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A few years ago, you could probably count on one hand the number of people that would recommend this course to their fellow golfers in the area, but fast forward to today and it's an easy course to recommend, especially for the money.

This course has come a long way over the past few years and today, it's a wonderful course that can played for a reasonable greens fee. The course plays much longer than the scorecard would suggest, and wailing away with the driver is ill advised. This is a shotmakers course that requires the golfer to hit nearly every club, and a proficient long iron player will do well here. It's also quite picturesque with the creek and limestone bluffs. Also, there are no homes on the course to clutter up the scenery. The fairways were in good shape, but could stand to be cut a little lower. Most of the greens are in good shape and the ones that aren't perfect are healing. The bunkers need a little TLC, but then again they're supposed to be hazards, so I won't ding them too much. Honestly, most of the bad bunkers should just be filled in and grassed over and some already have.

The staff at this little gem are wonderful and maybe the most friendly daily fee staff I've ever met. They want your business and are willing to go the extra mile to ensure you have a pleasant experience. Give this course another year and it will be nearly perfect for an excellent daily fee experience.

Great job Nashville National Golf Links!

As someone who is a member at a private club with a Nicklaus signature course, my expectations for this course were probably way too high from a conditioning standpoint. The fairways at Bear Trace Cumberland Mountain were in average shape, but unfortunately they have lost a good number of the greens on the course, some of which were virtually unplayable. Nicklaus courses of this vintage are expensive to maintain and without proper funding there's simply no way a state run daily fee course can expect to keep their course in top notch condition without raising the green fees. The design of the course is challenging and the rolling terrain of the site probably makes growing turf difficult even with an adequate budget. However, I simply can't recommend this course to my fellow golfers when there are other options in the area that are far superior and priced similarly. The pro shop staff was incredibly nice and helpful, but they can't make grass grow, which is sort of essential to the whole process of making a golf course enjoyable. Hopefully, they will get the course back in shape, but I think this course is a prime example of a state park being in way over their head from maintenance standpoint.

Our group from Nashville, TN had never played golf in the Magnolia state prior to our recent visit that included rounds at Old Waverly GC, Mossy Oak GC and Dancing Rabbit GC. The Dancing Rabbit GC leg of the trip was preceded by three days staying on property and playing golf at Old Waverly and Mossy Oak. After playing the Bob Cupp designed course at Old Waverly and Gil Hanse designed course at Mossy Oak, we made the hour and a half drive to Philadelphia from West Point to play the Tom Fazio designed Oaks and Azaleas courses at Dancing Rabbit.

The Oaks course at Dancing Rabbit is Tom Fazio at his best. The Oaks course features generous Zoysia fairways that were in excellent shape. The bermuda greens are large and despite being slow due to topdressing, were healthy and rolled true. The bunkering style is typical other Fazio designed courses built in the late 90's and on several holes the liners were visible and in need of repair, but at $70 per player it's understandable that the bulk of the course budget is devoted to greens and fairways. The cart paths are also in need of repair in several places, but these are very minor gripes on what is an otherwise outstanding layout.

The property on which the course is laid out is expansive with each hole being separate and distinct. The fairways are lined with towering pines and hardwoods and wildlife can be spotted on nearly every hole. The elevation changes on the property are dramatic and it's hard to believe at times that you're playing golf in Mississippi and not the mountains of North Carolina or Georgia. Native grasses are planted across the property and if the player strays from the generous fairways, lost balls are inevitable. The Par 3's are mainly of the drop shot variety and club selection is paramount as it's easy to come up both short or go long on any given hole.

The Par 4 and Par 5 holes are routinely punctuated by blind or semi-blind tee shots. Additionally, many of the Par 4 and 5 holes play downhill. Sidehill lies are not uncommon and many of the fairways are designed to kick tee shots either left or right. Our group has some long hitters off the tee but being long is not always the best strategy on many of the holes. A good long iron player will excel on the Oaks course and it's equally important to be skilled with a wedge in your hand 100 yds into the green.

Overall, the Oaks course rewards skilled players with scoring opportunities but gives less skilled players a chance at bogies by keeping their ball in play off the tee due to the generous fairways. For the money, you'd be hard pressed to find a better conditioned course in the region that's also architecturally stimulating.

The only negative part of the experience at the Oaks course has nothing to do with golf and more to do with service. The service is severely lacking at Dancing Rabbit GC. Employees on the property don't seem at all concerned with enhancing the player's experience. The employees aren't rude or mean, they're just disinterested.

I was on vacation in Hilton Head, SC and was looking for a quick 18 without breaking the bank, and this course met that criteria. The course had received a significant amount of rain earlier in the week, so it was cart path only. Fairways were in good condition, as were most of the greens. Tee boxes were in fair condition as were the bunkers. Several holes featured water or shots where you had to carry over marshland. I was paired with two nice gentlemen from Orlando and we had a very good time. Pace of play was excellent and the rangers did a nice job keeping things moving. Overall, a very enjoyable course for the money.

I had played Atlantic Dunes at Sea Pines Resort the day before, so my review is probably colored by playing a much better course with better amenities and service the day before. If you're looking for a quick nine in between rounds at better courses on HHI, then this course might be for you. The conditions weren't great, but the course had received a lot of rain the day before, so that might have had something to do with it. Staff was pretty friendly, but pace of play was horrible. I ended waiting 10 minutes on every hole. You get what you pay for at this course and as long as you don't expect too much in the way of course management or amenities, you'll have a good time.

A fantastic golf experience! Atlantic Dunes at Sea Pines Resort in Hilton Head, SC was a first rate experience from the range to the course to the 19th hole meal and beers at the clubhouse. It rained the entire day before our round at Atlantic Dunes, but the course played like it had been dry the day before. This course is in excellent shape right now and was very challenging, but fun for a beginner golfer like me. My father in law and I played as a twosome and the pace of play was excellent throughout our entire round. The course had just been through some maintenance but the greens were still in very good condition. Lots of sand on this course and I managed to find most of it, but still had a great time. Great practice facilities and a wonderful clubhouse made for an excellent overall experience. I will definitely play Atlantic Dunes again the next time I'm at Sea Pines.

GreyStone Golf Club in Dickson, TN is worth the short drive from Nashville, TN if you're looking for a first class golf experience that won't break the bank. Hats off to Charlie Blunt and the rest of the crew at GreyStone Golf Club for an excellent golf experience. For a beginner, this is a very challenging course, but the conditions and staff friendliness made it a very enjoyable experience. The course is in outstanding shape right now and the layout and design elements are top notch. Only complaint was that the grass on the tee boxes was pretty high which made tee shots a bit more challenging than normal. Great driving range and practice area. If you live within an hour of GreyStone Golf Club you should definitely play it!

The President's Reserve Course at Hermitage is a great place to play with a group of buddies. This course gets a lot of weekend traffic, but the pace of play is generally pretty good. Rangers on the course are a little gruff, but with the volume of play that's to be expected I guess. Good layout, but nothing mindblowing or particularly memorable. Course was cart path only on most of the holes we played, so that slowed things down a bit. Good clubhouse with lots of beer selections at good prices. The driving range is far too small for a course that receives this much play on the weekends. Overall though, a nice course that's not too challenging to make it painful for a beginner golfer.