How Would You Play It (16 at Saddleback Golf Course in Firestone)

[Pretzel]

Wind all about the wind. Firestone is a little town that was buiilt in a field with nothing around it. My former home course is in Ft.Lupton down the road, always windy up there. I work in Brighton just 6 miles south. There are days I leave for the course and it's dead calm in town but when I get to the course it is windy enough to make golfing tricky. Wind is a four letter word around here.

It's surprising how strong it frequently is. I live outside of town and it can be howling at my house, then completely still in town. Or I can be in school with no wind, then go directly to the course to play and find that I've got quite a bit of wind to contend with. I suppose it's somewhat helpful in that I know how to hit low shots fairly well because of it.

This hole, surprisingly, actually plays easier with a headwind than a tailwind. That's just because it's easy to stop the ball on the green with a headwind, but it often skips over into a back bunker with the tailwind.

[tmac20]

My miss is left, so I'd hit a 6 iron aimed at the centre of that fairway. It should be about 190 yards to clear that red hazard on the right, no? It's hard to miss badly with a 6 iron off the tee. I'd be left with about 90 yards and 35 yards of green to work with. Easy par, chance of birdie. If I aim at the green off the tee with a hybrid, there is a good chance I will be in the water and make bogey +.

[Dave2512]

I wish I played there more it's a little outside my travel range, the guys in the shop weren't crazy about letting me out late in the day after work. Not sure if Mark is still there, he works the shop at Coyote Creek on Sun. He is cool. This hole is a lot like 17 at CO National, though 17 is a little longer depending on the tees. Ever play there? Yeah headwind is good, crosswinds make it funky and tailwind too unpredictable. A 7i might miss long and make it to the water. . [quote name="Pretzel" url="/t/74644/how-would-you-play-it-16-at-saddleback-golf-course-in-firestone/90#post_993580"]It's surprising how strong it frequently is. I live outside of town and it can be howling at my house, then completely still in town. Or I can be in school with no wind, then go directly to the course to play and find that I've got quite a bit of wind to contend with. I suppose it's somewhat helpful in that I know how to hit low shots fairly well because of it. This hole, surprisingly, actually plays easier with a headwind than a tailwind. That's just because it's easy to stop the ball on the green with a headwind, but it often skips over into a back bunker with the tailwind. [/quote]

[kleraudio]

CO national is an absolute joke.  I live right next to it and was so excited when I moved to CO to have a course so close.  If you're into 6.5 hour rounds, zero marshals, dicks at the pro shop, overpriced beer, and overall just negative attitude from all employees, then CO national is your place!

I gave them 12 tries.  YES, 12!  each and every time the people that worked there didn't give two craps about you and the quickest round I ever played there was 5 hours.  Longest was 6.5.

I'll never play there again.

[Pretzel]

CO national is an absolute joke.  I live right next to it and was so excited when I moved to CO to have a course so close.  If you're into 6.5 hour rounds, zero marshals, dicks at the pro shop, overpriced beer, and overall just negative attitude from all employees, then CO national is your place!

I gave them 12 tries.  YES, 12!  each and every time the people that worked there didn't give two craps about you and the quickest round I ever played there was 5 hours.  Longest was 6.5.

I'll never play there again.

I've never played there, but I have practiced there a few times. I just wear my shirt for the golf team of the high school I go to, which isn't even the high school near Colorado National, and they give me free range balls which is nice if I'm in the area. They seemed pretty nice, but I know they can be pretty stubborn since they're owned by the same guy as Fox Hill, and Fox Hill doesn't budge on anything.

[kleraudio]

Don't bother with it.  Get your free range balls and enjoy.  The range isn't even cut half the time, it's more like the second cut of rough.

You wanna talk about ball marks on the greens, there are no less than 100 ball marks on EVERY green there.  There is no such thing as putting at CO National.  No one repairs their marks, and the groundskeepers sure as hell don't do it.  Those greens are like a mine field.

They need new ownership.  Or maybe they don't.  The place is packed to the brim every weekend, why change anything?  People don't care enough about the game to stop going there.  If they stopped, maybe something would change.

Just head to golfnow.com and read the reviews on CO National.  I'm not the only one that feels this way.

Oh and if you want to practice bunker shots on the practice range, you have to be a member.  If you're not, one of the douche bag kids that works the pro shop will call you out.  They don't give a flying F$# @ about your pres ence,  UNTIL you try to hit a bunker shot.

Never again at that place.... I drive 20 minutes to Indian peaks range instead of walking to CO national .  Super friendly staff, nice facility, and hit all the bunker shots you want.

[WUTiger]

Take a 7W or a 4H and hit it past the gold width indicator to where the fairway widens. Then, approach with a half wedge into the long axis of the green. This pretty well takes the water and bunkers out of play.

This is a hole where I hope I'm the last one to hit, so I can see how the others fare.

_____________________________________________________

The fishhook fairway reminds me of a hole at Sunset Lakes GC near St. Louis. The SL hole, also No. 16, is a short par 5. If your drive holds the narrow fairway, you have the choice of hitting over water to the thin profile of the green. or going up the fairway and getting a half wedge into a better angle of the green.

[Dave2512]

Weird I have never had a problem there aside from one slow round. They don't have rangers because the gps carts have pace of play clocks, fall behind and the cart beeps a warning. Only once were the greens bad and that was after vandalism. It's not my fave course or anything but I like it. If you think those greens are bad don't go to Todd Creek. But I hate Indian Peaks so different strokes I guess. [quote name="kleraudio" url="/t/74644/how-would-you-play-it-16-at-saddleback-golf-course-in-firestone/90#post_993971"]Don't bother with it.  Get your free range balls and enjoy.  The range isn't even cut half the time, it's more like the second cut of rough. You wanna talk about ball marks on the greens, there are no less than 100 ball marks on EVERY green there.  There is no such thing as putting at CO National.  No one repairs their marks, and the groundskeepers sure as hell don't do it.  Those greens are like a mine field. They need new ownership.  Or maybe they don't.  The place is packed to the brim every weekend, why change anything?  People don't care enough about the game to stop going there.  If they stopped, maybe something would change.  Just head to golfnow.com and read the reviews on CO National.  I'm not the only one that feels this way. Oh and if you want to practice bunker shots on the practice range, you have to be a member.  If you're not, one of the douche bag kids that works the pro shop will call you out.  They don't give a flying F$#@ about your presence,  UNTIL you try to hit a bunker shot. Never again at that place.... I drive 20 minutes to Indian peaks range instead of walking to CO national .  Super friendly staff, nice facility, and hit all the bunker shots you want. [/quote]

[kleraudio]

I've never played Indian peaks. Only the range. How recently have you played co national?

[Strandly]

CO national is an absolute joke.  I live right next to it and was so excited when I moved to CO to have a course so close.  If you're into 6.5 hour rounds, zero marshals, dicks at the pro shop, overpriced beer, and overall just negative attitude from all employees, then CO national is your place!

I gave them 12 tries.  YES, 12!  each and every time the people that worked there didn't give two craps about you and the quickest round I ever played there was 5 hours.  Longest was 6.5.

I'll never play there again.

Haha, I've been tempted to try CO National ever since I started playing.  I see it all the time on golfnow but the reviews are constantly atrocious so I never go there.  As far as other north courses, I've played Ute Creek a couple times this year and I thought that was a decent course.  I played Todd Creek once last year as well and I thought it was pretty solid.  I want to go back sometime this year and see how it is because the golfnow reviews look even better.

[Dave2512]

I've never played Indian peaks. Only the range. How recently have you played co national?

Late fall 2013. Probably played there 15 times last year. Played a few times in 2012 too and that was when the greens were vandalized it took a while for them to get it back in shape. May have played once back in Feb. On a nice day but course was dormant then. Have never been there before 5 PM so I rarely catch a crowd there. [quote name="Strandly" url="/t/74644/how-would-you-play-it-16-at-saddleback-golf-course-in-firestone/90#post_994348"] Haha, I've been tempted to try CO National ever since I started playing.  I see it all the time on golfnow but the reviews are constantly atrocious so I never go there.  As far as other north courses, I've played Ute Creek a couple times this year and I thought that was a decent course.  I played Todd Creek once last year as well and I thought it was pretty solid.  I want to go back sometime this year and see how it is because the golfnow reviews look even better. [/quote] Todd Creek is hammered and getting worse. The greens on 4-7 are full of ball marks. I fix 10 or so every time there if they are fresh and return to find more. They give away repair tools there because the problem is so bad. The back 9 is not as bad because those greens are easier to keep a ball on. The front is wasted because it plays long, lots of uphill holes that people miss short and hit wedges to, and because the cupcake and wavy shape makes it tough to keep a ball on the green. You can hit the green and find the ball 30 feet away in a low spot.

[Dave2512]

Sorry for derailing your thread Pretzel. Number 17 at CO Nat would be a good hwypth topic. I am not sure what the numbers are but it is a little longer and wider so it makes the layup a reasonable option compared to SB 16. Funny thing is that is a popular design here. Every course built in the last 15 years in CO is similar, they love to build the faux links here.

[Pretzel]

Sorry for derailing your thread Pretzel. Number 17 at CO Nat would be a good hwypth topic. I am not sure what the numbers are but it is a little longer and wider so it makes the layup a reasonable option compared to SB 16. Funny thing is that is a popular design here. Every course built in the last 15 years in CO is similar, they love to build the faux links here.

No worries, it's an interesting topic to discuss and watch. Commonground Golf Course is another really nice faux links course, with a lot of holes having the fringe extend out and become the next hole's teebox. That's something that I want to see more courses do, since it makes it great for walking (close tees and greens) while at the same time adding the challenge of not having a collar of rough to stop the ball from rolling too far. On this hole, if the fringe extended out the back and down to the next teebox it would make a miss long a whole lot more penalizing and add a bit more risk that might give more incentive to laying up.

[Dave2512]

Only thing I know for sure is how I want to play a hole and how I actually do are rarely the same. I play the same 3-4 courses in the area frequently and my HBH stats are all over the place. That is why trouble usually means playing conservatively. The only sure thing is most shots will be less than my best.