Gunter's Landing Golf Club

I must say that I had a preconceived notion about what to expect at Gunter's Landing, having never played here before. I had read previous reviews on Golf Advisor and thought the course perhaps was propped up by some overzealous locals.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

This makes twice in the span of seven days that I have fallen in love with courses within a two-hour drive that I had previously never laid eyes on.

The first thing you will notice as you pull in is this is not just another rural course trying to be something it is not. The conditioning is well above average.

The second thing you notice is the first two holes across the street, which ooze a common theme throughout the round: massive elevation change. In fact, the tee shot on two is exhilarating!

The collection of par 3s here are among the most difficult I remember playing. The first one, number three, requires a ~160-yard tee shot over water to a peninsula green that slopes severely from back to front. The fifth and 10th holes require downhill 150-155-yard shots to thimble-sized greens over large chasms.

One of my only constructive criticisms of the course lies with the group of par 5s. All are gentle dogleg rights. Though there was some variety in hazard placement, they played very similarly.

There were a good mix of uphill, downhill, long and short par 4s.

The back nine is more scoreable and more scenic, providing views of Lake Guntersville, the Tennessee River and surrounding mountains. The front nine is daunting, showcased by the difficult seventh.

What I find so intriguing about this course is that there is no weakness in your game that you can hide. You must drive the ball accurately, as trouble borders many fairways. Approach shots must find the right parts of greens, as you must be below the hole. Even the deftest of putters will be tested. The Bermuda greens were ultra fast. You must leave yourself below the holes to score well. Most of the greens are large and severely pitched, and putting across them, or downhill will leave you scratching your head. I three-putted three times, and it would've been twice that number if not for some +10-foot saves.

Knowing how to club up and down due to elevation change is a must. Also, grab a free course guide from the pro shop if it is your first time. You will need it to gauge layup points on the par 5s.

The range was modest, but serviceable. They have a really cool two-hole short course practice area.

In conclusion, Gunter's Landing far exceeded my expectations and will put pressure on all facets of your game. If one part is off, even better players will struggle to break 80.

It was another good trip. It's about 90 minutes from the house but worth the drive.

Great course. One of the best in the State. I drove a little over an hour and it's worth it.

I thought the course was in pretty good condition despite the sogginess from the rain the day before. The elevation changes are drastic, but get old after the first few times. Almost every hole is up or down 30+ feet or more it feels like. Most fairways seem to have a severe slope on the side or down/up hill, which leads to very few relatively even lies. The par 5s aren’t much fun, each one almost forcing 3 shots unless you’re a bomber. The greens were in good condition and were tricky to read, but felt fair and were fun to putt on. Not the kind of course I’d want to play daily, but it’s a good test of golf skill and I’d recommend folks try it as it might suit their eye better than it did mine.

Beautiful course and views if Guntersville lake. Lots of elevation change and a fair amount of water to play over.

Good ball striking is essential on this course. You must thoughtfully plan out your shot selection on many holes. Be good at math. Understand where to strike the ball on the fairway so you have something comfortable, something confident to hit and hold the green. Holes 4 and 8, in particular, are diabolical. It will take more than one time around this course to get comfortable.
Be aware of the grainy greens. Tough to read. Tough to measure weight of put on (distance control). The tough greens are probably the course's best defense.
If you can break 90 here, you're playing and scoring very well.

Enjoyed the course. Pace of play was slooow, it seemed like I kept coming across single players that lived on the course playing random greens then taking off on their cart. Had a great time, the water comes into play a lot. Several “Island” greens that are almost completely surrounded by water. This course has lots of hills and even with a cart, you will get some steps in. I played in February but I imagine this is a beautiful course in the green months.

Good course for intermediate and up golfers , had issues with some of the tee boxes being so hard you couldn't get your tee into the ground , the greens were in good shape and pretty consistent over-all 4.5 .

You better bring your “A” game to this course.
Very challenging with a lot of elevation change.

You get a workout on this course even with a cart. Extremely hilly so it is hard to keep the cart on the fairway. Most tees and greens are elevated. All par 3s are challenging. You need to land on the greens off the tee. Plenty of hazards throughout (woods, water, traps, rough). Very scenic. This course cannot be walked. Well maintained. Greens are large.

Fun layout
Good condition
Scenic vue on most holes
Greens slower on the back nine

Played Thursday morning Oct. 5th. When we got to the first tee a group of members were getting ready to tee off. They noticed we were a twosome and gladly invited us to go ahead of them. We accepted their offer and thanked them. The course was in great shape throughout the entire 18 holes. The greens were in great condition and very fast. Took a few holes to get the speed figured out but wow they were great . We like fast greens, if they scare you then you better look out ! As always course is very tuff but fair. My only negative was that in the areas of were the sprinklers had been running was extremely soft and a little muddy. Over all was a fun enjoyable day at this course I highly recommend it for golfers of all levels.