ritpg77

I never played the old Water Oak Golf Course but I can tell you that, given how new and immature the course is, it is in amazing condition. I've never, in my life, seen such new greens in better shape. I've also never heard of a course being stripped, redesigned and rebuilt before. But they've pulled it off and deserve a lot of credit for their accomplishment. Whoever laid out the new design did a great job. While the course is not long at just over six thousand yards, strategically placed trees (actually routing holes around existing trees) prevent golfers like me from cutting corners on the doglegs making the course play longer. The tees and fairways are in excellent shape, again better than should be expected given how new they are. Everyone I encountered at the course was pleasant and helpful. Now for the only criticism. And it's not a biggie. They definitely need to put out about 4 or 5 signs to direct golfers to the next hole. On a couple of occasions, we did travel a good distance out of the way looking for the next tee. For the cost of a few signs, a pittance compared to the millions spent reimplementing the course, and no one will have anything negative to say about what has been turned into a great golfing experience.

don't know why it took me so long to fund this course. Fifteen minutes away, great layout, excellent condition, outstanding value, excellent management and staff. What else is there?

I've now done the morning shotgun start and a regular afternoon tee time. Both were thoroughly enjoyable. Today we teed off at 2pm and were done by 5:30pm. An ambassador (i.e., ranger) drove up to us on the first hole to tell us he had already arranged for us to play through the group in front of us because he thought they were slow. Where does THAT happen? Yup, Continental is going to see a lot of me. What a gift!

I had never played Candler Hills before but I was really looking forward to it because of all the great reviews. And it
did not disappoint. Candler Hills is the complete package. The layout is lots of fun. I found only a couple of bare spots on the entire course and they were in the rough. The greens are the best I've played in Central FL and I tend to play high end courses. The fairways and tees are in great shape. As great as the course was, the highlight for me was the terrific young man I got to play with. An Army/Afghanistan veteran we got along great. I'm a Vietnam vet with a vision problem from my exposure to agent orange, who cant play alone any more. Dan knew where my ball was at all times. He raked my traps and fixed every ball mark. And I thoroughly enjoyed hearing his thoughts on swing mechanics. As a twosome, we finished the round in just over three hours. Can't wait to get back to Candler Hills.

This was my 2nd time playing Deer Island and it won't be my last. My brother-in-law was visiting from PA and I wanted to be sure to pick a course he would enjoy. I succeeded. He couldn't stop talking about how beautiful the course is and the conditions, especially the greens. As a bonus, he got to experience the abundant fauna. We played with a wonderful couple coincidentally also from PA. We're already talking about going back. The folks working the course could not have been nicer. The community surrounding the course I'd something to see. Beautiful homes. I just hope they don't over-develop. Thank you Deer Island CC for a fantastic day of golf.

Four of us had a reunion round at Segregansett. I've moved away from the northeast and returned for a wedding. It was a great day, so good to see friends once again. The course layout is excellent allowing you to use every club in your bag. The condition of the course has deteriorated a bit over the past several years. But what courses, other than the private, exclusive ones, haven't gone down hill? There was a time when crab grass didn't exist at Segregansett. The greens were excellent and lies around the green were consistently lush. We let a couple of groups go thru; after all, we did have a lot to catch up on. The workers on the course had a great sense of humor. The traps were all well-raked and had plenty of sand. It's probably the last time I will ever play Segregansett and I'll miss it.

I played twice as a single while visiting my brother from RI. I had planned to play a different course for the 2nd round but Woodmont was so enjoyable, I played there twice. The the layout and condition of the course are excellent. Expect greens that are a lot faster than the Northeast. The staff could not have been more friendly and accommodating. And the food was excellent and modestly priced. So what more could one want? A practice range? Well, I was told they are working on that. I highly recommend Woodmont.

Visiting from RI. Thoroughly enjoyed my round with Charlie and? Lots of variability. Not sure which 9s I played but the second 9 had more water. A couple of the greens were patched but not really a factor. The staff could not have been friendlier. Tony, the cart guy was a peach. I'll bring my brother next time.

I was in a league at Green Valley for more than 16 years. So I know the course quite well. It hasn't changed much at all in all this time. But that's a very good thing. It's always been in top condition of courses in the area. The sixth green still doesn't hold. But that's a very small and insignificant criticism of the course. The clubhouse is a great facility. The restaurant food is wonderful and reasonably priced. All of the staff at Green Valley are just really good people.

This course is always in great shape regardless of time of year. The guy at the desk is as easy as as they come. The practice green is excellent and always consistent with the course greens. The range is more than adequate. This is one of my 2 or 3 reliables. The parkland front mine and mostly open back nine provide a good variety. I highly recommend Acushnet River.

This was the first time I played Whaling City this year. I had played it late last summer. The first three greens are a marked improvement over last year. The rest of the greens are fine. There are all kinds of signs around the course of the hard work that is being done. The folks running the course deserve a lot of credit. They inherited a mess and the Improvement is very noticeable. This is a genuine Donald Ross course and must be supported.

I hadn't played Whaling City in a few years. I used to play it fairly often and always considered it one of the most difficult courses around - and it still is. For those of you who don't know, Whaling City has a long and storied past, most of which I do not know. I know that the course was allowed to deteriorate by the city of New Bedford several years ago and then was taken over by a series of managers who did their best to keep it going. It's now being run by a married couple who pay the city of New Bedford for the right to maintain and make a go of the course. Trust me, they are not getting rich and this has got to be a labor of love. Both perform all the required duties from running the pro-shop to cutting the grass. The grounds staff is small consisting of young and very polite teenagers as far as I can tell.
I've played a lot of Donald Ross courses in my life time and Whaling City has always struck me as one of his classics. I have often fantacized about what someone with cash and an appreciation of the layout could do. I have no doubt it could be turned into one of the top golfing venues in the Northeast. The layout as it currently exists (no one seems to be sure how faithfully it represent Ross’s original design) if better than most in the RI/SE MA area. And there is tons of unused landscape that could be used to add tees. Most of the greens are classic Ross with lots of subtle breaks. Most of the tees are located close to the previous green as was Ross’s habit. I suspect there once was lots of fescue but I don’t see it now. The ninth hole is what I consider typical Ross (there are others) and the 14th is unlike any I have ever seen anywhere. I played it with a drive up close to the junk, 7 iron to the far edge of the middle section and 6 iron to the green. Of course, it’s always tempting to skip the entire middle section if you feel lucky. I didn’t.
So, how was my round. Well first I should tell you that I got to play with Donald Ross. As a GolfNower, I had played several rounds with a fellow named Don but never knew his last name. When I checked in at the pro-shop for the round, I was told, with a smirk, that I’ve be playing with Donald Ross. And sure enough, the Don I knew turned out to be none other than Donald Ross who, I might add, shares my love of Donald Ross courses. The entire round, we discussed the typical Ross features as we encountered them.
So how is the course condition? It needs a lot of work but don’t judge the entire course by the first three holes which, for some reason have fallen into much more serious disrepair than the rest of the course. Many of the greens had recently been plugged. The first two greens were especially bad and will require resodding. There’s lots of crabgrass throughout the course. And the brush areas are as thick as you will see anywhere. Forget finding your ball in them. The bunkers are in surprisingly good shape. The sand it the best around; I haven’t had 3 sandies in a long time. The range is excellent with a good assortment of balls and grass tees. The new managers recently installed new carpeting in the dining area and I love the ancient bathroom tile with the golfing motif.
My conclusion is that I’ve got to play Whaling City more often for two reasons. First, it’s an outstanding layout even if it does beat me up. And second, the course and the people working their butts off to preserve it need to be supported. I don’t know how many more chances Whaling City will have to survive. But I do know that its loss will be a devastating blow to the legacy of THE Donald Ross. Please don’t be so inclined to pass on the opportunity to play this course. Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever and that would be a crime. And be sure to throw some compliments to the staff. Considering they didn’t get control of the course until this past March and the condition it was in at the time, I think you will agree that they are doing an amazing job.

I played Green Valley every Monday for 25 years in a defense industry league which moved to Newport National for 2 years and then folded 2 years ago. Nothing has changed. Gary is still in the pro-shop doing a great job interfacing with the public. Buster is still the starter keeping everything going. The course is still exactly the same: great conditions all around - greens are still perfect. The fairways and rough are as good as any courses around. The traps? Well, no course is perfect. Very hard even in today's dry conditions and they play like they need more sand. But adding sand apparently isn't going to fix what is wrong. They need to be rebuilt. And the 6th green still doesn't hold even the most pinched wedge. But all in all, it was a great day on the links playing with three great guys that I met today. Since they brought in new kitchen help a few years ago, the food has been terrific. And there are always great and friendly conversations going on around the bar.

I played this course because my wife and I are always looking for new water front restaurants. Harbor Lights is a beautiful facility. I would not hesitate to consider it for a wedding. And it's certainly a beautiful place to have dinner or just a drink with friends. The scenery is the best RI has to offer with the marina, club house, pool and other amenities. Now for the golf course. It's what I call a hard hat course: 9 holes on c. 7 holes of real estate. There is a number of places on the course where it's not unreasonable to be and there's a good chance you could be hit by a ball. The fairways were baked out. I did see sprinkler heads near greens but don't recall seeing any in the fairways. There were 2 greens (don't recall the holes) that had upper and lower levels separated by a very steep incline. In both cases, the cups had been cut at the forward edge of the upper level leaving virtually no room below the cup. I had a 3 foot right to left putt that ended up 30 feet away from the cup at the front (bottom) of the green. On the other such green, my approach shot ended up on the lower level. My first putt stopped c. 5 feet below the hole and ended up at the bottom f the green further away from the hole than where I started. The greens were in reasonably good condition c. 9 on the stemp meter.. Tees were fair and very dry (the lady I played with had trouble pegging her ball). I used my driver on only 3 or 4 holes n each side because I wanted to be able to hit mid to long irons for 2nd shots. I checked yes, I do recommend this course. But keep in mind that the emphasis here is not golf. If you play here, I highly recommend you use all available resources. I had a great G&T at the outdoor bar overlooking the marina and the view definitely enhanced the experience. I hear the food in the restaurant is excellent and I'm looking forward to taking my wife there for dinner before then end of summer.

This was my first time at Sandwich Hollows this year. I played it several times last year as a Golf Nower. There is a ton of construction going on at SH at this time. That translated to one temporary green, several temporary tees, lot of GUR and several unusable traps. And the greens had been plugged probably within that last 2-3 weeks. Normally, SH is a fun, well maintained course to play with some amazing holes on the back side with extreme altitude changes. Courses like SH need to be supported. Too many courses are being converted to condos or allowed to return to a natural state. SH is clearly making an effort to be a better course and I look forward to seeing the course when all their hard work has been completed. The tee and bunker work that is going on should produce fantastic results. The staff at SH could not be nicer or more pleasant to deal with. I write this review so that golfers will know what to expect and will be less likely to angry about the conditions. The course is definitely playable and still fun to play. Just have patience with the construction work and look forward to improvements that will make Sandwich Hollows an even better value for your money. And it's not as if you're paying a lot to play. $20 for 18 holes with a cart? You may never see such a deal at Sandwich Hollows again.

The September weather was perfect and I got to play with two great guys, Mike and Fred. I had been in a league that played Green Valley for more than 15 years so I know the course pretty well. The entire course (greens, fairways and roughs) were in the process of being aerated - a necessary evil - so conditions were not ideal. We had to play the front 9 twice. The starter, Buster, does an outstanding job of keeping things moving and the guy in the pro-shop could not have been friendlier. The bunkers still need more sand - a long-standing problem (as Mike and Fred discovered) - and the 6th green still does not hold shots, including wedges. Other than that, you will find the condition and layout of the course to be competitive with the best courses in the RI area. The cups are cut every couple of days and the bunkers are raked and their edges manicured. I'm playing there again on Friday and look forward to seeing the greens at least partially healed by then. I highly recommend this course.

I've played Acushnet River Valley many, many times over the years. This was my first time thru GolfNow and the first time in many months. The course was in its usual good condition. The greens were probably an 8 or 9 on the stimpmeter. The fairways and roughs were well groomed and of proper length. The traps were well-maintained with reasonable sand depth. The pace of play was much slower than usual for a weekday. We waited on most tees. There were 4 groups on the par 5 3rd hole, two of whom were twosomes. They had launched a shotgun outing earlier in the day which may have been a factor. I'm not sure what happened but I ended up playing with 3 people who did not use GolfNow to sign up for a tee time. I didn't think that could happen. I was sent out about 15 minutes early.

A very pretty course carved out of dense northern RI woods. It's very out of the way but enjoy the scenery on the way. Greens are medium speed. Cups had not been cut recently. Fairways and rough were well maintained. Traps/sand are above average. Gas cart was clean and ran well. Lots of holes with layup shots off the tee. First time I ever parred a par 5 with a drive, gap wedge and sand wedge without missing a shot except for the putt for birdie.. And there was no other way for me to play the hole. Last 2 holes are long par 3s. Completed round in less than 4 hours. Nice touch: pro-shop clerk came to practice green to introduce me to golfers I would be playing with. No driving range. Found way more balls than I lost. I will be back.

A great layout that you'll have to play a few times to figure out how to stay out of trouble. Greens are excellent with freshly cut cups: fast and moderately undulating. Keep your driver in the bag on several of the par 4s and even a par 5. A beautifully wooded setting with several picturesque vistas and lots of wildlife. The fairways and rough are well-groomed but don't venture beyond or you will likely lose your ball. A very nice touch is free range balls but don't expect Titleists. The proshop is well equipped. The carts are electric and brand new. Parking is convenient. The bar and restaurant are very nice. I will definitely be back despite the higher Golf Now cost.

If you haven't played golf in this area of CT, be prepared for lots of hills and lots of blind shots - and lots of lost balls if you have no one in the foursome to tell you where to aim. We often thought we were hitting to safe areas only to find water or fescue. The greens are in good shape with moderate undulations and speed. The fairways are good. You'll find a fair amount of crab grass in the rough. The practice range with free balls is a nice touch even with a shortened hitting distance. I'm not sure where the course is in relation to the casino but they are not adjacent. It is not as upscale as the Foxwoods course. The GolfNow cost was very good for a weekend. The staff was very friendly and helpful. I wouldn't hesitate to play this course again.

It's a fairly short course in much above average condition. The layout is fairly basic with 3 or 4 above average holes. The greens are in surprisingly good shape. The holes had been cut fairly recently. There was plenty of sand in the traps and generally were well raked. This will be one of my favorite courses within 30 miles of Tiverton using GolfNow going forward. The staff could not be more friendly and helpful. The fairways and roughs are in good shape. I will definitely be back.

the layout is