I like to try new golf courses every now and then, even if it means travelling further afield than normal. Sometimes I'll take a chance on a lesser known course, in hopes of finding a diamond in the rough. I was reasonably satisfied after trying Calerin and Scenic Woods in recent years, so I decided to try another GolfNorth property – Fergus Golf Club.
The course features 27 holes of golf and each set of nine measures comfortably over 3,000 yards – at least, that's what the scorecard on the club's website says. When I arrived at the course, I was directed to play the West and East nines. According to the scorecard I picked up in the pro shop, the combined yardage was just 5,958 yards. Having now played the course, I suspect the shorter yardage is more accurate.
More significant than the overall yardage was the course rating and slope, which had not been indicated on the website at all. At just 67.7 and 113 respectively, this is about as forgiving as courses come. Had I known this beforehand, I may not have made the trip. As it was, I decided to make the best of it and see what would unfold.
The modest rating and slope are well deserved. First of all, the course is flat. There simply are no elevation changes to speak of. Looking at the surrounding farms, it's very easy to imagine what the course looked like in a former life. Some mounds were added to help define fairways, but not much earth was moved, let me tell you.
Secondly, the course is wide open. There are very few trees anywhere and those that exist are hardly mature. Now, a course doesn't need trees in order to be challenging, but it does have to present some form of obstacles. That might be naturalized areas with long fescue or other vegetation. There's practically none of that at Fergus. It might also be water hazards or other hazards, such as bunkers. Fergus has a few of these, but when I say few, I mean it.
On a number of the holes, you do have to worry about out of bounds running alongside the fairway, but the opposite side of the fairway is so wide open, that you would really have to be a game management idiot to bring OB into play. You could miss a fairway by 20 or 30 yards to the opposite side and still get to the green in regulation. Speaking of greens, they are mostly flat and slow. Bottom line: this is an easy golf course.
As per my game, I shot a final score of 80 (+8). Only my 78 last year at BraeBen has ever been better. It's hard to get excited about this score, however, because the course is such a pushover. Still, I suppose you have to make some good shots to score that well.
I made a great tee shot on West #3, a 177-yard par-3 with a small green and OB on the left. I missed the green to the right by two yards, but got up and down for par. I also got up and down for par on West #5. When you get up and down from beside the green, you save lots of strokes, no matter the course. I hit four greens in regulation on the West nine, including #8 and #9. On both occasions, I missed the fairway, but recovered with a good wedge shot and proceeded to record par.
On the East nine, I hit another four greens in regulation. Two of those holes resulted in par, but two of them produced birdies. On East #4, a 190-yard par-3, I hit a magnificent 4-iron to within 15 feet. On East #6, a 463-yard par-5, I hit driver, 5-iron to reach the green in two. Two putts followed for the bird. On East #8, a 475-yard par-5 with an extreme dogleg to the right, I hit driver, 5-wood, finishing flag high, just off the green. A chip and putt produced the bird this time around.
I don't think I'll remember this as one of my best rounds ever, but I'll take it anyway!
Score: 80
Putts: 33
Fairways: 3
Greens: 8
Penalties: 0
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