Off the Fringe, “Golf’s best short read.” The award winning newsletter, sent twice monthly, that provides an unconventional perspective on the golf world.
Bill Boros
Orlando
2015-05-17
$36 (cart included), played on Sunday, May 2015 at 11:00 AM
******CHAMPIONSHIP COURSE WITH MUNI AMENITIES******
Arrived at the bag drop/valet station at 10:30 AM on a Sunday and there was one vehicle in front of me unloading their bags with no staff person(s) in sight. After unloading mine, parking my car, walking from the parking lot back to the clubhouse, walking inside and registering in the pro shop, and walking outside, my bag was still sitting by the curb and I had not seen another staff member other than the persons at the register in the pro shop. I schlepped my own bag around the back, waited for the lone attendant to accept a $5 tip from another golfer, and after a minute, was directed to a cart that I could use. I then loaded my own bag onto the cart.
I was told the GPS gave distances to the pin and given a small bucket of balls for the range, (for which I had to pay extra). By the third hole I realized that the GPS was giving distances to the middle of all greens, all pins had the same color pennants, and there was no pin placement sheet in my cart. When I called the pro shop, I was first told to double check my GPS. When I insisted that it had displayed, in writing, on every hole I had played, a phrase saying, "distance to the center of the green," I was told that "some carts have an older version of the GPS that does not give distances to the pin." When I asked why I was given a cart that did not have the distance to the pin, and mentioned I had been provided with no other way to determine the distance to the pin, I was told to download the Omni Champion's Gate golf app. When I pointed out that this resource would probably also be missing the distance to today's pin placements, I was told a replacement cart could be brought out to me. I declined and said I would just add this problem to my review of the course. Surprisingly, the ranger appeared within 5 minutes. He said that I had been given incorrect information, ( by both the "starter" and the pro shop person I had telephoned). He said that the GPS's gave distances to the pin "plus or minus 10 yards." When I pointed out that all distances on every hole I had played were to the middle of the green, he said "these GPS's are 10 to 12 years old and don't work very well." When I pointed out that the flagsticks' pennants were not color-coded to indicate front, middle, or back placements, and that the carts did not come with a pin placement sheet, he said, "yes, that's correct." When I asked if customers complain about not being able to gauge the distance to the pin accurately without bringing along their own range finders, he said, "yes, but they really get mad when the GPS's don't work at all, which happens sometimes." I just shook my head and walked onto the next tee box.
The course was in great shape, the layout is challenging and diverse, and the pace of play was quite good, as it was surprisingly not busy at all, (or, maybe based on the lack of service I experienced, not surprisingly). The beverage cart person was very pleasant and stopped by multiple times during my round.
For $36.00 it was a superb value and I would play it again in a heartbeat, but will bring my own rangefinder next time.
$36 (cart included), played on Sunday, May 2015 at 11:00 AM
******CHAMPIONSHIP COURSE WITH MUNI AMENITIES******
Arrived at the bag drop/valet station at 10:30 AM on a Sunday and there was one vehicle in front of me unloading their bags with no staff person(s) in sight. After unloading mine, parking my car, walking from the parking lot back to the clubhouse, walking inside and registering in the pro shop, and walking outside, my bag was still sitting by the curb and I had not seen another staff member other than the persons at the register in the pro shop. I schlepped my own bag around the back, waited for the lone attendant to accept a $5 tip from another golfer, and after a minute, was directed to a cart that I could use. I then loaded my own bag onto the cart.
I was told the GPS gave distances to the pin and given a small bucket of balls for the range, (for which I had to pay extra). By the third hole I realized that the GPS was giving distances to the middle of all greens, all pins had the same color pennants, and there was no pin placement sheet in my cart. When I called the pro shop, I was first told to double check my GPS. When I insisted that it had displayed, in writing, on every hole I had played, a phrase saying, "distance to the center of the green," I was told that "some carts have an older version of the GPS that does not give distances to the pin." When I asked why I was given a cart that did not have the distance to the pin, and mentioned I had been provided with no other way to determine the distance to the pin, I was told to download the Omni Champion's Gate golf app. When I pointed out that this resource would probably also be missing the distance to today's pin placements, I was told a replacement cart could be brought out to me. I declined and said I would just add this problem to my review of the course. Surprisingly, the ranger appeared within 5 minutes. He said that I had been given incorrect information, ( by both the "starter" and the pro shop person I had telephoned). He said that the GPS's gave distances to the pin "plus or minus 10 yards." When I pointed out that all distances on every hole I had played were to the middle of the green, he said "these GPS's are 10 to 12 years old and don't work very well." When I pointed out that the flagsticks' pennants were not color-coded to indicate front, middle, or back placements, and that the carts did not come with a pin placement sheet, he said, "yes, that's correct." When I asked if customers complain about not being able to gauge the distance to the pin accurately without bringing along their own range finders, he said, "yes, but they really get mad when the GPS's don't work at all, which happens sometimes." I just shook my head and walked onto the next tee box.
The course was in great shape, the layout is challenging and diverse, and the pace of play was quite good, as it was surprisingly not busy at all, (or, maybe based on the lack of service I experienced, not surprisingly). The beverage cart person was very pleasant and stopped by multiple times during my round.
For $36.00 it was a superb value and I would play it again in a heartbeat, but will bring my own rangefinder next time.