I played Biltmore yesterday morning joining two locals and another single. This course is marketed as one of the highlight courses in Miami so I was... » More

I played Biltmore yesterday morning joining two locals and another single. This course is marketed as one of the highlight courses in Miami so I was curious to see if it lived up to its billing. Things didn’t start off very well regarding customer service. First off the service in the restaurant was some of the worse I’ve had in years. The food was average at best. Oh well, on to the pro shop. Not much better there. She couldn’t find my reservation even after I showed her a screenshot of my booking confirmation. We got through that but there were a couple of other issues. One, you have to pay for parking in the parking lot. However, you can scan a code in the pro shop and they will comp you the parking. But not if you have already paid for your parking. This information would have been helpful to have on the website and in the parking lot. Two, the online price indicates that a cart is included. Negative, carts are extra. I’m all for a walking price and a cart price, just be clear about it. Next came range balls. I inquired about range balls and she said there was a ball dispenser on the back side of the shack near the range. She was correct, except you have to have a code which you get when you pay for range balls in the pro shop.

On to the actual course itself. Overall, not a bad layout. They have a few creative holes in what is a mainly a parkland setting. Fairways are generously wide on most holes with some well placed trees and plenty of fairway bunkers to keep you honest. For the most part the fairway bunkers weren’t an issue. I was in a few of them and no problem getting out and reaching the green. The fairways at Biltmore were very nice. Lush and green and easily the best I’ve played since being here in Florida. I’d rate the fairways at a strong 7 or weak 8.

Greens were a different story. One of the members said the greens were in horrible shape and needed a complete overhaul. At first I thought wow this guy has high standards as the greens weren’t bad at all. Then we ran into some that had some bad patches but the pin was kept away from those areas. As the day progressed I started realizing all of the greens had some serious disease, brown spots and general ugliness. I will say that the grounds crew did a good job staying away from the bad areas with the pin placements. The greens rolled at a medium pace.

Tee boxes were in bad shape. Obviously a different grass was used for the tee boxes and it is struggling to survive. A lot of the tee boxes had recently been filled with sand to try and get them back into shape. There was enough good coverage on the par 3’s to find a good clean hitting surface.

There was one water hazard in the form of a man made canal that runs through about 6-7 of the holes. There was about 2 forced carries over the water with the rest being lateral hazards. Not the most creative use of water hazards but not the worst either.

Overall, this was a decent course that at the walking resident rate (they will check for ID) it’s worth it. The extra fees for cart, parking and range balls make it a so so and the rack rate for visitors takes it off my “recommendation” list for sure.
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I played Spyglass back with DeapSea14 on what was another perfect Monterey Peninsula weather day. I’m starting to think that if you want guaranteed... » More

I played Spyglass back with DeapSea14 on what was another perfect Monterey Peninsula weather day. I’m starting to think that if you want guaranteed good weather, just invite Peter! Anyway, he did a great job explaining in the conditions. I just thought I’d provide an update after talking to my buddy who’s a caddie for PB and played with us last week. He said the greens are 100% healed from the aeration and are rolling great. The fairways are still showing signs of maintenance but they aren’t too bad. Just some brown showing in a few places from the fill sand that was applied.
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I played Crandon GC at KB yesterday with a 7AM tee time. This is my second time playing here. Conditions have improved slightly over the last go ro... » More

I played Crandon GC at KB yesterday with a 7AM tee time. This is my second time playing here. Conditions have improved slightly over the last go round. Mainly the fairways. They are still not quite up to my expectations for a course of this caliber but there were’t any real dead or bare spots. Just mainly thin coverage throughout. Greens were firm but rolled at a medium pace. Tee boxes and sand traps were all fine. Given the fun layout along with the improved conditions to go along with the price break with my resident card, I’ll give the course a “recommendation”.
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Course if officially closed! We played on Monday at Noon with one of the last public tee times for Spanish Bay before it closed for the remodel. We ... » More

Course if officially closed! We played on Monday at Noon with one of the last public tee times for Spanish Bay before it closed for the remodel. We were treated to another superior day weather wise. Sunny and hot (by Monterey standards) with very little wind.

The course was finally showing signs of the impending shut down with several of the fairways being brown and hard pan. The course actually played more like a true links course. But even with the “deteriorating” conditions the track still was a joy to play.

The rerouting won’t look too different from the current layout. The main difference will be the greens. They will all be softened up to a much more manageable and “resort” level basic green complex. Front nine layout won’t see any significant layout changes. Some waste land areas, aka Poppy Hills style are allegedly being added to conserve water. The back nine will see one significant change. The iconic and diabolical short par 3 hole 13 is being completely removed. Not sure why as that is such a great hole. Hole 14 is being changed from a par 5 into a long Par 4 and a new Par 3 will be added utilizing a new tee box from the left side down onto the existing hole 14 green. Course will be a par 71 layout with only three Par 5’s.

As someone who has played Spanish Bay as much or more than anyone else, I will miss the current layout. I have had so many great memories and GK Cup battles here. So many birdies over the years, yet never made a birdie on #4. Had a chance yesterday but it was not to be. My least favorite hole was #7. Only a couple of pars on that hole total but managed to roll in the long putt of the day from over 50’ out to save par and have one last great memory on an otherwise forgettable hole.

No birdies on the day from anyone in our group, but plenty of smiles all around. The sun has set on one of my favorite “go to” courses for now, but I will surely resume my quest to conquer this scenic course when it re-opens in 2027.
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