Blackmoore, Murrells Inlet, Myrtle Beach, SC

This was another nice, very women friendly course that we got to golf for free because our friend had rain checks.  It reminded me of a Michigan course because it was so wooded.  There were some unusual holes that made it quite challenging.  Hole 4 is par 3 where you have to hit over water...Hole 8 is a split fairway which practically turns back on itself...Hole 16 is a dogleg right with water on the left and a blind shot to the green.  There were good bathrooms and the cart girl came around frequently.  My egg salad sandwich at the turn was not as good as the one the day before.  A good, but crowded, Myrtle Beach course.  http://www.blackmoor.com/

Amendment: 10/31/14

Golfed here again the following year. We had 3 guys & 3 girls...they placed a single guy with the guys and a single guy with us!  Couldn't believe they would do that.  But one of our guys decided to come with us and the two singles ended up golfing with our guys.  Could not believe they would have a strange guy golf ride with one of us, let alone make him play with 3 women! Still like the course though...good bloody mary's!

The Tradition,Pawley's Island, Myrtle Beach, SC

This was a really nice course.  There are LOTS of waste bunkers and sand. There was water on most of the first 9 holes.  But we started on hole 10, which was a dogleg left par 4.  Hole 15 was a nice par 3 that you had to hit over water under a huge "island" green.  The course was in really nice condition with very fast greens.  Tee boxes were quite women friendly.  There were nice bathrooms and a good, attentive cart girl.   We had a good egg salad sandwich at turn.  The course is on the "expensive" side - around $70 - but we didn't pay cause our playing partner had rain checks.  But it was still fairly crowded as most Myrtle Beach courses are.  Would definitely golf here again, given the opportunity!  Tradition Golf Club

 

Skyland Lakes, Fancy Gap, VA

We golfed here on the way to Myrtle Beach. We were attracted to this course because it was located on the Blue Ridge Highway and we thought there would be a lot of elevations.  There were quite a few.  The course was unusual with a large number of blind shots.  It was mostly a short and choppy course with a couple long, open par 5s.  On one of the holes, the tee box was to the right of the green of the previous hole, which could have been dangerous!  But some of the fairways were really tight, protected by trees.  Very little sand on the course but lots of trees and quite a bit of water.  The first hole had water and was a dogleg so it was pretty challenging.  The course wasn't crowded which we enjoyed.  It was in decent condition considering the time of year with very fast greens.  No cart girl, two nice bathrooms on the course.  There were fairway villas and a hotel.  The course and hotel is for sale for $185,000, which seems like a really good price.  My husband loved this course and we will definitely golf here again if were in the area.
Skyland Lakes Golf Club

10/27/14...golfed here again on our way to Myrtle Beach.  Still a lot of blind shots and choppy holes...because of the leaves, we lost many balls.  Because it was a beautiful day, it was more crowded than last year but pace of play was great (except we kept looking for our lost balls!)

Niagara-on-the-Lake Golf Course, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada

http://www.notlgolf.com/

Course number 2 on our Canada trip this is advertised as the oldest course in North America however, according to wikipedia, the Royal Montreal Golf Club is the oldest in Canada and North America.  This is a 9 hole course located right on Lake Ontario.  The day we played was very cold and we started Hole 1 in pouring rain.  However it soon cleared up and warmed up a little.  The course is a little hard to follow because it is so old but it is very woman friendly because it's so short.  There are no elevation changes and little water but there are some trees and bunkers.  There is also a historic fort located on the course which we explored and liked very much.

Whirlpool Golf Course, Ontario, Canada

We golfed here on our "Matilda" outing.  It is one of the Niagara Park Commission courses and is part of the Niagara Golf Trail.  We enjoyed this course very much.  It was a little crowded when we began but spread out by the back nine.  A lot of the holes on the front nine had narrow fairways line with trees.  Hole 2 is their signature hole (par 4) which runs along the road and has a nice pond on the right of the green... that was one of the prettiest holes.  There were back to back par 5's which is a little challenging.  The back nine fairways were more wide open but still tree lined.  Hole 14 is pretty par 3 with water in front of the tee box, and trees and sand on the right of the green.  It's next to the botanical gardens.  Hole 18 has an elevated green right in front of the restaurant so you have an audience on your approach shot.  There was no bathroom on the course but port-a-potties.  There was a turn and a cart girl.  However, things were quite expensive and they ran out of ice! The pro shop had everything on sale for 40% off - we had a field day!  Really enjoyed this course!

Whirlpool Golf Course

Mulberry Hills Golf Course, Oxford Charter Township

We bought 2 for $30 at the golf show and it was well worth it.  It was quite a drive (about an hour) to get to the course.  It's a family owned course that was opened 50 years ago.  We liked this course a lot...everyone was very friendly and the course was in good condition.  It was a challenging course with some side by side holes, some wooded areas and a little elevation. The greens were very fast and in good shape. The course had an "up north" feel on the back nine, which were much more wide open than the front nine.  No bathrooms on the course...just port-a-potties which were in good shape.  The cart girl was very accessible.  There was a "turn" however we didn't buy any food at the clubhouse.  The pro shop and clubhouse were pretty old and could use a little modernization.  We will definitely golf here again.

 http://www.mulberryhills.com/

 

 

 

Pierce Lake Golf Course

We tried this course because we got a good deal at livingsocial.com.  It's a Washtenaw County course.  The course is described on it's website as links on the first 9 and woods on the back 9, which is generally true although there are many trees on the whole course and lots of marshy, reedy areas.  We started on the back 9 which was more chopped up with marsh or reeds so a lot of strategy was involved.  We lost many, many balls.  The front nine was much more open...still reedy areas but more open.  There was a lot of water and wildlife on this course also. 

https://www.piercelakegolf.com/

Chemung Hills, Howell

http://www.chemunghills.com/

We bought this from groupgolfer.com and made the BIG mistage of going on a Sunday.  There was a shower and a graduation party in the clubhouse so the clubhouse was closed for the day and there was no parking! We were behind a foursome who said they understood "golf ready" but definitely didn't...they weren't very good or very polite.  But at least the foursome behind us, who were very good, were understanding about the situation.  Which leads to another complaint...no rangers driving around to keep play moving.  But now to the course...it was not a great course but it was pretty interesting.  It's not called Chemung Hills for nothing...there were lots of hills!  The fairways were in pretty fair condition and the greens were nice, but most were pretty challenging.  There was a decent amount of variety - water, sand and trees.  The course was very women friendly as far as placement of the women's tees.  However some of them were on the fairway and I really don't like that.  The last hole was a really interesting par 3 which we all enjoyed.

The cart girl was around quite a bit.  There was a half way house which wasn't open and a bathroom, which I didn't try.  There were several port-a-potties also which I didn't try either.  We didn't have any food...there really wasn't time - the foursome was right behind us and we didn't want to lose our place.  It was a five hour round, which we really aren't use to!  However, I will try the course again but not on a weekend.

The Legend, Shanty Creek, Bellaire, MI

We had previously golfed at Cedar River and Schuss in Shanty Creek and enjoyed both those courses.  This was our first time golfing The Legend, but I hope not our last.  This was the most expensive of their courses but we were able to get a great deal at ezteetimes.com.  When we started the day it was cold and rainy but luckily we had my golf cart cover which helped a lot.  The weather got much nicer on the back 9.  The course is very, very nice.  It has beautiful views, nice fairways and greens like carpets.  It was very challenging with long fairways, trees, lots of water and bunkers.  Because it was early in the season, there was no cart girl.  Also there was no turn but there was a nice bathroom.  Would definitely do this course next time I'm up north but will definitely book through ezteetimes or golfhub to get a better price!
http://www.shantycreek.com/summer/the_legend.php

Faulkwood Shores, Howell, MI

http://faulkwoodshoresgolf.com/

We used groupgolfer.com on this course.  It was a mostly flat, meadowy course, however, it did have some interesting holes.  The front nine was kind of wide open, but the back nine was more wooded.  Not in pristine condition but not bad either. The greens were in good condition.  It wasn't too crowded either so we enjoyed playing here.  Would play again but not make a special trip.

Adare Golf Club, Adare, Ireland

We couldn't go to Ireland and not golf...but it was hard for us to do it even though we stayed at two golf clubs!  It was much colder in Ireland than we had anticipated...in the 40s for the most part AND it rained every day - not always long and hard but every day.  It was finally nice enough one afternoon so we were able to get out but only for a couple hours because all their clubs were going to be rented out at 2:00 pm.  So we were able to do 9 holes.  It was still pretty cold but at least the sun was shining!  This golf course was nice but nothing really special, except for the views of the castle of course!

We drove by "the old course" later and that looked interesting with holes next to a cemetary and an old ruined castle. 


When we drove to the Cliffs of Moher we did see a golf course along the Atlantic which looked a lot more like we expected "an Irish golf course" to look like...links style with a lot of hills and ocean views.  Of course that day it was quite cold and rainy but there were still people golfing!  I think they're more used to that weather than we were.  I wish we had more time to actually golf more, but at least we were able to say we golfed in Ireland!

 

Mirimichi, Millington, TN

Mirimichi is the Justin Timberlake Golf Course.  It is the only certified environmentally "green" golf course in the United States.  It's a links style course with 5 tee boxes, 5000+ yards from the forward tees.  The fairways are pretty wide open and fairly straight for the most part.  BUT there is lots and lots and lots of sand bunkers, rolling hills, water and even hidden hazards like streams.  The carts are equipped with GPS which came in very handy.  Because we were there in February, there were not as many hazards as there would be in the summer.  The water was down and the grasses were too.  But it was cart path only so we had a lot of walking because the fairways were so wide and rolling.  The forward tees give women a nice advantage, on some holes it made the greens almost driveable!  There were four par 3's, as usual, but all were really nice with a little bit of challenge to them.  Shown below is hole 11, The Wall.

There were two bathrooms on the course.  There's an area at the end of holes 9 and 18 that, in the summer, would be staffed and stocked.  It was a really nice patio area with a bar and barbecue and really nice area to sit and watch almost all the holes.  But because it was still winter, we had to drive back to the clubhouse for a hot dog.  The clubhouse is really nice with a performance and learning center and small outdoor seating area.  They don't serve wine, though, which I didn't like and because the outdoor patio wasn't open, there was no where for us to sit and watch golfers which I love to do.  There is a nice driving range, balls are included in the price of golf, and a putting green.  There's also a 9 hole, par 35, executive course which we didn't even see.  The cost for weekday golf is $65/weekend is $80 in the winter, not sure what the summer rates will be.  There were not a lot of golfers on the course.  We were behind a twosome who were taking there time, as were we.  We let a twosome who seemed to be in a hurry, golf through.  But other than them, we didn't see anyone else on the course, even though we knew there were others out there.  We will try to come back in the fall some year so we can see the course in it's full glory.

Gaylord Springs Golf Links, Nashville, TN

This is the nicest public course in Nashville.  A little pricey, perhaps, at $64 (including tax) winter rates, however, we really liked this course and would love to golf here when it's green.  Because of the rain, it was cart path only.  The fairways are quite wide and because it was cart path only, it took a long time for us to golf.  The greens were in really nice condition because they cover them with tarp every night.  The greens were really hard to judge and I couldn't figure them out until the back nine.  There were some really nice holes including a par 4 with an island green (picture below) and a couple par 3's that you had to go over water or swamp.  It was a true links style course but because it was the winter, we didn't have to contend with a lot of long grasses.  The carts are equipped with gps so you get a real accurate picture of the shots you need to hit.  There's a golf institute, driving range, putting green, very nice pro shop and clubhouse.

Bathrooms were located conveniently on the course.  We ate in the clubhouse after golf.  Food was good but my complaint is that we were unable to see any holes from the clubhouse.  We could see golfers tee off at hole 10 but that's about it.  There was a nice outdoor seating area but I don't know if you'd be able to see anything from there.  We'd definitely golf here again when we're in the area.
www.gaylordsprings.com

Hole 4 with island green

Hole 13 over water

Forrest Crossing Golf Course, Franklin, TN

This is a Nashville City Course.  It was a little chilly so there weren't many people on this course.  Because of the time of year, the course wasn't in the best of condition but the greens were OK...though a little unpredictable because of the weather.  It had rained quite a bit the day before and it was cart path only.  The starter was very nice and the ranger drove around frequently.  There are several sets of tees and the forward tees are very women friendly and are needed on this course.  Hole 9 (above) is a par 4 and has an island green.  The back 9 has several fun, unusual holes.  There is some elevation changes and water and other hazards.  My problem with the course is that it isn't very well marked.  It's sometimes hard to find the next hole, the appropriate tee and even, at couple times, which green you were hitting to!  We especially had trouble on the last hole...we could not figure out where to hit the all, even with the score card and the sky caddie.  They had a small snack bar, but at this time of year, only had hot dogs.  We enjoyed the course and would like to play it again when it's warmer and greener, even though with the trees and grasses grown, it will be a lot harder.

Cedar Creek, San Antonio, Texas

This course is part of the San Antonio Golf Trail.  We really enjoyed this course...although it was pretty cold, especially for Texas! The course has a lot of undulating fairways that really give the ball a lot of roll.  Women did not get too much of an advantage on most of the holes.  It's quite a long course, even the par 3s are long.  The course was not in excellent condition, but quite good considering the time of year.  The staff were exceptionally nice BUT there was no liquor on the course so I couldn't try a bloody mary.  There were bathrooms on the course that were fairly clean and there were sandwiches on the turn which were good.  The first 9 holes were very hard, the back 9 a little easier.  There were homes on the back nine but none were in jeopardy from random shots.  The greens were in really good condition considering the time of year. Will definitely plan on returning to this course.

http://www.alamocitygolftrail.com/

Silverhorn, San Antonio, Texas

http://www.silverhorngolfclub.com

We had golfed here a few years ago and decided to try it again.  We liked the course and it was in decent condition, however, I think that at $57 (resident rates they gave us) it was overpriced.  The course is mostly flat and kind of wide open.  The fairways were decent and the greens were in really good shape.  There's no elevation but some water and a trees.  There were tons of deer on the course that didn't look too afraid of people.  We grabbed a hot dog and a couple of beers on the turn which were quite expensive but really good.  I don't think we'll golf here again...there are too many courses on San Antonio to try!