Marion Lake Golf Club

Not the longest off the teebox, which adds to the challenge. Some mildly narrow fairways and variable elevations add to the challenges for a fun day. Well maintained course, especially for this time of year. The other golfer I played with that day over hit one elevated green, then played a blind recovery shot from the back of the green without the pin in sight. His chip seemed to land on the green, but we couldn’t find the ball, until we looked in the bottom of the cup. Shot of a lifetime!!

Some of the most beautiful scenery you will ever see on a golf course! Stunning views of Lake James and The Linville Gorge. However, lots of work to do on the greens and tee boxes. Also, don’t expect many flat lies as they didn’t push much dirt around to make flat fairways especially on the back nine!

The course had soggy greens where my ball constantly plugged out of sight. They were impossible to putt on. There was a par 3 that was temporarily set up to replace a par 4 that we had to play twice because we were not informed it was there at all. It was the only green my ball didn’t plug on...because it was in the middle of the fairway. I didn’t bother putting on that atrocity.One hole had a shared fairway where drives where hit directly into other golfers. I hit a great shot in middle of the fairway and never found it since one of the golfers coming in other direction played it. Black tee boxes are placed where you hit between two close greens and errant balls were flying in from all directions. My cart was hit twice and one time I could find out where it came from. The only thing missing is a couple clown heads in the middle of the greens and maybe a paintball zombie course. This place is a sick joke. Don’t waste your time here....About 5 hours round if you do!

Nice course with some very pretty holes on the back nine. Greens are small and course knowledge is a very big plus.

Course was quirky but nice, other players were friendly and patient, Nice day !

Good course, friendly staff. Greg the golf pro very friendly great golfer gives reasonably prices lessons. Good food at the bistro. Well worth the trip.

The course was as advertised the views out over the lake and the mountains are priceless. Everyone was friendly and helped us out a lot it being our first time there. We will definitely go back in the spring to play this course

This course has very few holes that didn’t either put you in danger from another golfer (crisscross fairways, tee boxes in fairways, tee boxes behind greens, etc) or have a big tree right in line of site. Also had a temporary green on 5 that wasn’t mentioned at any point until we were on the hole. Had two nice views. I will not return.

Doesnt get much better for money greens are always great fun place to play

This was the first time I played this course and I enjoyed it very much. Reviews on The Lakeside were very nice from the course overall was in good condition. I would definitely Play It Again

This course is short. It contains only two par 5's and both are reachable in two. My son and I were playing for his birthday on Memorial Day and drove an hour to the course. I had read other reviews and it lived up to those reviews. The tee boxes were about 3/5, fairways 3/5 and greens 4/5 stars respectively. A couple of greens had dead spots, at the fringe, but overall they rolled very true. The green sizes were mixed so precision is a must. Some greens were large and some were small. Several had multiple tiers so it was a lot of fun. There are a couple of holes on the back 9 with views of Lake James and that was nice to see. Train tracks run through the front 9, between holes 2 and 3. A train came through 2x while playing so that was interesting. If you've got a put hanging on the edge of the hole, wait for a train!

The back 9 is tight with several holes sharing or nearly sharing fairways. You must be careful on a busy day as balls can come from several directions. This was one thing that affected play on the back, but not so much that it was a great detriment. Plenty of water coolers around the course which was nice as well.

My biggest complaint was being placed behind 2 threesomes that were playing together. They were split into two groups, but tried to keep close together throughout the front 9. It was Memorial Day so it was wall to wall golfers, as you'd expect. However, it baffled me that the starter would put a two behind two groups of 3. Pace of play for the front 9 was 2 hours and 15 minutes. On the turn the slower group of 3 took a long time. We jumped the group (which I have never done!) and ended up playing the back nine in 1:45! Regardless there was going to be waiting, but placing 6 golfers in front of 2 made no sense to me.

Even with that we had a 4 hour round on Memorial Day on a good course for a reasonable price. Used a hot time ($13!) for one and they gave my son a junior rate on a holiday for the second. We will play the course again and recommend it. Regular price is $25, and that's a good deal, but if you can score a hot time, do so, it's worth it!

One final thing, and this is definitely for the clubhouse, if you're going to put the American Flag on flagsticks (which is a great touch on Memorial Day) you should provide something around the greens to hold the sticks up so the flags don't touch the ground. Very absent minded through the first several holes and just laid the flag down as normal. After it dawned on me it bothered me a bit. Just something to think about Marion Lake. Nice touch, but think it through.

The course was in good shape, but the layout on the back 9 was simply too crowded. They forced multiple holes into too small of a space. Two different holes actually share a fairway and slowed pace of play significantly. And seeing that the fairway falls off and you can't see golfers in front of you, I'm surprised someone has not been seriously hurt yet.

I don't think I will play this course again.

Very good course with a lot of beautiful views.

We have been playing here a few times a year for several years. We would make the trip more often but it is 65 miles for us to drive. However, this is a fun course to play and the staff is as good as you will find anywhere. They have a small but adequate range area. Currently, the Bbermuda has not come back completely but it is greening up and there fairways are excellent in season. The greens are recovering well from the chemical burn last year and the redesign of a few of the greens has made the greens more playable. Speaking of the greens, if you play there you know they are normally smooth and fast. With the new grass they are a little slower than normal as they have to protect the new grass. They are probably 10-11 now. Frankly, I am amazed at the job they have done in this short time. Look forward to the Barbeque and Birdies Tournament at the end of the month. Great job Greg.