The Ranch in Southwick

[Awalkspoiled]

Mid-price upscale public course

Mid-price this time of year at least - $65 with GPS cart. I played there for the first time two days ago and am eager to go back. I don't know when I've enjoyed a first trip around a track more.. It had been wet so it was cart-path only and I chose to walk - partly because I prefer it anyway, partly because I HATE cart-path only riding, and partly because one of the foursome was a scratch member who was also carrying. it was like having a really good caddy to guide me around.

The course is hilly but not a difficult walk - only two between-holes treks worth mentioning. We played the blues at 6550/72.9/138 and I thought the course played easier than that. I was having driver issues but was able to reach everything with some sort of iron even when hitting hybrid off the tee. When I go back I'll try to play the tips - 7100 with some tough carries from back there.

It's a thinker's course which demands good iron play and a good shortgame. Greens are big, complex, and even after being sanded moderately fast. Most are angled to the line of approach. Most tee-shots wanted to be worked a bit and if you can do that you'll shorten the course greatly. Fairways were perfect, traps were a bit thin on sand and hard after the rains, rough was thickish but the ball tended to sit up so it's not too punitive. The foliage was spectacular of course. With the cart-path only deal the pace of play was very slow, of course but I think that was not a regular feature.

Several of the holes willl really stay with me - three of the par 5s are really special (two big downhillers) and the par fours don't duplicate shots much. From the blues the 17th (over water) is the only really memorable par 3, but from the tips it would be a very different story - 8 would be the ony straightforward one, and a little wind would make that tough also...

I scored well so that may be clouding my judgement, but I thought it was an enjoyable and much underrated place. Staff was friendly and helpful, too.

[Grant076]

Awesome course..Ever since I played the PubLinks here I have been wanting to plan a trip back. The clubhouse food is just as good as the golf!

[Moonlightgrm]

I play The Ranch often. It is a special golf course. Memorable beauty to say the least. The only negative is the pace of play. It's a rare day when you can get around this track in under 4 1/2 hours. Although "Awalkspoiled" is correct in his assessment that the course plays easier than its rating, the less skilled player can be eaten alive and that slows the pace of play down, noticeably.

Tip Bonnie, the cart girl, very well!

[courserecordmaker23]

+1 on pace of play. With so many reachable par 5's it really slows down play

[NI4NI]

Played this darling last year for the first time, and it was very enjoyable. Course pressure that day was very light, so my friend and I got around in sub 4 hours in a cart. Played from the Blues, and thought that it was tough but fair (exactly the way a course should be). Pub grub was also delicious - would definitely go back; the ~2 hour one-way trek is a pain though.

[JJK947]

I really like this course, played it couple of times in junior tournaments. The par 5s are all great and the course is in awesome condition. It really suits someone that can control their iron shots well as OP mentioned. The green complexs are pretty amazing on some holes. Driving the ball isn't really difficult but choosing the right shot coming into the greens is the key. It is one of those courses that is not very difficult for good ball strikers but can really get the lesser player in trouble due to its "size". It is a fairly large course in terms of everything is exagerated like the size and slope of the bunkers and complexes around the green. NI4NI said it well, it is challenging but fair.

[scores]

Its okay tried for the US mid am there about 5 years ago.. I was working nights drove out there never saw it.
I missed by one shot the cut..what added salt to the wound the guy keeping my card had me making the cut by a shot I said nope.. One screwy par 5 I made a bogey he had me making par ..

Oh well they charged me 10 bucks on the range to warm up then I looked at teh prices .. nah.. Kettlebrook is very simular and 2/3 thirds the price..or half the price.

[festivus_01]

Not a huge fan of the Ranch. Good par 3's and a couple good 4's. The collection of par 5's is very poor. I realize they have to find a way to get down the hills but it's not a good routing when you consider this is a daily fee facility. Conditions have been outstanding most times but they got hit hard with mold on the greens last summer.

Practice facility is excellent but I think you can do better for the money.

[gripz]

Played this course today for the first time. Enjoyable. I liked most of the Par 4s, lots of strategy off the tee, being able to shape shots and control distance is important to score well. It would certainly help to play it a few times. I regret not getting the yardage book, the GPS on the carts is a bit too coarse to be that helpful. I did not like the 2 downhill par 5s. Too gimmicky, common to many other fancy NE courses. I did like that 16 had a bit of a flat landing area at the bottom of the hill which made for some interesting second shot options. Conditioning was excellent and we got around as threesome in a little over 4 hours, which seemed pretty great for a sunny Sunday afternoon.

[floycota]

[quote name='festivus_01' timestamp='1297896473' post='2984634']
Not a huge fan of the Ranch. Good par 3's and a couple good 4's. The collection of par 5's is very poor. I realize they have to find a way to get down the hills but it's not a good routing when you consider this is a daily fee facility. Conditions have been outstanding most times but they got hit hard with mold on the greens last summer.

Practice facility is excellent but I think you can do better for the money.
[/quote]
I really like the Ranch mostly for the conditions. It's always in great shape but the two downhill ski slope par 5s are a little silly. You can hit a monster drive that becomes even more of a monster drive because it's so severly downhill. If you get a bad hop you can easily bound into the trees on the left (granted the fairways are very genreous). The thing if you really bomb a drive you can be left with a pretty nasty hanging lie. I do like the par 3's and most of the 4's. 2 of the 4 par 5's are ok, the other two I could do without. With all that said I'm going there this weekend. I always have a good time there.