E1905

The layout at Tanglewood is one of the best in the Traid and the renovations a couple of years ago are fantastic. However, the course needs some water. The fairways and greens have excellent cover, the greens couldn’t roll any better. But once you get off of the fairways and greens the grass is virtually non-existent especially around the greens. The course is playing far too firm for its design and this is creating bad results for even excellent golf shots. The greens are too firm to hold anything but a perfect shot and the fairways often won’t even hold a perfect drive and with no rough, great drives can easily be punished. Tanglewood is supposed to be a tough test, but it is a tough enough test without ridiculous conditions. It has been dry recently but for $60 a round they can make sure there is some grass around the greens and good shots will hold. A municipal course shouldn’t be set up like a US Open all the time.

First the bad, none of the staff in the clubhouse was wearing a mask even though there were signs on the door stating that masks were required. This included the man at the register and the woman at the grill/snack bar.

Now for the good, Oak Valley is a really fun layout which was in very good shape for late March and especially considering there had been some rain recently. The greens were perfect, a little firm with a smooth and true roll. The fairways were as good as they can be for this time of year and although they looked muddy from a distance were not and obviously had drained quite well from the recent rains. The only knock on the course itself is many of the par 4s are a bit repetitive particularly on the front. Also wished there had been some mixed tees advertised on the scorecard, the white tees felt too short but the blue felt too long so we played the whites. Didn't realize until about halfway through there were mixed tees because they were not on the scorecard.

Overall a fun layout that isn't too challenging but has some interesting features in really good shape.

This is a really great layout with some interesting holes and plenty of variety in length and shape. You can tell this is a well designed course and certainly not a cookie-cutter subdivision layout like there are far too many of. Great variety in elevation change and design of holes. Only knock on the design is that there are some greens that are far too severe and downright comical in design (particularly the 5th and 9th) but overall the course is very fair with a little challenge and enjoyable for all playing abilities.

As far as conditions go the fairways were over-seeded and although it wasn't lush, the lies were good and there was a good stand of dormant bermuda in the rough as well. The greens were the real problem though, the ones that had good cover were extremely slow (some of the slowest I have ever played) but many of the greens, particularly on the second nine, were very bare with large bumpy mounds throughout.

Overall I would still recommend this course, it is an enjoyable round and the price ($23 for a Tuesday) was very reasonable. I'm not sure I would pay much more than that without better greens though.

To start, the layout isn’t bad, a relatively short course but most of the holes are pretty straight and uninteresting. A lot of blind tee shots which is a big problem with slow play (more on that in a minute). As for the conditions, the fairways and rough were decent but the fairways were a little overgrown though there had been a lot of rain recently. The greens were extremely slow and several were quite patchy. They advertise them as new but if so they need their money back or the superintendent fired because multiple greens are over half bare. The bunkers were not well kept and pretty firm. Overall conditions were subpar even for a municipal.

The real issue though was the pace of play. I’m not sure anyone that plays here understands the rules of golf etiquette especially how to let someone through. I went out late on a Sunday afternoon as a riding single and waited on every shot, no one even considered letting me through. I was behind an impossibly slow twosome on the front that regardless of me arriving at the tee before they had teed off never acknowledged me or thought about letting me through. I was going to just walk off after 9 but they quit so I thought things would improve. They did for one hole, when I got to 11 there was threesome on the tee that I waited on for every shot until I left after 15. When I say I waited, I’m talking 5 minutes on every tee. I can usually play in under three hours when I’m waking as a single, when I left after the 15th I had been there for over three hours.

I can’t imagine any situation where I’ll return to this course, go play Reynolds Park it’s much better and cheaper.

Having played this course before, this round only confirmed my belief that this is one of the best layouts in the Triad if not all of North Carolina, and especially for the price. The course was in decent shape for the time of year. The fairways were somewhat overseeded although it was thin in some places. The new bunkers are excellent but you can tell it gets a lot of public play because in the afternoon, there are a lot of footprints from golfers who have not raked the bunkers. The greens roll smooth but my only complaint there is that they use the same three hole locations all winter, just rotating between them and because the grass is dormant the areas around the hole gets pretty worn down and fast from all of the traffic. Overall this is an excellent golf course that I am sure will be even better once the grass starts coming back out.

For starters this is an excellent Robert Trent Jones layout, having played the Championship course and considering it one of the bast anywhere around I expected a little less out of the Reynolds course but as far as the layout is concerned the Reynolds is excellent. There is a nice variety of holes, with the front being a more traditional parkland and the back resembling a mountain course but both are quite fun. That being said the course has not been as well maintained as the Championship course. While the fairways were technically overseeded it was pretty sparse but my biggest critique conditions-wise was the greens. They look great, but they are the slowest greens I have ever played on in my life, and I am used to bent grass greens which many times can be slower but these were worse than anything I have ever putted on. Slow greens can really affect the enjoyability of a round as I knew the chances of making a putt of any distance were pretty slim and was often happy just to get it close. This issue is compounded by the fact that the practice putting green was redone last year when the greens on the Championship course were reseeded with Champion Bermuda (which is the best putting surface there is) so what you warm up on is great but in no way resembles what you will play on.

However the biggest issue I had was the pace of play which was even slower than the greens. I played as a single on a Sunday afternoon when the course really wasn't that busy. On the front I was a allowed through a group which was great but then ran into a much slower single who never let me though but did stop after nine. On the back however, I was behind a twosome that never even considered letting me through even though they were pretty terrible and very slow. I would say I waited a considerable amount of time on 90% of my shots and 100% on the back.

All that being said, the layout is probably worth one play if you can get a good deal and the greens are puttable, but otherwise just spend the extra money and play the championship course which is five star excellent.

Played this as part of a winter special where the round plus 2 nights as well as a round at Osprey Point was only $250, found this price very reasonable but would have a tough time paying $450 for just 18 holes in prime season to take the beating this course delivers. The course is very demanding especially when the wind picks up as it did for us on the back nine, but if you can keep a driver in play then a respectable score is possible (for the Ocean purse that is). Overall the course was in excellent shape especially for January, and considering when we played it it had recently had a fair amount of rain the fairways were excellent. The greens are a bit fast but nothing terrible and roll very true. The only knock on the course is that it emphasizes target golf a little too much for a course so exposed to the wind. I found the scenery on both sides to be fantastic and don’t understand the complaint that the front isn’t close enough to the ocean, the scenery it provides is even more unique than the ocean and is equal to the backside. Overall an excellent course that will test every aspect of your game but especially your endurance and will to push on, it is an easy course to give up on. If you can play it in the winter for a deep discount and are fortunate enough to have the excellent weather we did then do not pass it up, otherwise save up and play because it is worth it if even only once.

Played Osprey as part of a winter package with a round on the Ocean Course the next day, so for 2 nights stay and two rounds (Osprey and Ocean) at $250 this was an excellent deal especially considering it was in the upper 60s in January. Course is a very playable design with generous landing areas although if your driver is a little off there is some water and OB that can cause trouble. Greens are pretty small but the course is short so this is expected, and they rolled very true. Excellent shape from tee to green especially for January. Osprey Point makes for a very enjoyable round and even if you don’t play well provides some fantastic scenery and wildlife including alligators.

This course isn’t anything spectacular but is exactly what I was expecting. For only $19 this is a fun course especially the front which is very playable and was designed by Donald Ross. The back is a little more interesting as it winds through a hillside neighborhood and has some very unique and borderline goofy holes. Greens rolled very true and were excellent considering, fairways were a little bare and/or muddy in places but the grass was good for December. Overall a decent course for the money and if your expectations are set accordingly can be a very enjoyable round.

This probably the hardest course I have ever played. Prepare for you game to be challenged, and do not make the same mistake I did - choose your tees wisely. The course is long to begin with, especially for a par 71 (played the 6500 yard tees) but the day we played the fairways hadn't been cut in sometime and the were rather wet after some rain making it exceptionally long. That being said this is an excellent golf course with a classic Pete Dye design, tight off the tee with elevated greens that have plenty of undulation and are slick plus plenty of sand around them. The course was in great shape although the fairways needed mowing, but otherwise an excellent course that is well worth the price. I plan to go back and give it another try.

This is a great course for the value, especially on the weekdays after 12pm when it is $30. Not sure I would pay the $45 they are asking for the weekends however, it is a solid design but you can tell the course is past its prime, all in all a good course for the money but don't get too excited.

First off, this is an excellent design, regarded by many as the second best layout in Pinehurst (behind 2). The restoration in 2014 was brilliant and this course is a blast to play. That being said when I played it the course was poor shape, at least for the rate they were asking. The fairways were bare in many spots, and it seemed as though the summer heat plus over-watering had done a number on them. Apart from that and a more concerning issue, they seem to be letting the rough grow back in. After the 2014 restoration all of the rough was removed as was done at No. 2 to return the course to Ross' original design, however now Bermuda rough is beginning to grow back in in many of the natural areas (I played the course in 2014 during the US Open and there was no rough anywhere). In all this is a great course that anyone who hasn't played it should when they get the chance simply because of its remarkable design, but the $175 they are asking in the heat of the summer (and $200+ in the fall) is over-priced given the conditions of the course. If I had not had a special discount I would have been outraged.

Really fun layout, not overly challenging but lots of fun. Fairways and rough were in excellent shape, greens had been aerated and were very slow and sandy but would probably be great otherwise. For $25 on weekday afternoons this course cant be beat.

Course was in great shape after the renovation. The greens were dormant but very smooth, fairways were over seeded and great to play off of. Bunkers were excellent and very playable. Course is a great layout with challenging but fun holes. No bad hole on the course, I can understand why there was a PGA Championship here.

Great gold course, most of it was very fun with some very exciting holes. There were a few that have significant blind shots and seem a little goofy but overall a great layout. Course was overseeded which is always a plus and greens were in excellent shape. Had recently had a lot of rain but seemed to drain very well.