Lives
Hilton Head Island
Handicap
10-14
Age
65+
Gender
Male
Skill
Advanced
Plays
A few times a week

Review Statistics

Average Rating

4.0
4.0
Total 5 Reviews

Rating Breakdown

5 Reviews
5 Stars
2
4 Stars
2
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
1
1 Stars
0
Recommended Courses
4
Not Recommended Courses
1
Helpful Votes Count
1
Not Helpful Votes Count
0
First Review
09/10/2014
Last Review
06/22/2018

Reviews Map

Reviews

4.0
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Recommended
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Olde Beau Resort & Golf Club

Played On 06/15/2018
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Spectacular But Frightening

Olde Beau is a contradiction...beautiful, fun, challenging, and at the same time scary, exhausting, and overwhelming! First the positives: the pro and his staff are wonderful. The clubhouse is top notch. The chicken salad in the grill room is worth the trip. The course condition was flawless and the weather that day was perfect.

Now, the negatives: after the third hole, the course becomes too difficult. Unless you are a long-hitting, accurate player, play the green tees i am 72 years old, formerly a low handicapper (3-4) now playing on a 14. I tried to play the course at what seemed to be a reasonable 6,100 yards, but after nine holes moved up to the white tees at 5,700. It was still too hard. Swallow your pride and move up to the 5,200 yard green markers. Also, some cart paths are dangerous. Almost all have incredibly steep grades, and some even had loose gravel. On the second tee I skidded down the path 150 feet. Be careful!

Final analysis: You MUST add this one to your life's list! However, don't expect to play your normal game. There is never a level lie, and you must hit that 70 yard flop shot going straight up far too often. This course will take your breath away, bioth literally and figuratively. It beat me up, but in the end i loved it!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

My Golf Trifecta

I played all three nines (4 1/2 hours total) so will comment on all three. First of all the entire staff outstanding. That includes the pro shop staff, the outside attendants, and the wait staff in the restaurant.

I played alone in the afternoon, with my wife along taking flower pictures and occasionally providing swing tips. We we able to zip around the courses, and played through a total of four groups during the rounds. All three nines were in very good condition. My only "knock" in this area was the beautiful, but SLOW greens. I'd guess them at a 6-7 stimpmeter reading. the greens were large with reasonable breaks, but having to slam the putts kept me from scoring well.

The Forest nine was the most difficult, with significant elevation changes and occasional blind shots. Tree-lined fairways were wide enough, but did present some intimidation anyway. I'd love to play it again to extract some revenge.

The Mountain nine was so named because I could see Mt. Stratton from every hole. It played less mountainous than the Forest nine. The par 5 number 6 hole was a challenge, even from the 545 white tees. I tried a tee ball .through the chute on the 621 yard blue tee, but the second shot "got" me as there is a creek crossing the fairway that threatens the long second shot. This nine was pretty with a good variety of holes.

With the pro's permission I slipped onto the Lake nine. Oddly, the very pretty lake never came into play, and was only visible from 1, 8, and 9, I found this nine to be a bit easier than the other two. The scorecard suggested it to be slightly longer than the other two, but it seemed shorter to me. Perhaps the par three number 7 skewed the yardage, as it played 235 yards. I used driver, a chip and a putt, and was happy with my par. Holes 8 and 9 proved my major challenge, with 8 a long up hill 4 and nine an intimidating first, second, AND third shot par five. My double bogie finish did not detract from a most enjoyable experience.

Prior to the golf, my wife and I ate lunch at the restaurant on site. There was a nice variety of choices on the menu, though all a bit pricey. We paid more for lunch than I paid for 27 holes of golf.

Pardon my wordiness, but there was a lot to experience at Stratton Mountain. I would highly recommend this venue to any golfer, low or high handicapper alike.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging

Mount Snow Golf Club

Played On 07/23/2017
I Recommend This Course
4.0
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

A Nice Day in the Sun

I played alone with my wife along to see the multitude of wildflowers. We had a nice lunch in the restaurant adjacent to the small golf shop. Playing in the p.m. the round was completed in prompt order. The course was in fine condition, with large bent grass greens and large tees. The fairways were ample in width, though some of the severe slopes resulted in straight drives ending up in the (usually left) rough. Having aiming posts on those holes would have helped (notably #s 2, 5, 10, and 16.) The finishing holes were the best. #15 was a 175 yard straight uphill par three, #16 a dogleg left par five that needed a go ahead peak with my cart to see what was happening. My favorite hole was #17, a short risk/reward par four offering a safe landing area to the left, or a big hitter's temptation over a small lake. #18 required two exceptional uphill shots to reach the over-sized green in regulation. Overall I enjoyed the experience, the views of Mt Snow slopes, and the friendly staff. The GolfNow great price made the day a hit! And my botanist wife loved the vegetation!

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging

Sequoyah National Golf Club

Played On 09/10/2014
2.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

A Love-Hate Relationship

First, the positives: This is a fabulous design by RTJones in a breathtaking setting! What other course gives you an unobstructed 360 view of the Great Smokey Mountains, including Clingman's Dome. The course offers spacious fairways, strategic bunkering, and a nice mix of difficult (See #10-Wow!) and easy, birdie opportunity holes. The clubhouse is spartan, yet functional, and the staff is accommodating (as well as apologetic. You'll see.)

Now the negatives: This is the worst conditioned course ever! Before my wife and I teed it up, the pro apologized that aeration had been done that very morning, so the course was chewed up. That made NO difference! After the round was over, the pro admitted that the construction company (an in-house group) laid 1/4 inch of soil over heavy, compacted clay instead of the 6-to-8 inches that had been required. Perhaps in 2009 when the course opened the grass looked OK, but today there is none! We liberally played "winter rules," up to 10' away to find a tuft of something green. It was a sedge, according to my botanist spouse.

I apologize for sounding harsh, but what this facility needs is a three-year hiatus while a real construction company (How about Wadsworth?) comes in to start over. The Cherokee Nation would then have a facility to be proud of, and golfers would flock to Sequoyah National again and again. Until that day, this is not a course to earn a recommendation.

Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Fair

Sapphire National Golf Club

Played On 09/09/2014
I Recommend This Course
4.0
First Time Playing

Good Value Despite the Weather

My wife and I stayed right next door in a timeshare unit for a week, and watched it rain hard every afternoon for 4 days. When we finally played, it was cart path only, a demanding task for one with bad knees. This is a first class layout, unfortunately with an underfunded maintenance budget. Smartly, the money is being spent on the greens, which were excellent. The tees? Not so much. The fairways were behind in their mowing schedule, but were being mowed as we played through. The par 3s were exceptional, varied in length, challenging and picturesque. I am not a big fan of sharply elevated greens, and there were 3 or 4 to contend with. Overall, however, the course was a treat to play. I recommend it to most everyone, though it would probably be too much for a novice. What really would benefit this facility is an investor who'd be willing to fund the maintenance program. One last observation: the E-Z-Go electric golf carts had the best braking system I have ever experienced. That was money well spent.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
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