I have played both courses on Ft. Bragg, NC this week, and I have to say that they are the 2 worst courses I've played in my short golfing career.
At my home course, the greens are nearly perfect, especially for this time of year, and as hot as it's been this summer. They are still soft and cushiony when you walk on them, and the ball rolls fast and smooth.
These 2 rounds this week have absolutely left me with a horribly taste in my mouth about these 2 courses. Here's my thoughts about both of them:
Ryder Golf Club: Used to be the "officer's" golf course, but years ago, they opened it to everyone. The course has a great layout, and if better maintained, would be a great round of golf. The fairways are like the grass in a cow pasture. There's 18 different types of grass in every fairway, along with clover and any other weed you could think of. The rough was just as bad, it was pretty much weeds. We had to play "winter rules" in order to be able to hit off of grass in the middle of a few of the fairways. The greens were absolutely the worst I've seen. Bare spots everywhere. I don't think it was possible to actually read a putt because the ball would bounce everywhere on the way to the hole. There were so many bald spots and uneven spots on the green, I gave up trying to read them, and putted everything straight at the hole hoping for the best. There was also weeds growing on the greens. Weeds may not be the best word for it, a partner of mine who used to manage a golf course had a name for the type of grass it was, and said that the staff has to watch that stuff, because it spreads deep and has deep roots and can ruin a green. He also said that it was apparent that the staff didn't care about the greens, or else it wouldn't be there. The staff there was also pretty rude and uncaring about anything, it seems.
Payed $32 for the round with cart, and honestly feel like I got ripped off as sad as that is for cheaper golf. There's much nicer courses here for the same price. When I complained to the Pro and Assistant Pro about the greens, I was told that it's because they're Bermuda and are never good at this time of year. Kind of funny that my home course's greens are Bermuda as well, and are as perfect as you can get for this time of year and the heat we've been facing.
Played Stryker Golf Course today, and was very disappointed as well. While it was better than Ryder, many of the same complaints I had with Ryder stand here as well. While the greens were super slow, I have to give them credit, at least they were fairly smooth. There were new patches of Bermuda on many of the greens that were not smooth yet, and it looked like a checkerboard with bumps in between. Hey, but at least they were trying to fix them. The greens were oversanded, and no matter how much backspin you put on the ball, they would not stop on the greens. I hit a few high wedge shots into the greens, and never even had to repair a pitch mark all day. They were so hard, they didn't leave any marks. This made me hesitant with my wedges all day to hit for the pin, so I left so many shots short because I was scared to bounce another one off the green. The course just generally looked unkept, and dead or dying. The staff there was friendly and helpful though, and the Pro said that they were aware of the problems on the course, and are trying to correct them.
So if you're in the Fayetteville, NC area, and want to play a good round of golf, steer clear of Ft. Bragg. There are many good courses here that are the same price, but in much better shape. Anderson Creek is great, Bayonet is good (but a little more expensive), Baywood is great, King's Grant is nice and Scothurst is in great shape for a cheaper course right now.
At my home course, the greens are nearly perfect, especially for this time of year, and as hot as it's been this summer. They are still soft and cushiony when you walk on them, and the ball rolls fast and smooth.
These 2 rounds this week have absolutely left me with a horribly taste in my mouth about these 2 courses. Here's my thoughts about both of them:
Ryder Golf Club: Used to be the "officer's" golf course, but years ago, they opened it to everyone. The course has a great layout, and if better maintained, would be a great round of golf. The fairways are like the grass in a cow pasture. There's 18 different types of grass in every fairway, along with clover and any other weed you could think of. The rough was just as bad, it was pretty much weeds. We had to play "winter rules" in order to be able to hit off of grass in the middle of a few of the fairways. The greens were absolutely the worst I've seen. Bare spots everywhere. I don't think it was possible to actually read a putt because the ball would bounce everywhere on the way to the hole. There were so many bald spots and uneven spots on the green, I gave up trying to read them, and putted everything straight at the hole hoping for the best. There was also weeds growing on the greens. Weeds may not be the best word for it, a partner of mine who used to manage a golf course had a name for the type of grass it was, and said that the staff has to watch that stuff, because it spreads deep and has deep roots and can ruin a green. He also said that it was apparent that the staff didn't care about the greens, or else it wouldn't be there. The staff there was also pretty rude and uncaring about anything, it seems.
Payed $32 for the round with cart, and honestly feel like I got ripped off as sad as that is for cheaper golf. There's much nicer courses here for the same price. When I complained to the Pro and Assistant Pro about the greens, I was told that it's because they're Bermuda and are never good at this time of year. Kind of funny that my home course's greens are Bermuda as well, and are as perfect as you can get for this time of year and the heat we've been facing.
Played Stryker Golf Course today, and was very disappointed as well. While it was better than Ryder, many of the same complaints I had with Ryder stand here as well. While the greens were super slow, I have to give them credit, at least they were fairly smooth. There were new patches of Bermuda on many of the greens that were not smooth yet, and it looked like a checkerboard with bumps in between. Hey, but at least they were trying to fix them. The greens were oversanded, and no matter how much backspin you put on the ball, they would not stop on the greens. I hit a few high wedge shots into the greens, and never even had to repair a pitch mark all day. They were so hard, they didn't leave any marks. This made me hesitant with my wedges all day to hit for the pin, so I left so many shots short because I was scared to bounce another one off the green. The course just generally looked unkept, and dead or dying. The staff there was friendly and helpful though, and the Pro said that they were aware of the problems on the course, and are trying to correct them.
So if you're in the Fayetteville, NC area, and want to play a good round of golf, steer clear of Ft. Bragg. There are many good courses here that are the same price, but in much better shape. Anderson Creek is great, Bayonet is good (but a little more expensive), Baywood is great, King's Grant is nice and Scothurst is in great shape for a cheaper course right now.
