Nate6242606

First of all I'm very fearful that this course won't be able to make it financially. We've taken the 10:22am hot deal tee time several times on a Saturday or Sunday morning and arrive to find a mostly empty course. There's a couple reasons for this that I see. Less folk are golfing nowadays, and the fact that the former Country Club of Ashland went public a couple years ago. It is an infinitely better course and can be played for just a few bucks more. I personally played it almost weekly up until this year, they no longer offer any tee times on Golf Now or Supreme Golf. I used to find the hot deal and played it for ten bucks. That was probably the best golfing deal you'll ever find. It's conditions are similar or better than resort courses that I've paid up to 125.00 a round to play. It's nice and since it's reasonably priced, I'm sure it takes a ton of business from Brookside.

On to Brookside. It's a good, not great, course. The front nine is pretty open and other than being par 35 and not having two par 5's, it should be viewed as the scoring nine. It does have a few tricky greens and areas where it's almost impossible to get up and down from. The par 3 4th hole, you are dead if you go long. Hole 5 is a driveable par 4 if it's not into the wind (I know this because I've done it recently AND drained the 25 footer for eagle :). There is a lake left, so beware slicers of the ball. The green on 5 is a beast if you're not in the right spot. Hole 6 is tricky too. Again, slicers beware and this dogleg right requires your tee shot to be in the left side of the fairway unless you can hit it super high to clear the trees protecting anything right of center. Hole 7 is another shortish par 4 but has a two tiered green. It's almost impossible to even hold the green from the upper shelf if the pin is in the front. Good luck. 8 is another almost driveable par 4 but again, slicers better be careful. There's OB left and a lake in the landing area right. Not a bad hole to hit a three iron off the tee and leave yourself a short iron in if you're not real accurate.

The back nine is much tighter (without being overbearingly so). It's basically carved out through a rolling hill forest. Not too many holes of distinction but the par 5 13th is interesting. A good tee shot that clears the top of the hillcan leave as short as a mid iron in if the course is pretty dry. If you hit into the upslope of that hill, , good luck getting there even with an off the deck driver. There's really no great lay up spots either since it's down a hill from 150 out to back up that hill from about 75. No real flat area collection site. 16 is a short (150) straight uphill par 3 this is the gnarliest green on the course, by far. You will not get up and down from behind it, you'll be lucky to hold it at all. 18 offers a good chance at a good score. It's a driveable par 4 with no real trouble and probably the easiest green on the course.

Overall a course I'd highly recommend snagging a hot deal on. I probably would play it much with full green fees, just besuxse there are better local course for about the same. But a 10-15 hot deal, you won't be disappointed.