Bonneville85308

Olde Homestead has been screwy when it comes to singles even pre-covid. Berkleigh didn't use to be like that until recently.

As of late last year, it was in good shape when I played it. They had just completed renovating all of the greens and greenside bunkers, and they cut out most of the junk growing along the holes. 9 months later and in summer could be a completely different story, so hopefully someone can give you a more recent report.

One of my several golf jobs as a teenager was range attendant at a private club. We had a specific model of range ball that was marked as such. I was told by the boss that I should dispose of (either keep for myself or trash) any non-range balls that got picked up, just the same as with any range balls that are cut/damaged. For that reason, to this day, if I find a near-new premium non-range ball in the range basket at a course that uses range-specific balls, I usually keep it and feel justified in doing so.

I'm guessing that for public/resort/semi-private golf course jobs like assistant pro, assistant manager, etc. people realized there is no point in going through the PGA programs just to make $18/hr for decades when you can get those jobs off the street now with no PGA certs. Maybe people no longer want the career path of making a non-livable wage as an assistant pro for many years until they can get one of the few head pro type jobs out there. If I think back to the numerous assistant pros (all in the PGA program) from the private club I belonged to for most of the 2000s and 2010s, literally none of them are still in the golf industry, they all left for something else that provides a better living instead of waiting it out for a head pro job. Very few of the public courses I'm familiar with in the bottom two thirds of the price range have anyone with a PGA affiliation on staff anymore. Many are not directly replacing staff like "Head Professional" when they quit or retire and are replacing them by shifting some duties to a combination of the general manager of the property or a multi-property manager from a golf management company, and minimum wage shop attendants.

Cimarron in SC Grand early this morning. Pretty much everything was in great condition. Not really anything I could nitpick; maybe a few small muddy spots in the rough? $60 w/cart. Paired up with 3 quick randoms and finished in 3:15.

I don't keep any golf equipment besides my travel cover and associated stiff arm in the garage.

I just crossed off another one of the few remaining metro Phoenix public courses off my "never played it" list. I think I'm down to less than 6 now. McCormick Ranch - Palm course this afternoon. The Pine course is currently closed for renovations, and they have that one all ripped apart, looks like they are renovating/re-grassing most of it. Design-wise, Palm feels like one of those "Floridazona" courses like Ocotillo, but you generally had to hit a really awful miss to find water, it wasn't very penal. Some of the greens, particularly on the front, had some decent contouring to keep things interesting. Course is pretty flat on the front and has slight elevation change on a few holes on the back. Overall, a snoozer of a course. Conditions on the Palm were a tale of two different nines. The front was by far the better of the two, I'm guessing they did a renovation on it in the last couple years. Tees, fairways, and rough all had excellent bermuda coverage and a well-kept appearance. Greens looked like they had been aerated maybe 3 weeks ago. Speed was "public course average" but some putts were still zig-zagging a bit from the aeration. Fairways and greens were semi-firm, some good roll-out on drives. Conditions were dry. Bunker sand was decent. Back nine was a mess. Fairways in worse condition, thinner, some still saturated in the afternoon causing mudballs and not much roll. Seems like they have a lot of sprinkler leaks on this nine, leading to every hole having numerous mudpits in the fairways or rough with standing water and 10"+ high grass around them, a few right in front of the greens. Greens were generally comparable to the front nine without the lingering aeration effects. Bunkers were truly awful. Either dry but total concrete, or filled with water at 3pm, with 6" deep rough surrounding them. My third shot on the last par 5 landed short of the green in a large bunker, looked like it bounced a bit, and I never found it. I picked a time when it looked like the tee sheet would be pretty empty, and it was - just a bunch of scattered singles and twosomes out there, so I was done in a little over 2 hours. $59 with cart and range balls included. I can't believe they are charging $99 in the morning right now and are apparently getting it. Seems like they get a very young clientele here and the range was busy. I don't see myself going back. Pics are from the front nine.

Whenever I've been in that situation, I've always marked my ball before temporarily leaving the course. Too many scavengers and opportunists out there.

Devil's advocate here; perhaps the course management needs to better communicate with the "members" to make it clear exactly when and which nine this league is playing, and during that time, the league has exclusive use of that nine, so everyone else must stay off it, no exceptions. A lot of courses aren't very transparent about these things. So people get out there, run into a league filling up an entire nine, and then get all pissed off.

My "trip report" threads in the Hawaii forum here have more info and pics since I've played just about every public course on the island now, but if you don't want Mauna Lani or Mauna Kea, and Hapuna is closed, your choices are pretty much: Makani (I really like the layout but conditions are scruffy), Makalei (crazy mountainside layout, again conditions are scruffy), Kona CC (decent layout with a couple holes with good ocean views), Waikoloa Village (nice parkland style housing development course usually in good condition), and Waikoloa Beach (3 nines, way overpriced IMO). Unless you want to drive an hour and a half each way to Hilo Muni (meh) or 2 hours to Volcano GC.

I played Blue Shamrock about 3 weeks ago. It was in good condition overall, but with all of the rain the last month and a half, most courses in the area are in good condition or better right now. Greens were a bit grainy and slower than average, otherwise I really had no complaints about the conditions there. I think I paid around $45 at 11am on a weekday. Not a top choice in the area but it's no goat ranch either.

Coyote Lakes today. Greens were soft/receptive and looked like they would be slow, but were actually faster than public course average. Fairways generally in pretty good condition for this caliber of course, not many burnt out/bare spots at all; some of the other lower end west valley courses have half-dirt fairways right now. A couple on the front were in need of mowing, but good rollout on drives on all. Bunker sand was good. Rough was in good condition and cut low. Really nothing to complain about for conditions. $30 with cart and the place was pretty empty, but it's a Monday in July.

Wickenburg GC (not Ranch) today. Quirky short layout, but it sets up well for how I hit the ball and I enjoy it because it gives me a lot of birdie opportunities. Greens were the highlight, near perfect condition and a bit faster than "public course average" speed once they dried out. Fairways were a mixed bag, cut short, some good but some had patchy bare dirt areas that look like they had trouble in the rye-bermuda transition. Wasn't in the bunkers but they didn't look great. Tees had good grass coverage but many unlevel/uneven. Since I was here last a couple years ago, the long-stalled mid 2000s housing project on the front nine has resumed and lots of new homes are being built or already done. The long cart ride from #5 green to #6 tee that used to be on a dirt path in the desert now has you driving on the sidewalk through the new neighborhood. Some of the holes that felt isolated and natural before are now lined with houses. It was oddly empty for a Saturday so pace was no issue. $45+ tax with cart, good deal. Even saw a bobcat on one of the back nine greens.

Good list. I've played all of these multiple times and just about every other public course between the NJ border and Harrisburg. Might also consider Reading CC (it went public 15-20 years ago, but solid bones). Olde Homestead is a solid course to try but screwy towards singles the last time I attempted to play it. Willow Brook is down to only 9 holes and had weird hours last I checked...doesn't open until 10am or something, I'd probably skip it, architecturally it is nothing interesting. Shepherd Hills is a featureless snoozer housing development course that I'd probably only do as a backup and can't get a favorable tee time elsewhere, if you are only playing 4-5 courses in the area. Great Bear wasn't designed for walking and I'm not sure they'd let you do it, so might want to inquire about that ahead of time. Architects is rumored to be potentially closing for redevelopment so you might want to play that while you can. Harkers Hollow is right near it and is a tough, hilly, but walkable former private club.

Allentown and Bethlehem have great inexpensive walker-friendly muni courses that have had a lot of renovations in recent years and are in the best condition I've seen them in during the past 25+ years. What's your course list looking like for that area?