mpscott44

The greens were recently fertilized, which made the putts roll slower today. It’s still one of my favorite courses in the area because it’s got a good layout and is a driver’s paradise. I will always come back. However, I do hope that the management has plans to do some work on the cart party because they are starting look as bad as Waterford did a few years ago.

The course was in great shape, but pace of play was a definite problem. There was no starter out there in the afternoon to space the groups out. When my playing partner (whom I did not know) complained about the wait times on the tee boxes, he was just told that it was a public golf course and it was a Friday afternoon as if there was nothing they could do. Had the groups in front of us been told that they needed to play smart cart golf then things could have moved along better. Would still play there again though. Great design and everything was in great shape.

This was one of the weirdest experiences I have ever had on a golf course. First, I go to check in and the person at the desk informed me that our group had already checked in. Fair enough, but he said it with an attitude like I had just bothered him from doing something more important. "Okay, where do I get the cart?" (It was my first time at the course). "See the starter," he said. Again, very curtly. So, I go see the starter who again informed me that the group was already checked in. Okay, but I still need a cart. At that point, the starter began a conversation with someone else nearby, seemingly ignoring me for a moment and simply handed me the key without even looking at me. Finally, I got the cart and began my round. As we came to the green on the first hole, the cart had a very hard time climbing the hill, So much so that I had to pedal the ground Flintstone style to get it up the hill. I called the pro shop and told them what was going on and where we were. To be fair, the staff was extremely prompt in getting a new cart out to us (less then five minutes later). However, when the man came out to the fairway with the new cart he asked "this cart is dead?!" seemingly in disbelief since the cart had made it to the fairway of the second hole, which was downhill. My paying partner explained what happens, so We switched our bags out, but the staff member paid no attention to me even though I was the one that made the call to him. No apologies for the inconvenience, nothing. Fast forward to the back nine. Apparently there was a tournament starting not long after we teed off. For the rest of the round, we had to listen to the tournament groups being loud and at times belligerent. One group even brought their wives to the tournament even though they weren't playing. The wives were clustered in their golf carts being loud as we were trying to tee off one of the holes, picked up one of our balls that flew one of the greens (why would you pick up a ball on a golf course?!), and worst of all actually drove their carts TOWARDS US as we were teeing off on one of the other holes. Did it never occur to these people that they could be hit with a golf ball doing this? There were no marshals out on the course to prevent or curb any if this behavior, nothing. The best thing about the course was that it was in good shape even though the greens were still recovering from aeration. I believe in second chances and would be willing to give the course another shot, but I'd be lying if I said that I was not hoping for a better experience.

I've played Emerald Lake a number of times and really liked it, but this time around, I could tell that some work is being done to maintain it. First, it's obvious that some of the greens are starting to develop minor spouts crab grass. However, I could also tell that the groundskeeping staff had trimmed the greens short enough that the crab grass is not hindering the conditions on the greens. Indeed, I can confirm that my putts still rolled on the green without any issues. Repeat- there were NO ISSUES PUTTING. Other than being able to see the crab grass, the greens were in great shape for rolling the putts. On some greens, there were a series of 5-6 square patches along the endge of the greens about 4x4 inches in size that are filled with sand. I'm assuming that they parts are being removed so that they can be used as patch jobs for other locations, but I'm not sure. My approach shots to the green didn't hit these squares, but others may not be as lucky. My biggest complaint this time around was the bunkers. Most of them are not filled with the light, fluffy sand like the one on the back side of 18. Rather, they are filled with the red, claylike sand. Again, I could tell that the groundskeeping staff did their best to rake them and make them look as good as possible, but the sand was so compacted that hitting the shots out of the bunkers was more like hitting a short pitch shot rather than a traditional bunker shot. I still think Emerald Lake is one of the better public courses in the Charlotte area in terms of design, course condition, and value for he money. I will certainly go back in a few weeks. Hopefully, the minor issues will have been corrected by then.