Blackburn1984

Look, this is a quirky/target golf course. Most people will not have a lot of room to bang driver out here and if you are struggling with your game you will get penalized out here. However, you have to think through your shots and options out here. A lot of water, doglegs, specific target yardages to hit, etc. I have played this golf course several times and I didn’t love it the first time because I didn’t throttle back and play as it was laid out to be.

Conditions are usually pretty good, you can often find tee times here and the relative value vs other destin courses is good.

I played all 3 Wailea courses and they are all great but Emerald was the best of all. It had views, conditions, layout and playability all about perfect. What I thought really differentiated Emerald from Gold was that many greens were defended by shaping rather than just a plethora of bunkers. So you could run up a shot and use the contours around the green to your advantage but you were also at the mercy of some bounces you get out there. Honestly, this might be one of my all time favorite golf courses I have ever played and very much a memorable experience. Highly highly highly recommend.

Barnsley is in excellent shape and is a beautiful golf course. The greens were extremely true and played fairly firm and fast. Bunkers had a ton of sand and were very soft and fluffy. Overall, a course that is extremely well taken care of and a relative value as it feels like a rather high end private course.

I should note that off the tee it is rather challenging. While the fairways are decently wide (40-50 yd landing areas) if you miss into the trees which are on both sides on most holes the ball is 99% of the time gone. Thousands of leaves and sticks will eat the golf ball. Also the par 3s on the back are extremely difficult. Overall I think this is a rather stiff test for a "resort" course. So if you are a casual golfer you will likely struggle quite a bit.

Haven't played Nashboro before and I was pleasantly surprised. Conditions were great, greens were quick but receptive and there is a good variety of holes out there. Would definitely go back.

Pros: Greens are excellent and roll true with some subtle break in almost all of them. Great mix of holes without being overly difficult. Generous fairways for the most part but huge misses will likely be OB. Slightly more expensive than the municipals but also a better course, relatively, and sits in a nice $50-$60 range w/cart.

Cons: Not walkable at all as it weaves across roads and through mixed development housing. No driving range anymore. Can be some rather loud road noise on a few holes.

I initially assumed this was just a real estate play of a golf course that would be fairly bland and riddled with houses. I was pleasantly surprised by several things. (1) Houses are visible on most holes but don't encroach on the golf course unnecessarily. (2) The greens have a lot of movement and constantly surprised us when we got up to each complex. (3) Varied layout asking different questions, varying the lengths of each hole considerably, decent amount of elevation change, etc. This is a hike from Nashville but pretty well worth it. If you find this course bland or boring I would be very interested to know where you are playing that significantly beats this place and has equally fair pricing.

Caledonia is one of the best, if not the best, looking golf courses I have ever played. Blends in to the surroundings very well and that drive up the clubhouse through the trees thick with hanging moss is excellent. Course conditions were great and the experience was excellent. My only quibbles are those that I knew about going in. (1) It is a small, rather tight golf course that, for me, meant a lot of hybrids and 3Ws off the tee. Very easy to be on the wrong side of the fairway and blocked out by large trees. (2) A few of the holes run together in my mind which is rare for a Strantz course. As other reviewers have pointed out, this is a rather restrained design by Strantz in comparison to True Blue across the street. Overall, this is a delightful course that I would love to come back and walk when it isn't 100 degrees outside. I think that is probably the best way to enjoy it.

I loved No. 5 for its playability, diverse design and, ultimately, what felt like a laid back vibe. The course features fairly wide corridors and gentle greens that we found pretty receptive and scorable compared to No. 8. The only warning I would give is that the conditioning in the fairways and bunkers is not on the level of some of the other courses (No. 4 and No. 9). I think this course would benefit from a mild facelift and you can see the potential on the 18th hole where they dressed up the fairway waste area and the green (the 18th hole looks more like No. 4 than the rest of the course). Overall, I had FUN which is the point really and you're not getting beat up over and over on No. 5. Will definitely play again and I think this pairs very well as an afternoon round after a round on No. 2 or No. 4.

The golf course is well conditioned and has a good variety of design throughout. I cannot fault this golf course as a true test of a great player but in comparison to some other Pinehurst courses (No. 4, No. 9) it isn't as fun. The greens, while not wild or terribly undulating, are hard to read and subtly fall off and repel shots constantly. As a mid single digit handicap I found this to be much tougher to score on than No. 4, No. 5, and No. 9. The stretch of holes on the back from No. 14 - No. 18 is particularly brutal. Again, I think this course is just designed for very good players and as someone who is not there yet, it wasn't much fun. The staff were very nice and, again, it is a well run golf course but is much harder than I gave it credit for.

Purchased an all-day pass and played 40 holes without having to wait for more than 1 or 2 shots. Loved how they manage the amount of people out there to benefit speed of play. Course was in excellent shape despite a little bit of casual water here and there. Greens rolled extremely well, each hole had a distinct challenge and required different shots. Obviously the show stopper here is the greens which are wild and comically difficult in some places, bordering on unfair but that is the hole allure. Once I stopped keeping score and just hit shots I had the most fun. I also found that anytime I was within 15 yards of the green I was putting, sometimes up 8 foot slopes which is an experience I have never had before. Wouldn't want to play here everyday but I will definitely be back every year.

I like the direction this course is headed. It offers a different experience from a lot of golf in the Nashville area and has a number of elevation changes, blind shots, tight targets to hit and overall require a bit of strategy on a lot of the holes. I think this course has good "bones" and you will hit a number of different shots out here instead of just hitting driver/wedge into all the par 4s. The very small greens rolled fairly true and were above average speed. Also, I would note the course plays a fair bit shorter than the distance advertised (which is a good thing for most people) since a lot of the holes are downhill and/or the far back tee boxes don't see to be used often. The uphill #13 is a beast of a hole compared to the rest of the course. Pace of play was great as the course was not overly crowded. We only had to wait on one or two shots.

The cons I would note may or may not be significant depending on what you are looking for. Con #1 is most of the greens are tiny. They appear to have shrunken over time (particularly on hole #9 where it looks the green is less than 1/2 the size of what is originally was) and I would hope the new owners would endeavor to restore them to their original size. Con #2 is the bunkers are still under some construction, most notably the fairway bunker on 2 (which you can't see from the tee box). Con #3 is rather specific, you cannot put a pin location on the top shelf on the first par 3, which is hole #3. Literally an unpinnable location as this green slopes DRAMATICALLY from back to front. There are really only 2 pinnable locations and that is front center and front left. I saw a few other pins that were literally 3-4 paces on the green which is due to how small these greens are but really more care should be taken when setting the cups.

Pros: The golf course is in excellent shape and this is reflected in the fairway uniformity, bunkers were in great shape and the greens rolled extremely smoothly if not a little slowly. The personnel working at the course are very friendly and helpful and want to make this a great experience for you.

Cons: All that said, there are really only 3 scenic holes on the golf course (4, 5 and 6 that are on the Kiawah River) and Holes 7 (90 degree dogleg right) and 8 (completely unmemorable straight ahead par 4) are more bad than good. Then a host of fairly average holes until 17 and 18 kind of wake you up. The rest of the course is hemmed in by trees and/or houses. Also, the price tag on this course is exceptionally high for what you get but there is not really an affordable option nearby.

Summary: High-end resort style experience, conditioning and price tag with a less than stellar layout and design.

Beautiful course with tons of room off the tee and some very interesting holes with a lot of variety throughout. The par 3s are quite dramatic and, in some cases, play significantly downhill. The par 5s are rather straightforward and do not require a ton of strategy (hit it as far as you can) and I found the par 4s to have the most variability. This is one of the most enjoyable rounds of golf I have played given the fact that you can be a little loose off the tee and still have a good angle into most greens. The fairways were in excellent condition. The bunkers were a little washed out (particularly on hole 17) and I was surprised how many golfers had clearly not fixed their pitchmarks as most of the greens were quite marked up. The greens were slowish and did not break a great deal which I actually enjoyed because you could be rather aggressive with your putts. Love this course and if they got people to fix their ballmarks I would say it is a perfect golf experience.

First time playing out here and I, overall, enjoyed the experience and thought it was a great value. I will lay out my pros and cons from the round and why I ultimately probably will not play here terribly often.

Pros: Great value in that the greens fees are extremely reasonable. Good practice facility for wedges and short game and the range was fine. There is a great deal of elevation change both uphill and downhill. No two holes were the same. Some fantastic views (especially from the green on Hole 14). Nice staff. Greens were rolling pretty well (a bit slow but that's fine) despite a lot of pitch marks (not the course's fault that its patrons don't fix them). Really liked the driveable #4, cape hole #7, the par 5 #12, and the dramatic downhill chute #16.

Cons: There is creek running through almost all of the holes which forces you to layup quite a bit which got very annoying after a while. Not a ton of room for "bombers" and this is more of a 3W/Hybrid off the tee type of course, especially on the downhill shots. Conditioning is a bit spotty in places. Special shoutout to Hole 14 which is a very poorly designed golf hole that is stuffed in between houses and they should probably completely re-shape/re-design (I made par but everyone I played with missed short with their 2nd and had their balls roll 120 yards back down the hill to them, no real flat place to land a drive, shallow green, very penal hole). Pace of play was incredibly slow, mainly because I think the average golfer really struggles with a lot of the shots required out here. Outside of #5 and #9 there is not a lot of room to miss off the tee which is where higher handicappers always struggle.

Played this course years ago and didn't like it. Came back this year and totally different vibe. Very motivated club house team that welcomes you and seems interested in making sure you have a good experience. I found Connor at the front desk to be particularly helpful. The course is fun, has a lot of different hole designs with the front being a little more challenging and diverse than the back. Course conditions are improving as they are re-sodding a few par 3 tee boxes and the greens have been top dressed in the past few weeks. Things are trending up and while the course conditions are not at the resort level you would find at Gaylord or Hermitage it did not negatively impact my round. This course is laid back and fun but still a little rough around the edges. I will be playing here more often and hopefully the rest of Franklin/Brentwood/Nashville doesn't start overcrowding this course.

First time playing GreyStone and it was the course I have been looking for. Interesting layout that asks for a variety of shots to score really well but is not overly penalizing and good shots are rewarded. There are a few tight and/or blind tee shots but you can see most of the trouble to stay away from. Course was in excellent shape and it was legitimately the most enjoyable round I have had all year and I play several times a week. Greens rolled extremely well and while quicker than your standard muni it was the ideal sweet spot of smoothness, speed and fair pin placements that made you feel like you had a chance to make everything you looked at. One benefit we had (other than the weather being phenomenal) was we started on the back 9 so we didn't have that intimidating tee shot off Number 1 first thing. Love this course and wish it was closer to Nashville but well worth the drive and I can't wait to get back out there. Between the elevation changes, routing and rocks/creeks in the fairway I have to say there are no other public courses like this in the area. Highly recommend and can't believe I waited years to get out here.

Despite weeks and weeks of rain, Harpeth Hills has held up quite well. The greens are extremely true for a muni and there are some interesting holes, especially on the back 9. When the wind picks up like it did today, the course can play quite long from the back. For it being the middle of winter I thought conditions were great aside from a few tee boxes (most notably the par 3 15th) which were basically put in the rough since the actual back tee boxes are covered for the winter. This is my vote for the best municipal course in Nashville.

Played out here on New Year's day and found the course to be in good shape and very few golfers on the course which helped pace of play to be excellent. The greens were in great shape and rolled exceptionally well regardless of the time of year but particularly for December. Not as tight as it looked on Google Earth and the water hazards and bunkers are well placed to punish bad shots. Ball sits very well in the fairways and the fringe was well maintained. My only gripe would be that a number of holes seemed to be cut into the sides of the some of the undulation mounds in the greens. This was very odd as you could be above the hole and literally not have anything less than a 12 footer coming back (most notably Hole 2 which was cut right into middle of a mound) if you missed the hole. Even so, greatly enjoyed my round and will definitely be back. I found this course to be interesting and a good challenge without being gimmicky or relying solely on length to make holes challenging.