We've been playing the Fountains Course at Welk for years, and it has always stood out for its consistently strong conditions. The Welk brand meant quality, and the resort was maintained with real pride. But since the recent Marriott Vacations takeover, the shift in quality has been impossible to ignore--and unfortunately, it's not for the better.
Simply put, Marriott is not maintaining the course to the standard that Welk reliably delivered. A few glaring issues make that clear:
Tree maintenance is being ignored. Several large trees have gone untrimmed, and on holes 2, 5, 9, and 18, tee shots have become far more difficult--not because of course design, but because of flat-out neglect.
Tee boxes are in poor shape. Many are chewed up, uneven, or patchy, and the tee markers feel like they've been placed at random with little regard to actual alignment. It gives the impression that whoever's setting them hasn't spent much time on a golf course.
Green quality is no longer consistent. The early holes play fast and true, but by the back half of the course, the greens slow down noticeably. The mowing and maintenance simply aren't uniform.
The sand traps are a disaster. While it was nice to see someone recognized they needed more sand, whoever approved the material clearly didn't inspect it. The new "sand" is filled with large rocks and countless pebbles. Not only does this make bunker shots frustrating--and potentially damaging to clubs--but it spreads debris onto several greens, forcing players to pick rocks off their putting lines. No one with even basic golf knowledge would have chosen this material.
I genuinely miss the level of care that Welk invested in this resort. Now, with Marriott Vacations at the helm, I'm left wondering what the future holds--and not in a good way. read more