Lives
Gainesville, FL
Handicap
10-14
Age
25-34
Gender
Male
Skill
Intermediate
Plays
Once a week

Review Statistics

Average Rating

3.5
3.5
Total 4 Reviews

Rating Breakdown

4 Reviews
5 Stars
1
4 Stars
1
3 Stars
1
2 Stars
1
1 Stars
0
Recommended Courses
2
Not Recommended Courses
2
Helpful Votes Count
0
Not Helpful Votes Count
0
First Review
10/07/2013
Last Review
03/28/2016

Reviews Map

Reviews

3.5
Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Course Difficulty
First time playing this course
Recommended
Review has
3.0
First Time Playing
Fair weather
Used cart

Wishing them the best

This place has a very ominous and surreal feeling. The drive through the neighborhood feels like you're on a cart path or someone's private driveway. The exterior building and clubhouse itself feels like it has literally been transplanted from 1985. My playing partner talked about how the West course used to be one of the top courses in the area right alongside Bay Hill. Of course, this is 30 years later and being that the course is in the middle of nowhere, it has felt the effects.

We played the South course. The day before we played we got a few inches of rain. The course handled it well and was not too soggy, so that was nice. The greens were also in excellent shape as others have mentioned. Due to the rain and the fact that the greens weren't mowed very low, they were slow rolling. It's obvious that all the income for this place is being sunk into the greens. The course conditions were otherwise not good. Lift, clean, and place is about your only option, and the placing will likely be on a weed unless you move the ball 15 yards to try to find some Bermuda. Bunkers are washed out and not maintained. I understand not being able to put a bunch of money into a course in general when the play is suffering, but don't understand how a green can be in such great condition while the bunker is so neglected. Run a tractor through them in the morning to at least give us something playable. Course is pretty challenging overall, lots of narrow fairways with OB on both sides, and water comes into play often too. No "turn" after 9 holes, it's out and back. No beverage cart either, but not a huge deal there.

Other than the greens, the other upside was the staff and the pace of play. We were just a twosome and played easily in 3 hours since it wasn't crowded at all. Value is decent at around $35 for a morning round, but factor in gas money as well if you don't live nearby, and you probably don't unless you're a member here. Staff was great, very friendly and talkative, but almost in that old-man, days-gone-by way. Felt like we were talking to them about old war days when discussing the course. Hopefully the recent reviews about improving course condition is a good sign, but I'm definitely concerned for their future.

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

Highlight of the week

I'm wildly inconsistent with my driver, so it figures that I hit it the best I ever have on the New course with its wide open fairways (on most holes, at least). This course really is top notch from top to bottom. All of the staff we ran into was great, the clubhouse is awe-inspiring, and the course is immaculate. I rarely feel that a $70 round is "worth it" and usually only pay those prices on vacation and chalk it up to the outrageous golf budget, but I'd pay this price - much to my wife's dismay, I'm sure - regularly if I lived nearby. Links style makes it interesting and unique, but this place would be a ton of fun regardless.

Full disclosure: I birdied hole 18, my only birdie of the day, so my wild enthusiasm could be slightly skewed by the good finish!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Fairly Easy

Pine Oaks of Ocala

Played On 07/19/2015
2.0
Previously Played
Fair weather
Used cart

Not terrible but you can do better in Ocala

The layout of this course is fine, typical muni with a definite "old Florida" feel. Most holes are pretty straight so shaped shots don't come into play a lot, but water definitely comes into play on most holes. In fact, right now there is way more water than there should be. I'm not sure if it's due to extra rain lately but many of the hazards have run over, creating standing water in the fairways and in other areas where there would not typically be a hazard. Rough was overgrown too. If you miss the fairway by a few feet be prepared to potentially lose your ball. Hard to enjoy your round when this happens multiple times. Some greens looked good, some looked bad, but even the ones that looked good were incredibly slow.

We played as a foursome and got chased by singles and twosomes all day. I understand a single playing a twilight round but the clubhouse needs to be pairing people up for 10:00 tee times. We didn't see any other groups with three or more. This is frustrating because you're looking at a 5 1/2 hour round if you let every group play through, but if you don't let them through you are constantly rushed. Clearly Pine Oaks is just happy to be bringing in players.

Blue tees aren't overly difficult but the tight layout means blue tee boxes very near the previous hole's green and you become a prime target for the approach shot of the group behind you. Some holes like #18 are ridiculous with the tee box placement. To get to the blues you have to drive around a pond and up the cart path of another hole to get to the tees.

I'm from Gainesville so Pine Oaks would be a decent option here considering the lack of good public courses; the value is still decent for $20. But in Ocala you are better off finding a hot deal or paying a few bucks more to play elsewhere.

Note: If using Swing By Swing golf app it finds the "North" and "South" 9 holes separately.

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

Pine Hills Country Club

Played On 10/5/2013
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Relaxing round right off I-75

Fun and relaxing course in a nice, quiet area. It's right off of I-75 but it feels more secluded. Course was in surprisingly good shape considering how uncrowded it was. Fairways were great and greens rolled true aside from a couple holes where fungus had taken over. A few holes are bland but the majority of them are well designed and present interesting challenges. The par-5 12th hole is one of the most unique par 5s I have ever played.

I will definitely consider returning when traveling between GA and FL

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
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