towncrier1

We drive 55 minutes to play this place that we hadn’t been to for couple of years. Our excitement quickly turned to sadness as we saw the sign “Cart Paths Only today’. The cashier quickly informed us of the 3/4 inch of rain the day before (we hadn’t had rain for the preceding week). What we were NOT told by neither the cashier nor starter was that the greens had been ‘lightly’ sanded; nor were we told that the white fairway stake was 125 yards out….not 150 (you think maybe something good to know during CPO conditions?). Much of this course was not deserving of CPO; the low lying areas were already marked to stay out. There were a few rangers out there (something rarely seen at any course this year), but they were worthless. CPO probably adds 30 minutes to the round, but the rangers did nothing to relieve the rest of the almost 5 hour round. Every time we asked about the possibility of CPO relief, they would quickly blew us off with ‘it’s the superintendent’s call and he never changes it’; thanks for being so customer focused. The carts and the GPS had problems; a ‘governor-induced’ slowdown and GPS beeping occurred SEVERAL times on EVERY hole….for no reason. Given the fact that we were blown-off when asking about our CPO concern, we didn’t waste our time mentioning this cart/GPS issue to anyone.

There are quite a few quirky holes out here but we knew about them and still decided to make the drive to play. The big problem is/was the height of the rough. Out of control. Our threesome found more than a dozen balls looking for ours. No need for this. All it does is slow-down the pace of play looking for errant shots. Mentioned it to the pro shop guy afterward and he could give a care. All of the water and tricked-up holes makes this place difficult enough….they don’t need this rough issue.

This course attracts lousy and slow playing golfers. Making matters worse, the ranger (single) is/was ineffective/worthless. After asking him to say something to the group in front that had created 1.5 open holes in front of them (after only 5 holes), he responded saying he timed them and they were ‘normal’. We questioned why he would time them on a par 3, we heard the stupidest statement ever from a ranger: “par 3’s always take longer to play”. That line aptly describes the caliber of rangers out here. We cut around these jokers at the turn only to find more hacks on the back. This course is really not that difficult to explain this nonsense. Widening-out the tee-times and more effective ranger monitoring would help, but it appears the tee sheet was full so I don’t expect the owners/mgmt to change anything here. have fun.

we like to play Dunne early in the year before the 5 hour rounds begin. that didn’t stop a 3-some of walkers in front of our 4-some. For the entire round every hole in front of them was wide open. we were on them every step of the round. especially irritating was when they left their carts in the lay-up zone on par 5 #11 while they walked to/putted out. Yeah there are idiots on most courses; my complaint is that Dunne NEVER has any rangers out there to police this non-sense. Bunkers are complete disaster; we were told to play as GUR. Again: things never change.

I agree with the reviewers who commented on the patchy fairways and long rounds. We play every week and this is the only course all year where we agreed to roll the balls in the fairways.
The reasons for the long rounds is the course difficulty. Plus the fact that this place doesn't just draw low handicappers. It is so tough due to combination of dense trees, rolling terrain, and undulating (two-tier) greens. Pace of play could be improved slightly by:
* I know it's expensive to remove trees, but how 'bout start with the dead trees?
* several of the greens were borderline (usga-like) unfair due to positioning of the pins. It alright to have one green per round like that, but 3-4-5 of them is totally unacceptable.
I know that none of this will happen, so I agree with the posters who advised to play this place only once per year (if even that)and know what you are getting into.

Had 9 am teetime on thurs, June 14.
The day started with a disturbingly long line to pay in the pro shop (possible that the three nine hole arrangement causes this; in which case the logical recommendation is to add another pay station).
The real fun started when we went outside to get settled into our carts:
1. I was chastised for taking/stealing(?) an extra score card from an idle cart (“next time ask”).
2. My friend was scolded for filling his own range ball bucket even though he was told by the pro shop to do just that (“you are taking too many balls and next time just ask me”).
3. The starter was impatient to get all 4 receipts (Q: doesn’t a quality course notify the starter when all players have paid?). He went-on to tell me how lousy a morning he was having with golfers showing-up late and others running to the (hopefully) temporary trailer rest room.
The course itself was fine but unfortunately that wasn’t the main storyline for this round of vacation golf.

We hadn't played here for 2 years. Starter (Jim) on #1 was friendly and excited to tell us about the new management company and all the work they've done to the greens. These greens were probably the fastest that we've played all year; just not sure that the work to the greens was the best area for improving the overall quality of this course. see below:
a) as others have said, the sand traps need work. there are many, many bunkers on this course; some actually had sand but the majority did not. In the meantime, how 'bout transferring the sand from the fairway bunkers to the green side ones?
b) those cart paths still need work from all the tree roots. I had some loose teeth after the front nine.
c) fairways need water. they were very hard. In fact the only way to get a ball close to the hole or even stay on the greens was to hit 10-15 yards in front and allow the ball to roll up.
The lack of driving range makes this place challenging especially given the difficulty of the first 3 holes.
I really struggled with the question above about recommending the course. It's a Nugent design so some interesting holes. hard fairways + super speedy greens + no green side sand = sharpen those grooves and make sure you are accurate.

we played 4 different courses on our trip out to Galena: Wolf Hollow in Lena, the General, Eagle Ridge North, and Eagle Ridge South. The greens on the General were the slowest of the bunch. Not what you expect when you pay $135. Very depressing to hit a putt that goes half way to the hole.....uphill had nothing to do with it. we mentioned to the club cleaning guy at the end of the round; he says he hears this all the time. they refuse to do anything about it. go figure. I won't go back.

the reviews below seem a bit dated. we certainly did not find the 'fast greens' and 'pristine bunkers' that the previous reviewers cited. although greens didn't look shaggy, way too many 3 putt greens by the entire fore some, so it wasn't just me. need to put some sand in those traps. the $29 senior rate was about right for the experience.

5 hour 45 minute round. slow play began immediately on 2nd hole. waiting on every shot. fivesomes all over the place. rangers are nonexistent. twosome behind us had their own separate carts (one of which was riding up onto the fringe of each green and right behind us on our tee balls). after our tee shots on #8 one of these idiots now tells us that we're taking too long on the greens. mr "golf policeman" almost gets into fight with the group in front of us when he tells them to speed up. tells us he's a regular (another reason not to go back). 4 of the 6 par 3's had same yardage (within a few yards). just not a good experience. i guess you get what you pay for.