At 580 yards hole #5 is a beast

Pitcher's Pond Golf Course:

Breathtaking Scenery in Rural Newfoundland.

Posted by Alistair Orr

Graham Cooke has had a major influence on the Atlantic Canada golfing landscape with an extensive portfolio of projects. His Maritime collection consists of no fewer than 11 original designs in addition to the numerous renovation and addition projects. His reach into Newfoundland extends to three original designs and three major renovation projects. On the renovation side Cooke performed a nip-and-tuck at St. John's historic Bally Haly century old layout and was also commissioned to extend the nine hole routings at Grand Falls and Harmon Seaside to 18 holes. Original Course designs that bear his name include Admiral’s Green at Pippy Park in St. John’s and the cross-town 36 hole facility at the Clovelly Golf Club. The near by shore of Trinity Bay is home to the final course on his list of designs where Whiteway’s Pitcher's Pond rounds out the group.

Whiteway is a beautiful seaside hamlet located on Hwy 80 on the south eastern shore of Trinity Bay offering stunning views of the Whiteway Bay and Shag Rock, which lies just off shore in the middle of the harbour. However, if you lived in Whiteway prior to 2005 a jaunt of 60 to 90 minutes was needed to satisfy your golf addiction. Growing tired of the long trek to the nearest first tee a group of local residents decided it was time to take matters into their own hands. The quest to create a course closer to home began in the late 80’s and early 90’s when a group of Trinity Bay locals got together with some like minded folks from Conception Bay joining forces to form the Trinity Bay-Conception Bay Golf Association. The goal of this group was to explore the feasibility of building a golf course. They pooled their resources and brought in a consultant to make a recommendation on which of the four properties that the collective were eying for a golf course location. The site around Pitcher’s Pond in Whiteway was given the nod and after years of blood, sweat and tears, some serious fund raising, and an infusion of provincial cash, Cooke was approach and Pitcher's Point was born.

Cooke’s original design called for an 18 hole layout but the economic uncertainly of the time necessitated a cautious approach to the endeavour and the course opened as a nine-holer in the summer of 2005. The routing is laid out on the hillside and in the valley adjacent to Pitcher's Pond with scenic views of Trinity Bay and the surrounding mountains in the distance. The majority of the course is heavily influenced by the hillside with holes one through six and the home hole featuring elevation changes, some rather dramatically, while holes seven and eight are the only flat holes and are routed along the pond's edge. When the time is right to expand the routing to 18 holes the design calls for more valley floor and water’s edge holes.

Editor's Shot Maker's Picks at Pitcher's Pond

Feature Holes Descriptions:

The two par fives at Pitcher's top out at 525 and 580 yards but neither play to their yardage because of the dramatic elevation changes that influence the holes. Hole number 2 challenges you with a demanding downhill tee shot to a relatively tight landing zone. Anything missed left risks catching a lone fairway bunker or will bound down into the hazard that runs the entire length of the left side. The fairway doglegs sharply around the hazard on the approach to the green so an attempt to reach this green site in two with eagle in mind is a risky endeavour. The wise player will consider laying up to a comfortable distance of 100 or so yards setting up an up and down birdie opportunity.

Hole #2

Although the scorecard marks the fifth hole at 580 yards the sharp elevation rise easily adds another 50 yards to the hole. The drive from an elevated tee must successfully carry a wide ravine to reach the fairway. The remainder of this slight dogleg left hole is a steep climb to an elevated green complex protected by a lone fronting bunker. The second shot must avoid a couple of small birch trees that call the centre of the fairway home and two right side bunkers to set up a short iron third shot. The approach to the plateau green site must come in high and land on the front portion of the green to avoid bounding through the green leaving a nasty downhill chip. A par on this hole is an achievement and birdies are rare.

Hole #7

The par three seventh hole is a wonderful short hole measuring from 114 to 164 yards. Although not long in stature the prevailing winds blowing over your left shoulder from Pitcher's Pond makes club selection tricky.  Anything short or left brings the hazard into play. The prudent play is to take dead aim at the green's centre and let your putter do the work from there.

The members, staff, and the community at large, have an enormous sense of pride of what they have accomplished here. Visitors are not only greeted with spectacular vistas from the club house terrace, they are also greeted like a friend coming to their home for a visit. If there is a member hanging about when you arrive at Pitcher’s Pond it won’t take much prodding to get them to regale a tale or two about how the course came to be.    

Course Stats:

Red: 2622 yrds; White: 3030 yrds; Blue: 3209 yrds; Gold: 3446 yrds

Contact:

Pitcher's Pond Golf Course

Route 80
Whiteway, NL

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