MichaelLowe

I’ve now teed it up at CCNB three times, but this was my first time playing a full 18. The two previous rounds over 10 years ago had been cut short due to rain.

Though the course isn’t long on the scorecard (~6,400 yds), it plays quite long, especially in the fall when the conditions are a bit softer.

This course was originally deemed to be a Donald Ross, but after more historical research, it turned out to be a Willy Park Jr.

The layout is really unique and very memorable with lots of elevation change and they boast some of the purest greens in the area - a statement with which I concur.

CCNB is a private course, and as the member say, absolutely one of the best deals around for the money.

I didn’t play great, but now understand the nuances and anticipate playing a lot smarter next time around. Would definitely recommend.

Recently joined The Bay Club after moving back to Mattapoisett, a beautiful small seaside New England town.

The Bay Club is unique to the southcoast of Massachusetts for a few reasons. First, it is a gated community in an area where this is not common and second, it is the only golf course that's also a Silver Certified Audubon Sanctuary anywhere in the area.

Having played this course 10 years ago when it first opened, I can attest to the work that's been done to increase the course's character and fit to the area. The club's focused much of its efforts to reduce unneeded maintenance costs as well as add additional personality by adding acres and acres of fescue that frames the field of play in addition to making it feel like a seaside parkland course that far outpaces its years. Being only a mile from Mattapoisett harbor, the normal day-to-day conditions fit comfortably with the course updates and aesthetic enhancements.

There's plenty of challenge on this par 71 Brad Faxon/Brad Booth design. The fairways are generous, but the native grasses can come into play for errant tee approach shots. The Bay Club also offers a host of modern amenities including a large practice facility, an 85 yard two-tiered green short game facility and a Himalayas-sytle complementary practice green.

To round out the country club elements, it has a large pool, workout facility, multiple racquet courts, croquet, basketball and more.

Overall, very pleased and highly recommend to those looking for a full featured country club lifestyle.

Had the chance to play Las Colinas for the first time yesterday as part of a 36-hole day at Mission Inn.

El Campion is the lead track and I’ve played it a few times before. It’s a solid test that’s tight and fairly unforgiving for the slightest wayward tee ball. There’s a good amount elevation change for Florida and something that feels more like Cape Cod (elevation and pines) or Southern CA (elevation and surrounding Spanish hotel architects). Las Colinas is a more traditional forgiving Florida-style layout that has less of both of theses.

We played 36 on this occasion and our second 18 was a fun-first, 2-team, 10-man scramble. This layout was very conducive for this format. .

I’d like the chance to play it on my own ball as it’s more forgiving than its tighter more demanding sister course.

Recommend.

Had the opportunity to play the Ritz for the first time on Wednesday. I had previously been there for the PNC father-son event last year, but didn’t get to see much of the golf course because I was with my kids. I ended up liking the golf course way more than I thought I would. The course was in very good shape and there was a decent amount of variety to this Greg Norman layout.

My favorite hole was definitely the split fairway Par 4 on the back nine.

The site lines in the greens can be difficult as there isn’t a lot of mounding to give your shots perspective. I also found the shape of the greens to be fairly awkward. There were times when I walked up assuming I was on the green and ended up being considerably off and on the fringe. I was fine with this, it actually made it more interesting.

Looking forward to visiting again.

Played a fun round at Shingle Creek today as part of a charity event. The course has undergone a re-routing by the Arnold Palmer Design Company as what I believe was done to make room for future development of the Rosen conference room and resort.

Some of the holes lost were really good ones, but the APDC did a nice job adding new holes on a parcel of land closer on the back nine. They also seem to have done nice work to create more character in the greens.

There are some stout holes out there, but we ended up playing a pretty short course for the event.

Looking forward to getting back to play again.

Had a chance to play a twilight round at LaCosta today and it was lots of fun. This course has hosted a PGA Tour events in the past and has an iconic Spanish style hotel as it’s backdrop.

Really fun round on our departure day. Course was built in the 70s, but the layout is interesting and challenging and has the best water views of all the courses at Sandestin. Course is entirely Bermuda grass, so the greens were a little slower, but still fine. Was told by one of the pros that this was his favorite layout of the four courses at Sandestin. The course is right there in front of you and provides a nice test.

From the moment you drive up to the private-access Burnt Pine Golf Club you know you are in for something special. The quality of the service and the pre-round amenities signal the round should be a fun one and the course doesn’t disappoint.

The could is an enjoyable layout with ample room the hit driver on most holes. The tees and fairways were in great shape but the greens are where the attention to detail really shined. The course had hosted an event the day prior and the greens were double cut and rolled and the were so pure. The course winds through a residential development and ultimately our to the bay with spectacular views in the middle of the back 9.

I really enjoyed this round and if you’re ever in the Sandestin area, don’t pass this up (just know that access to Burnt Pine is reserved for members and guests of the resort). The resort and its amenities are awesome, so it’s a no-brainer.

Played 36 holes today starting out with The Raven which are serviced out of the same clubhouse. Baytowne is a nice afternoon round compliment to the 5 star Raven. There are a bunch of teeing options and you can play this course from 3000-6,800 yds.

This course has houses closer to the fairways and more oversized bunkers and water defined by wooded planks and railroad ties. Conditions on this day played slower than The Raven.

Our group is here at Sandestin for a four round event and we kicked it off today at The Raven. This RTJ Jr design was in great shape and has a nice balance of generous and strategic tee shots.

There is a fair amount of water and bunkers in play and a really interesting 16A/B Par 3 that alternates from day-to-day. Overall, it was a great time and received positive comments from all of the guests.

Had an early shotgun this morning tab Timacuan for a kids’ charity event. The course was in very good shape and provided a really fun test for a scramble. My only regret is that we played the white tees (which was where the tourney was playing). I would have liked the chance to play a tee box or two back because we hit a lot of driver-wedge, driver-pitches to the green. There looked
like there were some pretty interesting shots if we moved back a bit. Would definitely return for another round.

Played "The Tree" again yesterday and my long game was a far cry from what I had the last time I played.

Orange Tree provides a stern test from start to finish off the tee. The course, as I am finding out, was still in very good shape after another relentless Orlando summer. Greens are always pure. For what I considered a fairly short course, we moved back to the blue tees for this round and it was plenty of golf course given the tight piece of property.

I left the course a bit dejected because of my tee ball game, but it was a great day with good friends. I just realized that The Tree exposed my erratic driving and I need to grind to develop a fairway finder club and swing.

Had a chance to play Magnolia again just this last week. Last time I played was with a friend post Hurricane Matthew in 2016. At that time the course was still in pretty good shape immediate post hurricane with tons of trees down.

This round, the course conditions were excellent and we had a great day. The course is part of a multi-course complex in The Landings. The development has over 4000 homes so there are plenty of golfers out and about.

Magnolia’s front side is fairly tight and not that long. The corridors are narrow and the houses are close to the fairways. I prefer the back much more and while it still is lined with homes, the landing areas are more generous.

The conditions, like all the courses are excellent and they do a very good job with all the various golf and country club amenities.

Played Panther yesterday and had a good day with 3 friends. I am a big fan of OCN as it’s got a bunch of variety in the courses and it’s pretty close to my house. I recall playing when it first opened and it felt like it was in the middle of nowhere, but there are now new housing developments abutting the property almost literally as far as the eye can see.

The course was in OK shape, but the greens have come back fairly well from aeration earlier in the month.

Panther had an event in the morning and we were told the round was going to be slow. It took us well over 5 hours to play and we got a late start because OCN had run out of carts.

All that aside, I enjoy the layout of Panther over Crooked Cat and have never stayed around long enough to play the short course called The Tooth, however I would like to soon.

It was my first time playing Beaufort Club today. This is a 2006 Bob Moore residential layout with a fair amount of distance between holes winding through the neighborhood. The course was built in the early 2000s and and it feels like it was impacted by the recession because most of the lots have still gone undeveloped.

The bones of the course were good, but it feels like a course in transition. The greens were top-dressed, but were the best part of the course. I suspect they can get really fast and interesting. The bunkering and waste areas are fairly extreme in poor shape.

I use ‘transition’ because there are some elements of the course that appear to be under renovation like the clubhouse that show potential. Overall, we had a nice day and look forward to exploring other courses in the area.

Was able to squeeze in a round at The Cradle after meetings and before heading to the airport. Everything you've heard about The Cradle is absolutely true.

This 9-hole track was designed by renowned course architect Gil Hanse and intended to provide golfers of all ages and skill levels a wonderful way to experience Pinehurst. The location is literally at the epicenter of the entire Pinehurst Resort experience.

Having played a number of courses at Pinehurst about 10 yrs ago, in addition to The Cradle, the resort has made some amazing upgrades including:
- Full renovations/retrovations of No's 2 and 4
- New Thistle Dhu putting course,
- New food and bev options called The Deuce and the Pinehurst Brewing Company.

Though The Cradle definitely falls on the shorter end of the 'short course' spectrum, the architecture provides for a ton of different shots to test your short game. Pinehurst has the ability to vary the tees significantly and for our round the longest hole was 120 yds and the shortest was 56 yds.

The course is great fun with a vibe to match. There's music playing on outdoor speakers throughout, people are allowed to play in bare feet and the routing shrewdly runs you by "The Pinecone" refreshment station on three occasions in 9 holes!

I was a huge fan of The Cradle (who wouldn't be) and regret we didn't have time for another round. This track would make a fantastic addition to any afternoon Pinehurst itinerary,

This Mike Stranz designed course should absolutely be on your list. The design can at times feel fairly wild/freeform when compared to other more traditional North Carolina sand hills style courses.

Stranz was considered by many to be more artist than course designer and there is no place more demonstrative of that fact than Tobacco Road. From the moment you drive in passing a sand and gravel plant at the entrance to the old-school machinery art leading up to the clubhouse, you realize you'll be in for a unique experience. The clubhouse and facilities are simple, but inviting and match the overall vibe of the facility.

As a player, you can get caught up in the visual intimidation out there in front of you, so you'll really benefit from a yardage book or GPS/satellite app. This bird's eye view will boost your confidence and help with club selection as there are many holes where driver isn't necessary.

I loved the Par 3s at Tobacco Road as they featured some of the most dramatic greens on the course. Though the greens can be very undulating, I found they help you if you use them to your advantage to feed the ball to the hole.

I'd definitely love another crack at TR because I feel I'm much smarter and more informed about the layout and expectations after my first time through.

Had the chance to play Grande Vista for the first time today. Golf Advisor reviews showed a highly rated (4.4), well conditioned, fun golf course and I concur. This is a 9-hole Par 32 track with nuance and challenge that golfers of all skill levels can enjoy. The conditioning is excellent and despite winding through the Marriott Vacation Club property, it’s extremely peaceful. Though we didn’t have time to fully explore, there is a great practice facility under the Marriott Golf Academy brand.

There’s a fair amount of water, but none comes more into play than on the last three holes. Make sure not to go long on 8 and the drive on 9 is one that I would do all over again had I known how deep the water cuts into the landing area. Unless you can fit your drive into a ~20 yard fairway, it’s best to lay up to the fattest part of the fairway to the right of the fairway bunker. It’ll leave a longer second shot, but it’s the much safer play. The last hole at 400 yards+ could be the best hole on the course, but the blind water was definitely off-putting to me.

Overall, lots of fun and I would definitely return for another round.

I had the pleasure of playing Mountain Lake as part of a Golf Advisor Getaway to Central Florida. This private facility was a bonus included for guests on arrival day.

The 1916 Par 70 Seth Raynor design is such a treat to play. You get a chance to play all the “template holes” like the Cape, Biarritz, Punch Bowl and more and it’s great fun. The layout is generous off the tee and plays pretty long from the back tees when the wind is blowing. The green complexes are challenging and really require thought off the tee to get the right angles of attack.

Mountain Lake is a residential facility with a variety of real estate ranging from cabins to large estates. While you can see them from the course there’s virtually nothing in play.

This was such a fun day, one of my favorite rounds in 9 years of living in Florida. I really look forward to having the chance to visit again.

Had the chance to Orange Tree yesterday with a member. I've always heard good things about "The Tree", like the conditions were great and the greens were super fast. The thing that always made me nervous was I heard the course was SUPER TIGHT and that didn't really suit my game.

I'm happy to say that while the course is narrow due to the fact that it runs through a housing development, I didn't find it unplayable. I've played much tighter courses and felt comfortable pulling driver out driver out on a number of holes.

I will say that there are some cases where you need to be in the correct side of the fairway to have a good look at the greens (due to over-hanging trees). Once us on the dance floor, the greens were medium-sized, undulating and very smooth and quick.

Word is many pro golfers (men and women) play out at Orange Tree and when in town for tournaments like the API, they will go over and practice there because it demands solid ball striking and good putting.

Had fun and look forward to the next round.