Today, we went to Bonnie Crest to play a round. Jacob, Randy, Rodney, and I were all ready to start at 10am, but due to an unadvertised Tournament we were unable to play until noon. It was a beutiful January day with temperatures in the high 50s. So we made a trip to Wetumpka to play the Quail Walk Country Club, the sister Club of Bonnie Crest. It was a nice club, but much like Bonnie Crest, it was had a run down club house. The fairways were unfourtunately brown, and the course wasn’t particulary hard. There were no sand bunkers, few challenging obsticals, or long holes. The slope was only a 112, which reflects these facts.

I played great on the front 8 holes and was only 11 over going into the 9th hole. That par five hurt my score and I ended up with a 9 and a 51 overall on the front. I had 2 pars, 6 bogeys, and 4 quadruple boogeys. Those 4 quads killed my round. If I could have dropped 2 strokes on each of those hole alone, I would have shot a 99. Instead I finish with a 107. Still not bad for my first time on the course. rodney shot a pedestrian 110 and randy shot a personal best 115.

Overall, I give the course a 4 out of 10. It wasn’t as bad as the rankings suggest, but the last course I played prior to Quail Walk received my highest ratings. I’m sure their rating was affected by the superb Floridian course.

Price: 6
Difficulty: 4
Scenery: 4
Club House: 3
Practice Facilities: 3

Here is an updated map of the courses that we have played, in the last couple years. We are up to 15. Not bad.

While at hunting camp in Quincy, Florida, we went to the Golf Club at Quincy.  This was an awesome course in every way.  Price, difficulty, scenery, practice facilities, and the club house we perfect.  In fact the only problem is the location - 5 hours from my house.  Maybe we can go to hunting camp more often. 

I will upload a couple pictures from the course later, but just imagine a perfectly manicured green, surrounded by fluffy white sand bunkers with deep lips protecting the green from the nice fairways.   There were plenty of water hazards at the bottoms of the deep valleys and rolling hills that covered the course.  The course was open; however, it was very difficult and pretty long.  The slope was a 133, which Rodney and I slipped under with a 116 and 117.  I had 3 pars to his none and still managed to lose.  Maybe next time.  My driver was the biggest story.  On the ninth hole I finally got it.  A couple holes of awesome drives made my score drop.  A little more time on the driving range should sure it up nicely. 

Overall, I give the course a 9 out of 10.  I think that’s my highest ranking yet and if not I will correct the other rating.  I’ll save the 10 out of 10 for some super cool course I’ll play in the future.

Price: 8
Difficulty: 9
Scenery: 9
Club House: 9
Practice Facilities: 8

We finally got to play Bonnie Crest Country Club after we received a couple temporary memberships. The course is fairly nice and presents a pretty good challenge. It is not a long course; however, it requires you to play smart and accurate. The best feature of the course is that it is not crowded. We have played it on Saturday morning without a tee time or a wait. That is nice. The driving range is also free, which is a plus. The best factor for me is the location – only 60 seconds from Gunter. This is nice for after work play.

There are a couple holes that seem to trip me up every time, I have played it. Yet, I think I am ready to break 100 there. Rodney shot a 95 or 96 there last week so the course is pretty easy. We are considering joining, but I don’t know if we will or not.

Overall, I give the course a good rating of 6 out of 10.

Price: 7
Difficulty: 7
Scenery: 7
Club House: 4
Practice Facilities: 6

We played the Silverado Golf Course after Christmas. This was a fun course that Rodney, Jimmy, Randy, and I played. The day was kind of wet and dreary, especially when it was pouring rain. Then the sun came out and then some clouds rolled in. Overall, it was a very weather-filled round. The course only had a slope of 110, but it played kind of tough. I almost rung Randy in the head of a tree shot, while he sat in the golf cart. Rodney fell out of the cart laughing. Later Rodney hit some branches and almost hit Randy again while he was setting up under a tree. Two close calls.

Other than the blinding wind and rain on the ninth hole and the almost hitting Randy it was a pretty average course. We didn’t use the practice facilities; however, they did have a driving range and putting green.

Overall, I give the course a good rating of 6 out of 10.

Price: 7
Difficulty: 5
Scenery: 7
Club House: 7
Practice Facilities: 6

We played the Links of the Lake Bernadette before Christmas. This is a cool course. There are a couple really interesting holes and the greens were really nice. That is important, mainly because the greens are so horrible in the Montgomery area. Rodney and I played the course and he crushed me. My new Nike SQ was really failing me and I can’t hit it straight and hard at the same time. This tends to be a problem.

The course has a slope of 122 and was pretty fun. Nice sand and water hazards. They even gave nicknames to all the holes such ass The Hook, Temptation, and The Mirage. The 10th hole was really interesting because it had an elevated green with a wall around it that made Rodney nervous; as he hit the wall the first time he played it.

Overall, I give the course a good rating of 7 out of 10.

Price: 6
Difficulty: 7
Scenery: 9
Club House: 6
Practice Facilities: 5

Here are the latest clubs in my bag. 

I feel bad that I haven’t posted in a while, but I have been really busy playing golf and trying to fit everything else in my schedule.  A quick recap… Over Christmas we were able to get temporary memberships into BOnnie Crest Country Club.  This is great.  We also tool our clubs to Charleston, SC, but didn’t get time to play.  No problem though we played twice in Florida.  Silverado GC and The Lakes of Bernadette in Zephyrhills, FL.  Both of the courses were well maintained and nice and challenging especially the Lakes.  We also went to Quincy, FL to hunting camp and fit in a round at The Quincy Golf Club.  Man, this was the creme de la creme of golf clubs.  The course was super challenging and nicely priced. 

I will do a course review on each later, with some pictures.   Also, look for an updated map.

As our quest to play all the courses in Montgomery continues, we played emerald Mountain Golf Course.  Rodney and I played with Ray this morning at 11.  It was a B-E-A-U-tiful day, with the temperatures in the high 70s and the sun out.  I also got to finally use my new Nike SQ Driver for the first time.  The very first shot… a 250 yard smack straight down the fairway.  Wow!  With 10 people watching I kill the ball perfectly.  I follow that shot up with a 240 yard blast from my 3-iron.  15 feet from the pin.  Two chips and a putt finish the par 5 right on par.  Today will be a good day.  Thanks Nike!.  The second hole was much like the first and I escaped with a boogey.  I wish I could say the next 12 holes were that great.

I proceded to lose a dozen new balls, hurt my knee, covered my shoe in mud, and got chased by rabid dogs.  Well they were pretty upset and I didn’t stick around long to find out about their health status.  All I know is I didn’t get another good score until I shot par on 15.  And followed it up with a missed par putt on 16 which i settled for a boogey.

We did witness the SHOT OF THE YEAR.  By passing now runner-up my 50′ putt at River Run.  Rodney sinks a chip-shot from 50 yards, over a bunker today.  It was awesome.

The course has a slope rating of 132.  Which I shot under that by 9 at 123, 61 on the front and a 62 on the back.  The course wasn’t as difficult as it seemed, but there are plenty of places to lose a ball.  Especially of the tee boxes, which attributes the high scores.   The course was very spread out and most of the holes are long.  The course was well maintained  and the practice areass seemed nice.  The club house was a trailer and was not very nice at all.  With the normal weekday military special available today for $25 the price was great.  Overall, I give the course a 6 on my scale of 1 to 10.

Price: 6
Difficulty: 8
Scenery: 7
Club House: 3
Practice Facilities: 7

The river course, as I like to call it, was everything I remember …  Hard, Long, and aggravating.  I really had a horrible day with only one good hole.  I drive a perfect shot on 10 that doglegged to the right.  It was dead-center of the fairway and only 70 yards from the pin.  The green on this hole is below the fairway level a good bit so I dropped the second shot down to the green, where it scurried of to the fringe.  I ofcourse  missed the chip and dropped the par putt for a nice score.   The next hole I hit a tree, a child’s birthday party, and three sand bunkers.

The course was in great shape and it is still very well maintained.  Hole nine beat me up but after 3 mulligans from the 177 yard par 3 tee box I parred the hole.    The course really wasn’t that difficult.  I personally was unable to drive a ball straight.  Even on the monstrously wide fairways, I found a way to miss.  Hopefully, my new Driver will help correct those deficiencies.  But that is a different blog entry.

I love the river as a backdrop for the course.  Also there are a few holes that play up steep hills that make this course so fun.  There are multiple water hazards and plenty of protected greens.  3 of my all time favorite holes are on this course. It is difficult, but I like the challenge. Another plus is that the price is right even on weekends.
Overall, I give the course a 8 on my scale of 1 to 10.

Price: 8
Difficulty: 7
Scenery: 7
Club House: 8
Practice Facilities: 9