ccharles

Sewell's Point is a neat little Donald Ross design at the entrance to the Norfolk International Terminal South Gate and run by the Navy. It has a nice practice area with a couple of putting chipping greens and a driving range. The staff is friendly and the cart fleet was in good shape. The course itself is a typical Ross design. It is pretty flat, owing to it's location, and there isn't much trouble to be found off the tee. Fairways are generous and the rough is not penal. The greens are all pushed up, and most slope from back to front. On and around the greens are where the challenge is posed on this course. Water only comes into play on two holes, #2 and #11. Pace of play was great. I got around the front 9 in just over an hour, and the two groups I caught on the back both let me play through.

Lexington is in good shape at present. Greens are probably the best I've seen them in five years. Fairways are also in good shape. Bunkers are generally good with a few minor issues. They are regrassing a teebox on #5, so a temporary tee is in place. Teeboxes as a whole are OK, with a few being shaggy. The course layout keeps your interest. Driver is not the automatic choice off of every hole. Many of the tee shots are either up or down hill, and tee shot placement is imperative to having the proper angle for the second shot. Many of the greens have good amounts of slope in them, and the greens staff aren't afraid to put pins in difficult places. For the money you pay, this is an excellent value.

Played Lexington Golf Club on a chilly Thursday morning. There had been a frost delay, but the pro shop worked diligently to get groups at with as small of a delay as possible. The club has recently updated its cart fleet, which was a positive addition. The course was in good shape. The bermuda has gone dormant, but the course still played well. The greens were probably faster than they are in the middle of the summer. Tees and fairways were in good shape as well.

Played Lincoln Country Club for the first time in a little over 4 years. Course was crowded on a Sunday morning and they'd had a small frost delay. Was not impressed with the fivesome that was three groups ahead of us, that each took two off the first tee, so needless to say, pace of play was slow all round. Course conditions were average. Teeboxes were shaggy. Fairways and green surrounds were fine as the bermuda has gone dormant. The greens looked shaggy, but still rolled fairly fast. Bunkers were not maintained, mainly by players as rakes were seldom seen. Cart paths were downright awful. They'd been ground down in many places to smooth them out, but even then, they were barely passable in many others.
As far as the layout itself, the par 3's and par 5's are really tough for the recreational player. All of the par 3's are long, save the 17th, and none of the par 5's are particularly accessible, either. The par 4's are not the longest, but do often dogleg or play either up or downhill. Fairways are fairly generous, and most greens have some pitch to them.

Clubhouse and grounds staff are always excellent. Newer carts are in good shape as well. Tee to green, the course is in excellent condition. Tees and fairways have plenty of grass on them, and give nice lies. Bunkers are kept up well and have good amounts of sand in them. The bent grass greens are showing considerable signs of stress from the summer heat. There were a few on the front nine, along with #16 that have significant issues. They were syringing greens during my round, doing their best to keep them alive, so the desire is there, but it's just so hard to keep bent alive in this climate. I would give the greens a chance to recover before playing here again.

Played Revival for the third time this year. The staff is great, and the club has recently updated their cart fleet. The course conditions from tee to the green were by and large great. Tee boxes and fairways are in great shape. The rough is lush, but fair. You can play out of it, but it will test you. Most of the greens are fine, but there are some that are experiencing issues. The 5th hole had a temp green, as the regular one had been completely resodded. The recently reclaimed front of the 3rd green is showing signs of stress again, unfortunately. A couple of others also showed signs of stress from the summer heat.
If you haven't played here recently, they have converted #4 to a par 5, and #6 to a par 4, flipping the par on those two holes.

Piney Point Golf Club is a little off the beaten path on the southern end of Lake Tillery. The clubhouse is spartan, but serves it's purpose well. The staff is very friendly, both inside and out. The club has a new fleet of carts. There is a driving range and large putting green immediately behind the clubhouse. The course is a little shaggy in areas outside of play. The parts of the course that are in play are in excellent shape. Tee boxes are either bermuda or fescue and are lush and green. The fairways are all bermuda and are in fantastic shape after a great summer for growing grass. Same goes for the greens. The grass on the greens is tight and the ball rolls true hole after hole. The course isn't overly long but it still holds plenty of challenge. There are quite a few blind tee shots, many of which also correspond with 90’ doglegs that require precise tee shots. 17 of the 18 holes are guarded by greenside bunkers, some shallow, some deep.

Lexington Golf Club is a great municipal facility in Lexington, NC. It's location in town does prevent it from having a driving range. The course itself is well maintained all the way around. Greens are always in good shape from tee to green. The course isn't overly long, 6100 yards from the tips, but the rolling terrain, elevation changes, and doglegs make for challenging holes. You will hit different clubs off the tee; a 14 driver course it is not. The rates can't be beaten for a course of this stature in the area.

Highland Creek is seeing heavy play this summer due to the fact that two nearby courses are closed to have their greens redone. The course is in good shape with lush bermuda fairways and rough. The greens are holding up well in the summer heat and may be replaced next year themselves. The layout is quite challenging as putting the ball in play off the tee is key to playing well here. Water hazards come into play on half of the holes, and the greens are often well protected with bunkers. The staff is great, and they have supplemented their cart fleet with cars from sister courses.

For my money, Warrior is the best course in the Rowan-Cabarrus County area.. The conditions are always top notch. The bermuda grass greens have had a chance to mature and roll quite true. The fairways are always in great shape, and the rough is demanding but not overly penal. Improvements continue as two bunkers were rebuilt this spring. The club also got new electric carts with GPS this year. The layout presents a great variety of scorable holes intermixed with demanding ones. There are three par 3's on the front, while the most scorable stretch of the course is holes 13-18 that features two par 5 and three short par 4's.

Great value for the money!!! Lancaster was in great shape all the way around. Tees, fairways, bunkers and greens all in really nice condition. Pace of play was more than adequate for a busy Friday. Love the layout with a wide open front 9, followed by a back 9 that winds through a wooded area. Staff is friendly and helpful. Carts are modern and work well. Course features doglegs, rolling hills and a couple of ponds that come into play. Greens are large and grainy. They will test your putter all round long. Definitely a course that will be enjoyable for all skill levels.

Played HLJ for the first time in many years. They have a new fleet of gas carts since I was last on site in February. The course conditions varied widely. The bermuda fairways were actually some of the best I've played all year. Teeboxes were in good shape with just isolated issues here and there. Greens were in poor shape. Bare spots and weeds were prevalent on most if not all of the greens. They really need to be redone with more hearty bermuda grass. Bunkers were in good shape. The rough was lush and thick. Balls hit offline were easily lost. Our group would often find 2-3 balls each while searching for one of our balls in the rough. Cart paths need major work, as they are not passable on some holes.
The layout of the course features several doglegs or blind driving holes where course knowledge is a huge help. There aren't many water hazards to navigate, and only a small amount of elevation change.
Hopefully Ratcliffe Golf Services is investing into bringing this course up to par with some of their others in the Charlotte area, as it has potential to be a great layout.

First time out to River Oaks in several years. Course was in fantastic shape. Probably in the top four or five places I've played so far this year as far as conditions go. Tees, fairways, and greens all were great. Bermuda rough was thick in some places, yet more playable in others. Maybe my only knock on the course was the inconsistency of sand in the bunkers. Some had soft, white sand, while others had harder brown sand. The elevation changes and doglegs require accuracy and correct decision making off the tee. Greens are large and receptive, but you have to put your ball in the proper section if you want a chance to score. Fringes and run up areas are mowed tight and require precise chips and pitches. Pace of play was good; there were only a few groups on the course early on a Wednesday morning.

First time out to C.T. Myers . in about 4 years, and I wasn't disappointed. It was my first time playing their new greens and they were in phenomenal shape. Most of the rest of the course was similarly good. The back nine was nearly perfect as far as conditions go. The front 9 was very good, just not quite as nice as the back nine. Not a complaint, but just an observation. The greens rolled true and there weren't many ball marks to be found. Fairways were good with only isolated issues. Teeboxes were lush. Bunkers had a good amount of sand in them. The wide fairways and lack of rough make this a great course for all skill levels. Fairway bunkers are shallow and allow ease of escape. Greenside bunkers are much more challenging, as is the rough surrounding the greens. Pace of play was OK. Our twosome motored around the back nine (went off 10 first), but caught up to groups on #3 and it was hit and wait from that point forward. Cart fleet is showing its age, but are decent enough. Practice areas were well maintained. Staff was friendly and courteous. Course is taking COVID precautions seriously and encourages online payment and check-in.

Played Larkin today. They were observing some social distancing rules (max 5 people in the clubhouse at any one time, no pencils on the carts), but at the same time they still had bunker rakes out and divot bottles on the carts. Construction continues along 11, 12 and 15. It's a shame, as the 12-15 stretch down in the valley used to be a neat little secluded part of the course, but the houses are now encroaching on that. We were sent off the back as they were doing some maintenance on the front. They were topdressing the greens on the front, but the sand didn't affect the greens at all. Greens were in fairly good shape, not the best I've seen around this spring, but certainly acceptable. Fairways were in great shape, as were most teeboxes. A couple of boxes in shady areas were a little thin. The bunkers were probably the worst aspect of the course. The sand was hard packed in most of them. Pace of play was good; our twosome made it around in 3:10.

Sifford is the prototypical public golf course. It's 9 holes. It's not very expensive. The range and practice areas are some of the best around. The cart fleet is in good shape. The proshop is small and understated. The course is eminently playable for all skill levels. You can miss your ball on at least one side of each hole and still be able to play it. The course is in good shape. Fairways and tee boxes have plenty of grass on them. The greens are very slow. Even downhill putts have to be struck firmly. Beyond that, the course allows you to hit different clubs off tees, features a decent amount of elevation change, and has both left and right doglegs.

Warrior Golf Club has reopened after closing to redo their greens and remove trees, and the results are great! The course reopened at the beginning of August after being closed all summer. Warrior has always been a well maintained course, but the old bent grass greens just couldn't take the hot summers. They have been replaced with Champions bermuda and the new greens are excellent! The club has also removed trees on just about every hole, mostly around greens in order to improve air flow, and that has made an incredible difference as well. The course is much more playable for all ability levels and doesn't feel as claustrophobic as it did previously. They have grown the rough up to offset the tree removal on most holes, but that is fine; you can play from the rough, not so much from the trees. The fairways are phenomenal. Tee boxes are a little shaggy in some spots as they allow them to grow in, but overall in good shape. The carts are updated and have in-cart GPS. My only gripe would be that some of the cart paths need replacing.
The layout is great with five par 3's and four par 5's. Water comes into play on three or four holes. There is a decent amount of elevation change, but it is mostly subtle and not drastic. There are a few gentle dogleg holes as well.
The staff is very friendly, and the clubhouse has a grill, locker rooms, and fully stocked pro-shop.
If you've avoided playing Warrior in recent years due to the greens, do yourself a favor and give it another shot.

Staff: Outside, Pro Shop, and Snack Bar staff were all very friendly and helpful.
Carts: Nice clean electric carts with on-cart GPS.
Practice Areas: Nice long range, but you must always hit off of mats. There is a really nice, large putting green, but there is little area from which to chip and there is no practice bunker.
Conditions: Overall, the course conditions were really good. One green, the 17th was thin, but the rest of them showed little effect from the winter kill that has plagued so many other courses. The fairways and rough were also in fine shape. There were quite a few tee boxes that still need significant work done to them. Most of the white tee boxes were not being used; tees were either up or back. Hopefully a good weather summer will allow them to come back in.
Layout: Here's my biggest beef with Rocky River, and why even though it's the closest course to where I live, it's one that I play so infrequently. The layout does little to inspire or excite me. There is only one par 3 and one par 5 on the front. There is also little elevation change on the entire course. If you like hitting driver off of every hole, then you will enjoy this course. Most of the holes are straight away. The par 3's are all fairly short. You can take driver off of 13 of the 15 par 4's and 5's. Holes #4 and 14 are the exceptions. There aren't really any memorable holes, other than the large boulder in the middle of the 3rd fairway that doesn't really come into play. Water or native areas come into play on three holes.
Overall: I struggle to see why the course is rated so highly in the statewide rankings. Sure, for a municipal course, it's definitely one of the nicest you'll find, but you also pay a much higher fee to play it, one I don't know if it always justifies. I would still recommend this course, as it is generally always in good condition, but it is by no means my favorite.

This was my first visit to Carolina Lakes, and I will most definitely be back. The cold Spring and resulting winter kill have affected just about every course in the Charlotte area this year, but Carolina Lakes was in phenomenal shape. Greens were excellent, as were the fairways. An occasional tee box had some thin spots, but those were few and far between. Each of the numerous bunkers on the course were well maintained and had plenty of soft white sand in them. Every sprinkler head had yardages on them and there were markers in the fairways and on cart paths. The cart paths are also well maintained.
The layout of the course is outstanding as well. The course is inside of the Sun City retirement community, and winds it way through it. There is a mix of short and long holes, straight holes and doglegs. You will hit clubs other than driver off of several tees and that helps to provide great variety to the course. The four par 3's all demand carries over water or natural areas. There is a good bit of elevation change, particularly on the back nine. Perhaps the signature hole is #9, a dogleg right par 4 that features 7 bunkers that the tee shot must be threaded through. This is not a course that you can walk, as there are a few lengthy rides between holes.
The fleet of carts is new and full of features, including the best GPS system I've ever seen in a cart. The GPS touch screen gives you a flyover of each hole, in addition to the distances to the front, back, and that day's hole location.
I did not go into the clubhouse, but those amenities seem top class as well. Staff was pleasant and helpful. Pace of play was great. Our twosome got around in less than 3.5 hours on the Friday afternoon of a holiday weekend.
As I mentioned above, Carolina Lakes is in about the best shape of any course in the Charlotte area currently. The conditions and layout make this one a must play for anyone.