|
Post by cathalos1991 on Apr 10, 2021 1:32:41 GMT -5
Coming Soon The Riverlands Hole 1 - Par 4 - 403 yards - "The Invite" Had a bit of fun promoting The Sentinel this way last time around, so said I would go ahead with it again. The 1st Hole at The Riverlands lives up to its name, the invite, measuring a short 403 yards with opportunities that could get your round off to a great start or a watery grave and everything in between. When designing this hole, I wanted to ask a question of each player, were they going to take out driver, play aggressive and risk going into the water left or were they going to start off with a little patience, taking a 3 wood and leaving themselves a wedge into a relatively friendly green. For me, the only play is taking the 3 wood. At 293 yards the fairway begins to narrow from 63 yards wide all the way down to 16 yards and everything slopes down towards the water. After hitting the 3 wood, you should be no more than 120-135 yards out which leaves a pretty straight forward shot into pins 1-3. Pin 4 is tucked away to the left, in behind the front bunker, which demands a lot of accuracy to even have a shot at birdie. #TheRiverlands #TheGreenskeeperCollective
|
|
|
Post by cathalos1991 on Apr 10, 2021 1:34:34 GMT -5
Coming Soon The Riverlands Hole 2 - Par 3 - 175 yards - "Boneyard" The 2nd hole at The Riverlands is the first of 4 par 3's, that plays between 155 - 180 yards, pin depending. There is no room for error here, it's all or the boneyard for you. After presenting you with a fairly welcoming 1st Hole (unless you hit Driver, then that's all on you ๐คฃ๐คฃ) I wanted to ramp things up a little and challenge players. Come short, it's the boneyard for you, go left, it's the boneyard for you, go long and you are bunker bound, your only true bailout is to the right of the green, however the chip back brings its own trouble with water staring you in the face. Should you end up in the water, take a breath, leave it in the past and move on, because there will be more holes like this coming later in the round When it comes to playing the hole, my advice is to ensure you've got enough club to get over the water taking the wind conditions into account, even ending up on the back tier of the green is a lot better than some other places you could end up. The bunker at the back of the green also isn't the worst place to bail your shot towards, it's not overly deep and should be able to get some decent spin on the ball. Just don't hit a crazy ass fast swing. #TheRiverlands #TheGreenskeeperCollective
|
|
|
Post by cathalos1991 on Apr 11, 2021 13:29:04 GMT -5
Coming Soon The Riverlands Hole 3 - Par 5 - 589 yards - "Golden Land" This hole along with the 4th hole are the first holes in the course inspired by popular filming locations in Ireland. The one in particular I am using is in Co. Wicklow which was used during season 6 of Vikings and Ubbe's search for the Golden Land. There was a scene where the camera panned following the group of Vikings along a stream that was in a sort of valley surrounded on both sides by beautiful trees in autumnal colours. So my approach was to take the stream and widen it to a river and then take one side of the valley and put my 3rd hole on the other side. Sadly some of the Autumn themed trees are a little too fluorescent so I did what I could with it. For my opening par 5 I wanted to create a hole that gave players a number of options and also a number of danger spots which can be manipulated by the wind conditions for your round. The tee shot plays through trees, set almost like goalposts and out to a relatively generous landing area. Too long and you run the risk of running out of fairway and ending up in the water, too far left and it's the same result. Down the right I have placed two bunkers, which if found naturally turn this hole into a 3 shot hole. From the tee shot, the hole turns almost 90 degrees left to an elevated green that is protected short left by bunkers and on the right by an undulated fairway that may kick your ball into the river that meanders its way down the right side of the fairway on the second shot. 3 wood off the tee definitely isn't the worst choice here off the tee, believe it or not but the hole is still reachable in the right conditions and is a less riskier shot off the tee. Driver could be eagle, but could just as well be double bogey. #TheRiverlands #TheGreenskeeperCollective
|
|
|
Post by cathalos1991 on Apr 15, 2021 17:37:27 GMT -5
Coming Soon The Riverlands Hole 4 - Par 4 - 475 yards - "Meander" Continuing on with the same inspiration as the 3rd hole, the 4th hole turns and plays parallel to the first hole, the estate hotel upon the hill to the left separating the two holes. Outside of the location inspiration, there was a number of design concepts I wanted to focus on for this hole, the first being the idea of having the hole Meander from tee to green. You will notice that the fairway, the river including the river erosion, the footpath all follow winding paths. Another concept in the design I wanted to give some focus to, was natural progression of meandering rivers, the land erosion it can cause such as ox bow lakes etc. When looking at this design, I felt like I'd been punishing anyone who hit the ball left off the tee a hard time, especially the water hazards. This hole was about changing things up a touch. Like most of the holes on this course, there are questions I wanted to ask of each player, the questions revolve around taking the safe option or the braver option. The safe option is a 3 wood up the middle, which could still leave up to 200 yards to the pin. Depending on that pin you may have to carry over some small trees and a greenside bunker with something in the region of a 4iron which is a tough ask. The other option is to take driver and smash it between the two pine trees acting like goal posts down the left rough. An accurate tee shot will catch the left hand side of the fairway that lies beyond the trees and funnel down to the right leaving you somewhere between 140 and 170 depending on wind and pin. I'm expecting a lot of people to take the driver option here, unless the pin is back left. That pin in particular is tough to get at the further left off the tee you go. It's a fun, challenging hole and one that also gives me some Le Golf National vibes. #TheRiverlands #TheGreenskeeperCollective
|
|
|
Post by cathalos1991 on Apr 15, 2021 17:38:22 GMT -5
Coming Soon The Riverlands Hole 5 - Par 4 - 335 yards - "Come at Me" The 5th hole sits in the background of the 4th hole and continues on the stretch of interesting, challenging holes, this one a drivable par 4, the first of two. The drivable par 4 is, in my opinion, one of the most fun holes in golf. Given the right design, each player is presented with multiple options off the tee that fall between playing safe and playing aggressive. This time, I tweaked my design in the hope that I can lure more players to have a go at the green in one. The hole playing 335 in length, doesn't live up to its true yardage. With an apron of fairway, short left of the green, that starts at 245 from the tee, the green can be reached with a 3 wood depending on having a favourable wind. Pin 1 and 3 are positioned towards the back section of the green allowing you to run the ball down the apron, onto the green and feed it towards the flag. Pin 2 and 4 will not be as easy to access, positioned to the front of the green and this is where you may look to play out to the fairway on the right and choose a better angle to attack the flags. The fairway itself is undulated with a spine down the middle, so take care with your club choice from the tee. With this hole I wanted to try and get away with as minimal planting as possible. Always smart to save as much space in your meter as possible to give you some room to go back later on and add in some extra bits. So down the right of the fairway is a continuation of the river flowing from the 4th with a small forest area lining the river as it goes. Along the left is a small tree area that creates a separation between the 5th and 9th hole. Beyond the green to the right I have used the planting from the 7th hole to act as planting for the 5th while behind the green the forest area that lines the 8th hole creates the feel that the back of the green is planted, despite the fact the trees are at least 300 yards away. #TheRiverlands #TheGreenskeeperCollective
|
|
|
Post by cathalos1991 on Apr 15, 2021 17:39:24 GMT -5
Coming Soon The Riverlands Hole 6 - Par 3 - 170 yards - "Rockpool" This was one of the first holes I laid out as part of the design to act as a bridge between the both ends of the front 9. From the 6th tee you have views in the distance of the 3rd green, 4th hole and 4th hole. From the green you will have views of the 1st, 2nd, 9th, 8th and turning back to towards the tee box you will see down the 7th hole. I liked the idea of having a viewing point on the front 9. The hole itself is another mid length par 3, just a tad shorter than the 2nd hole. While at face value it doesn't look that complicated, let your guard down and it may very well bite back. Club selection is important, too short and you may end up in a greenside bunker with a tricky up and down, too long and you may find yourself at the bottom of the Rockpool below the back of the green. An out of bounds is placed at the back should any ball get stuck on the way down causing issues for playability. In terms of how best to play the hole; the heart of the green is as good a place as any to give yourself a decent chance at birdie. A pin located back left is easier to access by feeding the ball from just left of centre down the slope towards the pin. Going straight at it is most likely to leave you looking foolish. #TheRiverlands #TheGreenskeeperCollective
|
|
|
Post by cathalos1991 on Apr 17, 2021 1:36:22 GMT -5
Coming Soon The Riverlands Hole 7 - Par 4 - 492yards - "Swallow Quarry" Playing back in the opposite direction to the 6th hole, the 7th is a long and difficult par 4 with the only help being that it plays downhill. While water has featured in every hole to this point, I feel like there are still plenty of opportunities to make birdie, so with the 7th, I wanted to toughen things up a bit. At least for one hole. The tee shot plays across a small lake area to a tight fairway, with a bunker and a small bunch of trees to the right while the left presents you with a number of tall trees that may very well block you out on your second shot, and further left, a small quarry and beautiful lake area. The second shot plays across the lake to a green surrounded on 3 sides by water. This green is tricky. Your second shot will most likely be coming off a downhill, side hill slope to a green that will prove difficult to hold. From the get go I always wanted to have a quarry on this hole taking inspiration from one of my favourite quarry holes in Ireland, the 7th Hole at the K Club Palmer South Course (formerly known as the Smurfit Course). With that in mind, it made perfect sense to name the hole after it. Some of the planting isn't showing for these images because they are taken from a distance. #TheRiverlands #TheGreenskeeperCollective
|
|
|
Post by cathalos1991 on Apr 19, 2021 7:18:11 GMT -5
Coming Soon The Riverlands Hole 8 - Par 5 - 590 yards - "Keeping Watch" Another one of the first holes I laid out at the very beginning. The concept for how I wanted the hole to look has changed a lot to this point which was why it was the last hole to be planted. In the end I went for a more simplistic look. I wanted the hole to play relatively shorter than its yardage so there are a number of severe bumps on the sides of the fairway in the landing area to help push balls on further and keep them on the fairway. This is also the largest green on the course which was pure tactics. The hole was designed to lure you into going for it in two. However, any slightly offline shot into the green could leave you with a long difficult putt. Playing it as a 3 shot hole may prove to be better choice. This hole also gives a really nice look at the quarry along the 7th hole while also giving you a look at 9 and 10 from the green area. #TheRiverlands #TheGreenskeeperCollective
|
|
|
Post by cathalos1991 on Apr 19, 2021 7:19:55 GMT -5
Coming Soon The Riverlands Hole 9 - Par 4 - 393 yards - "The Turn" This is possibly my favourite hole on the course. What I really like is the challenge that exists despite it only being 393 yards long. Position over power is key here. Your tee shot plays downhill along the back of the 6th and 8th greens and also the 7th tee box to a short, narrow, winding fairway. A small stream of water is in play for every option off the tee unless you decide to play a long iron from the tee. Put yourself in the fairway here and you give yourself a really decent opportunity at birdie. Missing the fairway to the right isn't the worst option as you can play your second shot by running the ball up the green towards the pin, to the left, your options aren't as plentiful with very little to help you knock one close. The 9th green is back to back with the 1st green, but they don't share the same simplicity. The 9th, much more undulated and smaller offers a greater opportunity to make bogeys. #TheRiverlands #TheGreenskeeperCollective
|
|
|
Post by cathalos1991 on Apr 20, 2021 5:53:14 GMT -5
Coming Soon The Riverlands Hole 10 - Par 5 - 542 yards - "New Dawn" I wish I could take the credit for this par 5 but it is actually a mirror image of the 18th hole at Dromoland Castle which is local to me. I decided to go with a mirror image as it was the best routing to achieve the courts I wanted. What I love about this hole, as its played in the game, is that while it is short and offers a chance of eagle, danger is everywhere. On the tee shot you must negotiate a big lake down the middle, with driver in hand you should be able to take it over the water. However it is a narrow fairway so pick your line wisely. On the second shot, you are faced with all that water still on the left while having to navigate around a tall tree in the centre of the fairway. Bailing out into the greenside bunker is a good miss, especially for pin 1 and 4. Like the 9th it's a hole that requires position more than power and like every hole so far, wide open to ruining your scorecard. #TheRiverlands #TheGreenskeeperCollective
|
|
|
Post by cathalos1991 on Apr 20, 2021 8:19:01 GMT -5
Coming Soon The Riverlands Hole 11 - Par 4 - 331 yards - "The Dark Hedges" The second of two drivable par 4. This one less appealing to the aggressive player than the 5th hole. From the tee you realistically have only two options; you hit a fairway wood out to the middle of the fairway and pitch on or you pray to whomever it is you pray to that you've got your partial swing down. The hole itself holds some inspiration from The Dark Hedges of County Antrim, which are lined up down the right hand side of the fairway. Its not overly common to have multiple drivable par 4s, but I like giving players options. One they can play aggressive on and the other they really need to weigh up the risks. The green also slopes from right to left severely so it's important you leave yourself in a good position to attack the flag and make birdie. Long just slightly better than going in the water ๐ #TheRiverlands #TheGreenskeeperCollective
|
|