Bill4516175

Arrived at the course with winds 20 gusting to 35 and intermittent rain. Needless to say I ended up playing by myself and got around in 2.5 hours, with a stop for lunch. Rain ended by the 2 hole, turned out to be a very enjoyable round. Greens were very soft, but still running quick. Fairways were unaffected by the rain. Layout is very interesting, lots of elevation change for a Florida course. Fairways were generous, yet the design still rewarded being able to shape shots and put it in the right part of the fairway. Sand in the bunkers is tour quality. Staff was friendly. But then, I don't think they had anyone else to pay attention to that day.

Great layout. Good condition. Only complaint would be pace of play. Waited in every shot.

First off, this is an amazing track. Elevation changes that you don’t find anywhere else in Florida. There are holes, especially on the front that dont just require a line, but a distance.

However, found the conditions of the greens really poor.

Turned the sprinklers on twice hitting me in the middle of my swing. Mowing around the tee box while I'm teeing off and refusing to pause. The last three holes we had to wait to hit our approach shots while they moved the pin position, at 11am!

Walked it in extreme heat. Will never admit that the heat got to me, but the heat got to me.

Another thing that got to me was the lack of golf etiquette demonstrated, some allowed by management and some encouraged. Greens were torn up with unrepaired ball and spike marks. Yup, clearly saw evidence of someone wearing metal spikes. Some areas of the fairways were scarred with unreplaced divots. Bunkers were concrete. No rakes, so they aren't getting maintained by the players, but also looks like maintenance staff aren't getting out there to groom them either.

After the round, I complained in the pro shop about a group playing loud music and yelling over it on the course. I was informed that they not only allow that, but they encourage it. They even sell Bluetooth speaks for the carts! Call me a traditionalist, but the joy of golf comes from challenging par to the subtle sounds of nature. Party somewhere else.

There's four strains of grass fighting it out on the fairways, which need to be cut badly. Even in the middle of the fairway, you are unlikely to have a lie that allows clean contact on the ball.

Most annoying thing is the starter, who would not tell us which nines we were playing until it was time to go there. No way to chip and put while you are waiting as you'd have to walk 200 yards back to the start and then to your tee and there's no time for that. Also, can't set your GPS app up as he won't tell you your second nine until you turn. I mean, it's a morning tee time, you have your tee sheet. Who's going off what nines should be planned out, not based on some idiot looking to see what tee is open.

Never playing again.

Second time playing and I'm really liking this course.

It's not long or tough off the tee. Good tee shots are still needed though to set up approaches, where the course's real challenges are. There is no way you are going to shoot a good score here without hitting your approaches in the right places, and, most importantly, not missing in the wrong places.

They take pace of play seriously here. We finished as a threesome of mixed walkers and riders in 3h45m, yet still got asked to pick up the pace at one point. I did find that a little annoying. I'm here to shoot a score, not a time.

Also, learned something that I wish the staff had mentioned before my first round. There is a courtesy cart parked behind the 9th green for walkers to use to climb the hill to the 10th tee and return on their way back down. That save a lot of time and was a welcome relief on a hot day.

First, as a purist who always walks when he can, let me declare this course a challenge, but walkable. Three holes where there's a bit of a hike from green to tee and some elevation changes. However, we played during an extreme heat advisory and made it no problem.

Conditioning was excellent, even given the extreme heat. Some fairways were browning, but the greens looked excellent. Hard to even find a blemish to line up a putt with. Conditions were very firm and fast. This is a course where you have to place your drive and your approaches, at least in the conditions we were playing in.

You can tick all the boxes for a players course. You'll use every club in your bag, strategy is required off the tees and on the approaches. It doesn't feel overly difficult, yet is resistent to going low.

Can't wait to get out here again now that I know where to place drives and how to approach greens.

I am a purist who will always walk if it's allowed and often steer clear of courses where it's not. The added benefit here is I was able to find an online deal to walk that was less than half the regular riding rate. Another benefit is the workout. There's a lot more up and down than may be apparent from the parking lot. There's also a lot more water then we were expecting. If you, like my playing partner, have a water carry phobia, bring lots of balls.

Course conditions are near perfect. Bring either local knowledge or a GPS map aid. Many holes are blind. Pace was quick on a weekday morning.

If I had to find one thing to be critical about, it was that it was often difficult to find a level spot on the teeing boxes. Not enough to stop me coming back, but just one of the little things that would move this from a great local course to a destination.