Mace Meadows Golf & Country Club

Whose idea was it to make a tee time at 7:15 in the morning?

Mace Meadows is a nice course, almost like an executive course with a par 72. The yardage from the whites is 2938 yards and a 68.5/124 Rated/Slope. The course is well maintained with the greens soft and with a fairly slow speed. I have played this course many times in the past and have gotten to know the head pro Gregg Standridge very well. Gregg has been an excellent donator to the Jeff Sanders Memorial Golf Tournament with free rounds of play.
The first thing I noticed when I arrived at the course was the recent damage to the cart garage from an arsonist. The carts that did survive were being kept at the maintenance yard and the course employees shuttling them up from there. From what I saw all but two had their tops removed which can make for a hot day if you don't keep yourself hydrated, as I found out.

The front nine has some narrow tree lined fairways, whereas the back nine is more wide open. You can quickly find yourself in trouble if your accuracy is off. I found that your best bet is, when you find yourself in the trees, put away your ego and punch out into the fairways. I wish I could do that more because my great planning usually ends up with poor execution! And today was no exception. The first hole tee box was on the right side of this 491 yards par 5, which is great for me because I have developed a draw and sometimes a big pull with my drives. So what do I do? I sliced my drive into the ninth fairway. And so it starts! I was a little over 200 yards out and put my 3 wood pin high 12 feet off the green to the right. Two chips to the green and two putts I got away with a 6 for a bogey, not bad.
Then came the 130 yard par 3 second hole over a pond. Before I teed up I was telling Wil and two other golfers (their first time at Mace) how I always pull my tee shot left and out of bounds on this hole. So I line up with my pitching wedge and as soon as I connect I knew where I was headed. I'm not talking just a little left either. It was heading 40 yards left and into the woods/forest. Then I hear a loud "thunk" and see my ball bounce from a tree and back towards the green. I just looked at the other three golfers and told them "Now that is course management." Have I told you, I played this course a few time before?

The number one handicap hole is the 471 yards, par 5, sixth hole. This hole has an elevated tee box, were you have to shoot threw a narrow opening to a fairway that opens up. But the fairway has a slight dogleg left with thick trees on both sides. My drives scatter anywhere from 240 to 315 so I almost always layup in front of a pond guarding the green and two big oaks guarding the pond and green. So you need to layup your second shot either left or right of the tree.

My front nine scores: 6, 3, 7, 4, 5, 7, 5, 7, 7 for a total of 51

Well the back nine started off a lot better I parred the first three holes and thought I was on a roll. I love golf, I love golf, I love golf! After double bogeying the 13th its time for my favorite hole where I can grip it and rip it!! A 473 yards par 5. The tee box is elevated with a pond right in front with another pond down the left side of the fairway and water on the right side. My drive ends up on the 15th fairway but, I think I have a shot at the green, I know I can reach it with my 3 wood. I could either clear the trees in front of me, or I could take my 8 iron and put it back into the fairway. One more foot higher and I would have made it but, it did look pretty until I hit the top of the tree and into water hazard. After taking my drop I still wasn't in good position. Needless to say I ended up taking a 10 on that hole. Didn't I mention something about ego! After recovering from that and playing my usual bogey golf I came to the18th and final hole.

The 18th hole features a 501 yards dogleg left where the fairway slops to the right and trees and houses on the left. Most of the time on your second shot the ball is below your feet. Well I saved my best drive for last - long and straight. My second shot was 200 yards out with the ball below my feet. I take out my driving iron and hit a beautiful shot just left of the green, pin high, two feet from the green and 7 feet from pin. Can life get any better than this?! YES! There could have been fringe or fairway there but, NOOOO! I had to be in the sand. Well my sand play has been 60/40 of late, 60% to the good so I felt ok. My first shot out of the sand went straight up and down back into the sand. How do you get too far under the ball in the sand? Well the second shot landed two feet from the hole for an easy par putt.

My back nine scores: 4, 4, 3, 6, 10, 6, 5, 4, 5 for a total of 47

All in all this is a fun course to play. Cooler than the valley courses but, it can still get into the 90's. Some days are easier and some days are harder. So when you play Mace stop by and talk to Gregg in the pro shop, he'll have you laughing before you leave, and tell him Mike sent ya!