u000005204110

My foursome travels from the Northeast each year for a week of golf. When we played this for the first time about 15 years ago we enjoyed it so much that we have continued booking it each year. We have always enjoyed the greens because they are typically quick and challenging. The only hole that seems to be unfair is #4 which is a shorter par 4 with an elevated green that never seems to hold on the second shot. They would do well to put a collar around the back of the green to speed up play. We will always come back because the entire staff is exceptionally friendly.

My foursome travels to South Florida each year for a week of golf. The course conditions weren't as good as others we have played in the area. Part of this is COVID-related because the sand containers were removed from the carts. Rough was a bit scruffy but the greens were OK. My foursome was required to take individual carts which indicates that the ownership takes the COVID matter seriously. The greens fees were fair and we plan on playing here again next year.

The day before we played this course, the area was hit with heavy rains. We had a 10:45 tee time and were shocked that the parking lot was empty. This course does not drain well and we were told that all tee times before 10 a.m. were canceled by the course. The casual water areas were vast and one of my friends has a ball retriever and had to use it because in some places the water was more than a foot deep. We were also informed that the back nine was closed and we would have to play the front twice. We weren't crazy about paying the full price ($125) for the experience, but the pro shop guy told us there was nothing that he could do about that.
The course itself is unusual in that the white tees have six par fours that are over 400 yards in length. The course is very well maintained however and the greens were really good. I'm not sure that the price is fair. I would play this course again if the price was lowered to $100.

My foursome is from out of state and we had the misfortune of following a minor-league pro tour event. There was severe wind and after spending nearly 3 hours on the front nine, I was so exasperated that I sat out the back nine but my other friends continued. I was glad that I did because it started raining sideways on the back nine while I chilled in the bar. I rated the pace of play one star because of the circumstances in following the last foursome in the minor-league event. Overall, this course is interesting and is fairly priced. I am writing this nearly a year after the event and wanted to state that I have secured a tee time for this year.

We played this under a wind advisory (40+ mph) and it rained lightly off and on. With that wind, it was actually raining sideways. We also were following a minor league tour event and were told by the starter not to crowd the group in front of us. My foursome are, let's face it - old guys. On one of the early holes, one of the tour players spent time looking for his tee shot, He had hit it into the water and instead of hitting a provisional, elected to come back to the tee where we were sitting. He hit his second into the water and then elected to drop on the forward teebox based on the line of flight. I can't stand slow play and elected to quit on the fourth hole. At the turn (2 hours 45 minutes) I took my bag off the cart and let my foursome continue without me. The groups behind us were so stacked up that we had an audience on every tee because of the event's slow play. The last group of the minor league tour event must have had open holes in front of them because they disappeared for several holes and the back nine was completed in 2 hours. I don't blame the course for any of this - it was just our bad luck. I'll try to research this course's events for our trip next year so that we don't run into this situation again. It's really worth playing. The layout is cool and the greens were magnificent.

I booked this for my foursome having never played here in the 20 years we have been traveling to the area. I saw that this was highly rated and as we are non-residents, there is a premium that we paid. I don't give this an average rating because of the wind (20+ mph gusts) or the conditions of the course which were fine. In fact, the greens were really fast - and we like that. The contours of the greens are unfair to those who aren't aware of the nuances. The greens are "turtle-back" for the most part and many are elevated. If you hit the green with a nice high shot, the firmness resulted in the ball releasing and rolling off the putting surface.. You are either chipping or putting from the low-mown grass which really loads up your score. The members must like it, but it was frustrating to us. I am aware that this course is over 80 years old and that equates to smallish greens. What I also noticed is that this layout was kind of squeezed in and if it were spread out more, I would rate it higher. There are actually some areas that are like a shooting gallery where you are traveling long distances on some of the holes (#13?) and that's an indication of poor planning. With all of these funky little features, this isn't our kind of course. We as a group voted not to return next year.

As my group is from out of state, we did pay a premium to play here. First, the entire staff that we dealt with was pleasant and helpful. They couldn't have been nicer and this reflects on the entire operation as being customer oriented. Although the greens were a little sparse in areas, the putts rolled true. The other conditions were terrific and the layout is quite nice. We typically play a mix of courses when we visit SOFLA and we will come back to this one next year. It's really a great deal for residents and it's still a good value for those who travel from other states.

My group had played here before. The greens were very good and it really is a beautiful course. I only wish that they had GPS for yardage in the cart. It isn't cheap to play here for out-of-staters and a visual screen would be a nice addition especially when our local courses always have GPS.

I booked this round for a threesome. At first glance, the course isn't anything special. Fortunately, we were joined by a single who plays here frequently. The greens aren't pristine by any means, but there are many nuances that are not evident to the eye. There is a ton of trouble on the track and we were given great advice and guidance by the single that he made the round enjoyable. If you think that you get what you pay for - that's not always true. The greens are lightning fast and there is a lot of undulation on some of them. We plan on booking this course again on our annual trip to SOFLA nest year.

It's no wonder that the recommended percentage from reviewers is so high (90%). The first hole is really short & that should be applauded because it gives you a chance to get a good start to your round. These greens still had faint marks from aeration, but they were almost lush and they have to be among the fastest in the area. It's a good value. The only thing that I could criticize is that there is not much information on the layout and if you don't know where the water is on particular holes, you will find it. I understand that GPS is a luxury, but yardage books would be nice or a representative layout for each hole on the scorecard would help. My group will book this in the future for sure.

My group played Eagle Trace 2 years ago. We travel to Florida each March. I think that they have reduced their greens fees since then and it really is a good value. Overall course conditions were excellent. I do have two complaints. The GPS on my cart wasn't working and at the turn, I asked for help in getting it restored. The starter messed with it but it didn't work for the rest of the round. My riding partner and I had to rely on the other cart in our group to get yardages. The other complaint was that it took 4 3/4 hours to complete the round because the pace of play was so slow. I don't think that many courses have marshals to ensure that a reasonable pace of play is maintained. I suppose that they don't want to alienate anyone.The others in my group kept playing, but my brain was fried because of the slow play.

After reading recent reviews before booking a round here, I was optimistic. The only real complaint would be that some of the greens on the front nine seemed distressed. We liked the overall layout and after putting on the practice green, we found the greens to be really firm. I thought about rating this a 4-star course, but the greens on the front side took away from that. I recommend the course and would play it again in the future.

My group has traveled from Pittsburgh for the last 18 years and we have been playing Emerald Hills for at least 10 years in a row. This is among the most expensive that we play, but we feel that it's still a good value. The layout is really good and the conditions were as well. We will continue to book a round here in the future.

My group travels to the area every March since 2001. We played Heron Bay each year from the time it was a TPC course and now understand their philosophy. Offer a challenging course for a reasonable price. I contacted GOLFLINK to complain about the lack of GPS or yardage markers. I got a response that promised to have the lack of yardage markers addressed. The greens and fairways were really good. The fairway bunkers are really waste bunkers now because they lack sand. The greenside bunkers could use more sand and be consistently maintained. Overall when considering the price you have to realize that this is a good value.

I no longer lament what this track used to be and what it is now. I was surprised that the greens and fairways were really better than expected. I won't complain about the wind because that is typically a factor whenever you play here.
What we were most disappointed with was the fact that we had no GPS and the course has NO YARDAGE MARKERS! I can't understand why the typical discs for 100, 150 & 200 yard markers aren't installed on this course. This would certainly speed up play as well. We teed off before 9:00 and when we finished, there seemed to be a good number of golfers on the course. If the ownership can put a little money into some basics, they could raise their rates and get back on the right track.
My group has played here every year since 2001 and we had the course on "probation". We will probably book this again and hope that they have made some minimal upgrades. It still has potential.

My foursome had never played here before & relied on recent reviews from GOLFNOW. We were not disappointed and the greens were almost fully healed from aerating & proved to be extremely fast and had tons of undulation. Quite fun! Tee boxes are in the process of being rebuilt & that will pay off in the future. The temporary clubhouse is OK & the new one will be a good investment as well. I will book this again for our annual trip to South Florida next year.

It's worth the money - all-around course conditions were excellent. The greens have a lot of undulation and are fast. My group comes to South Florida for a week each winter and we will always book a round here. Staff was friendly and we had a great sandwich after the round ended.

My group travels from Pittsburgh every year since 2001 & this was the first time we booked a round here. The reviews I looked at made it seem like a good bet that it would be worth a try. We really enjoyed it. Although it isn't a long course the layout provided different looks on every hole. The conditions were great and we will return next year. The par 3s are quite challenging and as long as you can keep the ball in play, it won't tear you up. Staff was friendly and we enjoyed a nice lunch after we finished our round.

My group travels to SOFLA once a year since 2001 and we always booked this course. It is now so beat and neglected that the current ownership is not improving or maintaining it. It's clearly on it's deathbed - and it's a shame.