TENNESSEE
The Bear Trace Cumberland Mountain, Crossville, TN – Played Sept 28, 2009, $40 per person after 2 pm – 18 holes, 6430 yards, par 72. Operated by Tennessee State Parks. Scenic Nicholas designed course with lots of water. Good condition, great bluegrass fairways and tees. Fast bent grass greens. Nice driving range and facilities. THREE STARS
River Run Golf Club, Crossville, TN – Played Sept 29, 2009, $35 per person after 2 pm – 18 holes 6244 yards. Interesting course, but not in great shape. Well worn and minimal facilities. Some of the holes had rock cliffs, thick woods, swamps and running creeks. Lots of lost balls. TWO STARS
Lake Tansi Country Club, Crossville, TN – Played Sept 30, 2009, $$35 per person. 18 holes 6205 yards, par 72. Beautiful course with excellent maintenance. Bluegrass fairways and bentgrass greens. Nice driving range, but must hit from mats. Very friendly personel. FOUR STARS
NORTH CAROLINA
Grove Park Inn, Asheville, NC - Played March 19, 2010, two for one special $65 for two greens fees - 18 holes with cart! 6,720 yards par 70. This course is in immaculate condition, even in the winter. First opened in 1899, it was redesigned by Donald Ross in 1924. A major renovation was done in 2001 to restore it to the original Ross design. It is a tight shot-maker's course with scenic mountain views from the back nine. Highly rated by all and we give it FIVE STARS!! But it is crowded.
Springdale Country Club, Canton, NC – Played Oct 22, 2009, $35 per person with cart – 18 holes, 6812 yards, par 72, beautiful views, rolling front nine with elevated tees and greens, flatter back nine. Greens are hard and fast. Driving range is small. Most of the course is in good condition. Fairway grass is thin and hard compared to bent grass courses. Long par 4s with most impossible to reach in two. Quite a few blind branches crossing the fairways. Very scenic. Great and fast turkey sandwich at the Hole in the Wall at the turn-around. THREE STARS
Broadmoor Golf Links, Fletcher NC - Played Oct 2009, Blue 6569 yards, $35 per person with cart. Bermuda fairways, bluegrass/fescue roughs, good bent grass greens. Course is in good condition although the fairways were wet and carts had to keep to paths. Lots of water on this "links" style course make it a real challenge. It appears to stay busy. Decent practice range, but we had to hit from mats. THREE STARS
GEORGIA
Old Union, Blairsville, GA – Played several times in October 2009, $39 per person after 1 pm – 18 holes, 5895 yards, par 72, new course. Very well maintained. Fairly flat with beautiful bent grass fairways and greens. Unique grass colors in fall (SEE PHOTO). Lots of water and heavy rough like St. Andrews. I lost one ball only 20 feet off the green. Greens in good condition but fast. Awesome practice area with driving range, large putting green and two short play greens (all the balls you can hit for $7.50 per person). Other facilities under construction as of October 2009. THIS COURSE GETS A FOUR STAR RATING FROM US - OUR FAVORITE COURSE SO FAR
WISCONSIN
Menomonie Golf and Country Club, Menomonie, WI - Played Nov 2009, $15 per person with cart, 9 holes 1889 yards, par 30, built in 1924. We played here to get some exercise after traveling for more than 500 miles. Course is in below average shape with hard fairways and many worn areas due to the lack of cart paths. Greens were in average condition and fast. Several interesting par threes with trees (Cathedral of the Pines) that required pull or fade to go for pin. The signature hole is known as the Island of Terror where the green is surrounded by water. Nancy hit a great shot about 10 feet form the hole and parred this one. Fun course. TWO STARS
INDIANA
Twin Bridges Golf Club, Danville, IN - Played Nov 2009. Course is 6,568 yards from white tees, par 72. $15 per person with cart for 9 holes, $25 for 18 holes. Course is adjacent to the land fill, but there was no smell. Front nine is flatter and has larger greens. The back nine has elevated tees, some water, and well protected greens. Course was in good condition and we had to stay on cart paths. Well kept fairways and fast greens. Nancy really liked this course because of the green hedge apples scattered in the rough. She brought some home for a table arrangement to repel bugs. Now we have to order some trees for our yard. THREE STARS
MINNESOTA
Chomonix Golf Course, Lino Lakes, MN - Played Nov 2009 in 40 degree weather, 6221 from whites, par 72. $18 per person for 9 holes, $28 for 18 with cart. Operated by the parks and recreation department. We were surprised at the good condition this course was in. Most of the greens were excellent and fast. Quite a few places to get into trouble with water or heavy rough. Fallen leaves made it hard to find ball at times, but mowers were working hard to get them mulched. FOUR STARS
ILLINOIS
Le Roy Country Club, Le Roy, IL - Played Nov 2009. Nine holes, 2906 yards, par 36 (one par three, one par 5), built in 1919. $15 per person with cart for 9 holes. This course is located just down the road from Farmer City and the heart of "corn country". Course is in fair condition but a good fun place to play. Be careful entering parking lot ..... the sixth hole fairway crosses the entrance to the clubhouse! Locals played this course really fast. TWO STARS
SOUTH CAROLINA
Dunes West, Mt. Pleasant, SC - Played Jan 2010. 18 holes, 6508 yards from the gold, par 72, $48 weekdays. Great course, good driving range, friendly, excellent condition, very challenging and gators present. We played on seniors day and it was SLOWWWWW. Greens were really rolling, 100 yard long fairway traps, gator ponds. Hole 9 has a swamp crossing and then a 150 foot long green. FOUR STAR RATING
The Links at Stono Ferry, Hollywood, SC - Played Jan 2010. 18 holes 6451 from gold, par 72, $68 weekdays. One of the most scenic courses we have played. Good driving range, friendly people, excellent condition, and challenging with holes named Gauntlet and Rattlesnake. The back nine can get the best of even the pros with several requiring long tee shots crossing the water. Ron's drive on 12 landed in a Revolutionary War bunker complete with cannon. The par 3 fourteenth has a kidney shaped green that might require an approach putt around the corner and 18 is a small target island green. Lots of water and huge fairway traps. Some holes have rough in the center of the fairways. FOUR STARS OF COURSE
Oak Hills, Columbia, SC - Played Jan 2010. 18 holes 6392 from the gold, par 72, $37 weekdays. Not only is this the immediate area where many of Ron’s ancestors came from in the late 1700s, but the course itself was designed by one of his old ATO fraternity brothers at the University of Florida. Steve Melnyk had glowing amateur seasons winning the US Amateur in 1969 and the British Amateur in 1971. His PGA career was not as successful and after suffering an elbow injury in 1982 he became a golf reporter for CBS Sports.
Steve helped design the Oak Hills course in 1990. The course borders lakes, swamps and woods. It is interesting, scenic and difficult. We found the greens extremely hard to read and to hold. Some were extremely elevated. The course was fairly well worn in places, but overall in good condition. The 7th featured a flock of geese making for soiled balls. I commented that Steve would probably be laughing if he could hear us cursing some of his difficult hole designs. THREE STARS
FLORIDA
Golden Hills,Ocala, FL - Played Mar 2010. 18 holes, par 72. Played on the way to Orlando. Fun course, but nothing special. Several greens were being aerated. Course was in good shape overall. Houses and oak trees lined most fairways. THREE STARS
Panther Lake at Orange County National, Orlando, FL - Played Mar 2010. 18 holes, par 72, 6849 from Championship tees. Three courses here and an academy. Crooked Cat and Panther Lake are full 18s par 72 and the Tooth is a nine hole short course par 29. This place reminded me of a Kung Fu Academy like you see in the movies. There were golfers everywhere; one practice tee had several dozen with pros giving lessons, a second practice tee had another 18 or so warming up before their round. A chipping area had another dozen golfers with several pros. There were twenty carts ready to roll at the starter. The place was a bee hive of activity. The Panther Course was a lot of fun and in good shape except for the greens which were a little bumpy. A little pricey. Friendly, hustling staff. THREE STARS
Forest Lake, Ocoee, FL - Played Mar 2010. 18 holes, par 72, 7221 from Championship tees. We really enjoyed this course, especially the scenic back nine. It was actually in better condition than Panther Lake and a lot cheaper. The driving range was not very good ... with sand recently laid over the grass. Watch out for the gator on six and seven. FOUR STARS
Pirates Cove, Orlando, FL - Played Mar 2010. 36 holes. Played Mar 2010. Walked this course and Nancy beat me bad. I had an 11 on one hole.
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