Eagle Ridge South
Eagle Ridge Resort and Spa
Galena, Illinois
Grade: B+
Teacher’s Comments: Punishing
The South Course is in my mind the most difficult of the three-and-a-half courses at Eagle Ridge. The fairways are narrow; water and dense undergrowth abound. A slightly wayward ball will be lost very quickly.
In this, the South is the least “resort-like” of the Eagle Ridge Resort’s collection of courses. I think of resort courses as friendly, with wide fairways and accessible greens. In the case of the South, if you can’t hit it straight, or lack a resilient mind capable of bouncing back from misfortune, you will suffer.
From the back tees, the course measures 6,762 and plays to a 140/73.7. More reasonably the next tees in measure 6,344 and play 136/71.8. The forward tees play at 5,609 and 128/68/4.
The course’s signature hole likely is the eighteenth, if only for the spectacular view (above). From a very high tee, the tee shot must fall straight down to somewhere between 150 and 120 in. Then, it is uphill again to a green perched in front of the clubhouse. That’s not a difficult assignment, but does require sound judgment in club selection.
My favorite was the par five sixth (above). Running across a ridge, it requires a tee shot or at least 226 yards over a gully to either clear the bunkers left or or land in a clear area right. Finding safety on the left will heave you with a view of the green, as the right has trees along the line of sight. The second shot should get you well within wedge range. A long player could go for the green, but it seems likely to me that a ball coming in fast and low will skip into oblivion.
Another hole I enjoyed was the par five 16th (above) A good tee shot will take you to the edge of a precipice, with the fairway dipping down fifty feet before coming up again and bending left, then right to the hole. The first bend, at the top of the hill is guarded by two large trees left and right. It is rather like a gate to a walled city.
The par threes were a nice respite from the unrelenting pressure of the rest of the course. None called for an heroic shot.
Condition were not as good on the South as on the General, North or East. The greens had some dead or repaired spots, fairways were scorched in some spots and showed water damage in others. The fairways felt “shaggy” along the edges. I felt as though, for a resort courses, the layout could use some TLC.
This was the one course at Eagle Ridge that I did not immediately want to play again. That is not to say that it was a bad course. It actually was quite challenging and interesting. It was, however, not as fun as the other three.
More photos below.
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Totally agree on your assessment. Our group of 20 played all the courses here and this was by far the least favorite. Be prepared to lose a ball or 2. Hit it straight or pay the price.
Also agree on your assessment. Have played the three 18 hole courses each twice, once in June, and again in late October. The South course has an old feel too it. We played it on a gloomy damp low 50 degree day (I really enjoy this type of weather), and I found that I really enjoyed it. Leaves changing colors and the elevation changes of the fairways meeting the sky were excellent sites. Of course you have to contend w/ a few more leaves on the turf, but think the resort does a fairly good job of maintenance. I was hitting the driver fairly straight that day and my lost balls were at a minimum, so there is that.