Iluvncgolf

As a teenager in the 60's, I played a course north of Greensboro called "Monticello" ... when I moved back to this area in spring of 2012, I found out about CROOKED TREE. Sure enough, it turned out to be the "new" version of the track I enjoyed 40+ years ago. In expanding and redesigning the layout from 9-to-18 holes, they retained 6-7 holes from the original on the modern front nine, and built a longer, more challenging new back nine. The positioning of tees allows for players of all skill levels to enjoy this course. Small greens on the front side are still featured, while the back side has much larger putting surfaces. Water comes into play on both sides, but I remember only two "forced carries" from the tee. Fairways and greens were both in great shape, and the variety of holes made playing CROOKED TREE very enjoyable !

Our college golf team played at Cypress Lakes in 1968-70, when Mr. L.B. Floyd (Raymond's dad) ran the operation. The layout is still the same, presenting challenges where you have to work the ball off the tee, and carry all approach shots to the greens (no bounces/roll ups) When I played, the weather had been cold and rainy for several days, so the course had a "shaggy" feel to it, but I'm sure staff brought it up to speed as soon as the weather broke. The highlight of the layout continues to be the beautiful, challenging Par 3 ninth hole. It's a full carry, long iron/hybrid tee shot, over a lake that appears to have been transplanted from the Everglades. Hitting the green is an accomplishment, but making par is difficult, for this green has much more contour and double breaks than the 8 holes that preceded it. I enjoyed my round, beat the rainstorm by a full 3 minutes ... and I look forward to getting back there in springtime ... the course is still great !