Hole #5
Cranberry Golf Resort:
Stay & Play on the Shores of Southern Georgian Bay
Posted by Alistair Orr
Collingwood’s Georgian Bay water front is home to Cranberry Golf Resort's four season family resort. In addition to the championship golf course, resorts guests can enjoy numerous recreation and culinary options. On site you will find tennis, indoor and outdoor pools, a full service spa, recreation & fitness centre, several dining options spread throughout the resort grounds and water access at the Cranberry Yacht Club. In the winter months cross country skiing and snowshoeing can be enjoyed on the extensive groomed trails.
The golf course is routed through dense woodlands and around and over the numerous creeks, ponds and wetlands that dominate the property. The front nine can play beastly long in places with five of the first six holes facing the prevailing winds. The front nine calls for equal parts brute strength, finesse and a tidy short game if a good score is to be posted. The back side is much shorter than the front and employing a deft distance control strategy off the tee will set up some opportunities to post a few birdies. The layout has seen an extensive ongoing nip-and-tuck program in recent years with the addition of strategically placed bunkering, relocated tee decks and rerouting of several holes.
Course Stats:
Par 72 |
Yardage |
Rating/Slope-M |
Rating/Slope-F |
| Gold | 6618 |
72.0 / 128 |
- |
| Blue | 6292 |
70.3 / 124 |
- |
| White | 5881 |
68.7 / 117 |
73.8 / 132 |
| Long Hybrid | 5503 |
67.0 / 114 |
71.7 / 127 |
| Red | 5223 |
65.0 / 109 |
69.2 / 118 |
| Short Hybrid | 4443 |
61.6 / 104 |
65.0 / 110 |
| Yellow | 4142 |
61.0 / 102 |
63.3 / 1`05 |
Access: Public
Location:
Collingwood, On. -2 minutes west of downtown Collingwood on hwy #26
| Editor's Shotmakers Picks | Hole 5
|
Hole 6
|
Hole 7
|
Par |
Par 5 |
Par 3 |
Par 4 |
| Gold | 538 |
179 |
423 |
| Blue | 509 |
161 |
415 |
| White | 490 |
144 |
383 |
| Long Hybrid | 426 |
144 |
330 |
| Red | 426 |
124 |
330 |
| Short Hybrid | 371 |
124 |
230 |
| Yellow | 371 |
94 |
230 |
HCP -M |
11 |
15 |
1 |
HCP -F |
9 |
15 |
1 |
Feature Holes Descriptions:
The Cranberry additions to our shot-makers collection is the tough watery stretch of holes five through seven. Beside the lengthy yardage, hazards aplenty and fronting ponds are the dominant feature which will challenge players on these holes and may break or make your round early in the day.
Hole number five is a brute of a par five and is the longest hole on the course stretching out to 538 yards from the tips. Playing into the teeth of the prevailing wind the hole is a true three-shotter for all but the Dustin Johnson’s of the world. A drive long down the centre with a left-to-right ball flight is required to avoid overhanging trees on the right off the tee. The prudent player will select the appropriate club to lay up the second shot taking the left side fronting pond out of play. A short pitch in the neighbourhood of 100-120 yards will remain on the approach over the pond to a wide shallow green protected by backside bunkers.
Hole #6
The Par 3 sixth hole is a nerve jangling test that requires precise distance control to this mid-length hole if the putting surface is to be found in one shot. A large pond runs from tee to green and fronts the middle and right side of the green. The left pin position is fairly benign and easily accessed but the right side pin tucked behind the pond, in the narrowest portion of the green, is a formidable challenge indeed. Only the bravest of soles, or the foolhardy, will attack this pin for coming up short will have you reaching for the ball scoop and the long ball leaves a nasty downhill chip from the back side mounding to the pin.
Hole #7
Hole seven at Cranberry recently received a nip-and-tuck to the teeing ground which saw some 60+ yards added to the hole. No longer will a long iron or fairway wood tee shot carry you far enough down the landing area to allow for a short pitch over the fronting creek. It is now a driver followed by a long or mid iron or even a layup if your drive falls short.
The prudent player will drive long down the right side setting up the best angle to the large sloping green that is protected left by the pond and short by a creek. A drive tight down the left brings the pond into play and some newly planted trees may block out a direct line to the pin. Be careful if you are hunting a front pin position on your approach for the creek flows within feet of the putting surface and will be more than happy to gobble up the miss-hit short, however, the green cants steeply from back to front so the long ball will leave a tricky downhill up and down for par.
Posting a 5, 3, 4 on the scorecard on this stretch is a skillfull achievement which will put a spring in your step and likely pick up a few shots on the field.
Contact:
Cranberry Golf Resort
19 Keith Ave
Collingwood, Ontario L9Y 4T9
705-445-6600 x604
ENEWS