Pine Ridge CC
Town: North Oxford, Mass.
Played: May 1, 2024
Yardage: 5,913/4,293
Tier: Fast Food
Rating: 2
Pine Ridge is a simple, no-frills golf course. During the round, I was most impressed with the greens. While they weren’t fast due to recent aeration, I did find them interesting, and not because of interior slopes or wild undulations but because of the way a lot of them sat slightly higher than the surrounding area. In some cases, long grass hides this feature, but in some spots Pine Ridge utilized short grass to enhance it and add variation to short shots. A nice touch.
There were some poorly placed trees on the course that blocked shots from the fairway to the green. I was required to hit a wedge from the left fairway over a tree on the par-5 18th to lay up short of a water hazard. There is also a vestige of 1990s golf design - pine trees are placed behind greens, which look dated.
I was struck by the limited number of bunkers. Holes 10-15, on one side of the road, have no bunkers, which is awesome. It’s a good set of holes, 12 and 13 in particular.
13 is probably the best hole on the back nine. A 425-yard par four that cants slightly to the right with some light woods on the right and a few trees on the left. The green is small and tough to hit.
On the front, the third hole is a big 445-yard par 4 with water cutting across the fairway. A needless copse of trees on the right probably impacts the pace of play and people’s scores. The second shot is slightly uphill and the green is open in the front to receive long irons. A very tough hole.
Two holes were tragically bad. The 16th is a blind, downhill, dogleg right with a tiny landing area and trees overhanging the corner. The fifth hole’s tee box was closed, but the water on the right, the left-to-right slope, and a set of trees on the left make this green very hard to hit. It’s also the wettest, lowest part of the property. Just a tough hole all around.
Pine Rride CC might be the first par 71 that has no holes longer than 500 yards from the tips (5,913 yards). It’s a great course for beginners because it’s rather flat, lacks bunkers, and has a few holes that would be a thrill to make a par.
The price is also right at $35 to walk.
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