Tarheel Event at Eagle Chase
Two rounds are finished at the Tarheel Tour event at Eagle Chase in Marshville. We’re playing a Stableford scoring event this week. I’ve shot two rounds of 69 and am +15…inside the cut line but a mile from the lead.
I expected some rust this week and was not disappointed. It’s been a long layoff between the flu, the sinus infection and my injured toe. I’m also working through the swing changes Jack and I put in motion last week. I’m starting to miss shots right more than before and this is encouraging. I would definitely rather miss shots weak and right than hard and left. I’m also noticing some soreness in my right hip joint because I’m rotating around it properly again. Putting is still good, though it’s difficult to tell on the things they call greens at this course.
Speaking about the course…this is easily the worst designed and conditioned course we will play all year. The greens are in unbelievably poor condition. The design leaves you wondering “why would they do that” on many holes. For example, they put almost vertical sloped mounds in several places adjacent to the green. I’m not talking 3 feet off the fringe. I had two putts today from within inches of the putting surface where my stance or stroke was interfered with by these “straight-up” slopes. One telling characteristic of a poorly designed course is when you have trouble remembering individual holes. After 3 rounds, I really need to think to remember the entire course.
To be fair, the course is about what you would expect for a rural course run on a tight budget (rumor is that the entire maintenance staff is 4 people!). Another player ran into some locals who boasted that the course is a “hidden gem”, so they are obviously proud of it. But, for a professional event, this is a bad design and we got it when it was in its worst possible shape.