Stonehouse Golf Club

OMG!!!
I usually enjoy our golf adventures and seldom write a review, but this course is
an exception.
They had 5 temporary greens because the irrigation system had failed and
they lost their greens. This I understand, but what I didn't understand was the
erosion in the middle of the fairways and the total disregard of general
maintenance.
The people I feel most sorry for are the residents with homes on the fairways
that to me will be totally devalued in another year.
To me I overpaid even using a 'hot deal'.

Website says they had a rough summer and the greens were bad with a couple of temp greens. The whole course is not being maintained at all. Sandtraps are a disaster, fairways not being mowed and I couldn't even find the tee boxes on several holes.

Such a shame, this course used to be sooo beautiful and now the management has let this course go completely. The greens were horrible, burnt up with weeds growing put of them everywhere like a under funded public course. Pace of play was great because literally no one else was there. Now I see why, such a shame. This course could be amazing again but no one will play it in the shape it is in.

Green conditions poor, weeds & bare spots. fairways have holes you could lose a golf cart in and weeds but the layout is great. It is a shame that the course is not being maintained. I have played this course occasionally since it opened and it has steadily declind.

This course is in horrible shape. The greens are primarily some type of black fungus, for lack of a better word. Would recommend this course only if it were free to play and lunch was provided. As a local, it's disappointing to see what such a great track has become.

Good layout poor conditions on course Greens need alot of work

This course was in terrible shape. It looks like they are putting zero dollars into it. Just cutting the grass. Doubt I will be back anytime soon.

I was fortunate to have found a 1:27 hot deal tee time. I had a friend in Richmond have something come up, and he was unable to keep our tee time at another course, so I thought I'd give Stonehouse a shot, as it'd been over 10 years since I'd played there (since the Alzheimer's Association stopped having their annual tournament there and Royal New Kent).

On a very positive note, the entire round felt like I had the course to myself, as I never caught up to anyone, nor did I have anyone pushing me.
This layout is absolutely brutal, and I cant imagine there is anyone; member, guest, or even pro, that shoots scratch golf on this course, from any of the tees.

Very thankful I had just upgraded my GolfPad app, but even that, along with the pro tips handout, made it extremely difficult to accurately select clubs and consider ideal shot placement. Even when I did hit a great drive, followed by an equally great approach shot, I'd 3 or 4 putt because of either, or a combo of, the size and layout or burnt conditions of the greens. To say this course beat me up, and served as an exercise in humility, is an understatement.

Unfortunately, my biggest takeaway was the unrealized potential of this course. I'm reluctant to put Stonehouse in the same category, but this course gave me flashbacks of River's Bend, during the beginning of the demise. I really hope those with the ability to turn this course around do so immediately, as it'd be a shame to see this beautifully designed course spiral out of control. It's too special.

I gave 4 stars because of the course design, the very pleasant pro (gentleman) that checked me in, the awesome cheeseburger and fries I called in before teeing off on #8, and the great personality of the young lady that boxed it up for me as I made the turn.

In short, I'd love to return in the future and increase my rating to a 5. The design of this course, combined with the resources, grounds knowledge, and TLC of the folks that manage Spring Creek and The Federal Club would put this course in the elite circle. Imho, of course...

The amenities were mostly above par - well-maintained clubhouse, powerful carts, concrete-aggregate cart paths throughout, adequate tee box space and like-new rental clubs.

However, it took our threesome, with no one in front of us, 5 1/2 hours with no stop at the turn. One would not expect a normal round to take that long, but the layout and green placement was brutal, even with the aid of a guide booklet and sheet of pro tips happily supplied by Sarah at check-in.

The distance between greens and subsequent teeboxes extended play time. Cart paths meandered through woods often making us wonder if we would ever see a "next tee." Flags were not visible from most of those teeboxes, even on par 3's. One back nine par 3 went so steeply down a hill we didnt' see the large precarious drainage ditch just prior to the green. Other tee shots had to traverse valleys of trees just to reach the fairway, something many lady golfers would find impossible.

It's a beautiful area for a course, but I could only recommend it to those posessing near pro-like skills and patience.

Overall this was a memorable round because we all shot our worst scores in a long while.

Last year Stonehouse lost its greens and had some ragged tee boxes. They must have hired a new superintendent because course conditions were at least 300 percent better. Greens were in great shape this time, tee boxes were generally much better and the sand traps were in generally good condition. This is not a course for a beginner, and the course is punitive for those playing the wrong set of tees. But play the right set of teens and you'll find this beautiful course fun, interesting and challenging. Michael Strantz at his best,

Would of been nice to play this place 10 years ago. Course layout was very nice, position golf. Plenty of nice scenery, no way you can walk this place. Seemed like there was too much ground for them to take care of. Plenty of weeds on the back 9 greens, some with mine fields to putt over. The tee boxes where bare. One of the nicest clubhouses I have encounter, would of been a nice place to sit and watch.

The three rating is for the people, the layout, the natural setting and the weather . All were great. The course is in rough shape. If I had seen some of the reviews before I played I would have taken pictures. Tees sandy with little grass. Fairways full of weeds and burned in spots. Sand traps forget. Hard , packed and full of weeds. Greens, well you know there is an issue when paying green fees and they are apologizing for the greens and in his words, especially the 18 th. Funny thing it looked about the same as the rest. Now we had a great day , really enjoy the layout . The staff was very accomadating and the grill very good. All we could think of is how nice the course could be .

This is a great layout. If you like to really beat yourself up, play it from the tips. Extremely difficult. Great Track, definitely a Mike Strantz design, maybe one of his best. Beautiful, unique holes, need to play it more than once to really play well though. Very poor course conditions, the tees look like they haven't been cut in over a week, lots of grass clippings in the fairways, and the green conditions were not good. I'd definitely go back, but would need to be with better course conditions. Overall, very disappointed in the condition of the course, it really took away from the overall experience. I love the course, but the grounds crew didn't do their job, or didn't get the budget they need to do their job. If you want a challenge, go play it.

One of a kind course. Layout is dramatic with huge fairways and huge ravines. The greens are big but full of undulation. Service was friendly. Playing surfaces are in great shape. A little rough around the edges but that gives it a rugged look. Played with an email special. Incredible value. I will be back!

I may be biased because I love Michael Strantz courses but I loved playing Stonehouse. I have played it twice and will play it again in the future. Some people fear blind tee shots (there are eight of them at Stonehouse) but the free pro guide tells you where to hit the ball -- left, right or center of the aim marker -- and how far to hit it. Landing areas are generous. Strantz's courses are so different they are hard to explain, but they do force you to focus on your shots and I, a 12-handicapper, play his courses better. They are physical eye candy. I didn't lose a ball in two rounds there, so if I can play his courses decently so can anybody. Some of the sand traps were refurbished this year. This course is well worth playing unless you are a purist who is only interested in shooting a low score.

This course will make you play all the clubs in your bag.
Lots of hills. You must keep the ball in the middle of these very wide fairways. Greens are large and in good condition. A few greens have false fronts. Fairways could use more grass...they did not over seed last Fall. Sand traps need work. Course requires some decent carries over ravines. Fourteenth hole is crazy. Overall a challenging course. Management needs to spend more money on maintenance of cart paths and tee boxes.

Really, really difficult layout. Concur with the previous reviewer who said the course is full of gimmicky, difficult holes with crazy, undulating greens; blind tee shots; and blind approach shots. If you're remotely offline you're either in weeds, trees, a ravine, or you have some crazy lie, with the ball below or above your feet. Just look at the slopes and ratings for this course and you can easily discern how tough it is. TPC San Antonio wasn't this hard. Recommend the other two Traditions courses over this one. Also, the bunkers are in rough shape. All the greens were great and fast, except for #14. Food and clubhouse were tops.

So, the fairways are large and the greens in good shape and big, but the course has too many holes that are just plain gimmicky. Blind shots, uphills, downhills, false fronts...you had to land your ball in the perfect location in the fairway or on the green on every shot...even though the fairways are large, if you are on the wrong side in some cases you could not even play a shot to the green. One of the holes on the back side (I was too annoyed to care by this point) was a straight downhill second shot that required near perfect placement off the tee and perfect placement on the approach shot. Couple that with that you could not even see the green tucked behind the trees and mounds and it made for a ridiculous hole (I did par it after I hit a big slice around a tree and hoped for the ball to end on the green...which it did. Lucky for me, I ended near the pin....the green has quite the slope in it, as do most of them.) There was no way to recover from an errant tee shot or approach shot on many of these holes. Scrambling is impossible...you were either in the perfect spot or you were looking at an automatic bogey. The course was in good condition, although the bunkers could use some attention...although it is December, so you can understand if the course is not in perfect condition. If you are looking for a lot of blind shots and hitting up, down and around hills, valleys, trees, and bunkers this may be the course for you.