Bent Stick Golf Course

Regal Ridge Golf Course is one of those courses you drive by all the time and say, "One day I will have to stop in and play there." Well, today was the day we finally did. We weren't expecting much from this nine-hole course, especially since we were playing it so late in the year. It recently changed hands and was re-labeled as Regal Ridge Golf Course from Bent Stick Golf Course. This is a no-frills course, and that begins with the clubhouse. The clubhouse is little more than a rundown shed with a patio overlooking the course; it is charming in its own way. The young man that collected our money (I believe he was one of the owners) was friendly and full of helpful information about the course. Since taking over the course, the new owners have invested some money to improve the conditions by adding a sprinkler system to water the greens, fairways, and tee boxes. But, judging by the conditions, it may take a while for the water to have an improving effect. There is no driving range or practice green.

Course Layout and Conditions

The layout of the course was actually quite good. It is not a long course at 3,028 yards, but it does have its fair share of trouble. They have two signature holes: the second hole is a 377-yard, par 4 that starts with a drive up and over a hill, leaving you with a short- to mid-iron over a creek to a small, dome-shaped green. The eighth hole is a tricky dogleg right around a marsh. At 352 yards, the long hitters can bite off most of the corner and go for the green, while the rest of us mortals will drive it straight out to the corner to have a short iron into the tight green complex. The tee boxes were probably the worst part of the whole course; they were not level, and it was challenging to get a tee in some of them. Most fairways provided you with a variety of lies as they rolled up and throughout the course. They were very generous with little rough; they did have areas of fescue that made it difficult to find a ball in. There were no fairway bunkers, but water and fescue came into play on several holes. There are a few trees scattered around the layout, and the out-of-bounds was lined with rows of trees. The greens were small and primarily dome-shaped and there were no bunkering at all. The day we played, they had not been cut for a few days, and it was like putting on a shag carpet, but we're talking late October here.

Recommendation

Would I recommend this course? Maybe. If you want to go play a quick nine when you're in the area, go for it, just don’t expect Augusta National conditions. The layout is pretty good, we had fun playing it, and the course has potential if they can improve the conditions. We’ll be back next season to see if things have improved.