holden Hills last Friday. I had heard it was a good
course in good shape. WRONG!! What a sewer ! Trash everywhere, marginal
fairways, beat up tees and awful greens. Plus, due to the way it's laid
out, there are quite a few dangerous areas. I thought the overall
design was pretty weak, too. I would NOT (!!) recommend this goat ranch
to anyone !
__JacK
|
| 691.9 | It's not that bad!! | LUDWIG::TREMBLAY | | Mon Sep 21 1992 23:07 | 46 |
| In defense of Holden Hills, let me start by saying that the course
is in a period of transition. For the last five years, (not including
this year) the course was turned into a "goat farm" by the total mis-
management of the A. J. Lane company. He bought the course and
abutting land with plans for a housing development, but the town would
not allow him to do what he wanted. A short time later, he filed chap-
ter 11 and did nothing but suck greens fees money out of the place. In
my opinion, he tried to bail out his construction company at the
expense of this golf course.
I've been a member at Holden Hills since I started playing golf
about 12 years ago. I've heard all the criticism about the course
layout (only 6000 yds from the whites), too many short par 4's, etc.
Well, there were only three holes there in the late 1890's (10,11 & 12)
and those are a couple of the shortest. When I was growing up in the
late 50's and early 60's, there were only 9 holes (1,9,10,11,12,13,14,
15 and 18). Also, 10-12 years ago when Mike Leger was the course
superintendant, it was one of the most manicured tracks in Worcester
county. This year, the greens were coming back nicely until the last
aeration. I'm not sure what went wrong, but they are currently in the
worst condition of the year and they're still better than the last two
years. Do I sound defensive?? Well, I am. I've been heart broken for
the last several years over what's happened there. Not only did I
learn to play golf there, I grew up 1/4 mile away. The course was my
playground when I was young.
Anyway, the new management who bought the place just last winter
has started it on its way to recovery. The layout will probably never
change, but I like it the way it is. It's a challenge from the tips if
that's what you want. The greens will come back with a little TLC and
I believe the new management has good intentions to turn the place
around. They started with the cart paths this year, and the bunkers
(which are now stone-filled gravel pits for the most part) will be
worked on next year.
Jack, I'm sorry you were disappointed but give it some time and it
should return to a very nice track in the coming years. As for the
danger, there are two tees that you have to cross in front of going
from 17 to 18, but anyone who frequents the course is aware of this.
Perhaps they could put up some warning signs at those points. Most
golf courses have a little danger built in just by the nature of the
game. That's all I have to say about Holden Hills for now except that
one bad swing will cost you 2 strokes more often than not, and I enjoy
playing there.
John
P.S. How did you score? Did you get stuck in slow play? Lose a lot of
golf balls? Have PMS that day? It's really not that bad!!
|
| 691.10 | Baaaaah ! | MRKTNG::VARLEY | | Tue Sep 22 1992 12:20 | 23 |
| After a couple of holes, my pal and I just kind of got bummed, and
didn't keep score. We just hit some different kinds of shots to try and
get a "feel" for the place. It WAS pretty slow. We played it from the
tips, and I just hit driver everywhere, because I didn't think it was
that tight. Truthfully, there are a few holes that you're probably
better off with a long iron off the tee, but it's less fun. Since we
weren't having much fun, I just took out the Yonex and beat on it. Hit
it o.k., until I got a little tired. I kind of liked the downhill par 4
(12 ?). Didn't understand the tree in front of the tee though. I ended
up hitting driver over it and was pin high left of the green. Stupid to
hit driver, but it sure was fun...
The new Pro - Tim Bishop - is from Greenfield C.C., and he's a great
kid. He worked for the legendary Bucky O'Brien, and I know folks will
like him. After the round I went to Wachusett for a pop, and ran into
Gerry Taylor - one of the top amateurs in Central Ma. He didn't care
much for Holden as it is now either. I hope they get it back in shape
and get rid of all the trash everywhere. If they do, I think Tim Bishop
will make folks want to come back. If they don't - Berlin C.C. might be
better... Just my opinion, and I'm always in favor of adding good golf
courses to the area.
--Jack
|
| 691.11 | try it again someday | STRATA::TREMBLAY | | Wed Sep 23 1992 00:15 | 16 |
| I totally agree about Tim Bishop. I haven't had the chance to see
him play but anyone who'll play over 400 holes in 24 hours is ok by me.
That brings up another good point. We've been without a pro for a few
years and didn't have any of the professionalism that a decent course
deserves.
Anyone who hits the ball any distance can get into trouble on
several holes with a driver. What did you hit on #5 (elevated tee
hitting over a pond with a stream running across the fairway at about
215 yds)? Did you get over the pond in two on the second? Real tough
from the blues! What about 18? 220yd par 3 uphill and all you can see
from the tee is the top half of the pin.
In case you'd consider trying it again, I'd be glad to join you. I
REALLY love the place and consider it a good strategic course.
Besides, for 16 bucks, what did you expect, Disneyworld?
John
|
| 691.12 | | MRKTNG::VARLEY | | Wed Sep 23 1992 11:45 | 16 |
| We paid $19 - including cart - which is REALLY cheap ! No complaints
about the price. If the place was in shape, it'd be a steal. I remember
#5 now - I hit 3 or 4 iron off the tee down the right side. Hit it
pretty thin, and hit SW to a couple of feet for my only birdie. After I
got down there I wished I had hit driver. Wouldn't have played the hole
better, but since the creek is pretty close, there's enough room to hit
driver. I liked the green location - I thought it was one of the better
greensites I saw. There's kind of a strange hole later on (#7 ?) where
you hit your tee shot and there's a "blind" pond that comes out into
the landing area, and a soggy fairway. Hit it dead straight, but "toe'd
it" a bit and couldn't find it. The guys just in front said it didn't
splash, so it must have plugged... Weird hole - not tough, just weird.
Hopefully, someone will come in with some cash and give you the kind of
course you deserve.
__JACK
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