$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!
$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.
$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 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!