The Raven is playful, cunning, smart and a group of them is called a “conspiracy” or an ‘‘unkindness.”
You can bet the 18-hole 6,662-yard Raven course will live up to its name at the CP Women’s Open Aug. 22-28 at Priddis Green Golf and Country Club.
The Raven will be extra cunning for the tourney.
“They will be growing the rough quite thick which makes the fairways narrower and if you get in the rough, it will be tough to get out,” said Pat Peters, a former women’s club champion and present senior women’s champ at Priddis. “There are also quite a few Par 4s that are more than 400 yards, which is long for the women… and our greens are pretty tricky. They can put pins in places, which are pretty difficult.
“You have to be accurate or else you’re are going to have a pretty unforgiving putt.”
Peters, a member at Priddis for more than 20 years, has taken the Raven head on with 14 sticks several times. The seven-handicapper described what she considers are the three toughest holes and how to play them.
#2, 412 yards, Par 4 (rated no.1)
“It’s tough because it is long and there is water in front of the green. You have to be straight and long, and the green itself has several tiers on it — depending on where they put the pin, they can make it very hard.
“I take out a driver and then a hybrid to get on the green. I can get on it in regulation, but it’s only 370 yards for me.
“The water and the narrow fairways will make it harder for them.”
#3, 175 yards, Par 3, (rated no. 7)
“It’s a bit of a dogleg left, so it’s not a straight-away shot, so they will have to shape it a bit. There are trees left, a bunker left and a bunker to the right. It’s a soft dogleg, but it’s going to favour a right to left shot.
“I usually go in with a 16-degree hybrid, that’s my 170-club. They will probably hit an iron.”
#9, 408 yards, Par 4, (rated no. 5)
“It is a bit of a blind-shot, a dogleg right. They can’t see the green from the tee, so again they will have to shape the shot.
“There is a bunker on the corner. If they try to cut the corner on the right, there are a lot of trees. “I’m sure they will try and play to the middle. They hit it far enough that they can hit a high-iron to a back-left pin, but it will take some good golf to score well.
“The green itself is well protected with a bunker in front. If they put a back-left pin on that it will be hard to access because they have to carry the bunker and then stop right on the green. If they go long they will hit the bunker behind.
“I always go about full drive and then an iron coming in.”
This is the third time the scenic Priddis Greens has hosted an LPGA event. Karrie Webb won the Du Maurier Classic in 1999 and Suzann Pettersen won the 2009 CN Women’s Open at Priddis. However, in the previous tournaments, the Raven was not used in its entirety.
The no. 1 seed in the world, Lydia Ko and Canada’s own Brooke Henderson, ranked no. 3, will be at the 2016 CP Open. Money from the tournament will go to the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation. The target is to raise $1.2 million. For volunteer or ticket information go to www.priddisgreens.com
