Course Information:
It is not so important how scenic the course is, although Rustic Ridge is nice to look at. It is very important how the course plays.
Golf is a match between you and the course.
Rustic Ridge does not swallow your ball in wild grass or wilderness. The roughs are mowed short. There are plenty of mature trees, of course, but no woods. It is truly a joy to stand at the tee and hammer a long drive without being nervous about the rough.
And what about the greens? A fair course does not make you guess at the location of the target. All of our greens are visible from the fairways. You can determine your distance and select the right club. Most are even visible from the tee.
A green should be built from high quality soil with the softness necessary to snag a spinning approach shot. The fair green should not be perched up high on a mound. If you have the skill to hit the green with a back spin, it should make a ball mark and stay there. Rustic Ridge is well known for this quality.
A fair green is composed of genuine premium Penncross bentgrass without weeds and it is mowed precisely to produce a true roll. It should neither be too fast, nor too slow. We focus most of our maintenance on the greens for a very good reason.
A fair course should not tire you out with extreme hills and ravines. It should be walkable. Rustic Ridge has the gently rolling terrain that keeps walkers moving at a swift pace.
A fair course takes the sun out of play. No holes at Rustic Ridge have you playing into the rising sun. Only one hole faces west. Rustic is a joy to play at the ends of the day.
A fair course has fair hazards, but not to excess. Rustic Ridge has eight sand traps, seven of them lurk near greens to provide some tension as you approach the green. Two ponds flank the 7th green, and a creek crosses #2 and #9. Holes 2,5 and 9 give advantage to the long hitter as a good test of abilities should.
When you finish your first nine holes at Rustic Ridge, you will want to play it again and again. This is how the first golf courses were designed.
