GolfNewsRI

Earlier this week I got the opportunity to play Rhode Island Country Club as part of the Amateur Golf Tour of New England tournament. 

Rhode Island CC is playing host to the Rhode Island Amateur later this summer and so it was a great opportunity to see the course. 

Plus, I think I have only played RI CC once or twice ever, so it was great to go there and play. 

Whenever I think of Rhode Island CC, I think about the CVS Charity Classic all those years ago. 

Thinking about the players that came here to play like Annika Sorenstam, Rory McIlroy, Arnold Palmer etc…  

I just found myself thinking about that throughout the day, and of course the upcoming State Am. 

With that as the backdrop, let’s hit the course.  

Playing RI CC 

Obviously, Rhode Island CC is spectacular and it did not disappoint on this day. 

Overall, I found the tee boxes and fairways to be in great condition, as you would expect. 

The greens were recently aerated, so they were not perfect, but I still felt like the ball rolled pretty good.

On a few of the holes, it looked like there was some work being done, almost in-between holes.

It was hard to tell what was being done, but there was white tarp over portions of the grass.  

When you play RICC, everyone talks about the holes that are on the water, and of course, those are cool holes.  

However, one hole on the front nine that I thought was a cool hole was the fourth hole. 

A 351 yard (blue tees) par 4 with the Mussachuck Creek running though the middle of the fairway just in front of the green. 

The creek is reachable from the tee (about 270 yards) and I nearly reached it, which I was not anticipating. 

I ended up having like 80 yards into the green and I proceeded to make a mess of the hole, It’s early in the season, game is not “sharp” – yet. 

Both par-5s were really challenging (8th &11th) and require two-three really good shots to get to the green. 

I think I made bogey on 11, which I was happy with. 

It will be interesting to see how these holes play in the State Am.  

The 14th hole is the last hole before players cross the street and if you hit a shot too far to the left, your ball might end up in someones yard, or car, as a road runs along side the hole. 

As you cross the street, the wind picks up because of the water, although on this particular day, it was not too bad.

The 15th was a tough hole for me, I ended up in that big bunker on the right and, of course, the ball settled right under the lip of the bunker and I barely got it out. 

On 16, I put my tee shot in the hazard area on the right and so that hole was a disaster for me. 

That brings us to the famous par-3 17th hole, certainly one of the best par-3s in the state. 

During the 1999 CVS Classic, Lee Janzen and Scott McCarron made back-to-back aces on the hole and I thought there was a plaque put there to commemorate the shots. 

Prior to teeing off on the hole, I looked for the plaque, but I couldn’t find it. Perhaps I was just looking in the wrong spot or I just made that up. 

Anyway, 17 was interesting because standing on the tee box, we felt very little wind – almost no wind. 

But when we looked at the flag stick, there was clearly wind. 

I hit a pitching wedge from about 120 yards and it landed ten feet behind the flag, but I missed the birdie putt. 

How will that hole play during the State Amateur? It’s going to be fascinating to watch. 

By the time we got to 18, I was exhausted, but driving up the fairway I recalled the CVS Classic with the skyboxes running up the fairway and the grandstand behind the 18th green. 

Thankfully, none of that was there on this day or else I really would have embarrassed myself. 

A great day at Rhode Island Country Club. 

Looking forward to seeing how the course is supposed to be played when the best players in the state go there in a few months for the State Amateur.