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Golfer Bob
Hampstead
2012-09-28
$41 (cart included), played on Thursday, September 2012 at noon
Played this private club as a guest for $44, which is a fair price, considering the quality of the course and the facilities.
The layout is outstanding, with no two holes looking at all alike, and a design that takes full advantage of the rolling terrain. Excellent use of elevation changes and the natural streams in the area. Only a few artificial ponds, and they are nicely integrated into the overall design. Very few flat lies anywhere on this course, including the greens, which are fairly large, undulating, and very quick, with a lot of subtle breaks. The first hole is a downhill, then uphill, dogleg left, with a large pond on the inside corner of the bend: gets one's attention right off the bat! This is a course one could play over and over: very enjoyable and challenging.
Having said that, conditions on 9-28-12 were not particularly good. Greens had been recently aerated, so putting was something of an adventure, and the bunkers were way too firm. Several fairways had bad patches, and some of the green aprons were in pretty rough shape. For a group of first-timers on the course, many challenges, as there is no hole layout on the scorecard or at the tee. We did a lot of driving up to scope it out, then coming back to make our shot.
The entire staff is uniformly excellent, with many long-time employees, which is a good testament to a well-run business. I would love to play here again, and encourage everyone to cadge an invitation from a member.
Would travel: 30-60 Miles, Not Vacation Worthy
Bottom line: I would play again, Better than average course for the area
Layout, Ambiance, No Houses on Course, Staff, Pro Shop
$41 (cart included), played on Thursday, September 2012 at noon
Played this private club as a guest for $44, which is a fair price, considering the quality of the course and the facilities.
The layout is outstanding, with no two holes looking at all alike, and a design that takes full advantage of the rolling terrain. Excellent use of elevation changes and the natural streams in the area. Only a few artificial ponds, and they are nicely integrated into the overall design. Very few flat lies anywhere on this course, including the greens, which are fairly large, undulating, and very quick, with a lot of subtle breaks. The first hole is a downhill, then uphill, dogleg left, with a large pond on the inside corner of the bend: gets one's attention right off the bat! This is a course one could play over and over: very enjoyable and challenging.
Having said that, conditions on 9-28-12 were not particularly good. Greens had been recently aerated, so putting was something of an adventure, and the bunkers were way too firm. Several fairways had bad patches, and some of the green aprons were in pretty rough shape. For a group of first-timers on the course, many challenges, as there is no hole layout on the scorecard or at the tee. We did a lot of driving up to scope it out, then coming back to make our shot.
The entire staff is uniformly excellent, with many long-time employees, which is a good testament to a well-run business. I would love to play here again, and encourage everyone to cadge an invitation from a member.