Golf Course Reviews

Okay, maybe the rains of last week are gone, the courses dry and the carts off the paths.

Now’s the time a Travelling Golfer should be on the road and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

Wednesday the 21st will be the best chance I have to get down to The Shoals and get in a round at Fightin’ Joe.

I’m guessing you’re wondering why I go on and on about The Shoals and Fightin’ Joe. Let me give you a shot from the 18th tee box towards the green. 151 yards from the next to back tees, over an area of ill repute, green surrounded by mounds and dropoffs, the clubhouse in the backdrop.

Click here to see it.

If you haven’t been down there, you need to go. I’ll be there on Wednesday, unless my playing partners need to adjust it til Thursday. Look for a better review and some more info to follow.

As an oh-by-the-way, Fightin’ Joe was just placed #4 in the Top Ten Best Quality/Best Value golf courses by Golf Digest. Look for it in the January issue.

Congrats to all involved.

I’m leaving in the morning for 2 days of golf in Muscle Shoals, Alabama at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail courses.

We’ll be playing The Schoolmaster and Fightin’ Joe, the 2 courses at The Shoals.

I’ll have full reviews and info for you when I get back.

Let’s hope they’re ready for a couple of Travelling Golfers !

The last time 3 of us ran down there, we played Fightin’ Joe and it was in fantastic shape. The Pro Shop was well stocked and The Grill fixed one of the best Club sandwiches I’ve ever eaten.

I’ve got another group that wants to go next week, too, so I may qualify for Frequent Golfer miles in a week or two. At the very least, I’ll be very familiar with I-65.

Wish us some good, dry weather and a few birdies !

Just when you think you’ve found all the visually appealing golf course websites in the web-o-sphere, another one comes up to bite you in the hybrid 3 iron. My favorite club, by the way. Yes, it’s an Adams Idea 17*.

The site that I’m all ga-ga over is the one for Circling Raven Golf Club. Named for what you see when I play my friend Bill Knapp. The multiple time Champion at the Madisonville City Park Golf Course. Men’s and now Senior Division. Yes, he’s a Senior and still kicks my butt when I venture down there to catch up on the old neighborhood and to rid myself of some dollars.

This design is one of my top 3 favorites of all time.

As for the other parts of the course, Id love to go play this dude for only $59 - $79, depending on the day and month.

I think the Blue tees at 70.9/137 will be all I want the first time thru. Maybe the next day we can go Gold at 74.5/140.

The Course Tour is set-up very nicely and gives you a real sense of what to expect when you get there. Too bad all sites aren’t done this well.

Congrats ! to Circling Raven for a great site and a place on my to-do list.

If you’ve got any further info you can share with us, drop me a line at mike {at} travellinggolfer.com.

Sorry for the brackets, but the spam-bots are everywhere.

Here’s a link to a GREAT review on a beautiful golf course.

I subscribe to the RSS feed of Robert Thompson, who does Going For The Green ( it’s on my Blog Roll ) and I just read this review.

Since I’ve been a AWOL lately, I wanted to give you something to read.

Robert’s a writer, unlike me and does a helluva job with his wordsmithing, unlike me.

Enjoy the review and subscribe to his RSS feed while you’re there.

Leaving a comment with “ Mike Sent Me ! ” would be nice, too.

I had the good fortune to go play Covered Bridge (again) a few days ago.

I used to live down the road and have played there at least 20 times. Probably more.

And, yes, they have a covered bridge, you can see it on their site and in their logo.

Fuzzy has built a heck of a golf course and an even better 19th hole ! They absolutely have the best food you’ve ever had at a golf course and some of the best I’ve ever had at a restaurant. On chicken dinner nite, people come from miles around to Fuzzy’s Place.

The course has zoysia fairways and great greens. It’s got fair landing areas and it’s pretty fair around the greens, too.

As any golf development with houses, they are too many and they are too close, but that’s part of the deal. Fuzzy and his partners ain’t in this for the good of humanity.

With those houses that close, you’ve got what we all hate about American golf courses…OB !

Way too much of it here for my liking, but if you don’t stray very far off center, you won’t care.

The first coupla holes were mine for the taking, on this day, but the rest of the track whipped my butt. My cellphone going off every few minutes didn’t help matters. Something about a van broke down and my wife and daughters stranded on the side of the road. Messes up your round. Or it does mine.

The course is normally in great shape spring thru fall. Greens are big enough and well maintained. Zoysia fairways rock, in my book !

The rough is a little intense, but if I was arrow straight, I wouldn’t know.

The carts are great, fairly new, with GPS. A real plus, in my yardage book.

The starters and Pro Shop personnel are nice and informative.

The Pro Shop is well stocked.

The clubhouse is a thing of beauty. I’ve only seen a few that could stand up to it.

Plenty of yardage markers and with the GPS, you can’t use that as an excuse.

They’ve got Stay-N-Play Golf Packages, so call today and set up a long weekend or more.

If you do, gimme a shout, as I’m not that far away.

Let me tell you, sitting in the dining room, waiting on some great food and looking out at the 9th & 18th greens and fairways is a site you’ll remember for a long, long time.

Go by their website and then call ‘em up and set up a great golf experience.

Tell ‘em Mike sent you !

PS - when you see Fuzzy, tell him the Big Dawg sez ‘Hey !’

I not only played there every few weeks for 7 years, I was a member of New Albany Country Club, where he started his golfing life.

I was just reading a post on Golf Home Connect about Heron Creek and decided to do a little research.

They have three different 9 hole courses designed by Arthur Hills and you guys know I love courses designed by Mr. Hills. The Heron Creek Golf Course looks like it will be a very good track for all skill levels, which seems to me to be a trait of all the Hills designed golf courses I’ve played.

From their website :

” The moment you step onto the first tee at Heron Creek, you’ll experience the exhilaration of playing the brilliantly designed and meticulously maintained championship course. The challenging, but not intimidating, course design includes elevation changes unique to Southwest Florida, sparkling water features, and all the natural beauty of Heron Creek. With the variety and challenges offered by the Oaks, Marsh and Creek Nine layouts, playing golf at Heron Creek is an experience you’ll want to repeat over and over again. “

I’ve noticed that layouts with three differnet 9’s have a tendency to be better maintained, since they can take one out of play every day and give it some TLC. I’m betting Heron Creek will be no different.

Their website is well done, informative and is visually appealing.

Go by and give ‘em a view and if you’re near North Port, Florida, take a tour and let us know what you find.

Tell ‘em Mike sent you !

Here’s another high desert golf course I played the last time I was in Arizona. Gold Canyon Golf Resort’s Dinosaur Mountain Course.

From their website :

” The #1 rated public golf course in Arizona is ready to offer you a truly unique golfing experience in the high Sonoran desert. Every tee box here presents a panoramic vista and an exhilarating challenge to your game. The course will take you up, over and around Dinosaur Mountain with dramatic tee-to-green elevation changes and long, loping fairways. The views of the nearby Superstition Mountains are spectacular. Signature holes #4 and #5 are among the most memorable in the game! “

If I remember right, this was the first course I ever played in Arizona. It was my first view of the Superstition Mountains and it was an experience I’ll always remember. I can’t wait to take my lovely bride out there for a visit some day.

The Sonoran Desert is a special place and the people at Gold Canyon treated us well. Good food in the snack shop and a fabulous golf course are two important ingredients in the recipe of life.

Their website is well done, too. Plenty of photos, printable scorecard, interactive tour with panoramic views…they’ve got it all.

They also have a page with online only specials and other packages.

Gold Canyon’s Dinosaur Course is a must play if you get anywhere near Phoenix.

Go by and visit them and tell ‘em Mike sent you.

I played a round at The Summit today with my friend Barry Phillips, of Owensboro, KY. We played with 2 of his regular group, David and Dale, because Clyde was out of town.

It’s located in Owensboro, KY and it happens to have some of the same spectacular, rolling pasture like land that area courses are famous for. The view from the Pro Shop, where Barry ( one of the friendliest Pro Shop’ers I’ve ever met ) took so little from me I’m ashamed to tell you what I paid, is just a start to the views you’ll get for the next 4 hours or 18 holes, whichever you prefer.

The Summit was designed by Don Charles, who obviously wanted the layout to be friendly, yet challenging.

You have to pay attention, but you aren’t penalized for good shots, like a few Jack Nicklaus courses have done to me. In Jack’s defense, they were some of his early work. He’s getting better. Somewhat.

I started and finished with par and don’t want to tell you about all the other holes in between. Some were good, some not so good. I do remember a birdie.

The greens were in great shape and I putted the lights out. It was tee balls and approach shots that did me in today. Who’da thunk it ?

The fairways were fine, too, but it was unusually wet around the greens and that takes some shots away from you and keeps you from running the ball up, which is sometimes necessary out of Bermuda rough that is as luxurious as their’s was. We can definitely grow grass here in Kentucky.

Here’s a tip for greenskeeper’s all over America. We golfer’s hate wet, sloshy spots around the green. When the weather cools off, you don’t, no, make that can’t, keep the same watering schedule you has in July.

Overall, if you’re anywhere near Owensboro, Kentucky and want a quality golf experience, The Summit is the place to go. There’s no better place in the Daviess County.

Thanks for letting me out on your beautiful golf course, guys. I enjoyed my time there immensely !

Here’s a great little golf couse that my friends Bob Burgan, Gil Bezy and Bobby Burgan took me to while we were out in Arizona visiting Gil a while back.

Palm Valley is a rather inexpensive course that was as much fun to me as all the other golf courses we played during our 6 days out in Arizona. Gil lived in Surprise at the time, so a quick jaunt over to Palm Valley, was just what we needed before we got on our plane back to Louisville.

From their website:

” One of Palm Valley Golf Club’s most valuable assets that set it apart from other Phoenix golf courses is its diversity in play. Whether you’re an experienced golfer seeking a serious challenge or a new or junior player looking to polish your game, Palm Valley, housing two of the top Phoenix golf courses, offers golf just the way you like it. Only minutes from downtown Phoenix, Palm Valley is one of the most complete golf facilities in the entire Southwest. In fact, Palm Valley offers 36 holes of great golf. “

Click here for a link to their online specials.

Go by and check out their website and if you’re in the area go by and play a round. Look for Gil, he’s the good lookin’ one with a white goatee .

Tell ‘em Mike sent you !