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I had the unique opportunity to play the private Windsong Farm Golf Course on a cool, breezy October afternoon with several others new to the course.

We knew that the layout would prove to be challenging, so we split into two-man scramble teams to try to keep things moving. It had rained the prior evening, so carts were not allowed even though the course appeared to have drained quite well. The upside is that pulling our bags behind us gave us a modicum of warmth on a borderline playing day.

As it should be for a 5-star review, I encountered no significant issues -- frustrating golf challenges certainly, but no issues that dampened my experience (besides the gusting wind on the long Par 3 16th over water, but what a great challenge!).

First of all, there are a lot of bunkers on this course (over 70 from what I could count on Google Maps). Most of these are deep-sided with long grass curling around the edges. Drive your ball into one of the fairway bunkers and you'll likely have to come out sideways. The sand is very fine, and even though it was a bit wet during our round, it was very consistent and a lot easier to extricate oneself than the hardpan on some of the munis in the area (don't ask why we were hitting from the sand when we were playing a 2-man scramble!).

Secondly, the long prairie grass that lines most fairways was turning stunning shades of tan, purple and red. Really pretty and relaxing as long as you didn't hit into it (in which case don't even try to find your ball).

Thirdly, despite the lack of trees and limited over-water carries, you'd better hit a long straight ball if you hope to even bogey some of the longer par 4's. As a bogey golfer, I felt very good if I could scramble to bogey from the Sand tees, and if I had been playing my own ball those would have been the exceptional scores. Outside of the 16th, the par 3 holes were fairly easy. I actually played the long Par 5's quite well for some reason, but there is a lot of trouble to be found in the form of long grass, waste areas, isolated ponds, uneven lies and the aforementioned traps.

We had a great outing and really appreciated the opportunity. Interaction with course staff was limited to a short conversation in the small-ish but nicely appointed Pro Shop. Members will have to provide reviews on other aspects of the club, but I would certainly consider joining if I played enough golf in retirement to justify membership.

So, how did we score you ask? 5-over on the Front and 6-over on the Back as the wind picked up and our senior bodies tired. Not too bad for not knowing the course or having any sort of rangefinder.

I took my son-in-law, nephew and wife here for a round on a breezy Fall afternoon. We scarfed down a nice lunch at the clubhouse bar before trying to putt in the 25-mph southerly breeze.

Despite the wind, we had bright sunshine but a surprisingly sluggish pace for a weekday afternoon in October. The singleton behind us was clearly frustrated, so we suggested he join us on the 8th hole but he decided to walk in instead. We were keeping pace, despite a few hackers in our group, but we kept having to wait throughout the round.

That said, the course was in pretty good shape. Having not played here before, we made a few regrettable errors (including lost balls off of blind shots), but I was carding a pretty good score until their iconic 17th hole...a long Par 4 with an elongated island landing area followed by a very long carry to a green surrounded by water on three sides. Unless you're a pro, you need to lay up before attempting to hit to the green (or you can dunk it and drop behind the green, forcing a steep downhill chip). Needless to say, I had to put down a snowman for this hole.

In summary: the course layout is pretty good, winding through residential areas which almost force you to use a cart; the greens were very receptive and in pretty good shape for the most part but a bit slow for my tastes; the clubhouse is functional and attractive; the driving range was into the stiff southerly wind, pretty pricey, and surprisingly narrow; there's a decent chipping green, but it requires purchase of a bucket; the carts are gas-powered (boo!); pace of play was slower than it should be and rangers were not evident.

This is your typical central New York farmland golf course, many of which are rapidly going out of business. In fact, with the closure of Mountain Top near Sherburne, there isn't another course for 10-15 miles in any direction.

This is a 9-hole course, with a bit of undulation, several blind shots, and a few pockets of marsh to make things interesting. We rode old gas-powered carts as it was a very cold day (no one else was on the course and the proprietor was surprised we even showed up!), but it would be very walkable unless you're a flatlander.

Greens are relatively small but receptive to a decent approach shot.. There are only two sets of tees, and they are not that different in overall length. The fifth hole is a nice Par 4, dogging left around a swale to a tidy green. The Par 3 8th has you hitting through the only grove of trees on the course, which is kind of pretty. Be on the lookout for the course pooch, who showed up on the 9th hole to steal my brother's ball from just off the green!

For transparency's sake, this past summer I took a part-time job as a starter/ranger at Pioneer Creek, but this review would be the same if written a year earlier.

The condition of the course in 2019 rivals the best in the area, and continues to improve each year. The greens are exceptionally fast and true (they were running at 11 mid-summer) even after racquetball-sized hail chewed them up in early August. The grounds crew continues to improve drainage in perennially damp areas, but an excessively wet September resulted in an overflowing creek.

While the greens are really well done, they are very hard, forcing even the best players to land short of the pin and play for roll. The contours of most greens are fairly tame, although there are a few pin positions that are almost impossible to 2-putt if your approach lands in the wrong place.

Wind can be on issue on some holes, and this year winds were coming from all directions. The layout for several holes can seem a bit unusual depending on how you hit the ball. The Par 5 9th and 18th holes require exceptional drives and second shots to clear the creek and give yourself a shot at par, although low handicappers can reach most Par 5's in two from the Back Tees if the wind isn't an issue.

I actually tend to score a bit better from the Middle/White tees (6291 yards) than my league Executive/Gold tees (5840) for some reason, and the Middle tees provide a bit more shot diversity for the mid-handicapper.

Seniors should consider purchasing a Patron card for the season ($50), which cuts an additional $8 off of Weekday Senior rate of $28 to walk 18 holes. Standard pace of play is 4:10 for 18 holes, but most weekday mornings foursomes are rounding in well under 4 hours. Things can slow down on weekends, but there are enough rangers scheduled that they can get things sorted out for sluggish groups.

I've met a number of golfers who only get to play Pioneer Creek once or twice a season, and they always seem to comment that they wish they could come out more frequently. The course has matured a lot from the photos on the website, to the point that some mature trees have been removed to help speed up play. The rough is also kept fairly short to help find wayward drives.

We had a perfect Saturday morning to play this course for the first time. We chose it as it was within driving range of Uptown and had open morning tee times at a reasonable price.

We were expecting a somewhat flatter landscape given the "links" designation. Some design elements were similar to a links-style course (carries over marshes & blind shots), but other elements were missing (e.g., hard wide fairways, penal rough, large undulant greens). Even so, it was an interesting course but really requires a lot of course knowledge (and a detailed guidebook!) to shoot a decent score. My playing partner and I lost a half-dozen balls in wide open areas, -- usually after blind shots -- despite the short rough, which was very frustrating as we also lost a similar number due to poor shots into the ever-present marshland scattered throughout the property.

The clubhouse is very basic, although there were a few tables, a small bar, and basic foodstuffs.

We were paired with a few local semi-pro baseball players who were celebrating the end of their season. All in all, we had a very enjoyable day.