Review: The Edison Club (Part 3)

And now, the time has come for the third part of my review of the Edison Club. The first two parts can be found here and here.

The nineteenth hole is a straightforward short par 4, though not a drivable one. The pond isn't an issue, meaning you can hit driver and get as close to the green as you can. That will leave a little wedge into the green, which is quite small and steeply sloped from back to front. There's also a couple of bunkers around the green.

The nineteenth hole.

Approaching the nineteenth green.

The nineteenth green.

The twentieth hole is about 400 yards and doglegs right around a group of trees, so this is one dogleg you won't want to try to shorten. Missing the fairway even a little right means being blocked out by a tree. The second shot is slightly uphill to a fairly flat and bunkerless green. 

The twentieth hole.

Approaching the twentieth green.

The twentieth green.

The twenty-first hole is the longest hole at Edison, playing 560 yards up and over a small hill to a gently downhill-sloping fairway. There aren't any fairway bunkers and the playing corridor is pretty wide, save for a few trees. The lay-up is also pretty simple, but the third shot is tough; it'll be a little wedge to a green surrounded by four small bunkers. If you've got some length, this is a definite birdie hole.

The twenty-first hole.

The twenty-first green.

The twenty-second hole is one of the toughest holes as Edison; it's a 450 yard par 4, blind from the tee, with a thick line of trees just right of the fairway. The fairway goes over a series of undulations, but at least there aren't any fairway bunkers. The second shot is also mostly blind, with just the top of the flag visible from the fairway. The green is bunkerless – the only bunkers on the hole flank the fairway about 50 yards short of the green – but it's a tough one. It slopes sharply from back left to front right, though the back left portion falls away dramatically. 

The twenty-second hole.

Approaching the twenty-second green.

The twenty-second green.

The twenty-third hole is 160 yards, making it the shortest hole at Edison. It also plays downhill, so it's functionally even shorter than the scorecard indicates. The bunkers cover the front of the green, so you don't want to miss short, but the green slopes from back to front and is fairly shallow, so missing long isn't great either. Still, it's a short hole, so it's not too tough.

The twenty-third hole.

The twenty-fourth hole is a 400 yard par 4 with quite a narrow fairway threaded between a line of trees left and a forest right. It's not a sharp dogleg to the right, but it's enough to make using driver not necessarily a great idea. Using a 3 wood means you'll have a short or mid iron into the green. This hole has a fairly complex green; it's long and has two tiers, and is flanked by a pair of small bunkers. It's not a masterpiece, but it's more interesting than most greens at Edison.

The twenty-fourth hole.

Approaching the twenty-fourth green.

The twenty-fourth green.

The twenty-fifth hole is a mid-length par 3 with a large bunker left of the green, which has a bit of a false front. Nothing extreme, since nothing at this course is particularly extreme, but it is sort of there. There's also some mounding right, but this is not a very difficult hole.

The twenty-fifth hole.

The twenty-sixth hole is a short par 5, coming in at just under 500 yards, but reaching it in two can be tricky. The issue is the dogleg, which doesn't come until about 300 yards out, and the trees inside the corner. If you want to go at the green, you need to either hit your drive 300 yards or hit a big slinging hook around the trees. Both are difficult tasks. You may need to lay back on the second for safety, which is a bit annoying, but a decent showcase for the value of trees as a hazard. Without them, this hole would be very easy. The green is small and has a fair amount of undulation, and a single bunker protects the right side. There's also a bunker left of the fairway, about 40 yards short of the green, which can catch second shots from overambitious people with cameras.

The twenty-sixth hole.

Approaching the twenty-sixth green.

The twenty-sixth green.

The twenty-seventh hole is a tough finisher, maybe as tough as the twenty-second hole despite being 20 yards shorter. It goes downhill at first, then swings left around a few large trees to go back up to the clubhouse. This is no small incline, the second shot climbs a good 20 or so. The landing area is fairly wide, though you can lose a ball if you hit a big slice (gee, wonder how I know that). The green is bunkerless and lies in a little punchbowl, though it's also pretty sharply sloped from back to front, so don't go thinking you'll have an easy time. It's a decent hole, though not the one I wanted to see after playing 26 holes before it.

The twenty-seventh hole.

Approaching the twenty-seventh green.

The twenty-seventh green.

As I said at the start, the Edison Club is not the best course in the world. It is, in fact, incredibly average. It bears some similarities with some old country clubs I played in junior golf tournaments in; courses that had a Golden Age heritage but had been heavily modified over the years. A century (or more, in Edison's case) of general messing about and natural growth can leave courses feeling bland, and that is exactly how I would describe Edison. As a golfing experience, the course is perfectly fine. It's fair, there's no big annoying hazards, it's an excellent place to play golf. You won't dislike your rounds here. But it doesn't stand out either. It's the generic image of parkland-style golf. There are some decent holes, but it had nothing that made me say "Wow!" or anything beyond "That's kind of interesting." Would I play this course again? Sure. Am I going to seek out another round here? Probably not.