It’s day three on The Ranch, and no driver needed, at least not yet! We finish breakfast and run-up to the pro-shop. At check-in, Roger tells us our caddie is down waiting for us by the first tee. Jump back in the cart, and quickly (the golf carts aren’t slow) run down the hill and there waiting by the ‘car-park’ is our caddie – Bruce, with Tiffany standing alongside.
You might be asking why this long introduction to tell you about a caddie? Bruce isn’t your usual caddie. Why would he be? There’s not a lot that’s normal about Silvies Ranch. Bruce is as good of a summary of Silvies Ranch as it gets. After all, he is a good 200lb+, laid back, dual horned GOAT! (No, we aren’t talking Garth Brooks or Tom Brady GOAT), we are talking about the four-legged, go anywhere goat!
He’s ‘loaded’ with a saddle designed by Seamus Golf that features two small, lightweight golf bags; one on each side and a few pockets along with a scorecard and pencil.
Now Bruce is about as interested in golf as I am in eating grass. Still, for a moment, I think he turns his head and gives us a sly look that says I know you ate one of my buddies for dinner last night (we did because just about every meal at Silvies involves Chevon – and it’s delicious! I could go off on a tangent here and talk about the food and drink – the bar is so well stocked with whisky and bourbon, amongst other things, that you’d struggle to drink them all in a month of Sundays!)
So, when you’ve loaded Bruce up with your selected four clubs, a couple of balls and made your way to the first hole, having him standing behind you with those horns does make you ask his handler if they have a good hold of him!
We are playing the Chief Egan course, a 9-hole (currently) par-3 where the longest hole is 120 yards, and the shortest is 56 yards. I’m glad I chose to have my 64-degree wedge. Except for the 120-yard (60-degree wedge) hole, it’s the only club aside from the putter I needed.
We had perfect weather during our trip to Silvies Ranch, and this morning was no exception. The high altitude makes for thin air and lots of extra distance on every shot. The ground is just shy of concrete (we had dinner with Sean, the golf superintendent, the night before, and he told us they hadn’t cut the fairways on any of the courses since August (we are in the final days of October). Don’t let that fool you. They were perfect and very ecofriendly. As for the greens, those hadn’t been cut for two weeks, but trust me, they were still pretty slick.
This course is fun, and in hindsight, I wish it had been the first course we played as it’s a great introduction to what the greens are like on the championship courses – not just the putting but how well the greens do or don’t hold your ball – Florida style, throw into the pin, and it will stick, it is NOT.
The decision on each hole is to hit them short and hope for a good bounce? Or hit them onto the green? Preferably with an eye for the green’s topography as they are very undulated, the ball can go any direction. The third, least preferred option – hit and hope!
As with many things at Silvies, they try to make it fun, so hit every green, and there’s a drink in it, make par on every hole, and you get a cap – I’m not sure many drinks and hats are given out.
It’s hard not to smile as you walk the course, especially down the fairway leading a goat with a piece of rope (not something you do every day!!). What cracked us up was having Bruce read the putt – Put down some nice grass behind your ball and down he goes on his knees, and it does look like he’s giving you a read – I dare you not to laugh!
It will take less than an hour to play this 9-hole course; and it’s fun for all ages and levels of golfer. We had so much fun on this course that after playing 18 holes on Craddock and a massage, we had to play it again. For me, the good news was that I won both times – by a very lovely margin!
Better than any practice chipping green, probably anywhere in the world, and twice as much fun! The most important thing is making sure you have food for Bruce at the end. Where else can you get away with paying your caddie in peanuts?
Ratings
Playability – 10/10
Fun Factor – 10/10
Bruce’s interest in your golf swing/ score – 0/10
Bruce’s interest in peanuts – 11/10