by Larry Berle
It had been years since I had played SunRidge Canyon. I avoided it because my memory of it was, “It’s just too difficult.” It is difficult. Some people may even call this course “The Wicked Witch of the West,” but the new owners have made some significant improvements. I loved it today and will play there again soon.
The course was in beautiful shape. SunRidge Canyon has chosen not to overseed its greens these past few seasons. Last year they removed 220 tons of compacted dirt from the greens and replaced them mostly with sand. The new bermuda surfaces have almost no grain and are very firm and fast—firm enough that there is hardly a ball mark to be found. They may not be the bright green color we have become accustomed to, but they putt so well, who cares.
Don’t let all this praise of the greens fool you. Good doesn’t equal easy. They have contours—sometimes subtle, sometimes not—that are a challenge to read. A day without three putts here would be a great day indeed. But here is one little tip that will help. Look toward Four Peaks, which looms strikingly over SunRidge Canyon, and keep in mind that putts tend to break toward this magnificent mountain.
SunRidge Canyon plays to a par of 71. From the tips the yardage is 6,878, but it plays much longer. I played it from 6150 and it felt like a few hundred more. I’ve been a Tee It Forward guy since before they invented the term, and SunRidge Canyon is Exhibit A for moving up. Believe me, you’ll get the full experience from the forward tees, including having a reasonable chance to conquer some of this course’s wonderful challenges. For anyone whose handicap is not tiny (or even plus), the tips here will be torture.
The course opens with a short, welcoming par four, and builds from there. You won’t see a par three until number six, but ultimately there are five of them. They are all beautiful and full of character, ending with number 17, which has two sets of tees. They come at the L-shaped green from completely different directions—it’s two holes in one. Depending on the day you play, you’ll have a short iron to the smaller arm of the L or a long iron or hybrid to the bigger arm. None of the four par-fives is reachable except by the longest hitters, but the course really shows its teeth on the par fours. While eleven and fifteen stand out, SunRidge Canyon has numerous two-shotters where par feels like birdie and bogey is often a relief.
We are winding through a housing development, but the houses rarely infringe on this course as it descends to the bottom of the canyon on the front nine and climbs back up to the clubhouse on the back nine. Architect Keith Foster followed the contour of this canyon land and, unlike the homes, the canyon walls, water falls and large boulders do impact (or should I say add to) your experience. There are several optical illusions here. On holes three and four, the fairways look as wide as a driving range from the tee box, but they are not. On hole seven, the fairway looks much too narrow to hit, but it’s not.
The challenges of SunRidge Canyon peak on the final six holes, which are mostly uphill, upwind, and just plain hard. The management has embraced this difficulty by naming this stretch of holes “The Wicked Six.” As you approach the thirteenth tee, there is even a plaque welcoming you to the Wicked Six. Welcome, indeed. The two par threes, two par fours, and two par fives of the Wicked Six will test both your skills and your fortitude. Play these well and you’ve truly accomplished something.
This would be a very challenging course to walk, so riding will be the way you make your way around. A windshield would have been welcome in the morning chill. On the other hand, SunRidge’s carts are equipped with the most up-to-date GPS that I have ever used. Every hole has a flyover video with a tip from the pro and, in addition to yardages to the pins, you can tap the screen to a layup point of your choice and the exact distance there shows up.
Unlike many of the courses in the valley, SunRidge Canyon is not managed by OB Sports or Troon Golf, so it may not show up on your radar quite so easily but it is worth seeking out. You won’t forget it.
SunRidge Canyon is also home to the Jim McLean Golf School
And also home to one of few Hot Stix locations
For more information and tee times:
http://www.sunridgegolf.com
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