Dopeydoc

Let me start by saying how nice the staff members in the clubhouse are. Very friendly and helpful. We got off right away and there weren't many golfers on the course...probably due to the threat of rain. The course itself was in rather poor condition. Maybe it's just the way it is this time of year but every fairway had limited or thin grass and some areas where it was more dirt than grass. If your ball landed in an especially sparse area and you don't like hitting off dirt, you had to look for one of the many tufts of weeds that had popped up all over the fairways. We thought the greens were generally in better shape than the fairways but several had bare areas or spots that had been repaired so putting wasn't always easy. At $42 for this time of year, I guess it's okay as long as you aren't expecting a lot. Maybe just to get out and hit some balls around. However, to a person, we all agreed we would not return for a while in the hope the course improves in the meantime.

Our weekly group had not been at Wekiva for some time due to the less than stellar reviews. Howeve, after seeing some better reviews, we decided to give it a try. Our day started when we checked in with the staff member whose demeanor might generously be described as "surly". Perhaps he was only being sarcastic but he came off as unhappy to be there dealing wth the public. We got to the tee a few minutes before our appointed tee time only to encounter two golfers who had hit their drives but continued standing on the tee looking furtively toward the clubhouse. Turns out that there were two other members of their group who were still in the clubhouse but the guys who hit just stood there ignoring our calls to move on and made our group of 12 wait until their buddies managed to mosey down from the clubhouse. After they finally hit, we were ready to go but a three-some whose time had been 20 minutes before ours but who had been late getting to the course suddenly drove up and announced that aomeone at the desk had told them just to go to the tee because they were next. Had a Ranger been there, none of this would have happened. Eventually, the first of our three groups was able to tee off. Unfortunately, the course was in relatively poor condition. Almost every fairway had several areas where the grass was very sparse so if you wanted to hit off anything other than dirt, you frequently had to look around for a tuft of grass. Yet, the fairways actually were in better condition than the greens, most of which seemed to be comprised largely of "tamped down" sand with some grass that had been painted with a black/green stain of some sort. High shots coming to the green tended to plug and putting was a bit of an adventure. The best part of the course were the bunkers...at least the ones I visited...which were in decent condition. Some us had vouchers from Group Golfer but others paid the full price. For the $29 voucher, it was okay. Those in our group who paid the full price all said it wasn't worth $45 and even those who had a voucher said they don't want to return until conditions improve.

Our weekly golf group heard about Water Oaks reopening after a few years of being closed and decided to give it a try. Apparently, it's a total make-over of the original course. We play at a variety of courses in central Florida and thought the condition of the Water Oaks was better than many of the other courses we've been playing during this unusually hot summer. The greens are especially in good shape and the fairways have plenty of grass so you didn't have to push your ball around to find a patch of grass like you have to do on some other courses. That may be because the fairways are well-irrigated, not dependent on rain. There are elevation changes, water, and routing features that add variety, and the bunkers have nice soft sand, not the hardpan dirt you find on some courses. The staff members at the course were incredibly friendly and helpful, as were the crew in the restaurant/bar overlooking the 18th green. We decided there were only a couple of very minor concerns. First, the course may be too short for some long-hitters. However, as a bunch of old retired guys, it worked great for us. Although, when we return (as everyone in our group wants to do!) even we probably will play from the back tees on some of the holes. The second issue was that the signage between holes could be posted a bit more visibly, although when we go back, it will be much easier finding our way from hole to hole. Finally, as other reviewers have mentioned, our golf watches didn't give us accurate yardage because they seem to be set to the original course that was bulldozed over to build the new layout. However, that may be corrected by simply updating our devices. These are very minor issues that didn't really impact our enjoyment of the course. Our entire group really liked playing the course and especially appreciated the friendliness of the staff. Water Oaks gets a big "thumbs up" from everyone !

We hadn't played Victoria Hills for a couple of years, primarly due to the less than stellar online reviews but thought we'd give it another try. Our review is that conditions were inconsistent. While most of the greens were okay, a couple actually had weeds that had been clipped short to attempt to minimize their impact and a few had some brown spots. Unless you are a more than a recreational golfer, neither of those conditions probably would affect the game too much. However, the fairways were a different story. While most did have grassy areas from which a follow up shot wasn't difficult, almost every fairway also had multiple bare or sparse areas, some of which traversed the entire fairway or significant parts of it. If your ball lands in one of those locations, good luck. The tee boxes could be a bit thin but teeing the ball up made that a moot factor. On the plus side, the staff was very friendly and, contrary to a couple of prior reviews I'd read, the bunkers I happened to visit weren't full of weeds nor was the sand overly hard packed. Overall, the golfing experience was "okay". We liked the layout/setting but there are courses in better condition in the area for the same cost so I doubt we'll be going back until conditions improve, in particular, the fairways. Course maintenance is about more than mowing.

We play at the CC of Mt. Dora about once a month and did so again this week. As always, it was a good golf experience - starting with the very personable staff. The fairways and greens were both in great shape - the course is well-maintained. The things we most like about the layout are: (1) Each hole is separate/distinct and lined with woods or water rather than being adjacent to one another....so no one is hitting into your fairway. (2) Most of the fairways are plenty wide and, thus, relatively forgiving of slightly errant shots. (3) Each hole is unique so you aren't playing the same hole over and over; (4) The holes vary in terms of difficulty so while you have to think about your game on some, others provide more of a straight-forward opportunity for a good score.

I am new to Central Florida and this was my first time playing Red Tail. Despite the drought that has been impacting the area, the course was in relatively good shape. The greens were especially in good condition, as compared to those on other local courses we've recently played. Red Tail offered a variety of hazards (i.e. sand, water, tall rough) on many of the holes that caused us to have to consider where we were hitting rather than just "driving away" off the tee. That made for a thinking experience and club selection decisions that many of the other local courses we've played simply don't offer. As a senior high handicapper, I did find some of the some holes to be challenging but, thankfully, there were enough other holes that were more open and allowed us to recover so, overall, it was a fair experience. I found Red Tail to be one of the nicer courses I've played in the Central Florida area and definitely would like to play there again.