geeman1082

We have our favorites when visiting Orange Beach, but we like to try a different course now and then, and this trip we decided to try Perdido Bay (due in no small part to the GN hot deal).

Course was not busy at all at mid-day on Dec 20, which was a good thing because we got paired up with a fun twosome from Pensacola and all four of us struggled to keep the ball in play from time to time, so the round took longer than it should have.

Layout is not super tight, but there are lots of opportunities to get in trouble with stray shots (left, right, short, or long), and we hadn't played in over a month so we found some of that trouble.

Greens rolled well, they were firm but they held full shots and long pitch shots. Fairways were spotty but playable. They were in the process of overseeding the tees so some markers were moved up and others were moved back, making the course play a good bit differently than what was shown on the card.

Staff was friendly, and the GPS on the carts was useful enough that I rarely had to get out the laser.

This didn't jump up onto our short list, but all in all, it's a good course to play, especially with a hot deal.

We played as a twosome, behind a twosome that was following a foursome, but the pace was fine and we finished in under 4 hrs.

Enjoyed the layout, the staff was all very friendly, and after a rather chilly start it turned out to be a beautiful day.

A few weeds on the greens (which we saw at Gulf Shores also), and a few bare areas and hard tee boxes, but overall the course was in good shape. The greens held shots well and rolled pretty nicely for the most part. The course is short, and not terribly punitive, but many of the greens are small so bring your accurate iron game!

This one is on my short list for future visits.

Teed off at 0750 on a picture perfect day to play golf. Saw very few other people the whole round, took our our time and really enjoyed being out on such a gorgeous fall day.

The fairways are tight and the greens were firm. Many of the greens had weeds, especially out toward the edges and in the fringe, but that rarely bothered our putts. All the staff we encountered were very friendly and helpful.

Definitely worth a play, especially if you can get a hot deal.

My sister and I played here on a Wednesday in mid November. We had fabulous weather, the staff was all very friendly, and the course conditions were excellent.

The bottom line: I've only played a handful of courses in the area, but Cypress Bend just jumped to the top of the list.

The starter sent us off the back because we were a twosome and he said we'd have an open course most of the way, and he was spot on. We didn't play well, and we paused frequently to enjoy the nice views or snap a picture, so it took us about 3.5 hrs to play, and we never had another group ahead of or behind us.

The greens rolled a bit like the bent and bermuda greens back in Iowa and Missouri, but the layer was so thick that even full shots left only minor dents, making repair much easier than back home. Still, most shots held very well. And they have 5 pin positions here, which they can do because of the large greens with interesting shapes. We had several very long putts, but they rolled very true and once we got the feel we were able to dial in the speed pretty well.

The fairways are tight, but not excessively so. The bunkers are the local white sand, but the fluffy sand is fairly shallow so you won't want to take huge swings in the greenside traps.

The pro shop is well stocked, and is staffed by friendly folks.

I'll be back!

Played here with my sister. Neither of us had played in a month and the rust really showed, so this was a good place for our first round of the week. A good test of golf without being overly penal, and we enjoyed it, especially because we caught perfect weather.

Let me state that I haven't played in S Alabama enough to have much for comparison, but here are my comments.

Extremely tight fairways. Fabulously fluffy bunkers (local sand), very strategically placed. Fairly quick greens with a few weeds and an amazingly thick top layer, so even full shots left only a small dent and didn't stop as quickly as we're used to. And enough water to catch stray shots.

If you hit the ball where you're aiming most of the time and keep the ball below the hole you will score well. If you sometimes spray the ball like I do, you can make some big numbers.

Arrived in NMB too late Sunday night to book the times at a kiosk, so searched reviews on GN and decided that this would be a good course for my first round of the season.

Staff were all very friendly, and the starter sent me off the back as a single, so I was able to play my first 10 holes unimpeded. It then slowed down considerably, but I still finished in less than 3.5 hrs.

The greens were a bit slow, and I found them difficult to read accurately.

The course is very playable, which was a big reason why I selected it. I was able to spray a few shots, hit a few thin, and a few fat, without huge penalties. It's also very close to one of the golf superstores, which was convenient.

All in all, it was a good way to start off my season and my week on MB!

I first played Veenker in the 70s ... the year before the big make-over that put everything on the north side of the tracks ... as a young attendee at the ISU golf camp. I later went to ISU for college and played Veenker many times during those four years. Since then, I've only been able to play it every few years when I'm back in the area, and I always enjoy it.

Veenker is an enigma. You'll have to play target golf on many holes, but you'll be able to swing from your heels on others. There are huge greens and small greens ... greens that will suck back from the initial impact, and greens that will take a big first hop. There are holes lined with old timber, and holes with trees that were newly planted since the 70s. You don't have to hit it long here to play well, but if you do hit it long you will be able to take advantage of a couple of the par 5s down the flats.

On this particular day, the pace of play was awful. It took nearly 5 hours to finish the round, which seemed even slower because the 3 college kids I was playing with only played the front nine.

Aside from that, it was a gorgeous (albeit quite warm for late September in central IA) day, and the course was in very good condition. I played the ball down all day, and only had a couple instances of mud on the ball, neither of which noticeably affected my shot.

It sounds like a cliche, but I used every club in my bag during this round ... in fact, I'm pretty sure I used every club (except maybe the 7 iron) at least twice.

The clubhouse is small, but decent ... you can get a beverage, a snack, or a hot dog ... and the practice facilities are excellent.

Veenker is a good test of golf. If you're in the area, give it try, you'll be glad you did.

EK has a local reputation of being "too hard". The good news is that, aside from the prime/peak times, it's often easy to get off when you want to play 18. And they recently lowered their rates about $10, which is welcome to those of us who are local and like to play there (but can't get out there often enough to justify a season pass).

The course is indeed challenging, especially on those days when I can't hit it reasonably straight, but in recent years they have worked hard to make it more playable, including mowing areas under the trees that used to be wild growth, given golfers a chance to punch out and keep playing instead of dropping or returning to the previous spot to hit another. This has had the intended affect without reducing the true challenges of the course.

The fairways are fairly tight, and present the ball as if on a carpet for iron shots. The rough is not watered, and will therefore vary depending on the amount of rain that has fallen over the past month (i.e., this year it is very thick and punishing, but most years it has dried out by now and isn't so bad). The greens hold full shots well, and can be very quick (especially when they mow/roll them extra short) so you'll want to stay below the hole on many greens if possible.

There are a number of "target golf" holes, tiered greens, changes in elevation (especially on 3 of the par 3s), and risk-reward decisions. This is not a course that you will figure out in a few visits, and you'll enjoy coming back.

I've played this course, on average, about once a year since shortly after it opened. I group it with similarly-designed "tourist courses" that I have played over the years ... nice conditions, attractive, and not too difficult.

As long as you don't spray the ball too far offline, you can score well on this course, although it offers enough interesting challenges to keep you on your toes ... a multi-level green on a short par 3 over water ... a short dogleg par 4 that requires accurate length off the tee for an open second shot ... holes that bend both left and right, and to varying degrees.

However, if you DO spray the ball, you stand to lose a lot of golf balls ... there are a few ponds and such, but the primary danger is the tall links-style fescue grass that borders and separates many of the holes ... if you hit into that, you had better have a very accurate reference point if you want to find the ball ... and you'll want to hit a provisional, because those areas are not hazards.

All it all, it's worth a bit longer trip than I usually am willing to make to play a round of golf, and I'll keep visiting as long as they keep it that way.

Note: there was a mix-up the last time we (my son and I) played ... the person in the clubhouse sent us off #1 at 10:30am without telling us that we needed to be off #18 tee by 2pm due to a shotgun start that would use 1, 18, 17, 16, etc. (i.e., they probably should have sent us off #10). Another employee told us about it at the turn, so we kept up our pace until we ran into a fivesome on 15, but fortunately we were able to hit our tee shots on 18 at precisely 2pm and finished without incident.