JakesDad9

My first time here and it's a pretty nice course. It has been very hot the last 2 - 3 weeks so there are some dry areas in the fairways, but it's not bad. My only real complaint would be that the tee boxes are dry and it's very hard to place a tee in many of them. A little more water would be helpful. The greens were aerated probably 2 - 3 weeks ago and are almost completely grown back in. They were rolling a little slow, although they were mostly smooth & true. If the course could coax a little rain, it would be excellent. The staff was really friendly, too. A nice track, overall

The first time I played here was several years ago while visiting the Hampton Roads area and I liked the course then, although I recall that the greens had very recently been aerated, with a lot of diseased areas. The greens that day really made the round less than enjoyable.

Fast forward about six years. This area was hit full-force by Hurricane Matthew just five days ago, with the area around the course receiving over a foot of rain in less than 24 hours. Needless to say, I was apprehensive about playing here today, expecting soggy, unplayable areas on the course. I wasn't totally wrong, however the entire crew has been working hard to make this course quite playable. Yes, there was quite a lot of soggy ground conditions on many of the holes, but with cart path only rules for the next week, there should be little damage to the turf. The storm caused many large trees to be knocked over, and where these fallen trees were encroaching on the area of play, or even the cart paths, they have been cleared away, for the most part. There is a lot of small tree debris in the deeper rough all along most holes, but the crew is working on getting that all cleaned up. The tee boxes are in good shape, and the fairways, other than being pretty wet, are playable. Although on #8 and #18, my approach shots were short of the green and the ball was completely plugged, becoming 100% buried in the fairway. Took some time & luck to locate each ball!

The greens had recently been aerated, but they are only a week or two away from not showing any more sings of this. In fact, the sand-filled holes on the greens are rolled in enough that they are more like little dots in the grass. On a couple of holes, they were aligned perfectly with the cup so that I could use them like runway lights, guiding my putts. LOL!

Aside from the current post-storm conditions, this course is fun in that it will make you think on a few holes with some doglegs in both directions, with pretty narrow landing areas on some of the fairways. And almost all of the greens are guarded by bunkers (which understandably have a lot of water in them right now). The location is out in the woods, with only one hole really near any traffic just outside the fence. The rest of the course is peaceful and really gives you the feeling of being secluded, which is a nice change from courses that are built with houses lining every fairway. This is a good course for all skill levels, except for maybe an absolute beginner - might be a little too challenging.

If you haven't played here, a $30.00 green fee is a fair deal, and GN sometimes has Hot Deals here for as little as $17.00, which would be an absolute steal!

Kudos to the staff here for getting this course in such good playing shape so quickly! In another week, this course will be in pristine condition. If you haven't played here, give it a try. I'll be back soon.