Thursday, April 9, 2015

Blythe Municipal Golf Course

Being in Blythe, CA might be considered something of a hardship, but their golf course is a hidden gem.  We're staying in an RV park in Ehrenberg, AZ, just across the river, because it's a convenient stopping point on the way to Indio.

Blythe is a William F. Bell design, with an assortment of doglegs, water hazards, grass and sand bunkers, a dramatically elevated par 3, and some blind or partially blind shots.  The second hole is 195 yards from the white tees, but plays 170


to a double green, shared with #6.  

Many of the greens are elevated
They're smooth and fast, with tiers and some severe slopes, so care must be taken in planning the approach or chip.

The fairways are also tilted sometimes, and can put a pretty good shot into a bad place.


The front nine runs down and up the Mesa Bluff, with large elevation changes.  The back, from 10-16 is relatively flat, but with more narrow fairways and doglegs defined by large trees.

17 is a double dogleg par 5, 550 from the whites.

18 is a strong uphill par 3 with a grass bunker in front
The course is a par 73, with 5 par 5's.  The fairways are well-groomed, and the greens are pristine, smooth and fast.  The greens fees are quite reasonable.  I paid (hot deal on Golfnow) the same price I have paid for a bag of balls at Longbow.  I shot 82 with two birdies, which I admit adds some bias to my opinion, but I will still maintain that this is an above-average golf course at a very reasonable price.

More pictures.

1 comment:

  1. Looking at my stats, this was my best round of the past 18 months. Only once in the past 20 rounds did I have fewer than 40 "long" shots (> 50 yards). This time was 35. And on a par 73. No lost balls, no penalty strokes. Could easily have been in the 70's. Took two chips on a hole twice, three chips once. Lipped out a birdie putt.

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