Website: www.shadowridgegolfcommunity.com
I played the Shadow Ridge Golf Club in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on 12/12/15 while driving from Pennsylvania to Louisiana. The par 72 course is located about 4 miles directly off I-59 at the Hattiesburg exit for Route 98, and was easy to find.
I played the Blue tees which is one of four tees available. The Blue tees play to 6,359 yards with a rating of 71.6 and slope of 128. The various tees play from 6,845 yards for the Gold tees to the Black tees (their designation, not mine) of 4,808 yards with a rating of 67.5 and slope of 114.
The design is challenging and winds through some housing for part of the layout. The layout is not overly long, but is tight and features a lot of elevation changes. The course opens with a tight downhill par five. Most of the holes featured some elevation change. This does not seem like a course that would be easy to walk because there are some significant distances between some of the greens and the next tees. I did observe a few walkers.
An unusual observation that I made was that the cart path, and the course in general, seemed very uneven and bumpy. I had several occasions where items bounced out of the cart and I had to go back and retrieve them.
The course has 100, 150, 200 and 250 yard stripes on the cart path but I did not notice any yardage markers in the fairways. I was glad I had my Sky Caddie and when it ran out of juice on the 13th hole, it definitely made it harder to figure a number if I wasn't near the cart path.
Every hole was different from any other and presented unique and scenic, but fair challenges. I would have liked to take pictures of a few holes, but did not have time. Because of how tight the holes were, this is not a course I felt comfortable trying to cut loose with big swings off the tee and instead focused on keeping the ball in play and leaving a second shot of a comfortable distance.
The course has excellent finishing holes on the 9th and 18th holes with an uphill par 4 dogleg right at number 9 and a dogleg left par five at 18 with a pond fronting the green that requires a layup second shot for most players.
Service
I found this course by doing some internet research the night before and reading reviews by other players. The pro shop attendant was friendly. Because I played the course with less than three hours of daylight left, I didn't have time to talk to too many people. The cart attendant at the end of the day was friendly and encouraged me to come back and play again after asking me how I liked the course.
There was drinking water about every four holes. I did notice two bathroom facilities on the 7th and 14th holes. There are some houses around the course, and it is obvious that the housing plan is growing.
Overall Condition
The course was in good condition throughout all eighteen holes. All of the fairways were in good shape, but the roughs were thin and the turf hard. The greens were fast and firm, but seemed to hold shots well. All greens seemed to putt true. I saw some grass bunkers but if there were any traps, I didn't notice because fortunately I didn't end up in any of them and I was hurrying around the course to beat sunset.
I did notice that the tee boxes seemed tight.
Clubhouse/Amenities
This course has a restaurant and clubhouse, but I didn't get to utilize any facilities due to time constraints. I had no time to use the driving range or any of the other facilities.
Value
I played the course at 1:45PM at a rate of $35. I forgot to ask if they had a senior rate because I was in a hurry.
In summation, I felt like I had discovered a nice treat by doing a little internet research the night before. I was very pleased with everything about the selection of this course. read more
