GO24GO

Before anything is said, one has to understand the obvious land constraints when this course was built. About 1/2 of the holes are simply quirky/dumb and there's no other way to say it. The course conditions are poor except for the greens which I thought were pretty good for a muni. It's golf in the LA area where the choices can be few for out of towners. It was quite cold for our 7:00 am start, but pretty nice by the turn. We had fun, but if you have other options and want to play something that resembles a typical golf course, this place ain't it.

Having played a lot of golf in Florida, you will be hard pressed to find another course as interesting as legacy. That said, the fairways really need some grass. Tight lies are of course normal in the south, but things are a little thin right now at legacy.

There's nothing inherently wrong with the track, but man it's in bad shape.

When work let's us get away, my son and I have been playing Legacy during the winter months for over 10 years. Today it was in the best shape I've ever seen it. There was even grass on the driving range (that truly was shocking). I've always thought the course design is great and for now anyway, the conditions allow you to not get distracted with bad lies, dead areas on the greens, hard pan on the fairway, etc.

My son and I played and had a lot of fun. The course is nice and despite the many lakes, is forgiving off the tee. If they speed the greens up, one could get faced with some nearly impossible putts. I don't understand the desire to build courses with undulations so dramatic grass struggles to grow in some spots Staff was great. We'll go back.

A fun course with a few holes on the back 9 being pretty memorable (11 is very pretty and the closing 3 holes are fun). They had just aerated the greens which while completely understandable, diminished the experience a bit. Off the fairways, things could get a little patchy/rocky. Some of the bunkers need sand - I fear they've overdone the number of bunkers and may not be keeping up with maintenance on those. While not important to the golf game itself, the cart paths were in pretty poor condition - you'll blow a tire in a few spots if you don't pay attention.

My son and I have played Esplanade about 10 times. We frequently comment that it is expensive, but the course is always nice and pace of play pretty good. Today was the worst shape I've ever seen the course in. It is Feb and perhaps that's part of the issue, but having played a few other area courses, it just didn't seem like there was a lot of grass on the course. After playing the 3rd hole - a par 3 - a ranger drove up and asked us to pick up our pace of play....errr, that would be fine except we waited about 3 min to tee off on that VERY hole. I don't mind being told to keep up or whatever, but at least be aware of what's going on in front of us. If the green fees were $40 less, I would give a higher rating. I should also add one other thing: they have put GPS maps in the carts; you would think that a good thing, but they are OBNOXIOUS. Limits are placed on where you can drive around the greens (which is truly fine, but these are pretty expansive limits) and they chime at you about everything including a few advertisements. We got to where when the dumb thing chimed, we didn't even look at it.

I play this course fairly regularly over the Christmas and Spring Break holidays. Over the past 4 months, the course conditions have gradually improved to the point where now it's pretty good. The tee boxes and fairways are really nice. The greens are good with some spotty areas and now at least roll around a 10. I'll be back for sure.

Sarasota/Bradenton has a host of new golf courses and The River Club is going to be one of the resultant casualties. The golf course is clearly struggling financially and has made the decision to let everything go except the putting greens. Simply put, tee to green, it's goat track. The greens though are ok and the course layout is fine. The staff in every instance was cordial and friendly to my buddies and I. For what it cost, there are better choices.

Played the course once in Nov and was soooo disappointed in the greens - they were AWFUL. I love the course layout and am very happy to report the greens are much improved - not perfect but now for sure playable. The course layout is superb and you get shots and views here that I've not seen on any other FL golf course.

This course is always dependable... in good shape and the first 18 fun to play. Staff is friendly.

Hadn't played Waterlefe for a few years - I felt the conditions were consistently deteriorating and thus not worth the $. However, in Feb 2013 I found the course in nice shape including the greens. If it stays in this condition, I will definitely go back. The guys in the pro shop were very nice.

If you want to see what happens when an entire real estate plan goes terribly wrong, go play Sarasota National. The surroundings are depressing as is the course. I agree with other reviewers regarding the greens - very, very good. But, it strikes me that's the only thing the owners have $ to spend for. The rest of the course is in very average to poor condition. I should point out I'm not a fan of these big "monument" type tracks. I don't get the desire to see just how big we can make fairways, bunkers and greens. If you want character, go play University Park or Legacy.

This is the best public course in the Bradenton/Sarasota area. The 1st 5 holes are VERY entertaining and the remaining 13 are fun as well. This is not just another vanilla FL course. Played 4 times the 1st week of Jan 2013. Course is in nice shape. Bear in mind, it's not an immaculate private course but for moderate green fee which includes cart, this track is well worth it (bring your camera).

The best thing about this place are the practice facilities. The range is aqua, but the chipping and putting areas are very good. The course is one of those places that feel like somebody wanted to build a monument. Everything is BIG - the greens, the bunkers, the fairways, etc. Played Jan 1, 2013 and the fairways, tees and bunkers were in good shape. The greens were not - almost seems like there's no grass growing. Best public golf in the area remains Legacy or University Park.