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I played the Southern Dunes Golf and Country Club (SDGCC) course today as part of a Florida State Golf Association (FSGA) one day event. SDGCC is about 7 miles south on Route 27 off exit 55 of I-4.

The par 72 course is surrounded by housing and was designed in 1993 by architect Steve Smyers. I have played several Smyers’ designs and have never been disappointed by them. Southern Dunes was no exception. The course design and layout were beautiful featuring elevation changes not often found in Florida courses. Every hole seemed to be different from any other and presented a scenic challenge with so many sand traps on every hole. The design made you think about placement of tee shots but provided very fair and accessible landing areas on every hole. If you tried to bomb it on many of the holes, you would spend a lot of time hitting out of cavernous and deep traps. I was surprised that the sand traps, on a course with so many traps which require a lot of maintenance, would have every trap so well maintained.

The course is a par 72 that includes five sets of tees with yardages ranging from 7,227 yards down to 4,987 yards. The course and slope ratings range from 75.5 to 68.5 and slopes from 138 to 118. I played tees set up by the FSGA which were equivalent to the white tees. The white tees play to 6,298 yards with a rating of 70.9 and slope of 129.

There are 4 par fives, 10 par fours, and 4 par threes. All the par threes seemed to play downhill and all the holes were picturesque. I have attached several pictures of some of the holes.

Service

I went out to the course the evening before to find it since I was staying at a local hotel and talked to one of the employees about the course. He was very friendly, and I found all the employees to be friendly today when I played the course.

Overall Condition

I was pleased by the condition and appearance of the course. Fairways and tees were in good shape and the greens were in great shape and very consistent to putt. The course was visually very pleasing. I found myself taking pictures on many of the holes.

Clubhouse/Amenities
This course has a restaurant, clubhouse, driving range, and practice green. I had no time to use the driving range or any of the other facilities. The golf carts were modern and clean.

Value

I played the course as part of the FSGA event but found the online rates to be reasonable considering the quality of the course and facilities available. I will look forward to playing the course again

Golf Course Review – Williams Golf and Country Club – 071617

I played the Williams Golf and Country Club (WGCC) course on 7/16/17. The par 72 course is a private club with a long history dating back to 1932. I have known about it since I was a kid but never had the chance to play it. It always had the reputation of being in great shape and a special place to play.

Since I was visiting my parents near Pittsburgh, I checked out the WGCC website and found they offered a ‘member for a day’ promotion for $59 that included greens fee, cart, and a drink. I called to check on availability and it was my good fortune to set up a midafternoon tee time that was on the same day as the second day of the men’s club championship. I figured this timing should present the course at its best condition.

WGCC is a short drive from the Pittsburgh suburbs down Route 22 and once you exit Route 22 and negotiate a few turns and a steep hill climb, you enter a piece of property that has large trees shading the entrance, and makes you feel like you stepped back in time to an old school kind of country club.

The design was interesting. Every hole seemed to be different from any other and presented a scenic and tight challenge with mature trees lining the fairways. Since the course is laid out across the top of a hill, most of the holes seemed to slope toward the right. This course is not overly long, and some of the holes invite you to try and bomb it, but if you do, you will spend a lot of time chipping back to a fairway out of the trees. WGCC requires patience and strategy when playing it.

The course is a par 72 that includes 3 par fives and 3 par threes. The two par fives on the front nine follow each other as the third and fourth holes, and were the longest two holes on the course. The par three sixth hole was a bear playing at 243 yards that day. Several of the par fours were relatively short at 350 yards, but the mature trees made placement of tee shots critical. The eighth hole was a downhill par three that only measured 133 yards but was surrounded by sand traps.

The course is located about 3 miles off Route 22 and using my iPhone’s map function made it easier to find.

I played the blue tees which is one of seven tees or combinations available. The blue tees play to 6,586 yards with a rating of 72.2 and slope of 138. The various tee combinations play from 6,586 yards to a short course of 5,403 yards.

Service

I called WGCC, after seeing the Member for a Day promotion online, on a Friday and asked if I would be able to play Sunday afternoon. The pro, Luke, was very friendly and welcoming; invited me to come on down; and set up a 2:30PM tee time. When I got to the course, everybody who worked there was welcoming and friendly. When I was finished, those staff members were also friendly; asked me how I liked the course; and encouraged me to come back and play it again.

Overall Condition

I was pleasantly surprised by the condition and appearance of the course even though I had always heard the course was in great shape. Fairways, greens, and tees were in great shape and the course was visually very pleasing. Since I was playing by myself, and not being pushed by anybody, I found myself taking pictures on many of the holes. I have included a few of those pictures including a picture from the tee of the fifth hole which is about 400 feet above and overlooks the Ohio River.

Clubhouse/Amenities

This course has a restaurant, clubhouse, driving range, and practice green. I had no time to use the driving range or any of the other facilities. The golf carts were modern and clean, and I have attached a picture.

Value

I played the course on the ‘member for a day’ rate of $59 plus sales tax. I thought the course and service provided solid value for the price and was a very pleasant experience that I will repeat on a return trip to the Pittsburgh area.

Golf Course Review – Cypress Run Golf Club – 042217

Website: www.cypressrun.com

I played Cypress Run GC on 4/22/17 as part of a reciprocal play agreement since my home course was having their annual Member-Guest outing. Cypress Run is a private course in a gated community not far off Route 19 in Tarpon Springs.

The par 72 course was designed by Larry Packard, who also designed the Copperhead course at Innisbrook Resort.

The design was challenging and since I was playing by myself, having my SkyCaddie was invaluable in helping me determine the routing of the holes and yardages, particularly on several holes where it would be easy to hit through a dogleg, into a hazard, into the woods, or OB. Every hole was different from any other and presented unique and scenic challenges. The course advertises themselves as an Audubon sanctuary and had plenty of wildlife including a few gators.

I played the blue tee which is one of seven tees available. The blue tees play to 6,653 yards with a rating of 72.7 and slope of 132. The various tee combinations play from gold tees of 6.974 yards to a silver tee of 4,606 yards.

Service

The attendant in the pro shop was a very nice and welcoming person who, since I was playing by myself, offered to pair me up or let me play single whichever worked best for me. My tee time was noon, and although there were a number of players working on the range, I had no wait to tee off and nobody pushing me from behind.

I noticed that there was ice water at the first tee and about 3-4 holes afterwards.

Overall Condition

The course was in very good shape and the greens were excellent. The only negative that I noticed was that the tee markers were set up very narrowly (maybe only 8-10 feet apart) and the footing wasn’t always very even on the teeing ground.

The greens were firm and very quick. There was a sign at the first tee saying the greens were rolling at a Stimp reading of 10, but it seemed as if every cup was placed on the side of a slope making staying below the hole important.

I did not notice any bare spots or questionable areas in the fairways.

Clubhouse/Amenities

This course has a restaurant, clubhouse, driving range, and practice greens. I had no time to use the driving range or any of the other facilities but the use of the facilities is included in the greens fee.

Value

I played the course on a reciprocal guest rate of $45.00. I was referred to this course by one of the pro shop attendants at my home course and it was an excellent referral and choice. I had only played the course once before in 2009 and not remembered anything about it.

Overall, I thought Cypress Run is an excellent course, excellent value, and I was glad I played it and look forward to going back again.

Website: www.fscc.club

I played the Feather Sound CC (FSCC) course on 4/19/17 to celebrate the end of the regular tax filing season. Full disclosure – I was a member at FSCC from 2008-2012 and always thought it was one of the best courses in the state. FSCC is a private, non-equity club that seems to be flexible in inviting outside play.

The par 72 course was designed by Joe Lee and updated by Bob Cupp. There are six sets of tees or combinations of tees available.

The design is outstanding. Every hole is different from any other and presents unique challenges. The par fours and fives have generous landing areas that enable a player to hit driver off most tees, but most of the holes narrow down to elevated greens guarded by many traps and water putting a premium on the second shots.

I played the Chairman’s tees which are a combination of the black tees on the par 3s and 5s and the gold tees on the par fours. The Chairman’s tees play to 6,665 yards with a rating of 71.8 and slope of 134. The various tee combinations play from black tees of 6,935 yards and rating and slope of 73.1/137 to red tees of 5,055 yards rated at 69.8/121.

The course is located about 2 miles off the Ulmerton Road exit of I-275 South and is easy to find.

Service

I was impressed with the friendliness of the staff and the encouragement to play there. Even though I’m not a member, a few of the workers in the cart and bag area remembered me and welcomed me back. The staff in the pro shop also was very welcoming to me and encouraged me to come back and play again even though they know I am a member at another club much closer geographically to where I live.

Ownership of the course has changed several times since I was a member and current ownership seems interested in growing the membership and maintaining a quality track at a fair price.

Overall Condition

The current greens keeper was the greens keeper when I was a member there and the condition of the course was excellent. Fairways and traps were well maintained, and the greens were firm and very quick but putted true. Mike does an excellent job of keeping the course in top shape.

Clubhouse/Amenities

This course has a restaurant, clubhouse, driving range, chipping green, and practice green. The clubhouse does have a nice porch around it from which you have a nice view of the course. There are tennis courts and a swimming pool available along with generous locker room facilities. I did have lunch in the bar area with my host and had an excellent BBQ brisket burger with potato chips for lunch after playing golf.

Value

I walked the course at 11:00 for a rate of $37.45 which included sales tax and unlimited range balls. For the quality of this course, you just can’t beat that anywhere locally.

Website: www.shadowridgegolfcommunity.com

I played the Shadow Ridge Golf Club in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on 12/12/15 while driving from Pennsylvania to Louisiana. The par 72 course is located about 4 miles directly off I-59 at the Hattiesburg exit for Route 98, and was easy to find.

I played the Blue tees which is one of four tees available. The Blue tees play to 6,359 yards with a rating of 71.6 and slope of 128. The various tees play from 6,845 yards for the Gold tees to the Black tees (their designation, not mine) of 4,808 yards with a rating of 67.5 and slope of 114.

The design is challenging and winds through some housing for part of the layout. The layout is not overly long, but is tight and features a lot of elevation changes. The course opens with a tight downhill par five. Most of the holes featured some elevation change. This does not seem like a course that would be easy to walk because there are some significant distances between some of the greens and the next tees. I did observe a few walkers.

An unusual observation that I made was that the cart path, and the course in general, seemed very uneven and bumpy. I had several occasions where items bounced out of the cart and I had to go back and retrieve them.

The course has 100, 150, 200 and 250 yard stripes on the cart path but I did not notice any yardage markers in the fairways. I was glad I had my Sky Caddie and when it ran out of juice on the 13th hole, it definitely made it harder to figure a number if I wasn’t near the cart path.

Every hole was different from any other and presented unique and scenic, but fair challenges. I would have liked to take pictures of a few holes, but did not have time. Because of how tight the holes were, this is not a course I felt comfortable trying to cut loose with big swings off the tee and instead focused on keeping the ball in play and leaving a second shot of a comfortable distance.

The course has excellent finishing holes on the 9th and 18th holes with an uphill par 4 dogleg right at number 9 and a dogleg left par five at 18 with a pond fronting the green that requires a layup second shot for most players.

Service

I found this course by doing some internet research the night before and reading reviews by other players. The pro shop attendant was friendly. Because I played the course with less than three hours of daylight left, I didn’t have time to talk to too many people. The cart attendant at the end of the day was friendly and encouraged me to come back and play again after asking me how I liked the course.

There was drinking water about every four holes. I did notice two bathroom facilities on the 7th and 14th holes. There are some houses around the course, and it is obvious that the housing plan is growing.

Overall Condition

The course was in good condition throughout all eighteen holes. All of the fairways were in good shape, but the roughs were thin and the turf hard. The greens were fast and firm, but seemed to hold shots well. All greens seemed to putt true. I saw some grass bunkers but if there were any traps, I didn’t notice because fortunately I didn’t end up in any of them and I was hurrying around the course to beat sunset.

I did notice that the tee boxes seemed tight.

Clubhouse/Amenities

This course has a restaurant and clubhouse, but I didn’t get to utilize any facilities due to time constraints. I had no time to use the driving range or any of the other facilities.

Value

I played the course at 1:45PM at a rate of $35. I forgot to ask if they had a senior rate because I was in a hurry.

In summation, I felt like I had discovered a nice treat by doing a little internet research the night before. I was very pleased with everything about the selection of this course.

Website: www.duneswestgolfclub.com

I played the Dunes West Golf and River Club outside of Charleston, South Carolina, on 12/3/15 while driving from Clearwater to Myrtle Beach. The par 72 semi-private course is located in a housing community a few miles northeast of Charleston off Routes 41 and 17 east of Charleston. The course was relatively easy to find.

The course is advertised as an Arthur Hills design. I had initially planned on playing somewhere closer to Myrtle Beach, but while staying in Charleston found a discount card in the hotel lobby for Dunes West and researched the course on the internet.

On the day I played, there had been a lot of rain the day before and carts were restricted to cart paths. Some of the holes were quite wide and resulted in very long walks from the cart path because of course we don’t always hit the ball where we aim it.

I played the Gold tees which is one of four sets of tees available. The Gold tees play to 6,508 yards with a rating of 70.9 and slope of 127. The various tees play from 6,859 yards for the Black tees to the Red tees of 5,129 yards with a rating of 69.6 and slope of 120.

The design is the centerpiece of an upscale riverside community. The course had wide fairways and seemed to be playable for players of all abilities if they play the right set of tee boxes. The website offers a flyover of the holes.

The course looked to be very walkable and I did see what I assume were members walking the course.

I had my Sky Caddie which of course helped when playing an unfamiliar course. Most of the holes were different from each other and presented some unique challenges because some of the greens were well-guarded by water. I took pictures of a few holes. Because the many of the holes had wide landing areas, I felt comfortable trying to cut loose off some of the tees.

The course has par four finishing holes on the 9th and 18th holes with a forced carry on #9 and the long 18th running alongside the river. Both holes were very nice and picturesque finishing holes. From the 18th tee, you see the beautiful clubhouse just to the right rear of the 18th green.

Service

I called the course the day I played and was encouraged to come up and play. Everybody was very friendly and encouraged coming back. Due to heavier traffic, and the fact that the course was farther from where I was staying than I realized, I was late for my tee time, but that was no problem.

There was drinking water on four holes. I did notice two bathroom facilities on the 5th, 7th, and 13th holes. There are a lot of houses around the course, but they are set well back of the playing area. There was a girl driving a beverage cart and I saw her on three different occasions.

I was taken by surprise when I was putting on the 18th green and someone got into my cart, and moved it closer to the green. It startled me in the middle of the putt because I thought someone was taking my clubs, but he was cleaning my clubs when I walked over to the cart.

Overall Condition

The course was in very good condition throughout all eighteen holes. All of the fairways and roughs were in very good shape, and the conditioning was what one would expect of an upscale community. The greens had undulations were fairly quick, but held shots well. All greens seemed to putt true.

Clubhouse/Amenities

This course has a restaurant in the clubhouse and advertises itself as an upscale venue for weddings and other types of social events. I didn’t get to utilize any of the practice facilities due to time constraints, but there was a nice driving range and practice green area there.

Value

I played the course at 11:30 AM at a rate of $48 plus tax with the 20% discount coupon from the hotel. I forgot to ask if they had a senior rate.

In summation, I was very glad that I decided to play Dunes West instead of one of the courses up near the Myrtle Beach/Pawleys Island area. I have played many courses in the Myrtle Beach area over the years but none in the Charleston area, and Dunes West was a really nice surprise.

Website: www.summerglengc.com

I played the SummerGlen Golf Club outside of Ocala, Florida, on 12/2/15 while driving from Clearwater to Myrtle Beach. The par 72 course is located in a gated retirement community about 2.5 miles directly off I-75 at Exit 341 for Dunellon. The course was easy to find.

You can’t see the course from the Interstate because there is a high berm all around the community. On some holes this berm works to the player’s advantage because it kicked shots back toward the fairway. I had driven past the community on numerous occasions and knew a course was there but never had time to stop and play.

I played the Blue tees which is one of six sets of tees available. The Blue tees play to 6,261 yards with a rating of 69.5 and slope of 125. The various tees play from 6,673 yards for the Gold tees to the Purple tees of 4,081 yards with a rating of 63.7 and slope of 100.

The design is the centerpiece of a retirement community, and as such, is very playable for players of all abilities if they play the right set of tee boxes. The tees and greens were all elevated and it looked as if there were ponds or marsh areas that had dried up on almost every hole. When I asked if these areas had all been water at one point, I was told no.

I don’t know if walking was an option, but the course looked very walkable.

I had my Sky Caddie which of course helped when playing an unfamiliar course. You do need to call ahead for a tee time as the guard at the gate had my name on a tee sheet and checked before issuing a pass to enter.

Most of the holes were different from each other and presented some unique challenges because some of the greens were very small and/or well-guarded. I took pictures of a few holes. Because the many of the holes had wide landing areas, I felt comfortable trying to cut loose with big swings off some of the tees. The 11th hole, in particular, is a teaser because it was 297 yards from the blue tee (confirmed by the Sky Caddie), goes over water to the left, and features a green blocked by tall trees left and right. I couldn’t resist the challenge and took the ball on a straight line over the tall trees, and was able to clear everything and leave an approach from about 20 yards to the pin.

Some of the other holes had wide enough landing areas to invite ‘letting the big dog eat’.

The course has par five finishing holes on the 9th and 18th holes with a dogleg left on #9 skirting the driving range, and a slight dogleg right on #18 with a forced carry on the second shot if you hit the first shot far enough.

Service

I called the course a day ahead and was encouraged to come up and play. Everybody was very friendly and encouraged coming back. The starter/cart attendant at the end of both nines asked me how I liked the course, and other players I ran into were all very friendly.

There was drinking water on four holes. I did notice two bathroom facilities on the 5th and 15th holes. There are a lot of houses around the course, and personal golf carts were everywhere.

Overall Condition

The course was in good condition throughout all eighteen holes. All of the fairways and roughs were in good shape, and the conditioning is geared toward the retired residents. The greens were a little slower than I am used to, and were small and firm and held shots well. All greens seemed to putt true. Sand traps were not numerous, but were in acceptable condition.

Clubhouse/Amenities

This course has a restaurant in the clubhouse and it seemed well used and busy. There were plenty of personal golf carts parked outside of it without golf clubs on them when I made the turn. There was also a generous driving range and practice green, but I didn’t get to utilize any of those facilities due to time constraints.

Value

I played the course at 10:44 AM at a rate of $36 plus tax. I did ask if they had a senior rate and the girl laughed because she said almost everybody there was a senior.

In summation, I was glad that I finally got a chance to see what was behind the gate and the berm. I was very pleased with everything about the selection of this course.

Website: www.riverfallsgolf.com

I played the River Falls Plantation course on 9/24/15. The par 72 course is advertised as a Gary Player signature course. The course is located about 3 miles off I-85 and was easy to find.

I played the Player tees which is one of five tees available. The Player tees play to 6,520 yards with a rating of 72.0 and slope of 137. The various tees play from 6,520 yards to the Ladies tees (their designation, not mine) of 4,697 yards with a rating of 67.2 and slope of 116.

The design is excellent! The layout is not overly long, but is tight and features a lot of significant elevation changes. While the course opens with a slightly uphill par four, most of the holes seems to play more downhill. As a result of the design, this is not a course that would be easy to walk because there are many houses lining the course and significant distances between the greens and the next tees.

Every hole was different from any other and presented unique and scenic, but fair challenges. I found myself on many of the holes taking pictures of the hole or saying ‘wow, this is really pretty’. Because of how tight the holes were, this is not a course I felt comfortable trying to cut loose with big swings off the tee and instead focused on keeping the ball in play and leaving a second shot of a comfortable distance.

Service

I found this course by doing some internet research the night before and reading reviews by other players. The pro shop attendant and starter were very friendly. The pro shop employee handed me a very detailed Course Guidebook that, in addition to my Sky Caddie, was an outstanding source of information on the design, yardages, and recommendations for shot making throughout the course.

There was cold drinking water about every four holes. I did notice only one bathroom facility located at the confluence of the cart paths coming from the 7th and the 16th holes. Although there are a lot of houses around the course, the cart paths go through a lot of wooded areas with a lot of secluded trees.

Overall Condition

The course was in excellent condition throughout all eighteen holes. All of the fairways and roughs were well tended. The greens were a little slower than I have played all year, but they were all plush, firm, void of marks, and putted truly.

I did notice that the tee boxes were very small and sometimes uneven in terms of footing.
Clubhouse/Amenities

This course has a restaurant, clubhouse, driving range, and practice green. I had no time to use the driving range or any of the other facilities. The clubhouse does have a nice porch around it from which you have a nice view of the finishing holes for each nine.

Value

I played the course at 11:30AM at a rate of $42. I could have picked up an online tee time the night before for less money but did not do so because the weather forecast was questionable for the day with rain coming in. Fortunately, the rain drops did not start to fall until the 18th hole and only very lightly. The experience with this course made the fact that I paid more than I could have a non-issue because I got a great design, conditioning, and service in return for my money.

In summation, I felt like I had discovered a real treat by doing a little internet research the night before. I was so pleased with everything about the course that I went back into the pro shop and talked to three employees that were there to commend them on the venue.

I played the Stonewall Resort course on 9/18/15. The par 72 course is advertised as an Arnold Palmer signature course.

The design was outstanding. Every hole was different from any other and presented unique and scenic, but fair challenges. Stonewall Resort is part of the West Virginia state park system and there is a large lake and resort on site. I did not stay there, but stopped on my way along I-79 to Pittsburgh. The course is located about 4 miles off I-79 and was easy to find.

I played the gold/blue tee combination which is one of nine tees or combinations available. The gold/blue tees play to 6,455 yards with a rating of 71.5 and slope of 137. The various tee combinations play from 7,149 yards to a short course of 2,568 yards.

Service

I had passed the exit this course was off of many times over the last eight years and never had time to stop and play. I called from the road the day I played and left a message on the pro shop voice mail asking about the chance of playing and they called back within 10 minutes and invited me over. The pro shop attendant, cart attendants, and starter all were very friendly. The pro shop employee informed me that there was no drinking water on the course and that the beverage cart was probably on her final round for the day. He encouraged me to buy some water or drinks to take with me which turned out to be good advice.

When I talked to the starter, he was a very friendly gentleman but kept encouraging me to play the white tees of 5,821yards since I had never played there before. I found it strange that he never asked my experience or handicap but seemed very insistent that I should play the shorter tees. I went with my gut and played the tees at a yardage that I was consistently playing at my home club. The course did start with somewhat of a blind tee shot but there was a very good GPS on the cart that showed yardages, design, hazards, etc.

Overall Condition

I was stunned at the condition of the course in a negative way. They had obviously aerated not too long ago, which is not unusual, but there were an inordinate number of bare spots in the fairways and around the greens that I found disappointing for such a grand design. And even for a green that had been aerated, I was surprised that the surface had not been smoothed out somewhat and that the chance of a putt going true were absolutely zero. The front nine was in worse shape than the back nine. The back nine seemed to have fewer bare spots in the fairways and around the greens.

Clubhouse/Amenities

This course has a restaurant, clubhouse, driving range, and practice green. I had no time to use the driving range or any of the other facilities. The clubhouse does have a nice porch around it from which you have a nice view of the course and the park.

Value

I played the course on an afternoon rate of $68.90 which was the after 2:00 rate. The regular rack rate was $94 plus tax. I was very disappointed at the conditioning of the course and the fact they were charging top rates. Had the design not been so strong and the holes so unique, I would have been even more disappointed. They have what should be a great course that does not live up to the conditioning they advertise. I’m glad I played it but disappointed that I would not be in a hurry to play it again. I have been part of their email mailing list for at least a year with the thought of maybe staying there someday for a weekend. In the current condition, I would have been very upset had I done so based on the email representations.

In summation, I think Arnold would be proud of his design but disappointed in its appearance.

Totteridge was designed by Rees Jones and was originally opened as a private club. It has now opened to the public within the last few years and is managed by Foresight Golf. I have been wanting to play this course for a few years, as I usually enjoy Rees Jones designs, but live in Florida. I go back to PA several days a month to assist in elder-care matters with my parents.

I got the chance to play the course on 6/29/15 after several days and a few inches of rain. Since my parents live 40 miles from the course, I called to ask about availability to play and was encouraged to come out. When I got out there, all of the staff were friendly and welcoming and they had a $39 rate for Monday that included a soft drink and hot dog at the turn. Rates run from $39-$57 and they do have senior rates (60-69) and super senior rates for golfers over 70.

I played the course solo as the group getting ready to approach the first tee asked me to go ahead of them, and played the 18 holes from the Blue Tees which measure 6,659 yards. There are five sets of tees ranging from 5,307 yards to 7,154 yards. Course and slope ratings run from 66.4/122 to 75.8/139 for men and 72.4/129 to 79.1/143 for women.

I teed off about 1:15PM and was finished at 5:08PM on a day that seemed pretty busy as there were a lot of cars in the parking lot. While I waited on a few shots on the group in front of me, I was just relaxing and enjoying the beautiful scenery and elevation changes.

While I had never played the course before, I did have a Sky Caddie with me to help me with distances and hazards. I only remember two blind shots on the course as the rest of the course featured elevation changes and the holes and landing areas were mostly visible from the tees and approach shots.

The greens were in excellent shape and putted very true and steady. Teeing areas seemed a little spongy since there had been so much rain in the several days ahead of play. In spite of the large amount of water, the course seemed to drain well enough that workers were out there mowing and working on the tees and fairways. I also noticed that tee shots still bounced in fairways in spite of the extensive amount of rain the course had received in the prior couple days.

According to the staff person I talked to, there are 80 traps on the course and many of them had been washed out or looked like they were being allowed to grow over. This did create a little confusion as I was unsure if some of the traps were washed out, were ground under repair, or what. I played everything down. The staffer I talked to indicated that they were reducing the number of traps from 80 to 30 something because of the extensive maintenance required and I believe to reduce costs.

With the exception of the condition of the traps, Totteridge's only disadvantage is that it is literally located in the middle of farm country and not well marked to get there. It is 3.6 miles south of Route 22 on Hannastown Road and easy to find.

I really enjoyed the course in spite of the course being so soggy and can't wait to go back and play it again when the course is dry.