It's time to Rise Up

VERNON — Fred Couples said he wanted The Rise, his new signature course high above Vernon, to be difficult.

Apparently, the 1992 Masters champion has succeeded. Couples lost four balls during a ceremonial round last week. And he only played 14 holes.

“We have a lot of hay out there to give to the farmers, I know that for a fact,” Couples joked afterwards. “The four guys out there (with me) will all attest to it. I was in it a lot.”

Couples teed it up last week with Calgary Flames winger Jarome Iginla, Boston Bruins forward Chuck Kobasew and retired NHL players and Vernon natives Brent Gilchrist and Jeff Finley. It was a much tougher outing than the one Couples had played the previous two days at nearby Predator Ridge during the Telus World Skins Game. The fivesome spent considerable time in the knee-high fescue that borders many of the fairways at The Rise.

Still, Couples insists the course, which is now open to the public, is one of the best he and design partner Gene Bates have ever produced.

“Gene and I have done close to 18 or 20 courses,” Couples said. “I’m proud of some, some are not quite as good, but this one is over the top . . . It’s an amazing piece of property with, I believe, 18 very good holes.”

Couples is right, it is an amazing piece of property. Located 400 metres above Vernon, the course offers some absolutely exquisite views of Okanagan Lake. Whether the course has, like Couples says, 18 very good holes, is open to debate.

I had a chance to play The Rise a couple of days before Freddy and his friends teed it up. Much of it blew me away. A couple of holes frustrated the heck out of me.

We started our round on the back nine. It was seeded earlier than the front side and is in great shape. It has some fantastic holes, including the par 4 15th, which requires a second shot over a pond that protects the green, and the cute par 3 16th which is all carry over that same pond. (Watch out for other hazards, as we had a large turtle saunter across the front of the green as we played it.)

No. 17 is a hole everyone who plays The Rise will remember. I suspect some will love it, while others will despise it. I loved it because I crushed my best drive of the day and it sailed more than 300 yards. That was largely due to the fact that this hole, which offers perhaps the most stunning view on the course, goes way, way downhill toward Okanagan Lake. If you manage to hit your tee ball straight and get it airborne, you will find the fairway, but chances are you won’t have a flat lie. If you hit it off line, you’ll be in the fescue.

The front nine at The Rise is longer and more difficult than the back. It was seeded more recently, so the conditioning isn’t quite there yet.

If I had a criticism of The Rise, it would be that there are too many blind shots. On the dogleg right, par 4, fifth hole, for example, you have no idea exactly where or how far to hit your tee shot. I ended up knocking a five-wood through the dogleg and out of bounds.

There are a couple of other blind shots that wouldn’t be as big a problem the second time around the course. And Couples seemed to suggest The Rise was designed in large part for members who will be playing it regularly.

“The vision was to make a fun, nice course,” he said. “The weather up here is remarkable and you can play a lot of months. It’s not a course that’s easy because people will get lots of chances to play it. We made it fairly challenging and hard.”

I suspect Couples is right. The Rise will get easier the more times you play it. But I would highly recommend a yardage guide if you are teeing it up for the first time. And although it’s almost become a cliche to suggest that you must select the correct set of tees, that seems doubly important here. The back tees — called Boom Boom, of course — measure nearly 6,900 yards, but with five sets of tees the course can play as short as 4,600 yards.

(The Rise is now open for public play. Green fees are $115, including power cart. Twilight fees are $65. Call 1-877-243-7417.)