Greg9871596

The day was an overcast 45 degree January day. Lakeland Village was in great shape. With it being winter they had the white tees pushed up a bit, but not as far as the normal red tees. The fairways were dry except for a two of holes (#11 and #12). My playing partner and I didn't have a plugged ball in the 18 holes. We were often surprised with the bounce and roll of our drives. The greens were immaculate. The putting surfaces were smooth and a rich color of green. Best of all it was a GolfNow Hot Deal for $10 plus fees.

Lakeland Village is a favorite place to play. They have awesome deals when booking through GolfNow.

Course was in great shape when I played. The greens were fast and true. There were few ball marks and they were all repaired. The fairways were neat and well mowed. A few areas were marked as ground under repair due to damage from wet winter weather conditions. These areas were showing improvement and should be playable soon. The rough was groomed and clean. The tee boxes were fine. My only knock on the tee boxes is that some of them are not directed toward the fairway. Overall, my hour drive to Lakeland Village is well worth it. Now that I think about it I shouldn't submit this review - it will just increase players at Lakeland Village and I won't be able to get the get "Hot Deal".

You won't find greens better than these. The greens were in excellent condition. There was rarely a ball mark or blemish on them. The greens rolled true and fast. Beware of leaving yourself above the hole - if you miss your putt you will often roll past the hole for a longer putt than from where you started.

The fairways and tee boxes were in good condition. There were a few places that were in tough condition, such as the tee boxes on the par threes and one fairway recovering from winter mower damage.

Lakeland Village has a variety of holes and it never seems that you are playing a similar hole. There are a couple of holes that you have to pay attention to the side slope of the fairway on your drive. If you are not careful you will roll into the rough or worse.

I really enjoy the visual illusions that occur on the course. Hole number 11 is an example of this. It is a par 5, but from the tee box it looks as if it is the length of two par 5s.

One thing I would ask Lakeland Village to improve is to trim around the fairway yardage markers. Some of the markers were covered with grass.

This is a definite course that I will be returning to play. Watch for great pricing on GolfNow.com. I paid $12 for the 18 holes.

Port Ludlow is a course with a great layout. Each hole is different with its own unique characteristics. There are lovely homes on about half of the holes but they are placed out of the way of play. On the other holes you are out in the woods and wild. Ponds and streams on some of the holes also add interest and challenge.

Having played Port Ludlow two or three times a year for the past 20 years I still enjoy playing this course. During the past 20 years the course has seen times of perfect condition and times of needed improvement. During this visit of June 2013, both my usual playing partner and I commented that the course was not up to the condition that we have normally experienced. The course itself seemed to need fertilizer and weed control applied to the turf. The bunkers were in need of edge trimming. The garden areas around the course and club house were not as neat as in the past. Hopefully these areas are improved in the next few weeks. With a great GolfNow price of under $30 we plan to return to Port Ludlow in a month or two to check the conditions.

The accompanying photos to this review are from previous visits in July 2011 and October 2005. Hopefully they give you a feel for the course and the views on the course.