Jeff Pianelli, Head Golf Professional at Rivers Edge Golf Club welcomes Shan Coughlin from Tee It UP Grand Strand out to the course for the November Update on course conditions, winter specials and a new initiative Rivers Edge is implementing. As you can see in the video, it may be November but the weather is beautiful and the course looks amazing so make your plans to come out to play Rivers Edge Golf Club. Conditions are now good following the 36 inches of rain received over the last three months and Jeff adds that they are riding the fairways. No cart path only, or CPO as it is sometimes called, at this facility. The overseed has also come in and the new Sunday Ultra Drawrf Bermuda greens are rolling smooth and true. They love this weather which is key when you have the ups and downs of a bit of frost followed by a 70 something degree day.
Shan and Jeff are standing out on the 16th hole, one of the last four finishing holes along the Shallotte river. As players finish their round, they are treated to the unique scenery here as the river flows down the right side of all these holes. As many imagine, that attracts wildlife of all variety and provides a unique backdrop to tee shots and approach shots, especially on #18 since the green sits out over and into the river more than the others.
Don’t let the mention of all that water scare you though, with 5 sets of tees, there is one for everyone that makes the course very playable. They will also be adding another set of tees as part of an initiative introduced by the PGA called the Scoring Tees Program. This set of tees is a more forward set aimed at juniors, beginners, shorter hitters or hitters with slower swing speeds. A golf hole should be set up so that in two “good” shots, any player can reach the green if they are playing the appropriate tees and for the most par, they would have an iron into the greens. As some courses are set up, this is just not the case. The shortest yardage you may see on a golf course is 4600 maybe a 4500 yard forward tee which can be long for the player types mentioned above. The USGA will be rating this set of tees for Rivers Edge the second week of December so that players moving up can post their score and still maintain a valid handicap. While moving up a set of tees may be a challenge to the ego – it does make the round more enjoyable and backs easier to live with the next day. Shan even mentions that this set of tees may be good from those recovering from an injury so they can still compete without having to carry the ball so far.
Taking the names off the tees and not using the standard colors for tees are also ways to help encourage players to move up a set of tees when appropriate. It is a lot more fun to talk about pars and birdies than bogeys and doubles (or worse). Everyone is encouraged, as scores start to increase, to move up a set of tees and see the results.
Thank you for interacting with The Golf Director and for more information about Rivers Edge, visit their website at www.playriversedgegolf.com.