No More Posts Here

Starting now, I'm just going to post exclusively to my original blog, Loose on the Internet.  That way I can post something everyday, rather than posting sporadically over three separate blogs.  Over the next few weeks, I may post some of the old posts from here to there, if they're good, I want them to be there.  So, content's not ending, it's just moving.  There will still be plenty of golf there.

Caledonia Tour Part 1

Carroll Valley's been explored to its fullest, so now it's time to visit a new golf course.  Caledonia Golf Course is part of Caledonia State Park, and as such, it can be pretty minimal.  No nicely maintained fairways here.  It's only about 5,300 yards, but it is very hilly and there are some long walks.  It can be a hike, and I'm not sure it's worth it.  This course has some very weird holes, holes that I really don't like.  But it is pretty cheap.  The front nine is alright, I guess, but it's pretty old, built back in the 1920's, I believe.  The back nine is newer, and there is some weird stuff going on back there.  So, now that you're all properly enthused for the pinnacle of golf, let's get started.


Hole 1: 335 yards

I've never been able to wrap my head around this tee shot.  There's a stream that cuts across the fairway, and the hole doglegs severely at around 200-225 yards out, so a layup is the usual play.  That stream is somehow simultaneously so close to not be a problem and difficult to clear.  Seriously, it's farther than it looks, but not really, and I've had trouble clearing it in the past.  My usual drive is a hook that dives into the trees separating this hole from the next, which is always fun and usually results in a double bogey.  Something that I've thought about trying is going over all the trees on the right and blasting away at the green.  It can't be that far away.  If there were a driving range, I would do it, but this is always my first shot of the day, and I've just never been comfortable with it.

The second shot(or for me, third shot) is a wedge over a very undulating fairway to a very elevated green.  There's a bunker left and trees right and long.  You really have to be careful not to be short, because that leaves a very tough pitch, not to mention the risk of the ball rolling all the way back down.  The greens here are all pretty slow, so they do tend to have quite a bit of break to them.

You may have noticed that there are quite a lot of trees around.  This golf course is part of a state park, so yes, there are going to a lot of trees to deal with during the round.  I imagine most people don't share my irrational hatred of trees, but I have never played well at this course.  Never, not even close.  Too many trees, too many drives shot off in the wrong direction.  Too bad, because the relatively poor condition of the place reminds me of my home course.  I can deal with slow greens and bare lies, but I cannot deal with trees.  Too bad.


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Carroll Valley Tour Part 18

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17

Hole 18: 215 yards

Not a great picture, but it's the only one I have.

It's taken some time, but here we are at the end of the Carroll Valley tour.  The last hole is another longish par 3, playing across a valley to a well bunkered green.  It's almost always nearly dark by the time I get to this hole, luckily this is a par 3 so searching is kept to a minimum.  This green slopes pretty severely from back to front, so you don't want to be above the hole.  Like I said on the last post, this hole's kind of boring and forgettable.  I'm not saying that the last hole should be ridiculous and over-the-top, but this hole always stuck me as being a bit bland.

So, now that the tour is over, what do I think of this golf course.  Well, it's not my favorite.  It's not that there's anything particularly wrong with it, but there isn't anything that it does well.  It's not too long, it's not too open or tight, the fairways aren't narrow or wide, the greens aren't interesting but they aren't flat, the bunkers are hazards but they're not difficult ones, and there's water on a few holes.  There's probably a reason nobody realizes that there's a golf course at Liberty Mountain here.  Well, other than that skiing is the resort's main focus.  There's no particular draw, it's just 18 holes of inoffensive, generic golf.  If you're looking to try out the game, this might actually be a pretty good place to do it.  There's enough challenge to keep the novice interested, but nothing insurmountable, it's well maintained, which most golfers find important, and it's easy to get around.  So, not really my kind of place, but it's certainly not bad by any stretch of the imagination.

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Carroll Valley Tour Part 17

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16

Hole 17: 555 yards

A long par 5 is not the sort of thing you want to see at the end of your round.  It feels like even more of a slog than usual.  The drive here plays slightly uphill to a wide open fairway.  There's a native area quite a ways left of the fairway, and there is out-of-bounds even farther away off to the right.  The O.B is especially out of the way, I've hit some pretty bad drives, and I've seen some pretty bad drives, and I've never seen one go out on the drive.  The ideal shot to hit off the tee is a little draw, which will roll a long way down the fairway, since it slopes off towards the left.

The native area and O.B continue down their respective sides for the second shots, and I wish I could tell you that they aren't in play on this shot, but I can't.  I've gone out on the second shot, and the native area gets pretty close on the left.  Still, the primary focus on the second is the big fairway bunker cutting in from the left side about 80 or 90 yards short of the green.  Obviously, you don't want to be in that bunker.  Laying up short of it is certainly an option, but if you do that, you can't see the green.  You could go to the right of it, which is probably the best option.  Or, you could be like me and go for the green.  This is a long hole, but the last 50 yards of fairway goes downhill, so if you manage to hit a draw over that fairway bunker, the green is reachable in two.  I haven't hit it, but the last time I played I was only a couple feet away. 

The green is actually fairly difficult.  You can actually have a putt that breaks more than a couple feet.  I actually kind of like this hole, even though a draw isn't really my shot shape.  I have fun trying, and when I do pull it off, it's very satisfying.  I kind of wish this was the last hole, not because I have anything against par 3 finishing holes, but the one here is kind of indifferent, and this is a much better hole.

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Carroll Valley Tour Part 16

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15

Hole 16: 437 yards

This is the longest par 4 on the course, and one of the most difficult as well.  There are trees to the right which are out-of-bounds, and while there is some space left, if the drive goes further than say, 250 or 260 yards, there are more trees and tall grass left.  Fortunately, these hazards are spread out quite a bit, so there is still plenty of room to hit your drive.  It's a difficult drive, but not unreasonable.  The tee shot is blind, which adds to the hole's difficulty for quite a few people.  I don't have a problem with blind shots.  Sure, it's nice to see where your ball landed, but it would be silly to expect it.

The second shot is usually a mid to short iron, playing up the hill to a green guarded by a bunker front-left.  This is another hole where I don't even try to go for the flag.  It's a pretty tough second shot, so I like to just aim for the center of the green and do my best to ensure a par.  Just like on the last hole, you don't want to miss the green left.  There's another steep dropoff, and the bunker can easily get in the way.  Miss off to the right, and it should be a fairly simple chip for everyone who can make consistent, solid contact when they hit a pitch shot (This does not include me).  The green is once again, fairly straightforward.


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Carroll Valley Tour Part 15

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14

Hole 15: 183 yards

This may be one of the shorter par 3's on this course, but this hole is actually pretty hard.  The tee shot plays up the hill to a shallow green guarded in front by a fairly deep bunker.  I aim for the middle of the green and take the long putt.  Never go for the hole if it's on the left.  If it misses even a little bit left, it will roll off, and if you miss the green entirely, it'll bounce down the hill and you'll have a ridiculously hard pitch back up.  Seriously, it's no fun to the left.

Even if you do hit the green with your tee shot, the ordeal is far from over.  This green actually has some slope to it, and it's not unusual to have a putt that breaks five feet or more.  One of my cross-country voyages across this green broke about 25 feet in the end.  Seriously, it broke so much, I couldn't believe it.  I learned my lesson that day.  If you can two-putt this green, it might actually be better than the average.  This green is that difficult to putt if the hole is on the left.  It's not so bad on the right, but the left-hand hole locations are absolutely killer.

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Carroll Valley Tour Part 14

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13

Hole 14: 415 yards

The last four holes have all been in one direction, leading straight away from the clubhouse.  Standing on this tee, you're a long way from anything.  The entire hole runs right along what we call a mountain in Pennsylvania, but it's not much more than a hill.  There's a stream running along the right side as well at the very foot of the hill, but really, neither should come into play on the tee shot.  There's quite a bit of space right, and plenty more to the left.  I've used a three wood on this hole in the past because it seemed like a prudent play, but I don't think it ever really worked.  I have a tendency to pop up three woods from the tee, so now I just go with the driver and blast away.  Strangely, this has seemed to improve my performance on the hole.

The stream does cut in front of the green, but it's quite a ways before, so as long as you can hit an iron shot with a reasonable level of competence, it's not even a factor.  The two bunkers are of more concern, so what I usually do is aim for the middle of the green, doing my best to avoid them.  I'll accept a longer putt on this hole, there may be nothing particularly offensive about it, but it just doesn't quite fit my eye.  Maybe it's because trees are my archenemy on the golf course, and any sort of forest where it's impossible to play out from makes me really uneasy.  Even so, I think the last birdie I got on this course was on this hole, so it can't be all bad.  Right?

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