Backspiner

First I agree with the previous reviewer slow greens . You are also treated like a 2nd class citizen upon arrival you are told twice to park at the tennis court lot once by guard and then at the bag drop. I have played many better and high end county clubs in over 50 yr., and this is a first, a residents only lot, WOW. A turn off & Snobbish !!

The greens were excellent and nice speed. We played a day after several days of rain and only one hole was cart path only. We had tried other courses in the area and they were cart path only for 9 or 18 holes , not for us in our 70’s. The only flaw as others reported , tee boxes were beat up otherwise I would have rated a 5 star.. We can’t wait to play again !

The tee boxes were beat up , just move the markers where the grass was growing. The greens ok but some were slow & bumpy,. We thought newer greens would be better. The bunkers had water in them and that was before the rains. It might be good for beginners but not good players. The real 4 and 5 star courses in the area are Sarasota National and Riverwood to name a few. I guess the people who rated this course so high have never played those courses or are friends of the owners. Our foursome will not return the only reason we did after several years was we heard new greens and the course was in good shape according to the reviews. Wow , wrong on the good shape & greens!

A lesson learned you do not want to walk Tributary & Estuary in 90 degrees.
The course does not drain well therefor cart path only . I will call prior to going.
I aimed for the cart paths never played liked before and won't again. The greens
On the Trib were nice the Estuary were bumpy. If your a good played you would
be disappointed in the condition of the greens. IMO greens needed longer to
heal after aerifed. I will wait until October when rains will be less and the greens
better for the arrival of snowbirds !

First a true review was posted by the guy who said " greens need work" . This is NOT a 5 star course and I wonder if friends , relatives ,Etc, rated it a 5??. Well this is what happened to us Sat.6/17. We had an 8:52 tee time . We waited on every hole and 8 th hole it was 11 am over 2 hrs already. The two other guys said it will be about 5 hr round and had to quit. I decided to quit as well since I would be a single playing behind a foursome. I went into the pro shop, spoke to the young man , it was past 11:15 . I said it was going to be a 4:45 or longer round, he said he couldn't do anything. I asked for a 9 hole rain check , refund , etc. nothing. I said we did not see a ranger he said cost cutting we don't have one . Well then it is the fault of the course for very slow play. He just argued , not the way to treat a customer. I said you can still see the guys on the 10th tee that we were behind and it is now over 2:30. He said nothing he could do , just argue! Well there is something I can do , let you, Tripadvisor and my friends what a NO CLASS course you run.

The course reminds me of Esplanade and my favorite Sarasota National, it Is all about the greens. It has the largest greens I have ever played in over 60 yrs of golfing. In fact on the one par three we were told by the staff it takes about one hour to cut. We played at special rate of 64. And worth it for this "snowbird" season. They have rates as high as 129, not worth it IMO. I can't wait to play it in the summer when it should be under 40.

We were not told and was not mentioned on this site. We were stressed and rushed to get to the course. And we're not told the bridge across hole 1 was down for repairs when we booked, so it was played as a par 3. We would have played later in the week. The staff should have told us , very poor communication. The reason for lower rating.

We read the reviews and played it several weeks after the verticut and it is fine. The greens are good a couple had a few minor blemishes . The course was wet we have had a lot of rain but 90 degrees. I recommend bringing some mesquito repellant. The back nine is tight so if your at 20+ hcp bring extra balls. It is one of my favorites.

I agree with the reviewer of 3/12/16., he is spot on. In addition to his comments the short , older guy in the pro shop needs a course in manners and how to treat customers. He snapped at us and the lady who was coming to help him since he was so disorganized . He should not be working with people but on a mower cutting the very slow greens. If your a good player you will not like the speed. The courses with nice speed in that area are River Strand , Waterlefe & Esplanade . The driving range was nice except the day we played we had to hit off mats. I might try it again next year but for the money , I would rather play the three courses above.

The greens on this D. Ross course are fast and fantastic. The greens are the best I have played this year. You must keep the ball below the hole on these 11.5 greens

The course hosted the ladies pro Symetra Tour this yr and the FL State Mid Am. What a top notch course !

No driving range , they have nets to hit into. The first three holes you hit directly into the sun at 8:15. The fairways on some holes are like playing out of the rough. Many of the tee boxes are dirt and crabgrass.

The approaches in front of many greens are very wet and the balls were plugging. It has not rained in several days they have a drainage problem front of greens.

The home construction is tremendous , now I see why the course was closed and several holes changed. In fact they have two par threes back to back , which our foursome didn't care for.

The best part of the course are the greens , they are very good. And you may drive the carts to your car after the round. I played River Strand this week for just $ 3. more then here and it was fantastic. Oh and they have a driving range and balls were included.

We were told on the the 4th hole we were 5 minutes behind , give me a break. I could see if we were 10 or more .

Now it gets worse , we stopped for water at the range and we are told by a different person we are 25 minutes behind the group in front. Well we started at 8:30 and it is now 10:35 , we are 5 minutes off a 2 hr round which is normal. In fact at Sarasota National it is posted on the cart 4:14 is suggested.

So we will play more at SN in the future where our 4:07 round will be appreciated and 7 minutes early!!! Oh did I mention a better track and more courteous staff

The back nine is narrow, compared to the front. You will need to hit it straight or be reloading The greens were good except for two on the back which had some brown areas. The bunkers had good sand , no stones , etc, some tee boxes need TLC.

The greens were perfect . The greens rolled true and a nice speed. The tee boxes ,fairways and bunkers are in super condition.

A top notch course . A must play. I love it !

Tara is one of my favorites . It is the private course not the public one that has a similar name. The practice facility is excellent it was just redone last year. The fairways are very nice compared to other clubs in the area.

The bunkers contain good quality sand and plenty of it. The greens run true and are quick. The greens have some undulation but not severe.

It has a few holes that you must play over water and or marsh which make it challenging. It is a fun course , but fair , no tricked up holes with several sets of tees.

I highly recommend it.

One of my top ten courses. If you have a chance to play this private club , do not pass it up. The pro shop and the whole facility is 2nd to none. I can see why the LPGA holds it's annual qualifier here each Oct.

The practice area is one of the best. The fairways were great and weedless. The bunkers had plenty of good clean sand. The greens were excellent with some undulations but not extreme. It is a challenging track with some water hazards to carry but no tricked up holes.

I rate this course a 10 on a scale of 1-10.

I'm sure the previous reviewer played the Stoneybrook in Brandenton. This course is private in Jan., and the other Stoney has been a bad experience for me and many others as per it's reviews.

Stoney in Sarasota is excellent, greens , fairways and bunkers. It is a must play if your a good golfer and can get on it. This course is not on Golfnow as of this review.

I agree with the previous reviewer on the bunkers and the entire place needs an update. Now that being said I like the layout . It has a nice variety of holes many are quite challenging . I liked the greens , some of the fairways had some bad spots. The one thing I don't like on any course is a blind shot into a green, it had a couple.

The gps on the cart was really great. One of the best i have used , the distant to carry the hazards was great. They should give you a gps to find your way around , we got lost as well.

You must be a straight driver of the ball on # 10 and # 18 for sure !! The tee shot reminds me of the narrow chute at # 18 at the Masters. Good luck.

We enjoyed the course In spite of not playing our best but we will return. PS. The signature hole a green surrounded by water , nice. We all put a ball in the drink and one guy twice, no less!!

The course used to be top notch but not on this day. It is mainly a private course and has a very nice members locker room. The driving range is very nice as well.

Now to the course, the greens are good a bit on the slow side for me and most are undulating. The bunkers have nice sand and plenty of it compared to some courses in the area. I was in more then one but got out fine.

The layout is fine and not real diffult for the better players. The fairways need the most TLC. We play summer rules that you don't touch the ball but because of several very bad fairways you were allowed to move it. The reason was dead grass, no grass ,weeds, etc. etc.!!.

I like the course and hope it improves . I'll play many of the other better conditioned tracks and give it another try next year.

But if you are a good player you will want to play a better and more challenging course. The driving range hitting off matts!! The max. , to hit a club on the range 200 yards .. The greens rolled nice , had a couple of bad spots just move the ball to the side. The bunkers did have nice sand and plenty of it. The fairways were decent some weeds and G.U. R. areas. The rough is not real deep and thick.

A few holes you must hit over water. The out of bounds on the right or water may come into play on several holes . If you hit it straight , no worries.

I will play again when other courses are doing green maint, and sanding greens.