A short par 4 starts your round, but it’s trickier than it looks. An average drive to a mostly blind landing area leaves a short iron in most cases. Avoid the tree line above the right-hand rough and the large bunker that fronts the right side of the green, if you can. You’ll still have to deal with a downhill approach to a severely undulating green that often has tough pin positions.   July-August 2010:  No changes

Our first par 3 offers an elevated tee and a gentle upslope to an elevated green which is angled sharply to the right.  Your tee shot requires a good ten yards more carry if you come in from the right side. Beware the deep sand trap guarding the left side of the green and difficult pitches from that side. Often, shots hit to the far left side of the green tumble off and roll down towards the bunker.  July-August 2010:  Temporarily closed for resurfacing of green;  temporary hole is a 125-yard tee shot to #3 green from the fairway to a checkered flag, played simultaneously with approach on #3 to regular flag. 

The first of four consecutive par 4’s, a solid drive is needed here, or you’ll face a risky second shot. Trees line both sides of the hole with little rough to save errant drives. Fairway bunkers on either side may catch a ball headed that way, and are tough to escape. The green has a big ridge in the middle, offering many interesting breaking putts – once you clear the massive greenside bunker at left.   July-August 2010:  No changes, except par-3 second hole is played simultaneously with approach, and both balls are putted out at the same time, to different flags.

Rated Maple Ridge’s hardest hole, #4 offers a very wide fairway but danger lurks on either side as golfers reach for extra distance on this long par-4. Some big hitters risk going out-of-bounds by trying to hammer drives over a right-side bunker, cutting off the corner.  Sometimes, it takes a long iron or fairway wood to reach a distant green which only holds approaches that are dead at the pin, or right of center.  July-August 2010:  No changes

Accuracy off the tee is more important than distance on this straight, ascending hole. Too far left gets you in a meandering creek or woods, and too far right looms a hill crest and out-of-bounds markers. A well-struck drive needs to only clear wetlands in front to set up an uphill short iron approach. Go for the center of the green, as balls that miss the green usually roll off into tough lies or a double-bunker.  July-August 2010:  Played as a par-3 while green is being resurfaced.  165-yard-shot from white tees (180 Black, 140 Gold) is played over a long, slim ditch.  Carry over hazard is all but last ten yards, and green is steeply sloped from left to right. 

The truest dogleg at Maple Ridge, #6 challenges you to hit a sturdy drive.   Evade a steep falloff on your right that leads to a near-certain hazard landing and penalty drop. Then, your approach must clear a winding creek and navigate uphill to a steeply contoured green that offers few easy birdie and par putts.  July-August 2010:  Shortened to maximum 336 yards and a temporary green during resurfacing, the approach is a tricky carry over a creek with little room to hold even a lob wedge, due to steep slope.  Temporary green is wide, but short front-to-back.

Now that you’ve reached our first par 5, get ready to see them on three of the next four holes. #7 calls for a well-struck drive and fairway wood (or long iron) to position for a comfortable third shot to the green. Along the way, avoid troublesome woods on both sides and fairway bunkers on the left.  The fairway bends to the left and the green, which is multi-tiered, is more accessible from that side.  A huge greenside bunker guards the right.   July-August 2010:   No changes

Another risk-reward par 5, gamblers can sometimes reach this hole in two, but not without averting major trouble in the form of dense trees on the right and lesser tree blockage to the left. The approach generally takes more club than appears necessary due to an uphill climb, well-placed bunkers and prevailing headwinds. Many subtle breaks await on a fast but fair green.   July-August 2010:  No changes, except that #9 is played to same green before you putt out.

A scary way to end the front nine, #9 is not for the timid, especially in cold or windy weather.  Although there’s bailout room to the right of the green, most tee shots short and left (and some long ones) wind up wet, especially since a spillway was added and the water hazard significantly enlarged in late 2009.  A turtle-backed green makes this a tough putting hole.  Although not a terribly long tee shot, aiming for the middle of the green is usually wise strategy here, but easier said than done.  July-August 2010:  Hole temporaily closed for green resurfacing.  #9 is played as a 135-yard par-3 from the left side of the 8th fairway to a checked flag.  The further right the shot is hit, the greater the carry over the lip of the greenside bunker.

Here’s a good birdie opportunity for solid ball-strikers. Catch a drive to the proper locations, and your ball rolls gently downhill to within reachable range on this par-5.  However, a second shot hit thin, fat or wild could wind up in a cross-creek, woods on either side or one of three challenging bunkers. A backstop type of hill behind much of the green allows for occasional thrilling “slingshots” close to the pin.   July-August 2010:   No changes

This is Maple Ridge’s only hole with two distinct sets of tees (those on the left sit near the original green of a former par 3, since replaced).  #11 is a gently winding dogleg that slopes sharply left, with a big hill on the right altering many tee shot landing zones. A rocky hazard down to the left is “jail” for sure, while right of the cart path poses serious obstacles getting home in two. The green is guarded by one deep, nasty bunker.   July-August 2010:  No Changes

Take a deep breath before making good contact to ensure clearing a big lake and fairway bunker just past it with your drive. Some want to cut the corner on this relatively short right dogleg, but that comes with the risk of going out-of-bounds across nearby property lines. The approach may be short, but needs to circumvent a second body of water that comes perilously close to the left side of the green.  July-August 2010:  Dubbed by local golf writer Jim Houston a candidate for "Best Hole in the Chattahoochee Valley", we're playing the #12 approach shot to #13 green, an extra 50-plus yards of carry over the second lake.  This forces a longer drive, and anything left of center contends with a forced carry over trees not normally in play, and a green not particularly receptive to balls landing from that side.  This is a hole Maple Ridge members have always hopes to play, necessitated now by #12 green resurfacing. 

This is Maple Ridge’s signature hole due to its often-shimmering lake and gorgeous flowers and homes by the tee and green. The task at hand is to make sure to take a big number out of play by choosing enough club to clear the water. With tempting pin positions, it’s hard not to be aggressive.  There are virtually no easy putts on this cavernous green, but you'll kick yourself if your tee shot winds up wet.  July-August 2010:  No changes, except play to checkered flag, as green (regular flag) is also being used for #12.  Putt out both balls before moving on to #14.

Ranked second-hardest handicap hole, #14 is fraught with trouble all along the left side, forcing play into the center, and often from tough angles and safe escape shots on the right side. Anything near the boulders at the 150-yard marker is an outstanding drive, but you’ve still got a rugged long carry to the flattest green on the course. Seldom is anyone unhappy with a score of par here.   July-August 2010:  Shortened par-4 due to green resurfacing.  Approach is a short iron or wedge to a slick, sloped green and a difficult one-putt.  Hole plays about 60 yards shorter than usual.

Few short par 4’s cause as much anxiety as this one!  Even though #15 can be played with as little as two 7-irons, the wraparound creek and surrounding forests catch many wayward drives that land near the edges of a very steeply sloped fairway. Another stream and stone wall must be cleared on the approach.  They deceptively wind back towards the pin, creating more risk if you attack the right side.  July-August 2010:  Hole shortened to a par-3 during green resurfacing.  Approximately 165-yard shot from White Tees over a narrow creek that will catch any mis-hit short or left.  Very steeply sloped, small temporary green. 

The newest hole at Maple Ridge, this par 3 has matured into a beautiful test of iron play, with the back tees making it, at times, a 200-yard hole. Typically, pin positions force players to either carry a bunker which seems to catch anything hit in its vicinity, or chance a variety of difficult recovery shots from wide of the green.  July-August 2010:  No changes. 

A normal-length par 4 which doglegs slightly left, this hole presents many awkward slopes and angles from both fairway and rough, making it hard to gauge the correct carry on your approach. Add to that an undulating green with a false front and bunkers surrounding the other three sides. Birdies here (and most pars) are well-earned.  July-August 2010:  Reduced to a par-3 but a long one at up to 195 yards.  Green is severely angled left to right, blocked in front by a major upslope and difficult to reach with less than a solid fairway wood or hybrid.

A terrific finishing hole that can make or break your round, #18 beckons a wide but sloped fairway that can send an off-center drive skittering into woods on either side. Thread the needle on your second shot, as the trees and hazards creep in from the edges. Holding this green from almost any distance is a job well done, with a newly renovated bunker in front and major mounds on the right creating roll-offs when you thought you'd be putting.  July-August 2010:  No changes.