Late to the review party – I played the white tees with the GK Gurus at 1140 on Thursday, 2/9/17. Thanks to GKers jerry64, zgolfinman, and 140ver for a fun round. I like the setting and layout of this course, and I wish it was closer to me so I could play it more often. I found the staff very accommodating, the course in good shape, and the day very enjoyable. Overall the course was fairly damp and soft after all the recent rain, although the temperatures in the late morning were quite warm, and I found myself overdressed as locals showed up in shorts!

Greens had good coverage, with some occasional thin areas around the edges – they were medium fast and got slower as temperatures dropped and day went on – generally held shots but some areas of some greens were firmer than others. I didn’t see too many old ballmarks.

Fairways had good coverage but lies were tight. Rough was cut very short and playable, but could be clumpy. Sand traps around the greens had plentiful and fluffy material; however, there were many unraked areas in the traps (see: jerry64!). Tees were just fine.

Friendly starter. Pin sheet for that day on the cart – nice. First few holes started with a ‘gate’ entry/exit system for the carts, which in my opinion helps reduce casual/random wear and tear on course conditions along the margins of cart paths. The starter made a point of telling us about it – but the system was abandoned by the course for whatever reason after the 4th hole, and we never saw the gates again!

Drainage areas between the holes are pretty torn up after all the recent rain/runoff – many of these areas look like they could use some thinning, both for aesthetics and for more effective flood control and drainage conveyance. The driving range grass was fuzzy but fairly level – it’s a nice separated range area that also has a chipping green/sand practice area. However, the sand is not like that next to the greens around the course – the practice bunker is very damp and hard packed with only a thin playing layer.

No cart girl -there’s a grill at turn but it’s far from the travel line from #9 to #10. The course needs more water stations. I didn’t see a bathroom on the front nine.

An unfortunate cap to the round was running into a total loser 20-something single on #18 tee – he was scruffy in cutoffs, hat backward, unshaved and mouthy and rude when we called him out for cutting in front of us (“I came off the 9th green and the 10th tee was crowded, so I drove over to #18”!!!). Left a bad taste in the mouth, but definitely not enough to spoil the great day I had playing with other GK Gurus.

I had to head for home right after the round, so I missed out on staying afterward to get to better know GKers in the second group that I had barely met before – sorry Larry and Lee. Definitely recommended.

Joined Johnny, Steve/SR129, Larry/larryq2001 on Thursday for a sunny day of golf, teeing off in the 2nd group, about 11:50am.

Was impressed with the course layout overall, several very interesting, and a variety of holes and scenery. Certainly a good challenge – even from the whites for a short-hitter, required some shot strategy, particularly navigating (mostly dry) ravines on approach shots to a handful of greens, but holes were fair, except on one par 3, where Johnny and Larry, playing the blues, actually had shorter yardage than Steve and I had from the whites!?!

I thought the tees were mostly very smooth, nice and green. I do remember 3 tee boxes where it was challenging to get an even lie within the ropes, including the par 3 18th. So, I cheated.

Fairways were pretty firm, getting a decent amount of roll. Mostly lush and green, divots were fairly well filled in with sand from golfers. The fairway grasses and rough were a bit spotty here and there, but nothing too much to complain about. Not up to the standard right now of Goose Creek and Black Gold, but pretty decent.

I found the greens looked great from the fairways. They were green and had good cover, but were not cut as crisply as I’d hope for, and the grain was not always consistent. Maybe a rolling is in order? A bit bumpy-putting from foot traffic and shaggy cups. With a few (faster) exceptions, I thought they were medium-speed to start, ending a bit medium-slow later in the day, as Johnny had predicted the grass was likely to grow quite a bit by the end of the day – he knows his stuff! I did enjoy the variety of undulations that made for some interesting putts.

Was disappointed that we never saw a cart lady/person on the course, no ball washers on the course to be found, and only 1 jug of iced water on the 7th and a drinking fountain along with the loos, about the 13th hole. Really impairs the on-course player experience on this point. Would be brutal in the summer. There is a snack bar at the turn, but it is very much out of the way inside the clubhouse – not good when you’re trying to maintain contact with the group in front. The lady marshal came around on the 3rd hole and urged us to pick up the pace, as we were probably 4-5 mins slower the the first GKer group at that point. Like that I finally saw a marshal do their job. We finished in 4:35 mins, so she should’ve kept watching us. 😉

Mia serving drinks in the 19th hole is a gem, great personality, and took good care of Larry and myself. Look forward to giving this course another go, bringing a stash of my own refreshments next time. Really had a very enjoyable afternoon with this group, and look forward to a chance to tee it up again with them! Cheers. Lee