careygc

I played with some friends and we decided to walk the course to get some exercise as it is quite flat and easy to walk. On the 11th hole I hit my approach and it ended up in a hazard area left of the green so I went in to look for my ball. I stepped on a grass covered hole which I assume was made by a gopher or something and twisted my ankle. It took me a few minutes to recover and try to walk on it, but I decided to try to walk it off and finish the round to keep it loose. As I came up to the 12th green the marshall came by, and we were a few minutes behind because of that incident. I told him what had happened and that we were doing our best to make up some time as I then started playing more forward tees. His response was to ask us to play ready golf and keep up, and then he drove off. Didn't ask if I was alright, didn't offer a ride or anything, just hurry up. We eventually caught up to the next group on 14. As I hobbled off 18 green we passed him again and I commented to him that I made it through the round. His reply was to ask me what our tee time was - I told him and then he drove off again. Nice, huh?

The fairways and greens were in good condition and they let the rough grow quite thick to add to the challenge. I would play it again.

A buddy and myself teed off on a Wednesday afternoon. We had lunch prior to the round and it was very good and reasonably priced. we found the course conditions to be quite good. The fairways were very lush and provided a nice cushion for the ball to rest on, and the rough was mowed to the proper length to make it challenging but not unreasonably difficult. The greens were slightly above average, there were some spots where they applied some sort of blue substance, probably to promote growth. However they rolled quite true, our putts never bounced around. We enjoyed our day so we came in after the round for a drink and something to eat. I must say that our experience with the pro shop staff and the servers in the restaurant were fantastic, and it was obvious that the staff enjoy working here. Thanks for making our day.

This was my first time playing at Moon Valley, I booked the round on Golfnow.com. We arrived and checked in and we were treated very well by the pro shop staff and the guys outside cleaning up the carts, as they were all very helpful. We were paired up with a couple who also had never played here either. The greens were in perfect shape, very undulating and rolled true. The fairways were decent, the rough was a bit patchy but playable for the most part. We made the turn and I dropped off my playing partner to go to the ladies room while I went over to the snack shack to pick up a hot dog and head over to the 10th tee box. They didn't have any ready but the young lady said she could have one ready quickly so I told her to go ahead. A few other guys showed up to order drinks so I stepped aside to wait for my hot dog. This was taking a little while so I asked when it would be ready because I needed to get to the 10th tee. It took over 10 minutes to get it with all the socializing going on. When I walked out and picked up my playing partner she thought I had disappeared. The people we were paired up with went ahead because they thought I had abandoned them. Bottom line is nice staff, but could be better managed to keep things moving along. The course was fine, nothing special or really memorable.

I'm a 10 handicap player and enjoy playing in 4 1/2 hours or less. We had a late morning tee time, the weather was perfect and we arrived with plenty of time to practice before our tee time. We checked in at the pro shop. The ladies there were very friendly and chatted us up, which I think is a sign of how golf club staff value their customers. We left the pro shop to hit the range and the putting green. Tee times were a few minutes late but not unreasonable. We teed off on the first hole and as we walked down the fairway we commented on how it couldn't be a more perfect day. We probably saw the marshall once or twice on the front nine. Fairways and greens were in great shape.

We made the turn, stopped at the halfway house to take a quick break and teed off on #10. Things were great for the rest of the round, until the 17th hole. After we teed off and were walking down the fairway the marshall stopped us and said in a raised voice, "JUST SO YOU KNOW YOU'RE 15 MINUTES BEHIND!". And he didn't say it nicely, I might add. Seriously?? We don't see him the entire back nine but we're almost finished our round and all of a sudden it's a panic that we make up 15 minutes with 1.5 holes remaining?? When we stepped on the tee box on 18 the group in front had just hit their approach shots to the green. We weren't right behind the but we weren't that far back either.

I totally agree that the role of the marshall is to keep play moving along; I also believe that they should realize that they are dealing with clients who pay good money to enjoy their day who shouldn't have to put up with verbal abuse by staff. There are more effective ways to get golfers (ie. customers) to speed up. How about asking nicely, for example? In the end we finished in 4:35 and waited on a few tee boxes. We were probably behind by a little bit we all felt that the marshall's rudeness was totally uncalled for, but apparently he figured it was necessary. Again, the pro shop staff couldn't have been nicer. Unfortunately the encounter on the 17th hole will be what we remember most about this day.

We played Cypress Lakes yesterday. It was easy to get a tee time and there were very few players on the course. After seeing the conditions do the fairways I now know why. They were hard packed with more dirt than grass so if you didn't strike the ball cleanly there was little margin for error because there was absolutely no cushion of grass under the ball. Every iron shot created an explosion of dirt. Perhaps it's because it's early in the season but we played two other courses in the past week and their fairways were much more lush.

That being said, the greens rolled fast and true, and every staff member we encountered here was very nice to us. However I would try other courses before returning.