Cardinal Golf Club, The

$26 (cart included), played on Friday, August 2010 at 4pm

If you are in the area it is a good place to pay.

$26 (cart included), played on Monday, March 2010 at 10am

Played here 3-1-10: came from the snowy north to get in some much-needed golf. Came to this course on a whim, as opposed to some other highly rated in the area, and it was a very good choice.

This is a wonderful golf course by any measure. I'm retired military, so had no problem getting on the base, but I understand that golfers can get on with minimal hassle.

There are 27 holes, and I played the White-Blue combo, 6411 from the White tees, rating/slope at 70.8/121. The course itself is very well laid out: generous landing areas, good use of the modest elevation change, a fair amount of water (especially on the Blue nine), some subtle molding of the fairways, and excellent visuals, even in winter. Bunkers are well located, and in good shape. Greens were large, many are contoured, and a few are significantly sloped: despite the season, they putted fairly well, albeit a little slow.

The only complaint I have, and it's a very minor one, is that yardages are not well marked, with only blocks in the fairways at 200, 150, and 100 yards. At this time of year, they have two holes cut on each green, and the flag is supposed to be rotated by each group: this makes yardage to pin much harder to figure, especially with these large greens.

Good practice facilities, too. Clubhouse is nice, with a small kitchen, and a very nice outdoor seating area. Pro shop is reasonably sized, with a decent selection of merchandise. Staff was very nice. I highly recommend!