zipkid0813

We had read that it has been called the top public course in NJ, so we had to give it a try. It was nice enough (very well maintained), but the layout was a little disappointing--apart from a series of three on the front nine that surrounded the lake, the rest seemed very similar with no real standouts.

What keeps this review from being a 5 star was the presence of one very rude ranger. Twice on the front nine he came up to our group (roaring up in his cart while I was mid-putt, by the way) to tell us we were falling behind. While I have no problem with rangers trying to keep pace of play, the group behind us was an entire hole back, so it was not like we were keeping anyone from playing through. Additionally, his rationale for accosting us was that we had fallen behind the group in front of us. Well, the group in front of us was a two-some! Of course the two-some is going to play faster than the foursome! To cap it off, he then followed us for about 5 holes (always staying about a shot length's behind us). Very frustrating. It's a shame, because the rest of the staff was very friendly.

What a great course! Even though it poured all week leading up to our round, the course drained well and the conditions were very good. The course is a beautiful layout, with lots of environmental areas on almost every hole. I also liked that there five par fives and five par threes, it made it so that each hole seemed different than the one before it: no stretch of 4 straight, similar par fours like you may find at other courses.

Overall a wonderful course and well deserving of its reputation as one of the top public courses in the state!

First time playing Finley, and very happy about it! As a Duke student, I normally play the WaDuke, but when I saw a deal for Finley I jumped on it. Although the course was completely brown, I attribute that to the late winter we had down here in Carolina and to no fault of the Finley staff. Even though everything was brown, you could still see the course has a great layout and great bones. I thought it was a great mix of challenging shots (on many holes, if your approach shot is on the wrong tier or, worse, misses the green entirely, forget about par) but also had foregiveability that the WaDuke lacks. Greens, though marked a bit, still rolled quick and true. Overall a really great course.

This was my second time playing Umstead, and I've enjoyed it both times. Not a particularly difficult track, but fairly well manicured for a public course - and for a $19 golfnow hot deal, it can't be beat!

A few minor complaints - some holes have fairly long distances between them, which would make it tough to walk. Also, some of the holes are gimmicky - 18 comes to mind which is a long par 3 completely over water with no bailout area. If your long-irons aren't working, be prepared to bring a few extra balls!

The only thing keeping me from giving this course a 5-star was the 5+ hour round. Otherwise, the course was in great shape and provided a nice challenge for all the clubs in the bag.

The course itself was very nice - well kept with a good amount of character. We particularly enjoyed Quarry, which provided some nice views and interesting holes through the gorge.

The experience left some to be desired. First the clubhouse and the old Playboy hotels are complete eyesores that need to be torn down. Next, the course was hosting a tournament that morning, which led to not only a very slow (5.5 hour) round, but also led to the starters being almost 45 minutes behind schedule. This was exacerbated by the fact that even though we booked a 3:03 teetime, the course had us scheduled at a later time. Don't know why they put other groups in front of us. Though they gave us a raincheck for a future round, so that was nice of them.

The course was in terrible shape. The tee boxes were uneven and more dirt than grass. The bunkers were so bad that I just took my ball out as opposed to ruining my club by swinging in rocks.

The "marshalls" were also unfriendly. First, the starter tried to tell me I could only play 9 holes (even though the golfnow booking was for 18) because there was some league play about to start. Eventually they agreed to actually let me play the deal I booked! Next, when I caught up to the group in front of me, the marshall came over and seemed upset at me that I would have the nerve to want to play through!

The only reason this gets a two start instead of a one star is because I had a hot deal for $10. Playing any golf for $10 is ok, but any more is way too much for this course.

Nice, solid course. Played by myself and got around in 2.5 hours. Course wasn't particularly difficult - definitely more target golf than many courses in the Triangle (big hitters will only be hitting driver on a small number of holes). One complaint is that there were many leaves on the fairway. I know this is fall golf, and some leaves are unavoidable - but I lost a ball on a fairway that went right into a pile of leaves and I couldn't find it! That shouldn't happen!

I was able to book this course with a GolfNow Hotdeal for $12.00. For that price, can any course really be bad? Even so, this was a pleasant course. There are just enough variety between the holes to keep things interesting - especially once you get into the Golds and can get some elevation changes. The greens had recently been aerated (guess that explains the low price), but otherwise it was in fine condition.

There wasn't much of a ranger presence on the course, but I guess that's expected for a county course.

If you can find a similar deal, Flanders is a great value for your money.