birchaspen

This was my first time playing Gatlinburg GC. The location is perfect as well as the scenery..

The course was in good shape but be forewarned, nearly half of the holes are cart path only which makes mountain-style more challenging. They really need a ranger to move things along. It took an hour to play the first 3 holes and when we made the turn there were two other groups on the #10 tee box and another group was playing their second shot. The round in total took 4 hours and 50 minutes. VERY SLOW .

I was fortunate to get out ahead of my scheduled tee time and slotted into the third time of the day.

I marked the pace of play at 4 hours even though I finished in under 3.5. This is based on experience when playing here.

This is not a "grip it and rip it" course with the exception of a couple of holes. Lots of water, brush, and some well placed trees make this enjoyable and challenging.

There are some washout areas due to recent flooding so the fairways and greens are spotty in places. That is unavoidable.

Staff is cordial and I feel the price for the value is worth it.

Ever since moving to the Jacksonville area I have found it hard pressed to locate a course that you could walk as a standard. Palm Valley fills the bill there.

Granted, this is an executive course but don't be fooled. There is a lot of water that comes into play and some of the holes are a bit tight width-wise.

The greens are recovering from a very wet June so they are spotty. No different than some of the 18-hole courses in the area. That comes with the territory. Pace of play for a single is right around an hour if the course isn't busy. It is a great place for beginners so be prepared.

I had an opportunity to take in the course's unlimited golf special so I booked an early tee time. Pro shop staff were friendly but the cart crew and starter were less than forthcoming and clueless at times. I was playing as a single and the starter had already sent out the group I was to be paired with even though I was there early enough. We scrambled to the first tee and after much internal debate, the starter pair me with another single two times later.

The course is tight and challenging. Water sneaks up on you on the first hole and throughout the course. Greens were in great shape and the pace of play was less than 4 hours.

I was able to complete my first round in about 3:40 and was able to work myself into the next 18 around noon. The only difficulty I ran into was a bachelor party outing where the two groups combined and started playing as a 7-some. Thankfully they let me play through but I did not see a ranger at all during the day to manage the pace of play. I also was disappointed that there was no beverage cart.

All-in-all it was a good day with only a few hiccups