dang3rtown

I played Bing yesterday only because I had no other options due to first tee tournaments. This was my first time back since an "incident" here that I will detail later. Yesterday, the weather was perfect, light breeze, mid 70's, no clouds, great day. I call in and ask how busy the course is. Pro shop says I can fly through, no one on. I get there five minutes later and wait 20 minutes to play behind a very slow foursome who is playing behind another slow foursome who... etc. There may not have been a huge wait but the course was clearly full and they were doing nothing to properly stage starts.
Moving on, the fairways are in rough shape. I would say they most resemble the quality of a soccer field in a city park. You can literally lose your ball in the middle of the fairway. They seem to be having serious drainage issues, the greens a slow and bumpy and the bunkers are filled with some kind of sludge.

finally, my "incident" here was a broken ankle. While walking through the rough here back in February, I stepped in a gopher hole and broke my ankle. Buyer beware, sure but this is a serious and prevailing issue at this course. There are gofer holes EVERYWHERE as soon as you step off the fairway. Combine this with the lack of mowing they do and they can be impossible to see. I literally tread with great caution overtime I'm an inch off the fairways. It's unacceptably dangerous and hazardous to the point where I think it could possibly be considered a negligence issue.

I had read reviews earlier about the condition of the course but booked anyway because I got a great deal on an afternoon rate. Here's the short version; this is an amazing course that has absolutely been decimated by poor upkeep.
It's hard to describe how poor the conditions are in some spots. The fairways are spotty at best with large patches of dirt, the greens are pock marked with unrepaired divots and the bunkers are nearly unplayable. As for the greens, they have no consistency, some are hard baked and on another, my playing partner had his ball plug in the green off a sub 100 yard approach shot. There is literally no sand in any of the bunkers. It's some kind of dirt/sand slurry that has been watered and congealed multiple times. After the second bunker I landed in, I finally realized it was playing as a sandless bunker hitting off hardpan. Off the fairway, the course is overgrown with mustard weeds to the point where any ball not landing in the first cut of rough is lost.
The saddest part is, the layout of this course is first rate. If the course was even maintained in an average way, it would be one of the best courses in the area. I'm really sad to see the condition of this course. I suspect there may be financial issues with the course and budgets are being cut. Hopefully, things will turn around because I would be back in a heartbeat if some effort was put into this place.

First time at Bing. My first impression was a cool, 50's vibe. Great looking, mid-century club house. It's right next door to an executive airport so planes are flying overhead constantly and the drive into the club house splits several fairways which combines to give one a feeling of being somewhat exposed I guess? Kind of weird. Course layout is average, classic style american course. No real water to speak of, some obstacles created by air traffic control beacons. The 12th was indeed a challenging hole! Overall, the course did not drain well and was just... kind of dirty. Standing water, leaves everywhere made it difficult to find a ball in the fairway. Bunkers were fairly hard packed. With some love, this could be a really nice course. I bet it plays great in the summer. Buyer beware in the winter!

I played this course just after a strong storm came through the area dropping lots of rain and felling several trees. Course drained well, greens were fast but a few balls plugged in the fairways. Not surprising given the massive amount of rain. Looking forward to playing again when things have dried out a bit.