davidbebee

Really enjoyed the golf game with my son. Usually is a three hour round but was a little slow in places because many out due to record heat today.

Played golf here in the afternoon giving the course time to dry out from last week ends rains and apparently the rain the week before. It was cart path only on a few holes but this definitely slowed up play. We played in 4 hours and 41 minutes including waiting for 23 minutes on the tenth tee!
I like the course layout and some day will likely golf here again for the value golf I chose to spend.
Had fun within our group but rough conditions made the golf difficult.

As a single I was paired with a Marriott Grande Vista Client a father and son from Maryland, USA, and a fellow "B" from Missouri for the first nine. The course is in almost perfect condition with the greens sanded or top dressed recently .We were told that the greens were putting a 11 to 11.5 on the stimp meter but will get even faster as the son warms them up. We found they putted very true but you had to ensure that your golf ball was clean to not get the sand between the putter and the ball. The sand had no impact on the putt-ability.
At the turn, the father and son left and we carried on for the "back nine" playing from the "tips" which was only about 4800- 4900 yards. We found some challenge was the water hazards but maneuvered them well. It started to slow down with two groups on the 3rd tee, our 12th, so was asked the twosome behind us if they would like to join us for the rest of the nine and they excepted as long as it was alright with us if they spend a couple moments on each shot for video taping and instruction, no problem!

All I can say is WOW! They had never golfed here before and the you lady "V" I will call her had just turned 12 years old and she was golfing with her PGA Teaching instructor. The Gentlemen instructor and young lady both live in China, currently. I tell you the truth, this young lady will be on the ladies tour somewhere in the world in the future. She was hitting it past us (and I shot a 70 for 18 holes) but moreover, the teaching instructor who is originally from Orlando, was teaching her the mental side of course management and how she felt before striking the ball to manage around. She was an excellent putter too. I was so cool to see.
I told her to have fun, spend at least 50 percent or more of your time on chipping and putting as that can really save a decent game. Her instructor advised us that she has already shot a 65 in a tournament situation which is great.
What a treat to golf with especially with the fellow golfers. I was wishing I could have gotten the young ladies autograph, I am serious, she is that good. Being from Canada with a short golf season, I am recently retired and will be back here again.

To "V" if you read this article, if the PGA pro could forward this to her, (Or Golf Now, someone at the course for sure knows who I am referring to) , I just want to say to "V", listen carefully to your instructor, have fun and show you are the strong person even if you have a bad shot. Know that with a swing like you are developing, stay strong, true to yourself and get lots of tournament experience.
All the Best in Your Future Endeavors
D. Bebee
Durham Region, Ontario, Canada

Golfed today as the sun was rising, playing for the first time. We were told about the 90 degree cart rule and stay on the paths for all par threes which is good. The greens were putting at about 11.0 to 11.5 as the sun warmed things up, perfect. The greens apparently are Zoysia ( I may have my spelling off here) and they are apparently only 4 months old! The greens today had recently been top-dressed and cleaning the sand off the ball was a must to not get it between the putter and the ball. The greens putted very smoothly and true but need water to soak in the sand. Had a couple high shots not wanting to stop well on the green. This course is a must play due to the following:
1) Great course conditions
2) Quick greens
3) Best practice area for most courses
4) Nice layout and not too difficult
5) You need to stripe a couple from the "tips" to get to the back pin on number nine as the wind was in your face.
Lastly, I played as a single joining three others for nine holes and two of us went around again for 18. As we got to the third hole (Our 12th) we asked the two behind us to join us as it was starting to get busy. We were joined by a PGA Pro teaching a 12 year student from China and WOW! What a pleasure to play with "V" and the pro ( I will not use her name). Neither had played here before as we hadn't either and the young girl is going to go far on the LPGA or whatever ladies tour she plays. She can really play and is receiving excellent instruction shot by shot. I thought of getting an autograph. We were told that she has shot 65 in tournament conditions. Best of luck to you in your endeavors "V".
I did better than usual for me today shooting a 70 on this course. I think that is 5 over par but really never checked.
Best wishes from Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Played here today and had a great time. Its always nice to putt on freshly cut greens! Even the sand traps had all been groomed and I know as I was in three of them. I still find a new obstruction if you get too close to one side of the fairway on a couple dog leg holes you have to keep it low under a branch or work the ball around a tree.

First time player here. Joined the three others for a good time. This course had VERY slow greens, were shaggy today and I expect were a week since they were last cut at least. We were a foursome and let the twosome play through us. We had a talk with them and they advised they play here regularly and they advised the pin placements were the same position for the last week.
Just needs some gas in the mower and someone to cut the green probably a 5 on the stimp meter. The green fee rate was good and the pro shop staff were wonderful. Please realize that this is now a nine hole course and you play different tees for each nine. Not sure I will travel the hour to get there again. There are no rakes on the carts or in the traps. Very unique course where the golf ball has to travels over top and across an operating water ski school. This is a first , I have never seen a sign on a golf course that states "All golfers are liable for damages to boats and or injuries to skiers, Please use caution". Overall I give the course a 3 star out of 5 rating.

I played here again and enjoy the improvements to the course, especially the greens. They are moderately slow but putt true and smooth. I am going to be going here again on Feb 2.

Played Kissimmee Bay course again due to its economical value. We have to drive 40 minutes each was to achieve the lower green fee. First hole has some wet spots in the fairway and rough, but generally there are some positives to playing here. had a good time playing with other avid players on the hot deal.

I have played here a few times (Less tan 5) pre-covid period and today was by far the best condition I have seen it. The greens are moderate but very smooth and a real pleasure to putt. There was the odd spot of "winter weathering" but by far MUCH better than the last times I played here. The course offers some hot deals for a slightly reduced rate if you take the tee off that they offer but that's the price. Most of all I really enjoyed golfing with a retired USA Army gentlemen from Maryland. We had a good time, his first game at Kissimmee Bay so I felt I had to assist where I could. We both shot in the low 80's but messed up the last par 4 into a strengthening south wind and we both miss-clubbed. I have another friend coming down from Canada next week and we will definitely be back. It is about a 40 minute drive from where we are staying but worth the drive. Well done to the management and course staff for the improvements to the course. Lastly, although we didn't hit any range balls today, the driving range is an aqua range where the balls land in the pond and are eventually picked up by boat. Quite unique.

I played as a single and joined a father and son on the first tee. We had a real nice time. We waited as a threesome on every hole for the four seniors each with their own cart. The pace of play was four hours and twenty minutes. I don't know how many people were in front of the seniors but I did see a marshall a couple times so I assume he was monitoring things. Overall the greens mostly held well and conditions elsewhere were average. I think overall I got some exercise, enjoyed the company I golfed with, had some good holes but I didn't know the direction to hit on a couple of front nine holes. It was my first time golfing here shot a 81 which is average for me score wise. More importantly, it was a beautiful day which hopefully we will have more of before the snow flies. I should come back soon and try the lower course.

This course has suffered from a long period of hot dry weather. The greens were good and tees OK. But most fairways were hard to hit due to the hard ground, inability to water them but concentrating on watering greens and tees. I think that additional water wells are needed for fairway watering because it was hard to hit at some locations. The back and front nines are reversed this year to make it easier to have staff close to the pro shop, facility and entrance area we people come in. You should consider making this a permanent change in my view. Starting with a short par five is better than a hard par 4. I enjoyed the company of a family that I joined.

My son and I played here this afternoon. Pace of play was a little slow but I don't understand why the course doesn't pair twosomes or groups on the first hole to speed up play. There were back to back to back twosomes all waiting for a couple foursomes ahead. The marshall asked how things were but we just put up with it. We putted for five minutes on most greens while waiting , two groups were still on the eleventh tee for example. Found the greens slow but green some held a good shot with some roll out but acceptable in a heat spell. The fairways were cracking with many brown dead grass which I understand with only limited water which is clearly used only on the greens. All in all my son scored a 86 and I had a 67 for 18 holes and I found that I played to position my tee shots rather than hammer a long drive to the short par 4's where there can be trouble if you are too close or not straight. Kind of a fun course for a good player to just have some fun.

I played with another Golf Now Player who the course paired us together. We played from the Blue tees and found a good enough challenge from there. We both shot in the low to mid 80's which was OK for us mid 60s age players who last played here about ten years ago. I wish the course was a little closer to home. This is the best course in the Kawartha Lakes area from a variety of layout, course condition, practice facility and enjoyment. The greens are undulating so best to be below the flag rather than above it. The greens were medium speed probably a 9 or 10 on the stimp meter but could be a little faster in my view. I look forward to playing here again. I found a couple of par fours more difficult than the slightly longer par fives. I would give the course at nine for condition, value and enjoyable layout. Some local knowledge will be gained the next time I play here as I shouldn't have tried to cut a couple dog legs too close to the inside corner. The placements were in moderately easy places on the undulating greens. For sure if the greens keeper has a bad night the pin placements could be put in very tricky places especially if the greens were a little faster. This course is well worth the effort to get to.

This course is fun to play as it offers a range of golf shots on each hole. This course has an Ontario Golf Association rating of 65 from the blue tees where I played, but there is no slope rating. The greens were good but requires a run up approach as some greens don't hold well (32C while playing with light winds and sun today). Two things that I would suggest is:
1) There needs to be some signage mainly on the back nine (North Course holes 10 to 18) as to where the next tee is, especially from the 11th green to 12th tee and from the 16th to 17th as the 18th tee is behind the 16th green and realized I was about to play the wrong hole.
2) The course has been redeveloped since the new club house was built a few years ago, however the holes are completely in a different order and your garmin distances will not work now, For example the current 8th and 9th holes were formerly the first and second holes. (So I took off the Garmin and played some old school golf).
Lastly, I am on a fitness program choice now and always walk, but the distance from the ninth green to the tenth is a good 15 minute brisk walk. So be prepared for the group behind you to pass you if you are walking to the tenth tee.
Ultimately, I scored pretty well in the mid 70s, enjoyed golfing with two different couples as the first couple played the south front nine twice and I learned that at 82 and 90 years old the lovely couple I played the north nine are truly inspiring.

The club house needs an update to todays standards. I golfed with a regular player at this course who advised that the course went through a bankruptcy a few years ago and is majority owned by the owner of Westgate properties, David Seigel.
I enjoyed the layout but I didn't know where to hit on a couple holes. The greens held the ball nicely and putted well.

Really enjoyed the great course layout but the sand covered greens really impacted the enjoyment. I know this is part of normal course maintenance but there should be away of making this known before booking. Then at least you could decide to play now or wait for another time.
Played golf with two really long hitters 300 yards plus were normal drives one guy hit his second shot with an iron onto the par five green and made eagle.The driving range which I used before the game was amazing as to its size. I understand is the largest range in the state and I believe it. Its always hard to play a course the first time but I made a par on the number one stroke hole and made some good shots. The fourth member was from Newcastle England and his wife drove the cart. They were fun. We had a perfect day to golf but the greens were tricky to putt on due to the sand. I think the greens need a good "switch" to embed the sand and then a heavy watering to get it to soak in. Next time we come to Florida I would love to return again to play this course again.

Descent course for the value. Several greens were topdressed. There was no mention at the proshop in advance. A little ticked off about that but I didn’t complain in the proshop. I am rusty after rescently completed chemotherapy. I will be back here next week. Maybe the forecasted rain will soak in the sand. They have several different tee selections five in all for all different levels. I think I am going to move up a deck from the blues for better enjoyment.

I played 18 holes twice last week playing all three nines. The staff and course are a pleasure.Two frost delays was a suprise for Tuscon (My lack of local weather here). A real target golf course quite difficult if you play the tips or tees in front of them. The bermuda rough is dormont at this time. The fairways, tees and greens are impecible, greens are very quick. I have to admit that if it wasn't for golfnow.com, I wouldn't have played here due to the high greenfees charged.