leeD

The ball washers are always empty...always! Almost all the bunkers have no sand in them or they are packed so solid its like hitting off of clay. Some of the greens that were some of the best a year ago have large bare spots in them. The course layout is challenging but things go south before you even tee off. This is a popular course and centrally located in Columbia. As such, particularly on the weekend, it is busy and they pack them in here(the attitude is it's all about the money). The proshop worker is also the starter and because of that once they have your money, groups are free to start off as soon as it is clear to hit so by the 4th or 5th hole it isn't uncommon to have 3 groups on the same hole(one on the green, one in the fairway, and one on the tee waiting to tee off) and a 3 or 4 minute wait between shots ruins your rhythm. There is also no ranger to help speed up play so a 5 hour round is more the rule than the exception. This round my partner and I had to leave after 17 because he had to leave for a family engagement. We arrived an hour before our tee time and hoped to get out early but were paired with another twosome from Golf Now . Even after asking to go off early with another twosome we were told no. They have a policy(supposedly) of no twosomes on the weekend, but one went off two groups in front of us and we saw 3 more twosomes and a single on 17 and 18 as we started the back nine. Most clubs I have played usually go out of their way to make the experience one where you want to come back but I have watched employees almost take glee in refusing a customers request for something simple that most clubs would not even blink at. Oh, if you're military, don't expect to use your military discount on the weekend...it's only good through the week(that money thing again). Don't bring your son or girlfriend to ride in the cart with you either...your gonna pay extra. Too many rules and they are not applied evenly to all.

Pace of play is great...never backed up with tee times spaced nicely. Been playing here off and on for a few years and have never seen the course in bad shape. Greens, fairways, and tee boxes always in great shape. For the golf purest this might be a sin, lol but very few of the bunkers have lips on them. A weekend hacker like myself can putt out of most of them. Arrange your tee time to finish your round at noon and you can hit their lunch buffett that is offered 3 or 4 days a week. Great facility...Shhhhhhhhh, lets keep this place a secret.