The Course
Crockett Ridge Golf Course
Kingsport, TN
First Impressions:
Driving up to the club house and passing a few holes I can see this is a well-maintained course. The first 9 holes are challenging for any average golfer and the back 9 are even a bit more challenging but also with some more picturesque scenery. There are plenty of sand traps and some of them have some steep wall ridges that can be a nightmare if you end up there. There is also water, some narrow fairways, and steep hills and mounds. Some of them can work well to your advantage if you hit the hill right and it will allow your ball to roll down and funnel to the middle of the fairway with maybe a few extra yards closer to the green. The cart paths have some real steep up and down paths to drive but the carts are in great shape and do a good job of helping with that.
My golf partners:
Ryan
Manda (Ryan’s Wife)
Ryan & Manda live on this golf course. They just bought a new home that sits at the top of hole #11.
They are a young couple and new to the Tennessee area. Ryan and I kept score but Manda chose to opt out of that. I am not sure why because she can hit some good shots and I think she beat both of us on a few holes. On hole #4 she hit one about 60 yards from the green and landed it about 5 feet from the hole. Manda loves the par 3’s and she nearly hit the pin on 2 of them from the tee. Ryan loves the driver and he can crush it out there to 300 yards. He was struggling a little with his putter but aren’t we all?
Ryan and I pretty much kept up neck and neck with each other most of the time. He got me by 1 stroke on both the front and back 9 holes. I did get one birdie (hole #18) to Ryan’s none so I got one up on him with that. Of course, only the final score really matters and so he wins that with 95 to my 97.
It was a hot day about 81 degrees with little or no wind. We were all pretty beat at the end but all in all we had a good day of golf and some great shots to remember that ultimately keeps us coming back for more. Ryan & Manda are a fun couple to play with. Thank you, Ryan & Manda.
About my Game:
Today was defiantly a little better than my game yesterday. I still didn’t do as well as I know I could but that’s just how this game goes. On hole #5 I was about 10 feet off the green and chipped it in for par with no putts. On hole #15 I was about 75 yards from the green and landed it to just about 3 feet from the hole. Then some how only the golf gods know, I managed to miss that putt that was for birdie. Ryan even said when he walked up to green and saw how close I landed it. He said “oh wow, I give you that one”. But I had to of course go and make it official and totally blew it. Unbelievable!!! I am going to go home and practice 3 foot puts until I can sink 25 in row.
My favorite hole:
Hole # 16 is a lot like hole #17 at Clear Creek. You stand at the T-box and you look a long way down that seems like 300 feet. You can see the pin which is pretty much straight ahead but the green is surrounded by sand traps. It’s a 363-yard par 4 with a narrow fairway so you need a pretty good straight shot to be in good position for your 2nd shot. I of course ended up in one of those sand traps on my second shot and finished the hole with a double bogie. I still give it a favorite hole status because I like how that challenge is set up and I believe if given another opportunity I could do well on this.
Hole #7 is another fun challenge. Its 280 yards par 4 from the white T-box. A good driver can maybe hit the green but it’s got water and a sand trap with a very narrow approach so only a perfect drive would succeed. Ryan and I both finished with a bogie on this one and we were happy with that.
A little more about this course:
This course has got most of everything you might expect to find on a golf course. There are sand traps, water, hills (large & small) narrow and some wide fairways. It’s nicely maintained, with lots of nice views on the back 9. It’s also got one more thing that I would have liked to see a little less of and that is hilly and steep sloping greens. After achieving the challenge of getting on the green in regulation you can find yourself now facing an extremely challenging putting situation. I think putting was our biggest defeating factor and that is something you just need to do fairly well to get a score you think you can achieve at the end. Overall, it’s a great place to play and I would love to do it again sometime.
