rnm13

This is the first time I've played this course with the new ownership. I could see work being done (improvements/enhancements).
The course is in good shape, my only issue is that it lacks fairway markers; blue, white and red stakes in the middle of fairways would be nice.

This is a different course for Central Florida: no water hazards, but lots of sand: everywhere! Combined with the elevation changes; again unusual for this area, it made for an overall enjoyable experience. My only major complaint is that there is no indication as to flag location; some of the greens are huge and when you can only see the top of the flag (because of the elevation), it makes it difficult to know the yardage; although we had watch gps's, it wasn't enough. Using colored flags would do the trick.

The course info is quite explicit:: don't check in more than 30 minutes before your tee time......so I checked in at 11:35 for my 12:00 tee time; that was ok, got a bag of range balls and proceeded to hit about 3 when the starter (at 11:50) drove over and told me that I was needed on the tee....so much for practice. All because of their 30 minute check in policy.....weird!
Other than that, the course is in pretty good shape although the tee boxes (we played the white's) could have used a little more maintenance.

Bellmere Winds has a number of holes that offer beautiful views of Rice Lake. In the last couple of years, there have been some nice improvements to the course, particularly in the area of reducing the amount of fescue which makes for not only a faster round, but a lot less frustration in hitting a reasonably decent shot, only to find it bouncing off into the fescue. The greens are a nice size, a tad on the slow side but were generally in pretty decent shape. There are a number of elevated tees which makes for some pretty dramatic and challenging tee shots. There are a few holes which could use some cosmetic changes; #3 for example....while the view of the lake is very nice, in between the green and the lake are a large number of trailer vacation homes which spoils the view. You can't take the trailers away so why not line the back of the green with some trees?
I would also suggest another set of tee blocks: being a senior, the whites are a bit daunting and long on some holes while the reds aren't long enough. A number of clubs have gone to hybrid tees using an equal split between the white and red tees. Bellmere Winds could certainly consider doing this as well.

Being my first time here I wasn't sure what to expect. With the day being hot and humid (and with a 12:00 noon tee time) I thought playing 18 could be a challenge. However, not too many on the course and I was able to zip right along.
As for the course itself, it is definitely not a grip and rip it course....lots of tight faiways, lateral hazards which require good course management. The course was in nice shape, no complaints there but I did find myself questioning the yardage indicators (particularly the 150 yd. stakes) quite a few times. When I compared the distance to my laser rangefinder, I found the distances of the 150 markers were understated by 10 yards at least...and this was to the centre of the green.
Other than that, I will be making plans to go back again.

My first time here and I found the course to be in very good condition; my only complaint was that I found too many small stones in the bunkers. Other than that, I would go back again.