ebwheeler

After my disappointment in nearby 7 Springs, I vowed to try Butler's during my next visit to Elizabeth-- and now I'm lamenting the money I spent at Springs even more. Butler's is one of the nicest courses I've had the chance to play since moving to the South Hills. The course was in fine shape despite the overwhelming volume of play. The grounds crew was filling the bunkers with new sand as we made our way around the Lakeside track. There were some gorgeous holes on this sprawling property, the most of which were located on the challenging back nine. We had such a conversational group in front of use and such nice weather that we hardly minded the five+ hour round. I'll give Butler's the benefit of the doubt: The Woodside course was hosting a very large outing, which I assume flooded the Lakeside course with guests and impeded the speed of play. I can't wait to go back and try the other side.

Beware: At South Park Public, you will play THE longest round of your life. The atrocious pace of play could be attributed to any number of common public course afflictions: Inexperienced golfers; poor course management by the starters; entitled, oblivious, and sluggish senior players; or bargain bin greens fees-- the list goes on. Although the park does not take tee times, many of the elder regulars line up well before 8am on Saturdays and Sundays to sign up multiple foursomes at a time. Additionally, the staff are no strangers to nepotism. Expect to see the starters rubbing elbows with the regulars and providing preferential treatment to familiar faces, the likes of which I could only assume were distant relatives given the jocular manner in which they carried on while ignoring the other paying patrons who seemed to lie in perpetual wait for their chance to tee off. Most of the park faithful have never heard of ready golf. Forget playing through: I've never experienced such rude behavior on the course, part part of which I attribute to amateurism, the majority of which I attribute to a lack of consideration for others. In general, South Park is a muni nightmare.

Because my girlfriend and I found a great deal on greens fees through Golfnow, we avoided what would have been a disappointment. To claim the pace of play is slow would be a drastic understatement-- we waited 5-10 minutes to hit every shot. To be fair, pace of play can kill a round at the nicest of courses, but the problem at 7 Springs was the lack of consideration by the regulars; it quickly became clear that they've never heard of ready golf. Compounding the issue was the ineptitude of the starters. You would think that they would have made an attempt to pair us up or to let us off before the two foursomes that had yet to tee off on the first. Nope. Instead, they kicked back on the cart with their feet up beneath the front patio while we suffered the negative side of what I can only gather was nepotism. Not worth the money. I've heard Butler's is considerably nicer, so we'll be trying that track the next time we're in the area.

Beware: At South Park Public, you will play THE longest round of your life. The atrocious pace of play could be attributed to any number of common public course afflictions: Inexperienced golfers; poor course management by the starters; entitled, oblivious, and sluggish senior players; or bargain bin greens fees-- the list goes on. Although the park does not take tee times, many of the elder regulars line up well before 8am on Saturdays and Sundays to sign up multiple foursomes at a time. Additionally, the staff are no strangers to nepotism. Expect to see the starters rubbing elbows with the regulars and providing preferential treatment to familiar faces, the likes of which I could only assume were distant relatives given the jocular manner in which they carried on while ignoring the other paying patrons who seemed to lie in perpetual wait for their chance to tee off. Most of the park faithful have never heard of ready golf. Forget playing through: I've never experienced such rude behavior on the course, part part of which I attribute to amateurism, the majority of which I attribute to a lack of consideration for others. In general, South Park is a muni nightmare.

In general, Scenic Valley is a short track with fast, true greens. Eponymous in nature, this course is truly scenic: The cart path winds throughout low-lying, creekside thickets of trees and over rolling hills. Play the blues for a fair challenge; play the whites for your ego. Either way, play Scenic Valley for an enjoyable round-- but be prepared to shell out around $40-45 to ride 18 on the weekend. With a few discounted Golfnow tee times, Scenic Valley would have my regular business.

Great links style golf for the money. As expected, the greens were tiered, ungulating, and quick. The course is short and wide open-- definitely a positive for average to high handicappers. Additionally, the staff has always been extremely friendly, especially in the pro shop. I suggest stopping in to check out the well-stocked and attractively priced merchandise; there are definitely a few deals to be found. Most notably, the views around the course were quite stunning: many holes offer a 360 degree, hill-top view of the laurel highlands. Although the grounds crew has struggled to bring along the ground under repair on a few holes, Glengarry offers a great value and an enjoyable round of golf. I will definitely play there again sometime soon.