Back in April, the Golf Aficionado team decided to pack up the Suburban and head south to PGA Golf Club. It was Masters weekend; we decided since we couldn’t be in Augusta watching the pros, why not spend the weekend playing in our own golf tournament. We took off from Orlando around lunchtime, and after a quick 2-hour drive, we arrived at PGA Village. Upon arrival, we were promptly greeted by the staff who unloaded our golf gear and gave us a rundown on the lay of the ground. PGA Golf Club consists of 54 holes, three 18-hole championship golf courses (Ryder, Dye, & Wanamaker).
Our first round of the weekend was on the Ryder Course; we were scheduled to tee off just after 3 pm on that Friday afternoon. Since we didn’t hit any traffic on the drive up, we had ample time to explore the pro shop and properly warm-up before the round. After picking up a new hat from the pro shop, we hopped into the carts and made the short drive over to the range.
After hitting some balls and practicing some putts, we headed over to the first tee. On the tee, we were faced with our first big decision of the trip, what tees to play? We decided to play our first round of the trip from the Standard tees which play at 6,195 yards. Yes, I know, less than 6200 yards but let me tell you golf writers are notoriously bad golfers, and I’m no exception. Hindsight being 20/20, had we been able to do it all over again we would have played back, out of the three courses the Ryder Course is the appetizer; Ryder is more resort style golf while Dye and Wannamaker are much more challenging. Remember this bit of advice when deciding which course and tees to play.
Before we hit our first shot, one thing was pretty obvious; we had the course to ourselves. The PGA Golf Club has a unique public/private setup which allows one course to be dedicated strictly to members. Friday happened to be the day the Ryder Course was closed to the public and at 3 pm on Friday surprisingly no members were anywhere to be found!
Onto the golf!
The first tee box is slightly elevated and provides plenty of room to land your drive, helping you get off to a good start. Like most of the holes on the Ryder Course, it’s a solid golf hole. If you can avoid the bunkers, you are set up to do very well.
As we played the next couple of holes, I started to realize that you can’t miss long on your approaches into the green. When approaching the green on the Ryder Course, short is better than long. Every long shot was punished by a challenging chip shot that seemed impossible to get close to the pin. The biggest challenge always came on the greens. The green complexes are fast, with multiple tiers and ample undulation that make reading the putts very difficult.
One of the most memorable holes on the course was the fourth, a short par-5 dogleg right protected by water along the right side. Looking at the card, it’s short at only 420-yards from the standard tees but standing on the tee box; the distance feels deceiving. Faced with a classic risk/reward tee shot, you must decide how much of the corner to take on. A successful tee shot is key and allows you to go for the green setting up a solid chance at an eagle putt. It’s a big green, and I ended up long with the pin in front. It was downhill over a ridge, and I can still remember thinking get it close and walk away with a two-putt.
Ryder Hole 4 from PGA Village on Vimeo.
As we continued making our way around the course, I noticed that the late afternoon wind started picking up. The wind seemed to be a factor all weekend, especially in the late afternoon and early evening. When playing the Ryder or any of the courses at PGA Golf Club, make sure to measure the wind strength and direction and adjust club selection accordingly. Heading to the ninth, we were into the wind on this uphill hole. You need to avoid the coquina bunkers to the right of the fairway. If you can do that, the next challenge is avoiding the huge greenside bunker on the right. Again, don’t be over the green as the putt coming back will be very quick. Like I’ve said, avoid the bunkers and don’t go long into the green. I know, easier said than done!
Overall, the greens were hard and fast; most of the approach shots into the greens would roll through unless you came in high and landed softly. If you play the distance and attack the flag, you usually find yourself over the green facing a menacing comeback shot. The raised greens and short fringe grass protecting the greens caused my chips to either go long off the other side or if left short, roll back to my feet.
The trick to the Ryder Course was learning how to judge the approach shots. You had to learn how short of the green you had to play to hold the green. On the positive side, the firm fairways amplified the amount of roll-out and distance for drives. We even found our mishits running down the fairway.
Ryder Course @ PGA Golf Club Course Rating 4.0 out of 5
If we had to sum up the experience on the Ryder Course in one word, solid. The bottom-line, the course was in great shape and ended up providing us with the most relaxed and best scoring round of the trip. Out of the PGA Golf Club’s three courses, the Ryder Course is by far the most forgiving and ended up being a great start to our weekend in PGA Village!