When they say "you want to avoid the sand", at Richter Park golf course, they're not just talking about the recently refurbished bunkers. They're also warning you to stay away from the Quicksand."Now there's a hazard that's unique in American golf," golf writer Jay Flemma reminded me. "...a hazard that could actually be hazardous to your health." Jay came up to Danbury this past weekend to play an early season round at Richter, and he gave it high marks, despite the threatening sediment that borders the 15th and 16th fairways.
In addition to writing about golf on his own, often provocative blog, A Walk in the Park, Jay, an entertainment lawyer by day, writes for www.golfobserver.com and is an associate editor for Cybergolf.com. His work has also appeared on the thegolfchannel.com and other high profile sites.
Jay is completely passionate about golf, and he's a student of golf course architecture, so his observations on my home course were most enlightening. I've played Richter regularly for the the past two seasons yet Jay was able to point out features features and idiosyncrasies I'd overlooked or simply stopped noticing. When Mr. Flemma described the multifaceted par 5 7th, I was aware, for the first time, of the variety of shots required to avoid a bogey.... or a triple bogey, my specialty on that particular hole. He also pointed out the deceptively sloping fairways and surprisingly elevated green, the result of the course's setting in our Southwestern CT hills.
Jay Flemma's full review of Richter, including the Quicksand story, and a couple of pithy comments contribute by yours truly, can be found on A Walk in the Park. When you read it I'm pretty sure you'll want to consider a trip to my idylic little corner of the world.
I think this kicks butt!!!!! We need more hazards like this!!!!! This beats crocodiles any day!
ReplyDeleteOddly, I often par the 7th hole. Not the one time I played with you, but I do par that one a lot. The sixth is the only hole on the front I've never parred. You need two great shots to make that green. My favorite holes are the 10th and the first. Something about the dog leg right and the bodies of water appeal to me.
ReplyDeleteHow about lava? Lava would be cool!
ReplyDeleteLava is not cool, it's quite hot, as many a sacrificed virgin would testify if they could. Do you get a penalty strokes for grounding a club in a quicksand trap???
ReplyDeleteI've adjusted to crocodiles in my back swing in South Carolina, but quick sand? I'll take an unplayable lie please.
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