Jemayer230

Since Meadow Lakes is a waste treatment facility disguised as a golf course, there is a lot of water in play. That can add to the challenge and affect your strategy when deciding whether or not to cut that corner or lay up. We always enjoy playing out here but pace of play can be an issue when it's cold out.

The Resort Course at Eagle Crest offers up a good balance of challenge and playability. Shot strategy is important on several holes to keep hazards out of play or even put the ball on the fairway - Can you hit a draw? Go ahead and pull out the driver. No? Better go with a 3 wood or you risk carrying the fairway and playing a blind approach shot from ugly tall grass...... We've played here several times over the last few years and always enjoy it.

If you miss to the right a lot, work on your 'getting out of the trees' shot ahead of time. The greens are designed to make you pay attention to your putts, lots of undulations. It's a very nice walking course and a good test of skill for most amateurs; you need some strategic thinking and bring some 'straight' with you because there are a couple of pretty tight fairways. Very enjoyable but this is a serious course.

Juniper is an excellent municipal course and well maintained. There are only a couple of holes with water in play but there is a fine selection of bunkers to keep you honest. First time out I would highly recommend either a yardage book or a partner familiar with the course as there are a couple of holes with blind tee shots as well as a few 'bail-out' areas that look safe from the tee but leave you with blind approaches. The restaurant does a great sandwich, call from the tee box on 9 and it will be waiting for you at the turn.

Pretty sure that I've reviewed this one before; we play it several times per year. It's a Par 63, about 4,000 yards from the Whites with a nice selection of 3's and 4's. Nothing scary, it's a great course to take a fledgling golfer who may not be ready for prime-time. You need to be relatively accurate as some of the fairways are lined with trouble but if you can pin the ball in a spot 60 to 80 yards wide, you're golden. Most of the Par 4's truly are but 17 and 18 (238 and 217 yards, respectively) are reachable for a solid player. 5 and 14 are the only holes with water definitely in play. You may find it helpful to take an extra club on 14 if the wind is moving at all - it tends to come down the hill to the green (towards you) but spills off to the sides before reaching the tee box because of the landscape. Check the flag closely before you tee off. Pace of play is usually really good, we finished this round in just under 3 hours (walking) and probably would have been 15-20 minutes faster except we had to wait for the threesome in front of us on most of the last 6 holes.

We go to The Greens about 10-12 times per year, especially during the winter, because it's a great value course. Par 58 and ~2800 yards from the Whites, playing time ranges from 2 to 3 hours depending on traffic. We got a GolfNow Hot Deal for $9 and played a Wednesday afternoon round in 2 hours (walking). The course doesn't offer anything complex, it's a very straightforward 'Hit the ball accurately' sort of course. Water is in play on a few holes and the bunkers are very well placed. Big slicers will be penalized by landing on the wrong side of the cyclone fences lining the yards on several fairways. We play Whites and there are a couple of Eagle opportunities on reachable Par 4 holes - 8, 11 and for the very accurate hitters, 15. The course is generally well maintained; I only wish that more players would repair their pitch marks on the greens.

The Ridge Course at Eagle Crest Resort is a very nice course and a good challenge for the average golfer.

However, it's a pretty long course to not have water available at some of the tee boxes and, unless you walk a lot of the time, this one might be a cart course as there is a lot of elevation change. We walked the course on a 70+ degree day and at a pretty good pace (Tee off at 1:45 and finish at 5:25) and the lack of coolers to refill the water bottle was irritating.

In season (and probably on weekends) there is a beverage cart but apparently not on a Thursday afternoon in October. There are restrooms so refilling in the bathroom sink is an option.

Value is a pretty subjective criteria - the 'hot deal' we got was a great value; at normal rates it's a pretty average value. There are less expensive courses in the area that we enjoy playing at least as much as this one.

We play Rivers Edge at least a couple times per year and it is always enjoyable but pace-of-play can be a challenge in-season. When the weather is nice this course can get backed up. 6 and 16 are probably our favorite holes on this course. The Par-3 16th is imposing with the green 300' below the tee box. There is a LOT of elevation change on this course so walking it is not for the faint of heart. In fact, we walk well over 75% of the time and this is the only course in the area that my partner and I have agreed to ALWAYS get a cart.