LouLoomis

*This review is only for the Cypress 9*

Ok, here's the news. Came here to knock out a quick 9 as a twosome with a raincheck. The spring break season is in full effect, but usually we can still get out on courses down here without getting paired up and that's what they let us do when we showed up. Awesome, right? Well, no. In fact, it turned out to be downright miserable due to the fact they let some golf academy come here and play every Monday or Tuesday. That's fine, but they could at least let others know that's what's happening so they can play somewhere else and come back another day instead of just trying to make money. Be upfront and honest and you'll get returning customers. Trying to sell out your course without telling people what to expect is bush league...punch your greens? Let me know, I'll come back later. Leagues? Let me know, I'll come back another day.

Basically, we sat for over 10 minutes waiting to tee off because the jokers in front of us thought they could drive the green, when in fact they hit into the woods, hit 2 balls, etc. Watched this nonsense from behind the first tee, turned around to try to get out on another one of the 2 9s, but both were just as packed so we went back to the tee box and figured we'd easily play through.

That never happened, as these guys knew nothing about course etiquette or pace of play. Took 20 mins to play the first hole, waited again on the 2nd tee so long I had to call the pro shop to have a ranger sent out. The guy working was completely indifferent to helping me out. He finally reluctantly said he'd send a ranger, but never did. Took about 2 hours and 40 minutes to play 9 holes, which is outrageous. Most courses don't put up with that garbage - 4 hours 15 mins to 4h 30 is the normal time you're expected to finish in (and even that is too long for a round). I told this to a different guy in the pro shop after we finished and he didn't care anymore than the guy I talked to on the phone. Management needs to take a cue from other courses on how long rounds take and how to treat customers. Even if they do, I won't be coming back to play here, especially with the abundance of other fine courses here.

The overall experience is only deserving of 1 star, but because it was in pretty nice shape and the greens were rolling pretty true, and because it's a pretty nice layout, I have to give it one more to be fair.

Ok, bottom line is this is a very straightforward course with minimal hazards. A very nice, older layout that's surrounded by a preserve, so quite enjoyable from those angles. The greens were pretty hard to read, though - I average around 30-32 putts per round, but had 36 here!

So, here's the deal. The course was seemingly empty for the first 8 holes...I saw no one in front of me at all and no one was behind me after I teed off (played the first 9 in 1 hr 5 mins). Just what you'd expect for a Monday at 12.00pm, but when I got to the 8th tee, a surly ranger rolls up and proceeds to tell me I should turn around and "play some holes again" to avoid running into a school tournament ahead of me at the 11th. I was like, ok..why would I do that? I paid for 18, and since I've never played the course before I wanted to play all of it 1 through 18, in order. He insisted, I nodded ok and just went about my normal round. However, I did catch the last tournament group at the 14th hole, and when I was about to go to the tee I was told the same thing by a couple of guys who I assumed to be coaches...basically that I had no options and that I should just meander around the previous part of the course for a while. That might have been fair enough if I would've known in advance, but I was not told anything when I booked the tee time over the phone, nor did either pro shop tell me that I'd be playing behind a tournament. It took 1 hr 30 mins to play the last 5 holes. Sorry, but that's just unacceptably poor service on their end. When courses aren't up front about what's going on regarding leagues, maintenance, etc, I usually don't play there again.

I mean, I'm not even accounting for the fact that they didn't give notice that the fairways had been recently punched in areas, but because most of the course was in pretty good shape for this late in the season, I still have to give it 4 stars.

Too bad everyone knows about this place now...been playing here for a while, but over the last year or two the word has gotten out. Still, they manage to accommodate your requests regarding playing on your own vs. getting paired up with people and they don't overbook the course. That is very welcome...even if the course wasn't always in such good shape and so fun to play, I'd keep coming back because of the service.

...this course is for you!

This is an extremely narrow course, and plays to its 132 slope rating from the white tees. Well placed trees dictate how you have to play drives and approaches on many of the holes.

You don't need to be long, but you had better be accurate, because the rough is some of the most penalizing I've ever had to play out of in about 30 years of playing this game.

Some of the greens can be a little overdone with multiple shelves and hog backs, but they putt true.

Overall, the course was in pretty good shape, and the starter did well to get us off on the back 9 so as to avoid a massive outing, so that was nice. What wasn't nice at all was that there was no bar/food/snack service inside when we made the turn (around 3.30pm). Even low end munis offer a hot dog or sandwiches, but the lavishly modern clubhouse was empty and we were told matter of factly that "I don't think anyone's in there - it's closed". Serious issue that needs to be addressed.

The front 9 is likely the narrowest I've ever played in the 30+ years I've been golfing. A ton of tree trouble and lots of blind shots. 3W off the tee was the order of the day. I'm giving this course an extra star because of how nice the greens were...they were in fantastic shape and really rolled nicely.

However, be warned that the rough is horrendous - stay out of it. Also, the cart paths need to be redone - they're awful. This course and the clubhouse has a very old feel and layout...a very 1940s kind of vibe which isn't really my thing. As others have noted, the members at this formerly private course can make you feel like an outsider, but it's a course worth checking out - especially if you hit it straight.