golftourist

New to the are and went out to explore. Found Granada Farms just north of Hickory NC. Sunny day yesterday. Greens under construction new growth coming so played to temporary greens. According to Owners new greens ready in March. This will be a great track once fully reopened to original greens. Great layout and design. Good views and very friendly staff. I would say this is going to be a good hidden gem in the area.

Myself and a couple of buddies were on a golf trip and on the way home we decided to take a detour to this little course. We arrived mid morning and we had to wait for about a half hour before someone returned to the shop . There was a sign on the door saying the guy was out on the course. When he finally returned 45 minute later . Shop was dirty and smelly,ROY was in shorts and a t shirt, We went in, checked in a and needed a few things. Poor selection . So we asked about a practice facility,only a little putting green surrounded by weedy grass for chipping and an overgrown green surface for putting. Should have known at that point. Out on the course conditions and care of the course worsened. Literally every teeing area was overgrown with very little grass or none at all. Fairways were no different. centipede cow pasture grass , thinned out and weedy. Tall weeds growing in a couple of the fairways. one was over 2 feet tall.Literally in the middle of the fairway! All but one of the greens had been mowed to short, scalped, with burn lines and mower lines.

By the third hole all we could do was laugh. Then it did get more interesting , a group of locals caught up wearing jean shorts and t shirts. They had been drinking heavily. They invited us to join them. We said should be good for a few laughs! As it turned out we were right. We have never met a more local colorful group of people ,One guy changed balls and or moved his ball at least a club length on every shot in the fairway. I inquired about this and he said it was a local rule , everyone does it here at dogwood hills, next came a new lesson in etiquette, At this course it is OK to walk on someones putting line, burp , break wind , walk around , talk, make gestures all the while someone is lining up and putting. Oh and it's OK to drive literally up to the green in your cart. Almost on the green.

Next came the gossip. Oh what fun, evidently the course is owned by the county. Well , because none of the locals had a say in who works here it is rumored that no one is happy because Joe bobs brother got the job. Or that all the employees get to play for free and all others have to pay. Or that the employees can bring a guest for free but if your not their relative you don't stand a chance.
Next came the information about a fight during the Thursday night blitz. They have a blind draw for teams and supposedly the blind draw is not so "blind" as the same teams always win and a lot of gossip and people are very upset. Well it came to pass a few weeks ago that two sets of three were put together and they were none too happy about playing next to each other. Supposedly a guy named "Rickey Bobby" yes we have confirmation that this is his legal name, He and others were drinking heavily and called the opposing team member ( a black fellow) the N word several times during the round because of supposedly cheating during the round. ( but wait, i thought is was OK to cheat at dogwood hills because of local rules ,, LOL! ) So a fight ensued in the parking lot after the winners were announced. Several people were involved including staff. Oh boy , what's next. Well because it's a local crowd and there were relatives of the sheriff there no police were called in and the locals boys "took care of the "situation" ..

Now what's most concerning to me as a member of the public is that this is a county owned public facility. Is it a safe place to enjoy a round of golf. We were a few times concerned for our personal safety , because the group with us, the locals, were clearly over served alcohol and driving the carts erratically, swearing and in general acting in a questionable way, and What kind of Government Organization allows this sort of thing to continue, because according to our new friends, this is very common place, They all had a good laugh about it with us.

If you want the whole country boy / goat track experience at least once in your golfing career You must go here. But beware, you are in for it. Have thick skin, try to laugh , expect the worst course conditions you will ever experience and make sure to have 911 on the speed dial because you will run into some unsavory characters who at the drop of the hat will want to take you behind the wood shed if you offend them in any way. ( but wait, make sure the 911 goes to YOUR local police , not the cousin county facility, because , remember about the Thursday night thing. )

Hope you enjoyed the review and best of luck to you and your game.

very well worth the trip from Walterboro/Charleston area...fairways running nicely...challenging pin placements and greens in good shape and rolling nicely....