Carstairs CGC

At Carstairs CGC Don’t Be Fooled By The Scorecard Yardages

By Gord Montgomery, Senior Writer, Inside Golf

At the Carstairs Community Golf Club this is another case of not letting your eyes fool you. You see, the yardages here, while appearing to be on the short side, and they are in today’s golf world, this layout offers up its fair share of protection. Lots of protection.

Speaking to Play Golf Canada, Head Professional Josh Lockert agreed that looks can be deceiving. In this case, that applies to the distances listed on this municipal track’s scorecard.

At the length of a long putt, this layout tops out at just over 6,500 yards from the back tee. The yardages wind down from that point to 6,149; 5,492; and 4,749 at the front end. There are also three combo tees, Black/Blue at 6,321; Blue/White at 5,633; and finally White/Green at a yardage of 4,996.

So, why isn’t this place a simple walk in the park where you lick your lips at the thoughts of birdies and even an eagle here and there? After all, you’re looking at a couple of par-4 tests on the front nine, from the Blue/White combo tee, of 296 yards and 287 yards, And then there’s a par-5 of 414 yards. So, circles everywhere on your card, right?

Well, not so fast. There are a few reasons, said the pro, that tearing this place apart isn’t a given.

“It’s kind of a traditional layout with tree-lined fairways, small greens. Usually the greens are our biggest defence and they are always in really good shape. They’re all very unique in their own way. Some have quite a bit of undulation. Some of them are a little more turtle-backed. They’re not all the same.”

To add to that bit of a course buffer there are those trees. Lots of trees that can quickly penalize an off-line shot wether it comes off the tee box or from the fairway.

“It has its punishment if you don’t hit it straight,” Lockert agreed about those issues. “There’s a lot of punching out. That’s what the yardage reflects.”

As well, there are 50 bunkers scattered about this layout, with the majority of those sitting green side, meaning approach shots to the small target areas must be well aimed.

This course is a popular spot for young players, many who have good games already, to test their skills. Lockert noted the Carstairs Community Golf Club plays host to a number of junior events, including the popular McLennan/Ross series, as well as a Canadian Junior event and the Maple Leaf Junior competitions.

Besides the course itself, the Carstairs Community Golf Club offers up a putting green to get your short stick eye sharpened up for those tricky greens; a short game area of about 75 yards that includes a bunker; and finally a driving range that is currently being renovated to 120-feet long to accommodate 16 stalls and comes with brand new hitting mats and range balls.

So, all in all, while not a lengthy course by today’s standards, while the Carstairs Community Golf Club may look short it is a good play, and challenge, all the same.