Royal Manchester Golf Links

Member (cart included), played on Wednesday, November 2018 at 11:58 AM

Great course. Very challenging. Very friendly staff. Bar and restaurant are not open during this time of the year.

$21 (cart included), played on Saturday, April 2017 at 1:00 PM

This is the best layout in York county. Greens are superb.Staff is A #1 Highly recommend you play this golf course !

$21 (cart included), played on Tuesday, May 2016 at 10:30 AM

Our group of travelling seniors played here Tuesday, May 10, 2016, for the first time in about 3 years (see my previous reviews). I'm happy to say that the personnel issues seem to have been resolved: staff we encountered were uniformly courteous, knowledgeable and welcoming. Waitstaff in the bar/lounge were very upbeat and fun to be around. Quite a positive change from prior visits! Course conditions now are much improved since our last visit: maturation helps. Greens were especially nice. Layout is quite good: takes full advantage of the terrain variations. One quibble: both #9 and #18 finish with a pond right in front of a very shallow, but wide, green. Only about two steeply banked yards from the pond to the putting surface: a very daunting shot from any distance. To improve playability, need some buffer space in front of the green, or make the green deeper. Overall, a positive experience. We'll be back!

$26 (cart included), played on Wednesday, July 2014 at 2pm

We played two consecutive days in 20 mph winds (seems like the wind is always against you) and had a GREAT time. Course is in fantastic condition. Layout is not tight, but you do need to keep it in or near the fairway. The grass on the mounds is not forgiving. Greens are FAST. Bring your putting touch or it will be a long day. Overall, a fantastic value at a GREAT public course. Rivals some experiences I've had at private country clubs.

$36 (cart included), played on Sunday, July 2014 at noon

Rock hard greens which are too fast for the average player. Many three putts increased playing time of our group and the groups ahead of us judging by the time they spent on the green. Why punish yourself!

$61 (cart included), played on Friday, June 2012 at 8am

I played the course back in 2010 and it was a GREAT experience. This time I can not say that. I will never be back and I will tell everyone I know how bad it was. In 2010 when I arrived there a nice young man picked me up at my car, his name was Andy. This year no one picked me up. In 2010 the young man who was at the counter was very friendly to me and my group and very informative about the course, his name was Scott. This year, the young man behind the counter was quite cocky and argued with us over price. (we had coupons). His name was Sydney. Once on the course our day was pretty good. The course is one of my favorites. However, we did not see a beverage cart all day and most of the water stations on the course did not have cups. After the round, we went to the bar for some food. What a mistake. It was a very hot day and we wanted to sit inside. We were asked to stay outside and eat the grill they had set up. I mentioned the names of the people I met from 2010 for this reason. They were both no longer with this course. The customer service at this course has gone downhill since it's opening. What a shame. After reading a few other comments on here I see I am not the only one that will not be back because of how we were treated.

$41 (cart included), played on Saturday, June 2012 at 2pm

When we first arrived we didnt have to wait to pay but had to wait and ask somebody for a cart this is the only course ive been to where they do t assign a cart to you. I felt like we were eing ignored it was just a terrible expeirence We waited on the tee box while the grounds keeper turned on the sprinklers and decided to stand in the middle of the fairway for about ten minutes. After he walked away we hit and as we were driving to our balls he again walked to the middle of the fairway and stood and watch us hit and got angry at us for almost hitting him with the ball. Terrible place to play. I will never go back and wouldn't recommend this course to anyone. Paid 180 dollars for a foursome and the guy ruined our day. After this happened we left. Also, the same guy drove his cart up behind us when we were hitting on a previous hole and didn't stop and he was trying to tell us about common courtesy.

$51 (cart included), played on Thursday, April 2012 at 8am

Young man named Sydney Gasche (sp??) was working, not sure he noticed we were there, he seemed more interested "playing" on the internet than helping us get our day started. We traveled from Baltimore to play, we generally play a different course each week. We won't be playing here again! Course is not in the type of shape it should be, fairways are patchy, greens a little slow, but biggest gripe we have (which it appears many have) is the service (food and pro shop) and slow pace of play. Most courses we play will have a starter or ranger, but at RM once they get your money they don't seem to care. Pretty sure the one review below is from a relative of the inept worker we met, not too many in the region have that same last name.

$61 (cart included), played on Sunday, April 2012 at 6am

First time visitor to this course, last time visitor to this course. Tee times were not on schedule, pace of slow, when we asked at the turn if someone could monitor pace of play we were told no. Food service was the slowest I've encountered. I'm used to playing nicer courses but I wanted to give this local-public course a shot, I now regret it.

$41 (cart included), played on Friday, March 2012 at 8am

The staff is what makes this course so enjoyable! The clubhouse is beautiful and the food was very good. Much more then I expected from a golf course!

$16 (cart included), played on Tuesday, March 2006 at 10am

Our group of travelling seniors played here 3-6-12, a brisk March day with sunny skies. We paid $20, using the Tee Time Golf Pass: a pretty good deal.

I have reviewed this course twice before, so won't go through all of the details, but we had a disappointing experience with the staff on our last visit. I had made three tee times a week earlier, but when we got to the course, we were informed that it was Cart Path Only, no exceptions, including for our 89-year old senior player. We were not told this when we made the reservations, and the guy at the pro shop was not particularly genuine in his repeated "I'm sorry," as he clearly didn't much care. Notable is that the course has signs in all of the carts, saying it's CPO from 12-1-11 through 3-31-12, so obviously the person taking the tee time was aware of the situation, but failed to mention it. Had I known, we'd probably have gone elsewhere. Frankly, I was ready to leave, but having driven for some distance, the other guys said we'd muddle through.

Once we got past that very human issue, the course itself was OK. Previous comments still apply: distance markings are few and don't seem very accurate; some thin spots in the fairways, but nothing too bad; signage around the course has improved but still has a ways to go; cart paths still not completely paved.

Actually, this is a very good course for the price we paid, but its upscale aspirations seem to be in jeopardy. We probably won't go back for a while, given the service attitude exhibited.

$31 (cart included), played on Friday, June 2011 at 4pm

I visit the York area about two times a year and love to play golf in the area. Since Royal Manchester opened they have been the only course I play on my visits.

$46 (cart included), played on Saturday, November 2011 at 8am

A wasted day. How do you have a course so mismanaged? The pro shop guy we spoke to, Sydney, was either very arrogant or simply aloof. The course looks like a construction zone, might as well have Penn Dot signs down center of fairways. No ranger, poor conditions, mismanaged, and worst of all they seem to not have any clue because they charge full price for a less than full experience. PLEASE SAVE YOUR MONEY OR GO ELSEWHERE!!!

$26 (cart included), played on Friday, August 2011 at 8am

I don't know what course some of the critics played before, but this course is in great shape. The fairways are well taken care of. The greens are excellent, being very large and fast. It took most of my round to get used to lagging the putts to the hole. The sand traps were also in good shape. This was my first time playing this course. As whenever one plays a course for the first time it is difficult to properly "manage" your shots to be in the best positions. I would like to play it again, now being somewhat familiar with the layout. As far as the tall grass off the fairway, if you play a links type course you have to expect this. So, it's important that your tee shots be in the fairway. In general,the fairways were quite wide and very "fair". The clubhouse is outstanding. Our group, consisting of 18 men, really enjoyed this course and will more than likely return next year.

$41 (cart included), played on Tuesday, June 2011 at 10am

Wish I would have checked this site earlier and the read the reviews. I pretty much echo what others have said here. They seem to really struggle with maintaining the course---despite all the rain they have a lot of dead spots near/on greens and tee-boxes. Fairways are pretty rough and the weeds they let grow up look terrible and forget about finding/hitting a golf ball from it. The course needs a ranger, play was really slow as we watched group in front of us look for balls on nearly every hole. Dining facility looks good, food was great, service was as slow as the golf. Overall, with better management this place would be awesome, but maybe that will come with time, I would assume their staff is pretty inexperienced with running a golf course. It only opened last year I am told...it could get better.

$46 (cart included), played on Saturday, May 2011 at 10am

Hated this place. No ranger so expect to spend the day watching groups in front of you looking for their golf balls. Fairways were horrible---we've had all this rain and yet their fairways had bare spots, rocks, and bad lie was more common than a good one. After the round our group tried to eat in the restaurant....key word "tried". We started play before noon, it took nearly six hours to play, when done we found out the restaurant was closed, but you could get a hotdog. Despite not having other customers or a real menu it still took forever to get things like water and our bill. Our group has played here before, but this is my first review. I felt compelled after this experience to say something. It will be a long time before we go back. I think they have potential but they seem like they haven't run a course before.

$26 (cart included), played on Monday, May 2011 at noon

I made the trip up from MD to play on Memorial Day. I had read about a special they were offering ($20) from a friend. At $20 any course is a good value and I had never been to this course previously. Once I checked in I was told because I didn't make the tee-time on-line they wouldn't honor the rate they advertised on facebook. Needless to say this didn't make a great first impression and I started my round agitated to say the least. When I went up to the first I hole I spoke to a another group who said they also took the bait and were denied the advertised rate. The course itself was nothing special. The greens are their best feature, they are large and roll nice, but are not as fast as most courses I play. The fairways need to grow in more, you really need to move your ball to take a swing that isn't on clover-dirt-or stone. Oh, and lastly...no range yet. They do have a short game area but the driving range is under construction. They just advertised an opening date and activities on their facebook page bus based on my experience I wouldn't hold them to it.

$56 (cart included), played on Tuesday, June 2011 at 8am

I wish I could be more positive with a new course but I was really disappointed. Several issues here---fairways are rough (clover and bare spots are frequent), greens are slower than most and lack adequate fringe, pace of play is slow (they need to either add red stakes or cut some weeds/tall grasses), and after you are finished don't expect to find any food or drink service (close at 11 am on Monday and Tuesday). I find it odd that a gold course doesn't have food service after 11 am any day of the week in June/July/August. For the price ($59) there are several better options.

Do Not Recall (cart included), played on Monday, May 2011 at noon

Played this course in the late summer and fall of 2010 several times and really enjoyed layout and condition of the course. Came back to play in May of 2011 and found that the driving range is still not open. Additionally, I found the condition of the course to be bad to say the least. The fairways have been over run with clover and weeds and the greens were very slow and had tons of unfixed ballmarks. I lost 3 balls in the fairway due to how bad the clover infestation is currently at this course. What give with all the clover??

$16 (cart included), played on Tuesday, May 2011 at 10am

Have reviewed this course last year, just after it opened, so tis is a follow-up. Our seniors group played here again 5-10-11, and had several comments. Layout itself (design, terrain,etc) is excellent, and in very good shape. Conditions were excellent, but greens were quite a bit slower than expected, although they looked good. Course markings need some work: distance markers are minimal, and we didn't think they were very accurate. Routing around the course gets a little hard to figure, especially on the back nine: signage is needed. About 60% of the cart paths are now paved, but no distance markings on them, either. Staff continues to be excellent. Course is improving!

$21 (cart included), played on Tuesday, March 2011 at 10am

Clubhouse and bar staff are excellent.

Member (cart included), played on Wednesday, September 2010 at 2pm

Great course. We joined the club at end of summer. Their staff is the best, professional but not intimidating or arrogant like some other golf clubs. Family friendly, great food, and the course is very fun and challenging. We love it and hope we can members for years to come.

$26 (cart included), played on Friday, August 2008 at 2pm

For a new course, this was an experience.

A fellow golfer told me when I arrived, somewhat intimidated by stories of a dozen balls not being enough, "It's not east, but you'll want to come back."

Yes, now I am looking forward to going back. It's not perfect yet, but shows great promise. A tough challenge, but fair. Errant shots are penalized harshly, so it's not for the long, wild ball striker.

Wish they had better yardage markers (sprinkler heads, maybe) The links layout makes judging distance somewhat difficult so yardage markers should be plentiful. All that and I can't wait to play Royal Manchester again.

$41 (cart included), played on Sunday, July 2010 at 6am

Excellent course. Real Links challenge, especially the back 9 - well worth it.

$26 (cart included), played on Tuesday, June 2010 at 10am

Our group of travelling seniors played here 6-29-10 for $29, which is a SUPER deal for a course of this quality. As noted by the earlier rater, this is a brand-new course, and we do not see many of those in this day and age.

Links-style, and very playable, Royal Manchester will mature to become one of the very best golf courses in the York area over the next few years. Some obvious start-up issues: distance markings are only occasional, and we did not think they were very accurate: directions from hole-to-hole are a little vague in several cases: carts do not have GPS, and really need it; cart paths are not paved, and provide a pretty rough ride.

The design is excellent, and takes full advantage of the rolling terrain: I never had the sense that any two holes looked similar. Lots of interesting little twists, like cleverly placed (and shaped) bunkers, side-sloped fairways, and some good visuals from the tee boxes. Bunkers are large and plentiful and anyone who plays an entire round sand-free has really accompished something. Fairways are wide enough for most shots, unless one really goes wide, or tries just a little too hard. Greens are HUGE: I would estimate that most have a long dimension of at least 100 feet, and that dimension may run from side-to-side, front-to back, or diagonally: very challenging. Greens putt a little slow for now, but they are not severely sloped (for the most part), although all have undulations.

Clubhouse is very nice: country-club feel and quality. Pro shop is a little spartan for now, with modest merchandise stock, but will likely fill up in coming months. Lounge area is very nice, and the course is subject to Pennsylvania-s somewhat goofy liquor laws, and cannot yet sell alcoholic beverages. They can, however, provide "complimentary" draft beer, and did so today with great good cheer. Staff is uniformly excellent: very entusiastic and upbeat, and a real pleasure to deal with. I highly recommend this course.

One word of caution: it is a little off the beaten track, so make sure you have good directions. I also feel that this will become a very much in-demand layout, so get there SOON!

$31 (cart included), played on Friday, June 2010 at noon

This is a brand new, links style course. It is very challenging because bordering the fairways are between 5 - 15 yards of rough, and then thigh high tall grass awaits wayward shots. Pace of play is affected by ball searches. The mown portion of the course is in excellent condition. The greens rolled smoothly, although a little slow. Perhaps the speed will improve as the course ages. The staff is very friendly and enthusiastic. Being brand new, the course still needs some finishing touches. Not all cart paths are paved at this point. Still, the course is already very playable and will likely develop into the best public course in the area.