Smoke Rise Country Club

Going in, I was excited about playing this course. It had been some years and it used to be semi-private and run by Cannongate/Clubcorp. Not anymore.

Amenities:

Clubhouse was closed due to a pipe bursting in December. Not a ding on the course for that. They had a grill going outside so I grabbed something before the round. Good food and a fair price. What is nice about the course is that the pro shop, golf range, and putting green were right there together. You just load up your cart and don't have to move it until your tee time. I liked that a lot. The practice area included a sand trap which is a rare find as well.

Course Layout / Condition

Not much good to say here... I know we have had a lot of rain so the conditions are not going to be good in March but,.... The layout is definitely NOT for everyone.

I am not a long hitter by any stretch but I did not touch a wood until hole #9. Hitting 7-8 iron off of the tee (even for par 5's) is not my idea of fun. Couple this with wet conditions it makes for a very long day.

Tee boxes were VERY furry an overgrown
Sand traps had NO sand in them
Farming grass from tee boxes.... Not good.
Apron of green hard red clay.. Ball could bounce anywhere

I just feel given this condition/course layout it should be priced lower.. I would be interested in knowing how the reception of the layout was in the "glory days" of opening.

Nice course and friendly staff. The burgers at the turn were delish. Will be back for sure!

Course is in really good shape, especially considering the amount of rain we have had.

In fairness I played this round at about the worst time of year, and this was a tough winter on golf courses.

However. This course was in Awful condition. For seventy or eighty dollars a head, it's difficult to excuse. 16 holes were practically bare mud. Last week's holes in the green were unfilled. Outlines on the green revealed where tarps laid during frosts over two months ago. Divots and cart tracks littered the course.

When the course is like this, it should be a half price round. We had fun, and like the course design, but collectively felt a bit gypped.

The clubhouse is closed for renovation but it’s a fun track with some elevation changes. Greens rolled perfect. Will be back again.

For Some Reason - The Lady Checking In at the Club House Would Not Honor my Golf Now Price - costing me an extra $20 - I would a refund on my Golf Now fees

*I only Played 9 hole, due Slow play-Backed up at 7, 8, and 9.

• I've have played here plenty of times, but This was a Horrible Experience

This was a miserable experience. I played four holes and drove back to the clubhouse (which is in the cart barn).

Reading prior reviews, everyone complaining about tee boxes. Yes there are a little rough but they are working on them. I saw them re soding today. Greens where in good shape, there are a few bare spots on the fairway but nothing affected me, I played from golds which is a good tee for average players. I teed off early in the morning and there was no one out there(weekday). I do wish the rate was 5-10 less since there the clubhouse is being worked on and the porta potties outside. I knew about this and hit up the Publix near by before the round. Staff was super friendly at check in and the Marshall John was nice. Cart has GPS as well which is a good feature.

Tee boxes were absolutely torn up and muddy. Pace of play got so bad we skipped three holes. Called Marshall but nobody came. Bathrooms are port a potty’s and the kitchen and club house are closed for renovation. I think they were very liberal with the term “country club”

Course was in great shape considering all the recent rain. Tee boxes under repair, but ok. Enjoy the course always.

They're trying but the course is in terrible condition. No pro shop right now. They're running it out of the cart shed. Never once saw a beverage cart attendant come by. Most of the tee boxes are dirt and the course is overrun with weeds on many holes. Several of the green on the front nine have moss and what appears to be a fungus starting to spread. The weather was beautiful today but the course was empty. Totally understand why now. Overall, a terribly disappointing round. Even the golf now hot deal was a terrible value.

To be a private club the condition of the course was poor, green were ok, but the tee boxes were in bad, bad condition no grass at all.

First time leaving a review here, but this one needs it. I typically think people are little harsh with their reviews on course conditions overall on golfnow, but this course is in BAD shape at the moment. Club house was completely closed for renovations so a register was setup in the cart storage facility. The course layout was solid and there is so much potential for this to be a top notch facility, but sadly it is so far from it at the moment. The fairways were a mess. Weeds, dirt, etc… barely any true patches of fairway to be found. Greens were also in rough shape on several holes. Tee boxes were hideous. Weeds and mushrooms growing all over. The staff informed me when I arrived of the condition and said a lot of work is currently in progress to completely lay new grass, but being out on the course it did not look like this was happening. The staff was great and very friendly, but my goodness does the course have a lot of work to do to get this facility up to par. Likely will not go back for a while unless I hear of considerable improvements.