Frotscher

After reading so many negative reviews, my expectations were pretty low for playing Hillcrest on this Sunday afternoon. For what I paid ($11/plus taxes/fees), I would play this course again. Pace of play was good--finished in 2.5 hours. Course layout isn't your typical Sun City/Sun City West, so that was a nice change of pace.

I'm not sure why a course would allow a fivesome on a Sunday, but they did, and the group never let anyone through. Thus, it made it a long day for the four groups that were continuously stuck behind them.

Course was in pretty typical shape for this time of year, with some rough spots in the fairway and around the greens. I'm not sure it's worth the higher price tag compared to some other public courses in the Sun City/Sun City West area.

Pace of play was great on a Sunday afternoon--played 18 holes in two hours. But that's the only positive. The worst part of the course is the greens. They're hard as a rock, bumpy, and some are missing quite a bit of grass (specifically, 10 and 17).

I played the executive course at Viewpoint, and I have to say that it's not in terribly great shape. The greens were consistently firm, but they did roll OK. The fairways/rough weren't terribly great, which meant that your ball could bounce anywhere. I think I'll be sticking to the main course.

Second time at Rams Hill and about half the fairways had quite a few brown spots. Not sure what’s going on there. Also, if you don’t tee off early enough, you’ll probably not get the free tacos at the snack shack. We were one of quite a few groups to miss out, despite teeing off before 1.

Stripe Show would be a fantastic 9-hole golf course in Mesa, if it was in good condition. It has some great contours, lots of trees, and plenty of water on the track. But, the tee boxes and especially the greens need a lot of work.

I’ve never played an unenjoyable Arnold Palmer-designed golf course until I played the Bog. I played 11 rounds in Wisconsin last week, and the Bog had the most disappointing course conditions. While there were recognizable AP features (bunkers), there were just too many blind shots.

Then there was pace of play. It took 20 minutes to play the first hole, and proceeded to wait on most shots for the remainder of the round. I waited less during all of my rounds in Kohler.

I was hoping for more, but I left disappointed.

I was really looking forward to playing Lawsonia, but after playing it, I left wondering what I missed? I found myself bored by the layout and pace of play was terrible. I’d rather play Whistling Straits/Blackwolf Run or Sand Valley any day.

First off this morning after a frost delay and got around in just over three hours.Holes 10-14 are kind of forgettable, but otherwise, Mid South is a fun course! It’s a great contrast to some other courses in the area!

Stone Creek is one of the best 9-hole courses in Iowa, if not the best.

But, when I played it today, it was lacking in a few spots. First, the bunkers. They were almost unplayable and hadn’t been touched in weeks. It was disappointing. Second, the person working in the clubhouse was not wearing a mask. I was surprised, because most courses I play on a regular basis require everyone to wear one right now.

I really love Oak Quarry, but it’ll be hard to go back after my last experience. Here are a few reasons why:

* Had a morning tee time and teed off 20 minutes after our tee time. Felt like they were pushing people out as fast as possible, which resulted in three groups on the next few tee times. It ended up being a 5+-hour round, which isn’t enjoyable. I had played elsewhere the day before (where there was a full tee sheet), and they managed to get us around in 4 hours, 15 minutes. Never saw a ranger and the starter was unapologetic .

* No GPS in carts.

* Bunkers are in disarray. With weeds and very little sand (bunkers were as hard as the cart path), it was tough to play out of them. Just made the course look like it was trying to cut corners, which is unfortunate.

All in all, I think it’s going to be awhile before I go back. I hope they straighten out their problems, because it is a nice track.

I've played a lot of courses around Iowa and the Midwest, so I was really excited to play Grand Falls for the first time. Unfortunately, I left underwhelmed.

The Good: I played in about three hours, as I was one of the first groups off for the day. It was a windy morning, so it was nice to keep the round moving.

The average: As some others have mentioned on here, the course conditions are decent but pale in comparison to some other really great golf courses in Iowa.

The not so good: I found the course layout, except for a few holes, quite boring and forgettable. Hole No. 9 hugging the pond is a great hole, and I enjoyed it much more than Hole No. 18, which felt like they were trying to squeeze in one last hole on the property. What I really disliked was 2/3 of the holes on the course were either straight north or straight south.

In the end, I'll probably go back and give it another try. But, I might wait for a few years before giving it another chace.

I recently played The Walton Club for a second time. It's a fairly walkable course.

But, I don't remember it costing $35 to walk 9 holes. That seemed quite ridiculous. Plus, the greens were in rather poor condition. Sadly won't be back!

While the drive to Rams Hills can be challenging (2 hours from Orange County), it was well worth the trip.

*Pace of play: 3.5 hours. Never had to wait. I love that.
*Course conditions: Courses in Orange County are nowhere as green as Rams Hill, and the greens were in perfect condition. I found the sand a few times as well (you will too), and they were in decent condition.
*Staff friendliness: Just fine. Dan at the bar was great.
*Value for the money: $80 is a great price for a Fazio-designed course, especially with how well-manicured the course was.
*Off-course amenities: I did eat some breakfast in the restaurant, and the breakfast burrito was wonderful. Outside of that, I can't say much for the other amenities.

If you're looking to get away from the desert courses, the Adobe course is a good change of pace. It's pretty straightforward - what you see is what you get. It was in great shape, too.