gepaine

Fairways were almost totally brown and mowed to about 1/2 inch long so every lie was a "tight lie". A few of the greens were in good condition, but most were bumpy. There was supposed to be 2 tee boxes per hole, but this was confusing. The 4th hole had 2 tee boxes, but both were identified as the "4th" instead of one being the "13th". We couldn't find a second tee box for one of the holes. In general, the tee boxes were dry and dusty.

Started at 7:45AM. #1 tee boxes were ragged and only one was in use. (Found this to be true of all 4 holes we played. #1 green was being watered so we couldn't play it. #3 green was being watered so we couldn't play it, and there were many bare areas. (All 4 holes we played had been aerated. Appeared to have been done some time ago and the greens had not yet recovered. Very bumpy, of course.) #4 fairway was overrun with dandelions. (Did they run out of weed control?) #5 tee box (again, the only one in use) was being watered so we couldn't tee off. At this point, we had had enough. We returned to the pro shop and obtained a full refund. On our way to pro shop we passed #5 thru #9 holes and at least 2 of these greens were being watered. By now it was about 9AM. (Why don't they water over night or in the early morning?)

The pro shop attendant had nothing to say regarding our experience - no explanation, no excuses, no apology. Apparently he was not surprised by the situation we encountered.

Everything about the course was top notch; however, the greens are so fast and steeply sloped that they are basically unplayable unless you are a professional or a local who plays it at least a couple times per week. Initially, our reaction was to laugh and say, "This is really crazy and is going to be super challenging." However, after about 4 or 5 holes, we stopped laughing and it was no longer fun. It's a super nice course, but not for anyone who doesn't play greens like these back home.

The greens were in excellent shape and the fairways are very good. Much improved since a month ago.

I've played this course for almost 30 years. I've seen it when it was in excellent condition, then go down hill, then go bankrupt and close for 2 or 3 years, then reopen a few years ago with hew ownership that made significant improvements. The course was looking up and had a nice new restaurant.

Now it seems management is letting the condition of the course and facilities go down hill again.
- Clumps of mowed grass not picked up.
- Most of the ladies tee boxes are not level, or mostly
mud, or have grass that is too high. A few of the mens
tee boxes have sparse grass and/or grass that is too
high.
- Downstairs ladies restroom had broken cold water pipe, partially flooded floor, and no soap.
- No hand disinfectant in on-course port-a-potties.
- #9 - Cart path cuts across fairway about 200 yards from tee, but grass within 20 feet of either side of path is rough length. Really odd to have long grass in middle of fairway.

It's short (5000 yards) but the narrow fairways and hilly terrain make it challenging, but not too difficult to enjoy.

An average course at best that is overpriced given the condition of the fairways. Land in the fairway and you will almost always have a tight lie due to the sparse grass. Also, some fairways are so rutted you can't drive a power cart faster that 1-2 MPH. The holes with extremely rutted fairways have been this way for years.

Greens were fast with difficult pin placements, especially on back 9. Lots of inconsistent bunkers - some were soft and fluffy, but most were brick hard. Except for the condition of the bunkers, the course was in great shape.

Nicely maintained although fairways were a bit dry. Greens were in good condition.

The course conditions have steadily deteriorated since Blue Heron was re-opened under new management a few years ago. It appears management has gone from aggressively improving the course to now neglecting it. The tee boxes are more dirt than grass, some of the greens have large browned-out patches, and the rough is littered with brown clumps of mowed grass.

The only positive was the brisk pace of play due to an almost deserted course on a beautiful Spring day.

Extremely hilly course with quite a few elevated greens made it a real challenge; however, the setting and views are beautiful, and the condition couldn't be better. Could use a few direction signs for first time players who don't know which way to turn when coming to a Y in the cart path.

All fairways on back 9 sloped left-to-right or vice versa and were quite narrow with trees lining both sides. Also, the greens, while in outstanding condition, were undulating. I enjoyed playing there, but the back 9 was too difficult for my skill level. (Front 9 was less difficult and basically flat.

Every aspect of the course was excellent; however, it is extremely challenging due to quantity of sand and water. Not for a beginner.

Fun to play and in good shape except for a couple of greens that were a bit rough.

Liked:

Beautiful scenery being among the large rock formations. Very well maintained fairways and greens. Carts are equipped with GPS.

Dislikes:

Extreme climbs up and down to almost every tee and green from the cart path. 30-degree slopes were common and 45-degree were also encountered. Not suitable for the older golfer, especially one with joint problems. This part of the design I thought was very poorly done. Why not at least put in steps?

Sand traps consisted of very coarse, hard-packed sand. Not at all fun.

Encountered many "Y's" in the cart path with no indication of which way to go to the next hole. GPS was no help in this regard.

I wouldn't play it again due to the "mountain climbing" required just to get to/from the greens.

Had a Hot Deal time of 2:52 PM. Arrived about an hour early. Gave pro shop lady our reservation confirmation sheet, and she proceeded to firmly tell me that I couldn’t tee off early because the owner or manager was tired of people trying to cheat the system. (I hadn’t asked to tee off early.) She said they receive no money from GolfNow for Hot Deals, and the manager had a strict policy of not letting people tee off early if they had a Hot Deal. (Apparently, this policy did not apply if you had a regular GolfNow tee time.)

My wife and I had travelled 65 miles and arrived early because we must have calculated the travel time incorrectly. I explained that we were not trying to cheat the system, but would like to tee off earlier if she had an available time. She said she did have open tee times, but I could not tee off early. Her attitude was definitely not “friendly” or “understanding”. It seems customer goodwill is not important to the management of this course.

I understand that GolfNow’s policy allows a course to refuse to change a tee time, but having the right to do something doesn’t mean it is the right thing to do. I can understand that if someone has bought a twilight tee time where they are unlikely to finish 18, and then wants to change to a non-twilight time, well that might be trying to cheat the system. However, that was not our situation. Our 2:52 time would have allowed us to easily finish 18 holes so an earlier time would have gained us nothing (other than not having to sit around for an hour.)

Enforcing their policy only lost goodwill for the course, and insured that I will not return nor will I recommend the course to my friends. I have to wonder why they participate in GolfNow Hot Deals since they seem so bitter about not getting any money from Hot Deals. GolfNow participation is supposed to be about enticing new players to a course – not about driving away players due to management’s attitude regarding the program.

This is the best maintained course I have played on in a long time. The greens were excellent and some of the fairways looked like greens. Not particularly difficult or especially unique holes - just a really nice course with friendly staff, and very good food in the dining room.

This course is in super shape: healthy, smooth greens; closely cut fairways; reasonable length rough. There are many sand traps on the front 9 - seemed to be fewer on the back 9. I don't usually comment on playing time as I disagree with those who think golf should be a race, but I was surprised to notice that we finished in 4 hours.