Stone Ridge worth the drive off 17.

Don't go in mid-October, but go. A series of unfortunate events ledto Northern Ontario Business' visit to the new 18-hole, championship-level Stone Ridge Golf Club in Elliot Lake being postponed until just days before its inaugural season ended. It was cold and windy, and a flake or two of snow may have fallen, but it was worth it.

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When course CPGA pro Brent Robinson said there is nothing left of the old course, he wasn't lying. The old clubhouse now serves as a shed for equipment, and that's where the resemblance ends.

The course has been completely redesigned and redone, and has become a major draw for the city of about 11,000. It was designed by Canadian architect Ted Baker, whose credits include Vancouver's McCleery Golf Course, Toronto's Royal Niagara Golf Course and Brampton's Lionhead Golf and Country Club.

"It's been absolutely crazy all summer," Robinson said in the pro shop. "It was just back-to-back every day."

The club's namesake, a picturesque rock outcrop overlooking the course, provides a breathtaking vista from the fourth green. The first and second fairways run in opposite directions next to each other, and for weaker duffers, share a set of bunkers in the middle. For all the wind that open space challenges golfers with, the fall weather provides an endless supply of colour in the trees to contrast the immaculate green of the grass.

The first green, for example, is guarded by a bank of trees on the right and around the back and is highlighted by a maple tree on the left. In the fall, the deep crimson leaves are awe-inspiring.

The course is laid out across a deceptively small area. Space is used in the design very shrewdly. The tees for Holes No. 13, 16 and 17 are grouped together, their freeways branching out from there like bicycle spokes.

The course from the yellow tees (second shortest, behind the ladies') is 5,682 yards long. From the black pro tees, it stretches to 6,801 yards, and has three holes over 500 yards. Four is the first. It features a long, straight fairway that doglegs just before the green. Hole 14 is the next 500-plus challenge, although there are more than a couple of holes that will challenge your long driver in between. Its fairway is wider than four's, but there is a series of small water hazards that can be avoided by a reasonably straight tee shot. Finally, the 512-yard 17 for those with the fortitude and form to play the pro tees offers a relatively straight fairway, but spikes the difficulty with a creek to shoot over with the approach shot and a tricky bunker to the left of the green.

The bunker isn't quite as tricky, or as beautiful, as the bear claw sand trap that highlights the short Hole No. 6 (134 yards from the yellow tees). On that hole, you definitely want to hit the green from the tee, because any sort of approach shot, including the several my partner and I attempted because we didn't hit the green on the first stroke, over that bunker is very intimidating.

The course doesn't have a signature hole, but Robinson names No. 15 as one of his favourites. Short but challenging (just 127 yards from the yellow start), the green is in reach from the tee, but it demands accuracy. My tee shot landed next to the green, but out of bounds to the right. That's a nasty hazard. To get up to the green via the fairway, you have to climb a hill, and clear what can only be described as a chasm at the same time. It's built in a series of green steps, and falls off on that right side into oblivion. A nice chip and a blind eye to the rulebook courtesy of my photographer for the day netted me a bogey on the par three. Triumph was mine.

The ideal time to see the colours without lightening your golf bag a lot along the way would be before the leaves actually hit the ground. This novice lost a king's ransom of the little white beggars amidst a sea of brush off the fairways. Admittedly, another viable option would be to stay on the fairway in the first place.

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Speaking of epic challenges, I have decided to make hitting the fairway (dare I say the green?) from the pro tee on Hole No. 18 one of my life's goals. It's right up there with becoming a space tourist, and is probably just as far off. Hole No. 18 is laid out next to Ryan Lake. The blue and yellow tees are set up behind a small bay protruding from the lake. Across the bay is the fairway. The red ladies' tee is at the outermost edge of the bay, so hitting over water isn't necessary. But the pro tee, my friends, is set up next to the 15th green and to get on the fairway, you seemingly have to hit right across the lake. I tried a few times just to say I had been there, but all I can say is if you're out of balls by the time you hit the last hole, a quick dip will net you at least five of mine.

Overall, the course was a great challenge, but not so difficult golfers at any stage of development can have a blast playing it. I humbly offer myself as proof, as I fully intend to make the two-hour drive from Sudbury for another round this summer.

www.golfstoneridge.com

By CRAIG GILBERT

Northern Ontario Business