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The Ridge Club
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Photography by George Peet
A short trip from the Meetinghouse in Sandwich, off Farmersville Rd., sits a small building with off-white shingles in the center of two roads – an entrance and an exit.
Inside this little building, there is a gate guard who politely asks each driver to stop and chat before entering. For residents of this community, this is a daily ritual. For those of us who usually only drive by and cast a glance at the mechanical arm that lifts as cars enter, like us Golf on Cape Cod magazine folk, a chance to pass through into this hidden universe only comes with special permission. That day, as golf course reviewers, we had special permission to pass through and play one of Cape Cod golf’s gems: The Ridge Club.
“Have a nice day,” the guard said as our entourage headed toward the clubhouse.
That wouldn’t be difficult. The 11 a.m. sun began to warm up the pavement, and the sprinklers on the newly redesigned 5th hole plunged back into the earth. Over the past few years, The Ridge Club had done a number of renovations. The fairway on the par-4 5th hole used to be hidden by large undulating mounds. Those mounds are now a thing of the past, replaced by a widened fairway, some delicately laid shrubbery and a greenside pond with a fountain in the center spraying water toward the sky. The new hole is a delight to look at, but however beautiful water is to look at on a golf course, water, too, has a kind of disconcerting effect on any golfer – for that water could soon be swallowing our golf balls and increasing our scores.
Across the street from the clubhouse is a spectacular practice facility. The all-grass tee area stands roughly 10 feet above the cart path, giving the 300 yards of landing area with various practice pins appropriately placed throughout, a majestic, elevated (pun intended) appeal – as if this were the kind of practice facility where champions are bred. Practicing in this type of environment has a calming effect on the swing—no quick, jerky swings on this practice tee, only wide rhythmic, steady swings. Hopefully this rhythm carries onto the course, where it counts.
On the first tee, a conversation started about The Ridge Club’s reputation as a difficult test for the amateur golfer. At 6,657 yards from the championship tees (par 71), it’s not the length that makes the course tough. The Ridge’s challenge is all about the course layout and the features of the landscape. The name aptly and ominously implies a course lined with ridges. Most of the holes are, in fact, bordered with large mounds, and it is a rare fairway that isn’t bumped and moguled, leaving even the most dead center of the fairway drives susceptible to a difficult approach shot, where occasionally the ball can be below or above the stance.
The head pro at The Ridge Club for the last 15 years, John Boniface, recognizes the Ridge’s reputation as an unforgiving golf course, but he also suggested that the recent changes made to many of the holes were designed specifically to alleviate some of the pressures, especially on the high-handicappers: “When the course was built, the holes were framed with mounding, and they still are to an extent, but the mounding has been widened out. The fairways were always wider than they appeared off the tee. I think in the past, originally, you felt like you had to steer it a little bit. And now, with the fairways a little wider, the tee invites the golfer to swing away.”
Certainly this holds true on the first hole, a tricky 325-yard par 4 with some unsuspecting features. From the tee box, the landing area looks bumpy, and the mounds that border the fairway create a kind of compact feel like Boniface talked about, but that didn’t stop us. Everyone in our foursome, three low-to-mid handicappers and one high handicapper, went for the gusto with a driver.
It’s not until 280 yards down the fairway, though, that the hole shows its true character. At the 280-yard-mark, the fairway comes to a crest and quickly begins plummeting 75 yards down toward a small water hazard tucked neatly on the left side of the green, which sits postage stamp-sized and demanding an accurate approach shot. There is a large hill behind the green that acts as a wall for any shots hit over, ricocheting the long ball toward the green, or worse, into the water.
The first hole sets the tone for the rest of the course, as if warning the on-coming golfer: this course is not always what it seems, there will be more surprises – stay on your toes!
The following par-3 2nd hole requires a stiff wedge to the medium-sized green 125 yards away and acts as a good warm-up for the tight, par-5 3rd, the number 1 handicap hole.
The left side of the 3rd fairway is a wooded, swampy lateral hazard. The right side of the fairway is mounded, effectively hiding the fenced yards of the five or six houses that look down upon passing golfers. The fairway is broken into two sections separated by an enormous ridge and a sharp dogleg right, eliminating the possibility of reaching the 472-yard hole in two and placing the burden of par on smart iron play.
The architect of The Ridge Club, Robert Von Hagge, said in an interview with Golf on Cape Cod magazine that these types of mounds, the ones that act as visual barriers for both golfers and homeowners, are very much part of his design philosophy: “I don’t just build golf courses. I build golf communities. Therefore, I must consider both the perspective of the golfer as well as the perspective of the homeowner. A good rule of thumb that I implement in my designs is to hide the front or back lawns in residential areas with moundings. This, in effect, makes the golfer feel more like he is on the golf course, as opposed to in a neighborhood.”
Three par-4’s follow, none of which are longer than 401 yards, and safe drives on the 4th and 6th are the name of the game on these oppositely doglegged holes. The bright and sunny 5th hole instantly enlivened the conversation.
“Tremendous,” our foursome agreed. “What a fantastic difference. And none of those pestering moguls.”
Like the practice facility, the 5th hole entices the golfer to step up play – on such a beautiful hole, an ugly swing simply won’t do. Our foursome met in the center of the fairway, all confidently peering 130 yards toward the green surrounded by bunkers on the left and the pond spitting water on the right. With luck on our side, we all avoided the hazards and carried putters to the green…safe for now, but we knew there was more of the “wet stuff” to come.
The final three holes on the front side are demanding. The 7th is a bunker-laden par-3 where the headwind makes all of the 196 yards seem even longer. The 8th and 9th holes are nice driving holes, a pleasure to play, even when walking across the 20 yards of sand trap that needs to be traversed in order to putt on the 9th green.
Boniface commented that “the front nine is actually
a great nine holes; it’s just that it may be overshadowed by some of the splendor of the back nine.” If that were true, we were in for a great finishing half.
By this time, the hottest part of the day was over and the sun began its trip back toward the horizon. The trees were spreading their shadows across the fairways, and the temperature began to cool.
Von Hagge made mention that part of his idea for the “ridges” (fairway moguls and mounding) was to create a different visual for golfers playing the course at different times of the day. “It is a kaleidoscope effect,” he said. Golfers who play in the morning see the shadows of the mounds cast from east to west and evening players, conversely, see shadows from west to east.
“Essentially, the visual of the golf hole changes hourly,” Von Hagge continued, “We are trying to create a new experience for the golfer each time [he/she] plays the course. And, oftentimes, how golfers view the course visually can dramatically change the golf experience.”
Von Hagge’s point was well taken. However troublesome the moguls made playing the ball from the fairway, they did have a kind of elegant visual appeal. And visual appeal is really where The Ridge Club sets itself apart from other Cape Cod golf courses, particularly on the backside, where nearly every hole has postcard possibilities. That’s not to say there aren’t many beautiful, memorable golf holes on the Cape that don’t take advantage of spectacular seaside settings. But The Ridge Club has no seaside to rely upon; it has only the architect’s layout. Furthermore, every hole at the Ridge Club has a special way of presenting itself. It isn’t until the 16th and 17th holes that the golfer is aware of other holes on the course – another visual advantage of the mounding. Boniface concurred. “When you are standing on the tee on any particular hole, that’s the only hole you see. Really, you never see another hole on the course besides the one you’re playing.”
The 10th through the 15th passed quickly, mainly because our foursome was able to avoid any real trouble like the fescues on 10, and the water, short and to the right, on the par-3 11th. The 12th hole is a long par 5 at 574 yards, but manageable with three well-placed shots. The 13th and 14th, a par 3 followed by a par 4, again, play moderately quickly because of their relatively straight-forward presentation. The 15th hole, a reachable par 5, has beautiful picture potential and acts as a precursor to the next three holes that Boniface considers “the finest finishing holes on Cape Cod.”
Von Hagge compared the designing of the last holes at The Ridge to a three-act play, “It is 6, 6, and 6, right? What you want to do is finish with something strong, something memorable. In the last half of the last act, you really want to wallop them so they keep coming back for more. Send them home smiling.” Indeed, Mr. Von Hagge. Indeed.
From the 16th tee, water is visible but not in play about 300 yards away. An iron off the tee is a wise choice due to the small landing area. There is out-of-bounds on both sides of the fairway until the hole doglegs 45 degrees to the right, where the water hazard then becomes the entire left hand side of the hole. There, the green first comes into sight, dangerously surrounded by bunkers except for a small apron entrance front and right. Fifteen yards over the green or 10 yards to the left is big trouble – pinpoint accuracy is essential, even the slightest err of the swing is penalized.
Then came the monumental 17th, a short par 3 at 150 yards that would otherwise be an easy iron shot and two putts, if it weren’t for the water that surrounds the green like a moat protecting a castle. It is one of the few island greens on Cape Cod and easily one of the greatest par 3’s within 100 miles. The green is large enough to allow some freedom in a swing that will inevitably be stiffened because of the water, but aiming for the pin, at least in our foursome, is entirely out of the question. “Get it on the green” is the mantra here. Get it on the green.
The final hole, a 559-yard par 5, acts as a kind of encore performance after 16 and 17. The elevated tee provides a complete view of the hole. A water hazard lies 350 yards out on the right, eventually creating the near border of the green. A combination of fairway bunkers and mounding deters the left side from play, but the tee invites a good opportunity to swing the driver. Therein, however, good strategy is essential. The moguls on the far left of the fairway force a tough decision for the second shot: hit it on the fairway to the left where it’s bumpy, or flirt with the water on the right where it’s flat?
Our foursome chose to deal with the bumps, and we were forced to play our third shots with uphill and downhill lies, a potentially tragic situation that on this particular occasion resulted with four golf balls on the green. We made our putts and that was it—a lovely day within a hidden universe.
If you can get special permission to pass through the entrance to the right of the small building with off-white shingles, past the mechanical arm, and onto the first tee of The Ridge Club…take it. Oh, and don’t forget to say hi to the gate guard. He’s sure to begin a truly great golf experience with a friendly, “Have a nice day.”
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