baxngolf4221

Starting with the good….
Our weather was near perfection and our pace of play was just under 3 hours and thirty minutes. The staff were all super helpful and friendly. Enjoyed a tasty lunch after the round for a very reasonable price.
Now for the not-so-good….
For the given layout and course conditions the round is wildly overpriced. I understand most all venues which offer public play in SWFL are pricey from November through April but given the local options the price was quite steep. AND this did not even include a small bucket of range balls.
The course was in so so condition. The tees were virtually barren of grass on many holes. The fairways were also pretty scratchy in many spots. The greens on the other hand were pretty descent and rolled fairly true. The bunkers were also reasonably maintained.
The only reason my review rated 3 stars was because our pace of play was amazing. Arrowhead will more or less remain one of my courses of last resort when looking for a winter tee time.

I’ve played Old Corkscrew many times over the past 5 years since I moved to SWFL. The reason I played today was I couldn’t get on any of the other local courses either because they were doing their early summer maintenance or they were booked up. Old Corkscrew was relatively vacant and my best guess is because they have modified their only slightly since the “high season”, November through April. The staff at Old Corkscrew are always exemplary, friendly, helpful and efficient. The course was in very good condition my only gripe being the greens were recently top dressed. Also the bunkers could use a little attention, fairly inconsistent, some not having been touched in a little while.
Overall it was a great day. As I noted above my only regret is the price I paid, over $100. Even during June in SWFL the swanky Tiburon resort in Naples doesn’t charge near these amounts when their winter greens fees approach $300. I’ll avoid Old Corkscrew unless the pricing situation changes for the summer months.

I play Old Corkscrew probably 5-8 times per year. The staff is super friendly and helpful. The course is probably one of the most challenging public courses in SWFL. The condition of the course was quite good especially considering the amount of play it receives. My only knock on my experience today was the pace of play. There seemed to be a mix up and the twosome we were supposed to be paired with were not directed to the first tee in a timely fashion. As a result we played as a twosome for 10 holes. This resulted in a ton of waiting around. Two groups in front of us was a group that was glacially slow. Sadly there were no rangers or player assistants to help encourage them to play faster. We finished in just over four hours but there really wasn’t a good reason for the situation.

The National is a nice second option in Ave Maria. When the facilities are completed I’m certain it will become quite popular. Even in its infancy it’s a fun layout to play. Not overly challenging but with a fair amount of variety.

Living in Naples “public” golf this time of year is testing. Prices are grossly inflated and courses still try and pack as many golfers in as possible. Having said that, Valencia is a wonderful option. Morning tee times are hard to come by due to the golf league but the resident rate and general good condition of the course makes a late morning tee time worth the wait. Condition of the course was good with turf conditions playing fairly firm given the amount of rain we’ve had recently. My only quibble was the pace of play but a 4 1/2 hour mid morning round is standard this time of year. Valencia is definitely a quality track, very forgiving and a great value for the local SWFL golfer.

Had a very enjoyable round today. The fact that the weather was near perfect helped quite a bit. Very friendly staff, especially the pro who greeted me in the pro shop and checked me in. The starters and on course were nice yet unremarkable. The course was in good condition. The fairways were a tad shaggy but the tee boxes and the greens were wonderful. Pace of play was fine for a mid day round here in SWFL. The only areas I would like to see changed are perhaps a few more range balls or the option to purchase more (it seems there was literally 12 balls in my shag bag). Also the young lady running the beverage cart only came around once during my round. She could have been killing it if she made an effort work her way around.
Overall an excellent value this time of year for SWFL.

This was the second time playing Panther a Run for me. The setting out in Ave Maria is quite nice albeit a little off the beaten track. The clubhouse staff was fairly welcoming although not overly helpful. The starter was very efficient in chasing groups to the tee but again not overly helpful or welcoming.
The course was in fantastic shape. The greens were very quick and I was very impressed the cups were even painted. One of the members of our group indicated the club championship had just been played which would explain the excellent conditions. There was no on course beverage or snack service this particular afternoon which I think would be a significant loss on a busy Sunday. In general my experience was very acceptable however the one unforgivable aspect of my day was the absolutely GLACIAL pace of play. I only saw an on course assistant once and he dutifully waved at our group as he quickly drove by. When foursomes are packed in every seven minutes there at least should be a means where the pace of play is enforced in some fashion.

As a resident of Naples I play at The Esplanade frequently, especially during the summer. The staff is generally helpful but not overly so, on par with a majority of the courses in the area. The course condition was pretty good although some of the areas in the rough could use attention as novice golfers struggle a bit when their balls go astray. This leads into my next point which is the pace of play, ABYSSMAL! The course attendants ride around and do not address pace of play issues. Our foursome was stuck behind a twosome that had a hole and 1/2 open in front of them. Despite our repeated waiting they never motioned us through and the ranger just waved at them as he sailed by. The coups-de-gras was watching the golf challenged player in front of us take 5 strokes to get out of the bunker. Average course, don't be in a rush.

I've played LPGA International several times and this was this most disappointing. The staff upon arrival was very nice and accommodating telling us we could go off early as there were several cancellations. After departing the pro shop things went sideways then downhill. After some time on the range we arrived at the starter on the Hills course (formerly the Legends course) and we're told by the starter we'd have to wait. When I enquired about the cancellations the starter bruskly informed me he knew nothing about it. We putted around a bit with no one going off and when a twosome arrived and went we volunteered to accompany them. The starter reluctantly agreed and fortunately we were able to go off. We accompanied a very nice couple that live in the area.
The fairways were in pretty good condition but very soft from the rain. The course must not drain well because living in JAX we too have had plenty if rain but things are draining well. The rough was super deep and had not been attended to in quite some time. Any ball that strayed from the fairway cost you nearly a stroke. This also severely impacted the pace of play as I will get to in a bit. The greens were in wonderful shape and the ball rolled very true. The bunkers however were another story... They had not been tended to in a while . I understand with the afternoon rains this may be tricky but at the courses I play in JAX the bunkers seem to get raked daily.
The pace of play was abysmally slow. Luckily there was no one behind us (really made me wonder why the starter was reluctant to send us out) for the first 8 holes. A group caught us on number 9 and bailed at the turn as the wait was for 2+ groups on the tee. There were no on course attendants to help with the pace of play only useless reminders on the GPS system reminding us to speed up. Our round was finished in just under 5 hours.... Craziness.
The course was in decent shape however you can tell there are many aspects of the overall care that have been neglected. Case in point the 18th hole on the Hills course is a challenging drive where you must play to the right side of the fairway to have a shot at the green. The entry to the green has become so overgrown in recent times that you must now carry the ball not only to the right but also unreasonably long to have a play at the green. As of yesterday you now must have your ball on the right third of the fairway, inside the 150 to have any view at the flag.
Overall as I noted in the title this is one of the most disappointing rounds I've traveled to play in a while. The Hills course at LPGA is truly a gem. This gem could stand some polish.