Doug Carrick has designed some of the most acclaimed golf courses in Ontario, including Copper Creek, Eagle's Nest, Angus Glen, Osprey Valley, Greystone, Magna, King Valley, Muskoka Bay, Bigwin Island, and Battlefield at Legends on the Niagara. I've played my fair share of these and enjoy them thoroughly. Though each course is unique, one can definitely notice a common thread woven through them all. I guess you could call it the designer's signature.
One Carrick designed course that I hadn't played was Calerin Golf Club, located in Erin, Ontario. The only reason I hadn't played there is the fact that it is “merely” a 9-hole layout. I'm a traditionalist. I like to play 18-hole courses and I insist on them being full length. Executive, par-3, and 9-hole courses serve a useful purpose, but I don't consider them a pure test of golf. Thus, I have stayed away from Calerin – until now.
The holes at Calerin feature two very different sets of tees. Sometimes, the difference alters the length of the holes. A par-5, for example, can be reachable in two shots from one set of tees, while playing as a full three shot par-5 from the other. A par-3 can call for a sand wedge from 110 yards when teeing off from one area, while requiring a 6-iron from 170 yards when teeing off from another. But it's not just about length. The two sets of tees often alter the angle of attack, either to the green or fairway. This brings different bunkers and other hazards into play. Golfers may find that one set of tees suits their eye much more than the other.
The idea is to play 18 holes – the front nine played from one set of tees and the back nine played from the other set. I must admit, it's quite effective. Though the greens and pin locations are obviously the same, tee shots are completely different, and due to differing lengths, you're usually attacking the greens with different clubs. Total length over 18 holes is 6500 yards, so this is no slouch. In fact, I liked the course design very much. The greens, unfortunately, were in poor condition, with patches of dead grass making for a bumpy ride. However, so many courses suffered this winter that I'm willing to cut the club some slack. The outhouse (or clubhouse), on the other hand, smelled like urine. Then again, I wasn't there to entertain clients – I was there to golf.
I went bogey, par on the first two holes – a par 5, followed by a par-3. A dark cloud passed overhead right after teeing off on hole #3, dumping enough rain to soak us before we reached shelter at the clubhouse. After about ten minutes, the rain stopped, and the sun came out for the rest of the round. The golf cart had no bag covers, so my clubs got wet. I struggled to keep my grips dry on the third and fourth holes, and my soaked towel was no help. Maybe it was that, or maybe I just lost focus, but I started making some bad shots. Even with my grips dry, I struggled to finish the front nine with a score of 55.
The back nine – which was really the same nine, played from the other set of tees – was a very different story, as I shot a score of 46. For starters, I had seen the holes at least once, so I had a better idea of what to expect and where to miss. I also played better with my wedges. Early on, I was consistently going long on pitch shots in the 40 to 60 yard range. Coupled with some very poor chip shots, this was adding many unnecessary strokes. The poor chips usually came on flop attempts, where I had a lot of rough to fly over, but little green between me and the hole. Once I started hitting the greens with those 50-yard pitch shots, there was no need to chip. Hence, the improvement.
One thing that didn't change was my putting. I putt well for almost the entire round, but the greens were not rolling well enough to sink putts of any length. I therefore 2-putt everything, except for a pair of 3-putts the first time through on holes #8 and #9. The second time through on those same holes, I played my best golf of the round. In both cases, I played through strong winds to first find the fairway, and then cozy an approach to within birdie range. Those holes felt really good – it's a shame the birdies didn't drop on the less than perfect greens.
Score: 101
Putts: 38
Fairways: 2
Greens: 4
Penalties: 4
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