Lives
Lakewood Ranch, FL
Handicap
5-9
Age
55-64
Gender
Male
Skill
Advanced
Plays
A few times a week

About

Relatively new to golf in my 40's. Love to play, dedicated to practicing and getting my handicap down to single digits. Bradenton, FL.

Review Statistics

Average Rating

3.7
3.7
Total 23 Reviews

Rating Breakdown

23 Reviews
5 Stars
5
4 Stars
8
3 Stars
9
2 Stars
1
1 Stars
0
Recommended Courses
15
Not Recommended Courses
8
Helpful Votes Count
13
Not Helpful Votes Count
1
First Review
07/14/2013
Last Review
05/07/2023

Reviews Map

Reviews

3.7
Advanced Filters
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First time playing this course
Recommended
Review has

Wellen Park Golf & Country Club

Played On 05/06/2023
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Good and bad, kinda boring

The good: it’s brand new so it’s in beautiful condition and it’s one of the nicer courses you can play for $50. The bad: very poor design and layout. Has two 90 degree dogleg par 4’s and a horseshoe shaped par 5. You can get away with one of those per 18 holes, but not all three. One of those par 4’s you have to hit over trees and carry 205 to land it in the fairway but 220 puts you in the hazard, or lay up left and have 180 to the green. Silly stuff. Weird routing on some of the fairways where good tee shots disappear into penalty areas. Totally forgettable design. It’s been a while since I’ve played a newer course and there wasn’t one memorable hole. If you’re a 10 handicap or better this will be boring golf. It’s like they added a course to a development as an afterthought and had to wedge holes into peoples yards to make it work. Many of the holes you have to drive way back to the tee boxes from the cart path routing. On busy days you’re going to be pulling up blind, right into people teeing off. I don’t know, I just didn’t dig it and wouldn’t play it again. I need something with a little more pizzazz. 25 handicaps will probably love it.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Fair
Friendliness Average
Pace Excellent
Amenities Poor

The Golf Club of Cypress Creek

Played On 04/01/2023
I Recommend This Course
4.0
First Time Playing

Decent course

Got a hot deal so gave it a shot. Decently maintained, staff was friendly. No starter so had to figure out how to find my group since I was a single. No water or ice on the course. Greens were ok, not great but better than most lower priced courses. Layout was fun and interesting. Would play it again.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Fair

Moccasin Wallow Golf Club

Played On 06/09/2021
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Hot weather
Used cart

Older course that seems to be trying to put back in shape

First time playing here. I played it because it was cheap in the AM and there is a reason for that. it's an older and kinda beat up course. Looks like the owners are attempting to improve it and they have a big job ahead of them. Staff was very cordial and professional and they have the pro shop clean and tidy. The greens had been recently punched so it's hard to judge what they are like. Decent Yamaha gas carts. Fairways are not great with lots of invasive grass throughout, tee boxes not great, traps are poor. Layout was OK but there are just too many issues for me to want to play here again. I would rather pay the extra $20 for better conditions. Maybe in a few years it will be better. Unless you are a hacker who only cares about how cheaply you can play, there are better choices.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Fair
Difficulty Moderate

Esplanade at Azario Lakewood Ranch

Played On 02/17/2021
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Windy weather
Used cart

Best new SRQ course

I love this course and have played it 20 times or so. It is FUN to play. Beautiful and perfectly maintained. Excellent short game practice area. Water range. Semi-forgiving off the tee. The greens can be CRAZY if you don't hit it close. Very large and some big undulations and multiple tiers for pin placements. Since it is new, the greens don't hold the ball very well so you need to play a club less on most approaches to allow for the roll out. On front pins that can cause some problems. Once you get to know the greens it is super fun to hit approaches because if you hit the greens in the correct spots the ball feeds right to the hole. Rewards good shot makers and severely punishes misses. You do not want to have 60 foot putts on this course. Putts roll true. Greens are not super fast and you wouldn't want them to be as it would make it almost unplayable...the greens are that crazy.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate

Crescent Oaks Country Club

Played On 09/04/2020
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Hot weather
Used cart

Completely average

An old Florida course that is OK. Not terrible, but forgettable and in average to below average condition. Greens putted OK. Some pretty areas of woods around a couple holes. Met a friend there from out of town and we would pick somewhere else if we had to do it again. Food at restaurant after was good. I live 70 miles away so we took a chance based on reviews. 3 star not 4 star course.

Difficulty Somewhat Challenging

Waterlefe Golf & River Club

Played On 08/31/2019
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played

Always great!

Love Waterlefe. Some people think it’s too hard, but that’s because they can’t control their golf ball. Hit the proper club off the tee and lay up to a good number on the par 5’s and it’s fine. Always great condition and it’s the most beautiful back 9 in town. Nice staff.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent

Rosedale Golf & Country Club

Played On 06/17/2019
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Previously Played

Greens still healing, Don’t play here for another 2-3 weeks

I like Rosedale a lot and have played it many times. This review is just a heads up that the greens are in rough shape from a heavy aeration 10 days ago. I called ahead and pro shop said they had healed nice and were rolling ok. NOT the case. Gonna take a good 2-3 weeks more. Very disappointing and a waste of your time to try and putt on the greens right now.

Conditions Poor
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Esplanade starting to look a little worn

Still in good shape compared to most places, but not the beautiful condition it used to be. Tee boxes getting worn, some weeds creeping in, sparse grass in some places. I wouldn’t pay a premium to play here. It’s worth a hot deal price but anything over $40 and there are better choices. It is super easy and a good course for your ego though. I hit the ball awful and would have been at least 5 strokes higher on any other course in Sarasota.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Fair
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Great layout, awesome condition

This course is great. Always in excellent condition. Very fun layout with just the right amount of challenge. There are some big slopes and different levels to the greens, so hitting the wrong spot is very penalizing on some holes. Greens were perfect. Only downside was they were hosting a tourney that AM and we were forced to play the same 9 twice. Why doesn’t course warn you at booking? That was very disappointing.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Default User Avatar
Commented on 05/07/2019

Thank you for the fantastic review of our golf course. We appreciate you taking the time to leave us such great feedback and hope you will let us know if you ever need anything while you are here. Come back and see us again very soon.

Waterlefe Golf & River Club

Played On 01/07/2019
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Course in great shape, always a tough track

Play here around 5x a year so I know the course. It’s in great shape and the greens are very nice right now. Always a challenging course. Bring extra balls.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good

The Preserve Golf Club

Played On 04/20/2019
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Previously Played

MUCH better than years past

I played here once in 2014 and it was probably the worst conditioned course I had ever played. Horrible everything and I vowed to never be back. 2 weeks ago I was chatting with a couple that I was paired with at another course and they said there was great improvement at the Preserve and they recommended I check it out. Gave it a go yesterday and it is MUCH better. Greens were good and rolled great. Fairways were ok, tee boxes were ok as well. You’re not going to find pristine perfection here, but for an inexpensive blue collar type course, it’s good. Some very cool holes on a fun layout. I play a ton of local GolfNow courses and the greens are better here than they are at Legacy or the front 9 at River Club. Staff was super friendly. I’ll play here again.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Average

The Club at River Wilderness

Played On 11/07/2018
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Disappointing condition

Have played this course around 6-7 times over the last 3 years and the condition has declined a bit. Greens still putt ok, but some sort of invasive grass has started to take root in some of the greens and some of the tee boxes are a bit beat up. Traps are not in great shape either. Not in the best condition heading into the season. Beautiful area and some cool hole designs so it’s unfortunate that I won’t want to play it again soon. Much better options in the area for the $50 we paid.

Conditions Average
Value Poor
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Amenities Good

Legacy Golf Club

Played On 10/02/2018
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played

Renovations look awesome! C’mon back local golfers.

I’ll leave a more in depth review in a couple months when the greens have fully grown in, but the renovations look awesome! This course used to be such a jewel but had fallen into disrepair. So glad to see the owners put the $ into the course to bring it back. If you have been wondering if it’s worth coming back to play, I can definitely say it is. Greens are still slightly sandy, but it had only been reopened 5 days days when I played, so in a month they will be excellent. Tee boxes look great, fairways in great shape, all 18 greens have been dug up and completely redone, and the sand is being replaced in most of the traps (many are already done and are top notch). So good to see this course being put back to great condition. The back 9 is probably my favorite layout in the area and it’s a pleasure to play it with good greens. Clubhouse was also renovated. Kudos to the owners. Local folks, you need to come out and support the course now. The condition merits it and this way they keep the updates going.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Default User Avatar
Commented on 08/26/2019

Jarrett,

Appreciate the review of Legacy Golf Club as the course reopened from the renovations last fall. If you have a moment - shoot me an email at your convenience. jwhittemore2000@gmail.com
Cheers,
Jon Whittemore

Default User Avatar
Commented on 11/11/2018

jarrett3112794,

So happy to hear that you've been able to come out to enjoy Legacy's renovated Greens, Bunkers, Clubhouse, Bridges and Landscaping. We were certainly hopeful that the nearly $1M spent to polish up Legacy this summer would be welcomed by our local golfers (and seasonal residents alike) and get these kinds of responses. Hope to see you more often as the weather turns even nicer. Enjoy. And thanks again.

Streamsong Resort - Blue Course

Played On 09/23/2018
3.0
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart

Nice but not spectacular

Second time playing Blue. It's a beautiful resort and set up out there at Streamsong, but I was not that thrilled with the course this time around. It's a nice course, but certainly not worth the $200 you are spending now with a caddy. Some greens have some sort of growth/disease on them so the putts start getting a little bumpy in some spots. It's a cool course, but for the $ you are better served playing a Ritz course somewhere. Went with 3 buddies who had not played any of the courses out there and they were all a bit underwhelmed. Wish I would have put us on black now since Blue is starting to show a little age. We were planning a larger golf buddy trip there for later in the year but will pick a different place now. Overall, for the price/value, it's gotten a little too expensive for what you get.

Conditions Fair
Value Poor
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging

Kingsway Country Club

Played On 12/03/2017
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Good course with nice greens

Second time playing here. Nice course with excellent greens. Not super fast, maybe a 9 speed but plush and they roll true. Layout not too tough, fun place to play. Friendly staff.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Response from on 12/12/2017:
Thank you for the kind review, we are glad to hear you found the course to be in great shape and look forward to having you back again soon!

Legacy Golf Club

Played On 07/10/2016
2.0
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Used cart

Great course potential, great staff, condition declining again :-(

I really like the layout of Legacy. The back 9 is as pretty and fun as anything in the area and I've played everything within 30 miles of LWR. I was thrilled the new owners seemed to be turning it back around with improved conditions during 2016 Spring. Sad to say, it's gone downhill again. Many bare tee boxes, weeds throughout the greens make it IMPOSSIBLE to sink anything over 5 feet unless you get a lucky bounce. This is not from punching, these are weeds and an uneven surface. I can almost put up with a poor course if the greens roll true, these are not fun and totally take away from the experience. I hit several real good putts that bounced 3-6 inches off line. A couple decent greens out of the entire 18. Growing and unaddressed diseased spots on greens and collars, chewed up hole locations, did I mention the weeds on the greens? The regular list of things that are normal with a declining/poorly maintained course. Such as shame...this place could be SO much more. The staff is friendly and helpful and the location is awesome. I don't know the financials of running a course. Maybe this is what you get for the $ in SW FL, but they are going to have a hard time in this town with these conditions and prices over $30. I really want to play here more often and was expecting to when I saw it getting back in shape in the Spring. C'mon owners, you can still save it. As it is now I'm sorry to say, I won't be back. Too many better choices.

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate

The River Club

Played On 03/18/2015
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Used cart

Nice layout, average condition

I like the layout of River Club and play it a few times a year. The front 9 is in below average condition and the back 9 is in better condition. Below average condition for Sarasota in general and on par with Greenfield Plantation. For the $ during the winter, you can't really get too many rounds for under $40 so you get what you pay for. I will play there again as long as the price is right.

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Fair
Amenities Fair
Difficulty Moderate

Waterlefe Golf & River Club

Played On 02/26/2015
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Good challenge on a 3.5 star track. Recommended.

I live 3/4 of a mile from Waterleaf and have always heard the horror stories of how difficult and unyielding the course is. This is my first time playing it and I didn't think it was as severe as everyone has said. Yes, there is a LOT of water...let's not forget it is called WATERleaf. If you play strategic, target golf, you will be fine. If you insist on hitting every shot your maximum distance and refuse to pay attention to distance to hazards, then bring a lot of golf balls. It's a pretty great layout, with interesting holes throughout that provide a very good challenge with a few decent scoring opportunities. There are a few instances where the course architect was clearly just trying to make something stupidly difficult. Unless you're a single digit handicap, then understand that on holes like these you just need to expect to take a bogey on a hole and mentally consider it a par. The course itself was in good condition, with the greens being incredibly slow. Well-maintained greens, but still slow. The wildlife is fantastic and the setting, with several holes right on the Manatee River, is one of the most beautiful in the area. The neighborhood that you wind through to play the course has some incredible estate homes and it really makes for a scenic afternoon playing golf. You can tell that maybe five years ago this was a spectacular course, but is no longer pristine like others in the area. Still 3.5 stars for condition though...I'm not trashing it by any means, I just live on a meticulously maintained course and this one is not up to 5 star standards for condition. Speed was average for winter at about 4:30. Staff was friendly and helpful. All in all, I had a great time, it's a nice and interesting course and I would play there again in a second. Recommended.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Average

Grande Pines Golf Club

Played On 08/02/2014
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

Great course, but leave your driver at home.

Cool course with some interesting and challenging holes. It was in very good condition with nice fairways and greens. Rough is a bit longish and penalizing...as it should be. Nice practice area, but they charge for range balls. C'mon guys, at $50+ for a round it seems like greediness to charge for balls. Good starter, good pace of play (we were a 3-ball). The greens are VERY tough. Tiered and undulating which make for fun putts but terrible scoring. If you are not hitting it close with your approach, birdies will be nonexistent. We had 1 all day and that was on a chip-in. The 18th green is very cool and a fantastic finishing green. It's horseshoe shaped so if you hit the wrong side of the green, you have a LONG bending putt over a couple tiers that will break 20 feet or so. If the match is close it makes for an exciting finishing hole. My buddy had an impossible 60 footer that broke a good 20 feet left & downhill and he hit it close and made the 2-putt to tie the match. Fun stuff! My only gripe is it is more of a controlled shot course. Very few driving holes of you are a longish hitter. I mean you can hit driver all day if you can hit a 20 yard wide fairway at 275 yards. If not then you won't be hitting many drivers (or 2 woods in my case). That kinda takes a little fun out of it. I'm a 13 handicap and had trouble hitting the fairways. Even on good tee shots, the fairways get so narrow in the landing zones that you can end up in trouble easily. A great course for older players that play a shorter game. Longer players will be feeling a bit handcuffed. That's just a quibble as the course is meant to be a challenge and a bit of an old-school shot makers course. Great staff, ice towels from the ranger, pleasant cart guys. No nasty surprises. Play here with confidence.

Conditions Excellent
Value Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging

Sarasota National Golf Club

Played On 05/24/2014
3.0
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Used cart

Disappointed in the current condition

I played this course almost exactly a year ago, before WCI took over and renovated the course. Loved it then, the track was in excellent condition and was a very pretty course that was fair but challenging. When my Saturday group decided to play it from our reciprocal list this year I was excited to get to play there again. It's a nice clubhouse and an OK practice area. When we teed off I could see that a lot of the shrubs and trees have been removed since last year, I assume to make room for all the housing to be built. The course is clearly not in as good condition as last year. The greens are in average to below average condition with some visible craters filled with white sand. We all had some bumpy putts. Fairways are average. All the vegetation that has been removed makes for a very open and plain look. Pace of play was right on the 4:14 time they hope for and the ranger was visible and active during our round, so that was nice. I was hoping for the same excellent golfing experience I had last year, but it was not to be this time. Spoke with my group about how they liked the course and the theme everyone had was "disappointed". Currently, this is nowhere near the 4.5 stars listed on golfnow. There are MANY better options in the area for the same or less $$.

Conditions Fair
Value Poor
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Difficulty Moderate
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