Orchard Beach; Near Hole-in-one
Thursday, August 21st, 2008Over my numerous rounds of golf over the years, I’ve been pretty close to sinking that elusive hole in one. I’ve been within inches quite a few times even on some short par 4’s. Saturday, during my round at Orchard Beach I rolled one up so close it was actually hanging on the edge. About a 1/4 of the ball was hanging off the back of the cup, I think the only thing preventing it from dropping was the wind that was pushing it the opposite way! It will have to wait another day!
As mentioned, I played a round recently at a 9 hole course named Orchard Beach, which is local to my home in Keswick. It reminds me a lot of my ex-home course in Dryden. A pretty casual course that’s a little on the simple side, yet possesses it’s unique challenges.
The course is put together pretty well with a real natural look as it rolls throughout some hills that sit above Lake Simcoe. It lacks a solid mixture of holes as it’s made up of average length par 4’s. Every hole has a unique risk associated to it ranging from OB, a pond or at minimum some fescue. It makes it difficult enough that you can’t grip it and rip it, but enough flexibility to take some short cuts without too much risk, which gives the course the “fun” factor. My only real complaint is the lacking of another true par 5.
I would have to say the 9th hole, a very short, down hill par 4, is a hidden gem when it comes to scenery. It faces the western shore of Lake Simcoe where you can witness some amazing sunsets. (I think I need to start bringing my camera out to these courses) I feel I could get used to playing this course on a regular basis.