onepunchnelly

I have been playing here for several years and usually, it is in very nice shape. Recently, the conditions are not meeting expectations. Tee boxes and fairways are ok- not great, the rough is really rough. Areas around the greens are bare and burned out with more patchy weeds than grass. The greens themselves were very poor, some were diseases and patchy, all of them were SLOW and bumpy. Speaking of slow, the round took us 5.5 hours- that is just unacceptable and made the afternoon into a chore waiting on every shot with 3 groups on each hole from 1 through 18. No ranger to help move people along. They are very strict about not allowing coolers- but there was no cart girl. They directed us to a self serve water station that should have been closed in the interest of social distancing. 89° and sunny with no water also made a long day feel longer and more miserable...Golf is to remain open through the coronavirus pandemic as a form of excercise under certain safety guidelines- for example, check in outside the clubhouse, having only one golfer per cart...not at Rosedale, they didnt even give the option. 2 golfers in every cart, even if they were strangers. The course and the driving range were packed with no regard for social distance or safety. Other courses have done a much better job of taking public health seriously. Rosedale just wants to maximize profits at the expense of player safety. Overall, I am sad to see this course in poor condition because it is a great layout. I am more upset that management would rather jam people out there on top of each other instead of being safe. I got an afternoon hotdeal for $26 and that was too much money for the product received. Save your money, protect your health, wait until conditions improve and play elsewhere. Hopefully, courses that manage Covid19 safety like this will not ruin golf for the rest of us. If guidelines are not being met the state or county can ban golf altogether...thankfully, most other courses are doing a better job of protecting our health and safety.

I live local and have played the MOC several times, even when it used to be Imperial Lakewoods. The course was in such poor shape 2 years ago, I stopped playing here. I heard there have been improvements and decided to give it another try. On the bright side, the greens are in really nice shape, they've done a great job there...but that's about it. Tee boxes were horrible, fairways are burned out and thin, rough had more weeds than grass, in most spots around the greens it was just bare dirt, the sand traps were more like hard dirt. The layout is fun with some interesting holes and the staff was super friendly and accommodating. They have done a good job of implementing safety measurements in light of Covid19, but the course itself has a long way to go in my opinion. This is a good course and conditions are improving, but it's just not there yet. If you get a hotdeal for less than 30, give it a try. Otherwise, save your money and wait another season or 2 until things improve here.

I played this course a few times, a couple years ago and had some bad experiences. The course was frequently in beat up condition, was not a great value and unfortunately, they had a very rude staff that, in my opinion, always treated guests as "less than". I stopped playing here altogether. On a friend's recommendation I returned to give it another chance and man, have they turned things around. We got off as a 2some very early in the day with no problems, the course is in fantastic condition and the staff was excellent- making us feel welcomed and helping us get around the course. The starter Mike is a great guy who genuinely cares- that kind of employee is invaluable. Overall, kudos to the owner and the staff for such an incredible transformation. We will be playing here often, especially with season ending soon. Great job Greenfield Plantation!

I played IMG a few years ago and was not impressed. I was new to the area and everyone said this was the best course in the area. I probably paid top dollar at the time and it happened to be in rough shape- I was disappointed and had not been back. This past week, a friend talked me into trying there again and man, what a different course! Really in nice shape, the greens were nearly perfect and rolled fast and true. Some tee boxes were lumpy and some areas of rough were bare, but all in all a 4/5 for conditions. The greens are firm and it is tough to stop a pitch so dont short side yourself! Stay under the hole and you will score. Very nice layout that is fair and fun to play with a good mix of shots. You will use most of the clubs in your bag. Pro tip, play early to avoid slow play - we finished in just under 3 hours as a 2some. Overall, a great course, friendly staff and a good value at $40 to play early on a weekday.

Brand new course, excellent manicured conditions. This course is a must play if you're in the area. Gorgeous layout with interesting & challenging holes. The course has some nice elevation changes that you don't normally see on a Florida course. The greens are still hard making it difficult to hold your approach shot on the green surface. The greens are huge with some severe undulations- a signature of the Palmer design company. The tee boxes and fairways were all in pristine condition. The practice area was really great and range balls are included in the green fee. Carts have modern touch screen GPS. Overall this is an excellent, championship caliber course. If you find a HOT DEAL on GL, jump on it - you won't regret it

Definitely one of the nicer courses in the area. Very good conditions all around with some of the quickest greens around. It has rained a lot recently and the greens still ran a 10 on the stimp meter. The property is gorgeous, the staff was extremely courteous, friendly and accommodating. The layout reminds me of Esplinade in Lakewood ranch. Mostly wide open off the tee with the bulk of the challenge coming on your approach shots. It seemed like the par 5s were long and most of the par 4s were rather short- some of the greens are even drive-able from the white tees. If I had to find something negative, i would say although the course was beautiful and very well maintained I feel like the layout was a little less than memorable with some of the holes looking similar to others and no really stand out signature holes. But that's just splitting hairs because it really is a wonderful facility with a great practice area and a beautiful clubhouse. If you can get a hot deal jump on it you will be impressed from the minute you arrive!

I wrote a bad review for Tara Preserve a couple of months ago because the course was in terrible condition at the time. I wanted to update that review by saying the course is now in the best shape I have ever seen. A dramatic improvement, especially on the greens which were in very good shape and rolled nice and true, although they were a little on the slow side. I would recommend this course to anyone who likes natural courses built around the original landscape. Give it a try, especially if you can find a good hot deal.

This is my new favorite golf course! The course is in excellent condition from tee to green. The greens are beautiful and roll true but they did run a bit slow. The course is very scenic and the holes are challenging and memorable. I really cant think of anything negative about this place. The staff were extremely friendly and very helpful. It seemed evident they enjoy working there and are happy to help. The gentleman behind the bar was especially nice and they had great deals on food and beer on the turn. I was right back out on 10 before the group behind me could even putt out on 9. Stonybrook has an excellent practice area. Summer rates are in effect - $25 before 11am and $20 after 11 am every day. For a gem like this it's a real bargain. If you find a HOTDEAL for any less, jump on it! You wont be disappointed.

This course has a great lay out that was designed around the natural lay of the land. Ted McNalis is one of my favorite architects. He typically makes each hole memorable and scenic while retaining the natural beauty of the surrounding area. His courses are usually fair and leave you wanting to play again. The Preserve at Tara has let Mr. McNalis' course deteriorate far from it's intended beauty. I play here around once a year when I can get a good hot deal just to see if the conditions have improved. They have not...the greens were about the worst I've seen them with large weeds growing all over them. My playing partners joked the staff were growing broccoli on the greens. Such a shame because this could be, and at one time probably was, one of the nicest courses in the area. Too many other really nice options at great summer prices to waste any money here.

I've played almost every public/semi-private course in the surrounding area and this is by far the best course in Bradenton/Sarasota. That being said, it is also one of the most difficult in the area. The community surrounding the course is absolutely gorgeous. Being set on the Manatee river gives plenty of scenic views and opportunities to see beautiful wildlife. The homes along the course are opulent and add to the scenic beauty. There is water on every single hole and on some it comes into play on more than one shot. I am a decent golfer and play to a 12 handicap. I always bring more than a dozen balls, because I can typically expect to shoot about 10 over my normal average - Yes it is that challenging! I shot a 96 (counting my penalties) when I normally shoot low to mid 80s. This is the course I bring my friends and clients to when visiting. The staff is excellent, the course is finely manicured and always impeccable. Now that snowbird season has ended you should be able to get a great HOT DEAL and get an excellent value. Especially as summer approaches

Played here this past weekend for the first time based on a friends recommendation. I live in Bradenton and drove almost an hour south to Northport to play this course. It was definitely worth the drive! Beautiful course, excellent lay out, great practice area and a very friendly and helpful staff. The course was a bit crowded as it was a gorgeous day, but the staff kept kept everyone moving at a good pace. Bobcat trail presents all of the great features you would expect of a 5 star golf course...until your ball finds a sand trap. They are more like "wet dirt" traps than sand traps. The surface of which reminded me of my days of little league baseball. The dirt is really heavy and moist despite a lack of recent rain. I was not complaining when I found a Fairway bunker because it was relatively easy to pick it off clean and salvage a good shot, but the green side traps were really difficult - even when we lifted the ball and "raked" a good lie the sand did not behave as expected. It really is a shame because everything else about the condition of this course was top notch, the tees, fairways and greens were all well above average. The greens were set up for Masters Sunday hole locations and making chips and putts was challenging but certainly still fun. The greens are fast but not lightning fast and rolled true with out many lumps or bumps to throw you off line. I will definitely play here again, I will just try a bit harder to avoid the dirt bunkers - now that I have a better understanding of the overall lay out.

This is a very nice course intended for better golfers. If you have a hard time breaking 100 at your local muni, this course will give you fits! It is rather narrow off of some of the tees and a lot of the approaches don't leave much room for error. Bring your A game as placement is much more important than length. I played as a single and was matched up with 2 (much) older gentlemen. They proceeded to whip my butt on this course as they consistently hit (short) straight shots right in the middle of the fairways. I typically shoot in the mid 80's but I struggled to keep it in the 90's on this day. The greens are like putting on ice, very slick and lightning fast. Some of my approaches would not hold the green as they were pretty firm. Although I had a hard time on this course I still had a lot of fun and really enjoyed the challenge. I saw tons of beautiful wildlife, including one of the biggest gators I've seen in the 6 years I've lived in Florida. The course itself was very well manicured from tee to green with no real negatives to speak of. The pro shop staff were very nice and helpful. I would recommend this course to serious golfers who are looking for a real challenge while enjoying the gorgeous landscape and wildlife at Misty Creek GC.

I imagine this was once a really nice course. I got a good hotdeal (less than $20 in season) and wanted to try the only Robert Trent Jones design in west Florida...I was sadly disappointed. It is a very nice lay out with a mix of easy and challenging shots. Lots of water and some rather narrow fairways. The greens were not the worst I've ever seen, but certainly not good. This course is in desperate need of some intensive maintenance. The fairways are just terrible with some having more dirt and dead bare patches than grass. The rough is a mix of weeds and bare patches. The tee boxes were not so bad to be fair. The pace of play was excellent. I played by myself and played 2 balls in under 3.5 hours. What a shame, I'm sure this could be a really excellent course with a good deal of TLC. The staff were really nice and accomidating.

Several other nice courses in the area. This course was just ok in pretty much every aspect. Nothing special or memorable about any of it...The staff was friendly and helpful, the course was not in top shape but neither was it beat up...just ok. The lay out was a little boring and not very challenging. I like to play lots of different courses wherever there is a hot deal within 30 miles I will drive and try it. I will not return to this course. Too many other nice courses near me to warrant a return trip to summerfeild.

I played this course despite some poor reviews and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. The first impression on arriving was pretty bad, I thought "Wow, what a goat track" there are lots of bare areas of dirt where grass should be growing. I know they recently hired a new superintendent to try and address some of the issues. From older reviews I was not expecting much from the greens or tee boxes but I was pretty impressed overall. It seems obvious the new greens keeper is prioritizing their time and budget to first address the areas of greatest need. The greens, while not perfect, were better than average and they did roll very nice and true. Some older reviews said the greens were over gown and very slow but that is no longer the case. I played the Sands and Cypress 9s. Tom in the pro shop was very friendly and helpful getting me out onto the 2 quickest 9s despite the fact I was a little late for my tee time. There was one green on the Cypress course that was in bad shape but all of the rest were pretty good. The tee boxes on both courses were reasonably flat with grass growing and the fairways for the most part were pretty good. (I did have to move to "fair lie" in the FW once or twice.) The rough must be low on the priority list for repairs because it is in bad shape-more dirt than grass and its just unsightly. This was why I had a bad first impression when I pulled in. The sparse rough looks dead and uninviting but I do understand why the superintendent has ignored this eye sore in favor of repairing greens and tee boxes first. Good job all around to the new staff for improving the greens and tee boxes. Ron Garl is one of my favorite designers, I would love to see this course returned to its intended beauty. Depending on weather conditions this summer, I believe Falcon watch could be greatly improved by next season. I must say- I had a career round here and broke 80 (76=+4) for the first time in a while. So playing well certainly helped my enjoyment of the course. If you can get a good hot deal, I would recommend trying this course- I wouldn't pay full price as there are several other nice courses in the area.

This is my home course as I live just a few minutes away. I would highly recommend this course. It is beautiful and well cared for with nice scenery and wild life. The fairways are wide and inviting, the greens are quick and true. They are not too small or unfairly contoured. Overall this is a really great course. Pace of play is not usually an issue -even being in season. The staff is always friendly and helpful. Manatee county also owns and operates a course in Bradenton that is not as nice as this one is. Before I moved to this area I had not played Buffalo Creek because I expected the same poor conditions as the Manatee County course- but these are definitely two birds of different feathers!

I had played here late last year and thought the course was in poor shape at the time. After just playing here last Monday I can see definite improvement in the overall maintenance. However, there are still several greens with significant damage-enough to effect play. Also, some of the tee boxes are in poor shape, lumpy and dry/ barren. The rough is very thin and dry in some areas. I payed $13 on a hotdeal...for that price it was an excellent value. The food sucked and was overpriced, but the staff were very nice and helpful.