BlackLabsRule

I hadn't played Larkin since it was Fox Den when there were no houses lining the first and tenth fairways. That's how long its been. Course was in really good condition (five stars would be a little over the top). Overall its an OK layout with the back being better than the front (holes 6, 7 and 9 are what happens when you run out of real estate but need three more holes to make 18). Overall walked out of there pretty impressed.

Hadn't played Waterford in I can't remember how long and I can only say too bad its a 40+ minutes drive to get there otherwise it would be my go to course. Conditions were as outstanding as you can find at a public course. Well, OK, semi-private.. If you've never played WGC before the course is challenging enough but won't beat you up, i.e., water doesn't really come into play and I wasn't in a bunker all day (unlike Birkdale where I bring a beach chair along.) That's why I gave a "moderate" difficulty rating). They'v put a lot of money into it and it showed. A must play of the public courses around CLT.

Talk about peaks and valleys! Skybrook was a top course when i played it for the first time ~14 years ago, Then it went into steep decline. Now, with the new greens and other upgrades? Its a top public venue once again. I didn't spend anytime in the clubhouse, aside from the pro shop, but I head that's great also. The guy in the pro shop told me Birkdale is going to go thru a similar transformation and I can;t wait since I live 4 miles from there.

And I'm struggling to come up with four more--Verdict Ridge comes to mind and Birkdale SHOULD be on that list. Anyway back to Olde Sycamore.

Olde Syc might be the most private-like public course in Charlotte in terms of layout, landscaping, practice facilities, conditioning and amenities. And while challenging, it doesn't beat you up if your shot is slightly off line or have an overload of forced carries. And from the blue tees the par 3's are manageable with none longer than ~160 yards. Pace of play was fine, albeit it wasn't crowded at the start.

Comment to management: tell the young man in the pro shop at around 2PM yesterday to stop texting and say "Thank You" when a guest pays for their greens fee.

If you haven't played here in a couple of years due to the Carolina Trail travesty, its time to return--Skybrook is back to as good conditions as I ever recall. Greens had been aerated but they still rolled pretty well; tee boxes and fairways were just fine. There is still work to do in a number of places, especially hole #7--there needs to be stairs to get golfers from the high cart path down to the green. One of the better grill rooms around for post-round bite and drink.