Sunshineth

My wife and I live in The Villages. From Jan-Mar it's very difficult to get tee times. So we go "off-campus" and try other courses in the area. We found Ocala to be a comfortable alternative for us. Not too difficult; not too easy. Let's just say it hit the spot. Now that we've played the course, it will not be as much of a challenge the next time.

I can live with the first two holes being shut down after all of the rain that we've had recently. But it looks like the course hasn't been touched by a mower or weed n' feed this year. The fairway grass was bushy and most of the rough was laced with dandelions that have gone to seed (making ball retrieval pretty tough.

All that I can say is that it met my purpose for the day in being able to get in a few swings. No more.

A/N is the home to the Arizona Wildcats golf team. It's a beautiful desert course with awesome southwestern vistas and wildlife. Since this trip was our first attempt at desert golf, my wife and I were pleased with the "play-ability" of the courses. The fairways were generally fair and the greens were well manicured with honest reads. While the front nine was fairly open, mystery and thrills greeted us at the tenth tee. As quick as we could make the turn, we were faced with blind shot after blind shot. Since it was also the first time at this course for the couple who played with us, there was alot more ball searching on the back nine. Even though we were lost, we still enjoyed the day.

Unfortunately, my wife and I played this course on an October day after some torrential rain. The combination of soggy turf, lotsa soft wet turf, wind, and a whole lotta fallen leaves made for a very frustrating day......so frustrating that we called it quits after 14 holes. And thanks to the rain, the fairways were not fairways. They hadn't been mowed in a while. I don't blame the course...we probably shouldn't have been out there in the first place. When we pulled into the parking lot a short time after 11 AM, there were no cars (as in zero) in the parking lot. That should have told us something. But since we booked with GN, we were obligated.

I've only played this course one other time and I remember it as a nice place to spend an afternoon. Yesterday wasn't that day.

In all honesty, you can't beat the deal that my wife and I had on Sunday. We drove down to the Golftoberfest at Lakeview Resort in Morgantown, WV on a beautiful autumn afternoon. The forecast was for showers, but we never had any. Other than losing balls in the rough and woods because of falling leaves (it is autumn, after all), the course was very well maintained. Our only real problem was the threesome of older gentlemen that we were following. Either they didn't have a clue about golf course etiquette, or they just didn't care. They played "golf by committee," where they all went to the ball being played, rather than getting ready to hit the next shot. By the end of the round, there were well over two holes between them and the group in front of them. We waited on almost every shot and our round took about 5 hours. The only reason that I bring this up is that Lakeview does not employ rangers......something they should consider.
But if you're in the neighborhood, you'll get a round of golf on a really nice course, a bowl of chili, any sandwich off of the menu and a glass of beer for just $39.95.

A friend of mine once told me that the first time that you play a course adds 10 strokes to your game. While the War Admiral course is beautiful and well maintained, there was more than one occasion where my wife and I didn't have a clue where our next shot would wind up. As a result we lost quite a few balls after we thought we hit great shots. Through it all, we both thoroughly enjoyed our day at W/A. The first 15 holes are in a wooded area. But you come out of the woods for 16 - 18 and the three holes all face into the late afternoon sun. Since we played on a 2:44 HOT DEAL, the last three holes ate us up. They didn't seem to be that tough, but the glare made it so. I would suggest playing W/A earlier in the day. BTW, if you're a horse racing buff, there is a ton of memorabilia on Man O War and War Admiral in the barn/clubhouse.

They have ratings for ski slopes. Maybe they need to have ratings on courses that shouldn't be played by beginners on weekends. While the course is in pretty good shape, we got behind a foursome, who obviously didn't have a lot of experience playing golf. At my best estimate, the group that teed off 9 minutes before them, was a good three holes in front of them at one point. It may have extended from there, but we couldn't see that far. After a call to the clubhouse, the ranger responded. But after consulting the group in front of us, started following our foursome around the course. I guess that you're not supposed to complain at Birdsfoot. I'd much rather be reviewing the course.

On the previous Sunday my wife and I were rained out after 6 holes on the Woodside Course. So we were able to play the Lakeside with a raincheck assisted GolfNow rate. Course is in fine shape. I'm surprised that it wasn't really crowded. But the heat might have had something to do with that. The nice part was that there were plenty of trees to shade us during the stoppages. The course is challenging, yet fair for the average golfer. If one works hard, the course will give you a decent score at the end of the day.
I was extremely happy for my wife, who had her best nine ever on the back nine (quite frankly, she kicked my butt).

Better than average western PA golf course.

Since we first played this course 5 or 6 years ago there have been some modifications. The biggest and best was on hole # 2. The old hole seemed to be an afterthought. There are several bunkers that are being worked on or changed. Right now the are GUR, but should be a big improvement in a few weeks.
It was a nice day and they had several "walk-ons." This led to what was probably the slowest round we've ever played there. But we still got through in about 41/2 hours.

While the course wasn't easy, it was forgiving. My drive has been on the fritz of late and could have gotten me in some problems on other courses. I was able to recover on most of my errant drives. There is certainly enough beach and my wife's "sand-magnets" were in action. With large lips, the traps were harder than normal to escape. Greens were consistent. Of the three courses in HH that we've played this week, our group found it the most user friendly.

About your survey, you need more choices than the three that you give in most categories.

I had a lot of courses to select on this date. I chose this course because it had a lot of tee times available and didn't seem to be too busy. When my wife and I got to the course, it was fairly chaotic. Apparently they had some walk-ons on Sat morning. there were no carts available. Even though we were there about 40 minutes early, we teed off about 10 minutes late.
Play was extremely slow and we did not see a ranger the whole round.
I drink a lot of water during the round. We got in a little after 5 and the clubhouse was being locked up (the hours were listed to 7PM).
I was not permitted into the restroom. The employee who was locking up did not seem to care.
Course was OK, nothing special.

Since my wife and I hadn't played since early November, Stoneybrook West was a nice starting course for 2013. The course was very well maintained and in good condition. It had a fair amount of challenges; yet was forgiving. Staff was extremely hospitable.

A typical western PA golf course with a lot of hills, uphill lies, downhill lies, etc. Not one of my favorite courses in the Pgh eastern suburbs. Most of the year, it's like playing on slate. They're adding some sand traps around a couple of greens. Good local facility when you need to get some holes in without a lot of traveling. We got a Hot Deal, so the price was right. Awesome day in the western PA hills, as colors were at their peak.