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3.8
310 Reviews (310)
5 Stars
120
4 Stars
127
3 Stars
48
2 Stars
11
1 Stars
4
Conditions
3.4
Value
4.1
Layout
4.6
Friendliness
4.8
Pace
4.0
Amenities
3.7
83.0%
Recommend this course
285 out of 310 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.2
6 Reviews (6)
5 Stars
3
4 Stars
1
3 Stars
2
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
3.7
Value
4.2
Layout
4.5
Pace
3.7
Amenities
3.5
StaffFriendliness
4.8
83.3%
Recommend this course
5 out of 6 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.6
29 Reviews (29)
5 Stars
8
4 Stars
8
3 Stars
8
2 Stars
2
1 Stars
3
Conditions
3.1
Value
3.8
Layout
4.5
Pace
3.9
Amenities
3.5
StaffFriendliness
4.9
72.4%
Recommend this course
21 out of 29 reviews
Read Reviews

About

Holes 18
Type Resort
Par 72
Length 6560 yards
Slope 132
Rating 71.9
Book a Tee Time at
Hickory Knob State Park Golf Course
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Course Details

Year Built 1982
Greens Bermuda Grass
Golf Season Year round
Architect Tom Jackson

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Walking Allowed Yes

Food & Beverage

Restaurant

Available Facilities

Clubhouse

Accolades

  • Golf Advisor: Top 25 Value Courses in the U.S. (2020 #12)
  • Golf Advisor: Top Courses in South Carolina (2020 #21)

Reviews

3.8
310 Reviews (310)

What Golfers Are Saying

Course Challenges Include:
Elevation Changes 17
Water Hazards 17
Forced Carries 11
This course/club is great for:
Wildlife/ Scenic Views 13
Locals 11
Advanced Golfers 8
This Course's Location is:
Worth the Drive 14

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Hot, slow day

I understand as a single player, pace may be slow but today was very slow. Partly due to cart path only, which is understandable due to the amount of rain that we have had the last 2 weeks, but also with several slow groups. One group of 4 tee’d off on 1 and two of them went back to their car afterwards to get something which slowed the twosome in front of me. Eventually they let the twosome and myself play thru but we caught up with a group of ladies on the 10th tee that were on the 5th green when I approached the 2nd green. At that point we were waiting on almost every shot which made for a 5 hour and 15 minute round. Greens were still a little bumpy and traps were not racked in the morning prior to play which made some of them very hard packed.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Fair
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Beginner
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 5
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Perfect Playing weather

great time with friends. Staff always friendly and helpful; course provides different game aspects for challenge and allows you to think of multiple ways to play each hole.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 4
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 8
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Nice layout but needs work

This course is a great layout taking you through the forest and around the lake. You can definitely tell they’re having some issues. Tee boxes were very rough and mostly sand. Bunkers had grass growing in them. Greens were bumpy and very slow with bare patches. Biggest problem was the pace of play. The starter let a large group off and they ended up playing as a group of eight holding up the entire course. When we complained about it to the new course pro, he said that they had booked the course for 3 days and were spending a bunch of money. I guess our money didn’t matter. Too bad because this course could be something special.

Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 28
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

State park golf

I got lucky and went on a not as hot day with a good breeze. They were working on the greens but right now they are very puttable. Fairways are great.Tee boxes need work.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 59
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Top 1000 Contributor
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart

Still needs some love!!

Course is in OK shape. Greens have filled in nicely compared to June when played last, but SLOW & not consistent green to green. If they cut them & rolled them they would be nice!! Fairways, tees & rough all fine, but sand traps are a nightmare. Most have very compacted sand & a few are just mud & rocks. They really just need to be deeply turned over & top dressed & then would be fine. Its a shame, cause they have decent quality sand in them, they just need to be turned over. Almost impossible to get up & down out of any green side bunkers. Still one of the nicest layouts around, a true challenge for most golfers, and hard to beat for the price. Staff are always super friendly & the place is almost always empty during the week. Even with the greens & bunkers the way they are, I will still return at least once before leaving for the winter. Just love the layout!!

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Greens are fine

Wanted to let folks know that the greens are fine, and the course overall is in great condition. I was hesitant to play it, but my buddy and I wanted an early tee time to beat the heat, and they had an 8am. I was convinced we would have some issues with the greens, but there were no issues. The greens were great. #18 looked a little drier than the rest, but other than that, it was fine. We were pleased with our decision to play the course.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 28
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Rain out

Made it through 9 holes before rain came. Front nine was better as far as greens go. The sand traps had been raked but wet.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 7
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 5
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
1.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Course was not ready for primetime

Aerated greens and tee boxes were disastrous. Maybe will play again in the fall. Hopefully better conditions

Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Layout Fair
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 59
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Top 1000 Contributor
Previously Played
Wet weather
Used cart

Rough shape

Had a lot of rain recently, so cart path only, but we expected that. Tee boxes were in terrible shape, very thin grass & a lot of sandy footing. Fairways were nice & had good grass. Greens had been recently aerated, so with the holes (large) with sand being washed away & not being cut for a few days due to rain, they were awful. Sand traps were filled with water & basically had no sand, just mud. Most of the sand was washed away by rains.
Personally, think course is gonna need at least 2-3 weeks for groundscrew to repair all of the washouts & replace with new sand ( hopefully). Have played here in the past several times & it's a great layout & usually in pretty good shape, but the rains really did a number on this course. With some TLC & a little dry weather, should be fine by mid June to return. A very challenging course, and for the price, hard to beat. The course just doesn't drain that well & doesn't handle heavy rains good. Once it dries out & bunkers are redone, should be fine.

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Fair
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap 25+
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Wet weather
Used cart

Fun, but disappointing

Rain the day before had the back 9 closed. Saw a cart path submerged on the way in. They say poor drainage, can nothing be done?
And greens recently aerated, would have been nice to know before I reserved.
They nicely let me play an hour later when things were a little drier, and the course(at least the front 9 is interesting.
Wouldn't mind playing the whole course when in better condition.

Conditions Fair
Value Good
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 23
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Not recommended

The course is in bad shape. The greens were just airated and had a LOT of bare spots that were sanded. Not only extremely slow but putts did not roll true. They have a lot of work to do. I had played there many times but years ago. Not worth driving an hour to go there. No grass in the fairways and hard as a rock. Good drives ended up in the woods. It was NOT a enjoyable round. Nice views though. Staff was great. It also seemed that the maintenance people were everywhere we went. The maintenance people had no respect for people playing but several were convicts so understandable.

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Below standard public play

Course conditions were poor. Greens in particular. Greens have winter kill and appeared to be varied grasses. No consistent roll putting. Several groups had what appeared to be beginner golfers. They were considerate and allowed us to play through. Then when made the turn hit a wall on pace of play. There was a group three groups in front of us playing with 6 players. The two groups between us and them were very high handicap players. It was “hit and wait” golf. Not on my list to return.

Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Poor
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 8
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Course in excellent shape in early May.

The star rating says it all. The course is in excellent shape, nobody was in front or behind us and the staff was excellent. What more could you want? Especially for $27!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
1.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Windy weather
Used cart

Greens are HORRIBLE..TEE boxes no grass

Complete DUMP
Great course in HORRIBLE SHAPE. close the course or hire a new greens keeper.

Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Poor
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Bad Greens

I've enjoyed playing here in the past. Was looking forward to today, however the greens are in really bad shape. It certainly wasn't worth the hour drive there and back The staff is always very friendly.

Conditions Fair
Value Poor
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Amenities Good
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