I played here one group behind Paisano on 6/16 and then again on 6/17 with a friend who lives couple hours away. I'm glad weather was phenomenal and was able to help out a fellow golfer to scratch one off his bucket list without breaking the piggy bank. From the entrance to the bag drop, they are top notch. There really isn't much to knock on about the course except that we probably picked the busiest weekend (father's day weekend) to play here. We didn't have much choice since they aerate the green and do repairs for 2 months after Father's day weekend so we wanted to squeeze in before that happened. This is my first time here when the greens weren't in aerated or in dormant Winter Condition so it was a new experience for me also. Condition was top notch all around and putting green was especially smooth for Bermuda. In order to score well here, you have to hit good tee shots. Errant tee shots can easily turn each hole into double bogey or worse as there are no easy shot except on the fairways. Bermuda rough isn't very tall but ball will sit down into it and will grab your clubs making it hard to hit anything longer than 7 iron. There are over hanging tree branches so be extra careful as I found one that effectively turned my -1 into +2 in no time. There are lots of hidden bunkers and water you can't see that long hitters can get into. They have yardage book for $5 at the proshop but if you ask nicely, usually starter will give you one along with your fancy metal bag tag which can be inscribed with any message you want post round. Forecaddies aren't mandatory after Player's Championship but if you're golfing with daily fee players, they'll stick you with a forecaddy to make sure you move along and don't mess up the course. My 1st day, we had a forecaddy since 3 of the golfers I was paired with were daily fee guests of Marriott while on my 2nd day, they didn't even ask us if we wanted a forecaddie since my friend and I were using staff pass to play and 3rd was a member. Only thing I can say is that thank goodness I know a Staff and I get to play for 50% off. Already counting the days until my next year's TPC Sawgrass trip. P.S. I almost had 3 different chance at hole in one. I hit the flag stick on 13th hole and 17th hole on Saturday. On Sunday I hit it 6 inches in front of the hole which rolled just past the cup on 3rd hole for tap in Birdie. That sure would have been nice....LOL.

TPC Sawgrass Golf Course Review
Ponte Vedra Beach Florida Golf Course Reviews

The course itself lies amongst the high end hotel district area. With name Ritz comes many distinguished attributes and expectations. It doesn't disappoint. Course itself is in impeccable shape from tee to green. Service is high end top notch. Their bermuda green is smoother and more consistent than any of the other Bermuda greens around here even though it has been aerated month ago. Grain does come into play but not as much as some of the other courses in the area. This is definitely a resort layout with forgiving fairways and flat greens. Its a course that can be scored on. Main defense of the course is their severe bunkers but if you can stay out of those, you can have a nice round. With the discount, we got to play for $49 which is half of their Summer rate and at that price, its a must play. Even at Summer rate of $99, I would highly recommend the course. $199 regular price tag during snow bird season is bit much IMO. With the surrounding high rises amongst the wet marsh landings, it was very picturesque.

Ritz Carlton Golf Club Grande Lakes Review
Orlando Florida Golf Course Reviews

As the previous poster stated. This course is not only difficult design but its ROCK HARD. Course was designed to test the PGA Guys and you can tell it can be set up to a difficult test. If you miss a shot, its actually better to miss it by 10 yds or more rather than miss it by 1 to 4 yds on this course because small misses are severely penalized but the big misses aren't as severe due to the roll offs. Good example would be my wedge into the green. I missed the green by less than 1 yard but with the shaving of the edge and bounce, it rolled into the bunker. Problem is when it rolls into the bunker from green side, it rolls all the way to the opposite side of the bunker under the lips so you can't even swing towards the green. Had I missed my shot by 10 yds, I wouldn't even be in the bunker and if I had missed by 5 yds to 10 yds, I would've had good lie in the bunker which you can actually swing at. Every time I went for the pin and missed by little, I got a similar results while missing it by alot gave me decent chance for recovery. You really have to pay attention when to go after the pin and what area you can't miss to on this course. I'm a decent scrambler so I usually just go after the pin and try to get up and down from where ever I end up but you cannot do that at this course. Now to the condition of the course. Due to the extreme heat, greens were starting to get burned. Instead of it being green, it was browning at spots and some of the greens were fast but bumpy. Compare to average courses, this would be normal, I'm just being picky here since Nicklaus Tourney greens were much smoother and greener. Fairways were in good shape but horde of carts running around from earlier in the day caused some damages and burning. I know its hot and all but people need to stick to 90 degree rules. Tire marks on the course looked like they've had Nascar race on the course. I like the course and I will play it again if given the chance but next time, I'll play little smarter to minimize the difficult situations. By the way, I shot 101 on this course (I think temp was 101 also) and I haven't shot over 100 in at least 5 years. Between the death ray from above and impossible lies in the bunker, I don't know how I made it back to the club house in 1 piece.

TPC Stadium Course PGA West Review
La Quinta California Golf Course Reviews

I golfed here 4/22 Sunday 8:22AM. It was 80+ degrees when we started and 95+ towards end of our round. Condition of this course is top notch. Tee to green, everything was in immaculate tourney conditions. Layout was good but it wasn't particularly memorable like Oak Quarry, Wolf Creek, or Sand Hollow. We got to play in a Deal Caddy deal so price was definitely worth it for us ($150 for round at Nicklaus and free replay at Stadium plus $15 lunch voucher). I probably wouldn't pay $190 to play this course again, but its definitely worth $100 to $125 range. Its a classic Nicklaus design with elevated greens and high lipped bunkers. Greens were fast but not ridiculously fast like some of the other PGA venues I've played. 9 and 18th hole have greens that are connected so that was pretty interesting. Both of the finishing holes are very beautiful and memorable. All in all, if you're looking for top notch course in immaculate shape to test out your game, this is the place. I recommend playing twilight or one of the local deals you can find out websites. They have very good 2 day package during shoulder season which I highly recommend to save some dough.

PGA West Nicklaus Tournament Course Review
La Quinta California Golf Course Reviews

Played here on 4/21 Saturday with Paisano just before our outing at Eagle Falls. Had an acquaintance set the tee time up for us so we got to play it for $110 instead of the $179 peak rate. Conditioning was immaculate just like the player's course. This course does have little more bite to its nature. There are some blind shots and dog legs to mess with your mind. IMO, this course is little tougher than the player's course just because you can't see all the troubles from the tee and little local knowledge will definitely help you reduce strokes. More water came into play and approach shots were less forgiving. I think they got the name of the courses backward. Celebrity really should be called player's and vice versa since Celebrity course is more difficult and built for challenging layout while player's course is more of celebrity / resort friendly course. I like interesting layouts so I much prefer the Celebrity course to players even though I scored much better at the Player's course. Conditions are top notch, and layout is very good but not mind blowing. Its a course I wouldn't mind playing but won't make a separate trip just to come play like Oak Quarry, Sand Hollow, or Wolf Creek. Thanks Paisano for come picking me up for our round here.

Indian Wells Golf Resort Review
Indian Wells Golf Course Reviews

I played the Player's course on 4/20 Friday and Celebrity on next day. Player's course is little more straight forward compared to Celebrity. When you drive up, you can definitely tell that they spent some big time money here. Everything is high end including all the other facility. Staff was friendly (or paid well to act friendly...lol). Driving range wasn't grandeur but more than adequate for group of 25 players or less. They have a buzzer to let you know when its time to head up to the tees which was nice. Course isn't tricked up so pretty much what you see is what you got. Except for couple holes, it is a friendly resort course that keeps you from losing too many golf balls and keep you moving along. It was good course to warm up from. Conditions here are immaculate. With the impending heat coming in the afternoon, they did a good job of watering the course in the morning so when we played in the afternoon, grass was still lush and greens were still receptive. I personally wouldn't pay the full $180 to play here but $75 twilight rate was definitely worth it. Price range of $100 to $125 would be what I would consider fair for this course during peak time. All in all, I enjoyed this course and glad I got to play it.

Indian Wells Golf Resort Review
Indian Wells Golf Course Reviews

I had the pleasure of playing here on 4/23 6:40AM in a cool and misty morning. It was nice change going from 105 to 60 deg. One of the best layout / scenery golf course I've had the pleasure of playing. Condition of the fairways were borderline good / great. While we were playing, staff was still trying to finish up mowing the grass and fix up bunkers so probably played in best condition possible for this course. Bunkers were all fluffed up so I liked it while my playing partner hated it. We were 3rd group out and until the 14th hole, we didn't catch up to the 3 some in front of us so we finished the round just under 3.5 hrs. Probably would have finished 3:15 min if no one was in front of us. Main strength of this course is varying hole length and scenic quarry. Views are something to behold. Greens condition did leave me with the thought of what if their greens were as good as Indian Wells? I would highly recommend golfers who like variety and enjoy scenic views. Best of all, with the early morning discount, course can be played for less than $55 during weekdays. It was so worth the greens fee.

Oak Quarry Golf Club Review
Riverside California Golf Course Reviews

I've also played in Furnace in the Desert event on 4/21. It was a scorcher for sure but the GK crowd and the course made everything palatable. Note to self, drink more water when playing 36 holes in 100+ degree heat (I cramped after playing the front 9 of Eagle Falls and last 9 hole was pretty tough to finish). I highly recommend this course for mid handicapper and lower. High hdcp, I'd recommend not fussing over lost golf ball and don't beat yourself up over 3 putts. Course is very playable but if you miss it too far off the fairway, golf ball is easily lost. You can't just bomb it out there every time as one side or the other almost always has some type of hazard or lost ball area as some of us have found out. Green were in great shape. I personally like it little firm so it was perfect for me. It was firm but not so firm that ball bounced off like a trampoline. Speed was little slower than what I expected but not so slow that it effected the line. Overall, I enjoyed it greatly. Only 2 minor complaint I would have is that they really do need a combination tee between the back tee and the hawk tee we played from. With many of the holes playing down hill, many of the holes played much shorter. I'm a 10 hdcp with fairly good ball striking and probably could have shot near par if I putted well on the back 9 since majority of the hole I was coming in with a short irons. Greens could have played little faster. Will definitely be back to play it again next time I am in the area.

Eagle Falls Golf Course Review
Indio California Golf Course Reviews

This is a great links style layout. It is literally across the street from more famous Lake Nona (Tavistot Cup). Its a high end course for budget conscious golfers. Great layout and great condition. I wouldn't hesitate a second before recommending people to this course. I liked this course alot and it was comparable to the courses I've played at Kiawah Island that cost more than 2x this course. My main issue with the course is that certain holes have hazards come into play when you thought you hit a good drive. Next time you're in the Orlando area, spend extra 10 minute drive away from the more populous area and visit here for a treat.

Eagle Creek Golf Club Review
Orlando Florida Golf Course Reviews

After our round at the Ocean, we did our replay at the Conservatory course a Tom Watson design. First off, if you're doing a 36 at Hammock Beach, make sure you give yourself plenty of time as 2 courses are 15 minutes apart. Ocean Course being more open course near the ocean, conservatory is wooded course that has similar feel to one of Irish courses you see on TV. As far as the layout is concerned, this course isn't as grandeur like the ocean course but it has its own charm and personally, I liked the layout here better. I'm not sure if its due to too much play or lack of care, compared to the Ocean course, conditions here weren't as top notch. Some parts of the fairways were thin and burnt out. Greens were fast but much slower than the Ocean course so balls stayed on the green and was easier to 2 putt. Sand here is also different than the Ocean course. It is much finer white sand that is fluffy while the Ocean course sand was more brownish dirt mix. Bunker here at Conservatory is much nicer. If they can keep the condition here as good as the Ocean course, I would choose to play here vs. the Ocean. As the way things are right now, if I can only choose 1 course out of 2, I will choose Ocean course hands down due to its conditioning. By the way, if you want to know what it feels like to play the longest course in FL, then tee off from the back tee here at conservatory at over 7800 yds and rating of 78.1. I've never seen rating higher than 76 until coming here.

Hammock Beach Golf Course Review
Palm Coast Florida Golf Course Reviews

Ocean Course is definitely top end course that is MUST PLAY if given the opportunity. In order to get to the golf course community, they charge you $2 toll (no toll when leaving) to cross the bridge. When you pull in, 6 passenger golf cart will load up your clubs whether you drop it off at the bag drop or if you're pulling it out of your car trunk, they'll come find you. You would think that workers are looking for big tips the way they move but this facility is no tip facility so they will not take tips even if you give it. It is also cashless facility so all charges must be on credit card unless of course you're a member. They have very nice driving range with new range balls that most cheap skate would pick it up to play their golf rounds with. Apparently that does happen as we found several range ball through out our round on more hazardous golf holes. Now to the good part. Ocean Course as it sounds has few holes running along the Ocean but only the last 3 or 4 holes is where you can really see the ocean. It does have many water inlets and ponds on practically every hole. Fairways are generous but outer rough areas are banked away so if your drive makes it to the 2nd half of the rough, it probably will roll into the abyss never to be seen again. This is typical of Jack Nicklaus design. Generous fairway but heavy emphasis on the approach shot guarded with extra deep bunkers that are borderline unfair. Even though there was heavy rain fall the night before, greens were very firm. We teed off at 8:10AM and by the time we got to 4th hole, greens were completely dried out and if you didn't hit a shot with lots of spin, it just bounced and rolled out 10 yds even with short irons. Avoid the high lipped bunkers at all cost as for us normal folks, its impossible up and down. Even when I hit good bunker shots that almost rolled into the cup, when it missed the cup, it rolled off the green. Speed of the green was ridiculously fast. All 4 of us 3 putted or more on the first 2 holes even when it was wet. Greens were lightly sanded but that didn't slowed the speed any at all. I'd guess that greens speed were 13 or 14 after wind dried out the greens. I played on 12.5 Stimp last fall and the greens here seemed to be much faster. Bottom line. If you want to play a challenging course with lots of pretty views of water inlet and some Ocean, this is where you want to visit. Only way to score well is play 0 mistake golf (which I'm not familiar with) as small mistake will get you easy double bogey if not triple bogey. I loved the experience and I will be sure to make it back here to play again given the opportunity.

Hammock Beach Golf Course Review
Palm Coast Florida Golf Course Reviews

This is very well maintained golf course that is kinda out away from the more famous cities in FL. Its 1.5 hrs away from Orlando, and Tampa. First off, if you're going to play here, show up at least 1 hr early so you can go play their "short" course which is included. Its a short par 3 course you must walk as there are no cart paths. You'll only need short irons and wedges so it shouldn't be too much problem. Course does have few blind shots so you'll need to pay attention to that. I ended up playing from the Blue tee and it felt little short on most of the holes. Layout was very interesting with variety and some blind shots. Condition was immaculate. It reminded me of the Dye's Club at Barefoot in Myrtle Beach where they host the Monday after Masters. I would highly recommend playing this course for $54.95+ tax after 12pm using a local golf site (friend booked it so not sure on the exact site). Sorry no photos. Girl friend took the camera so I didn't take any photos this time.

Southern Hills Plantation Club Review
Brooksville Florida Golf Course Reviews