Private club amenities for a public course. I paid only $35 to tee off at 3:30 for 9 holes on Man O' War.
The other 18-hole Scottish style links style, War Admiral, was occupied with a county government tournament. I am told that is extremely challenging and picturesque. Also more expensive.
My $35 price included an electric car, unlimited range balls, putting green, and adult men (not kids) loading my bags into my cart. They treated me like a rich person who belongs to a private club. I might have given the wrong impression because I wore a Brooks Brothers polo shirt! I did give tips, which seemed to be appreciated.
I asked which group I would be joining, and was surprised to learn I was going out on my own, which I like, because I have been known to take a Mulligan or three.
There has been a lot of rain, but I have to say the course was in amazing shape for late July. There were four different tees to choose from, depending on your skill and desire. I golfed from the white tees.
The carts have coolers with ice, a GP screen with directions, and distances for each hole. I have my own phone app for that but That's a helpful feature ... if you use it.
Unfortunately, I did not look closely enough on the map for the ninth hole. I hit my longest and straightest drive of the day only to discover a large marsh is right in front of the green. My ball must've rolled right into it. There is a drop area for people like me who don't read maps but it was still a 130 yard nine iron to the green with 115 yards of that marsh. To avoid further embarrassment, I won't report what happened next.
It was the most picturesque and memorable hole on the front nine and I blew it! The rest of the front nine is in great shape as I said, but none of the holes are real memorable. However, I am certainly not complaining for the price, which was a bargain.
I even went back to the practice range to hit more free balls off grass after I was done with my nine holes. That helped me realize I was not following through on my swing.
One more thing. There is a high end Ruth's Chris steak House on the property. I have only seen these in urban areas before where there were a lot of business people with an expense account.
My only complaint is there was very little water on the course and it was a 90° July day. I did not see a beverage cart. Maybe they were occupied with the tournament. Fortunately I brought lots of water but I could have been in physical trouble if I had not.
If you want to be treated like a big shot on a well-groomed golf course, and only pay 35 bucks, I highly recommend this experience. On a future vacation, I will be back to hopefully play 18 holes and read all the GPS maps! read more
