Anyone else playing Augusta this weekend?

We have Tour 18 here in Houston.  I think there's a similar course with the same name in Dallas, but they have a few different holes, if I remember correctly.

Hers we have Golden Ocala which has replicas of Amen Corner, The Road Hole, The Postage Stamp and some others. I used to play there when I first started playing and didn't appreciate it for what is is. Now, it's gone from semi private to private and I can't get on. Such is life.

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Originally Posted by jetsknicks1 

Hers we have Golden Ocala which has replicas of Amen Corner, The Road Hole, The Postage Stamp and some others. I used to play there when I first started playing and didn't appreciate it for what is is. Now, it's gone from semi private to private and I can't get on. Such is life.

Was just going to say, I thought they were a private club.  For what it is worth, it appears that you can get tee times there through BoxGroove.com.  Their pricing is a tad steep when compared to most clubs in the area, but they are private: $110 for cart and green fees.

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Originally Posted by jwrussell 

Was just going to say, I thought they were a private club.  For what it is worth, it appears that you can get tee times there through BoxGroove.com.  Their pricing is a tad steep when compared to most clubs in the area, but they are private: $110 for cart and green fees.

I remember when I could play for $40.00, of course that was like 15 years ago
 

If I remember right there is a replica of St. Andrews being built in Michigan, needless to say I'm pretty excited for that.

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Originally Posted by mattttt25 

I'm a member here...

 

http://www.renditionsgolf.com

 

18 holes modeled after some of the most famous in the world.  My favorite stretch is Amen Corner, which is amazingly close to the real thing (at least from watching on TV).

 

Just curious, any other courses out there like this?  Anyone playing alongside the pros this weekend?  I tee off tomorrow morning and can't wait for the Master's weekend celebration- all employees in period clothing, 1st tee announcements, and a ton of other goofy, fun stuff.

Unfortunately I have played Renditions 3 times and 2 out of the 3 were the worst experiences I've had at a golf course. It does sound like fun but they would literally have to pay me to come play there ever again.

What made it a bad experience?

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Originally Posted by darkhunter139 

What made it a bad experience?

1st time I played was years ago on easter sunday it was slow but that's to be expected course was in ok shape. 

2nd time I played it they charged us full price $70 I think but the course was almost unplayable. Fairways were burnt up they had lost 2 or 3 of greens and had make shift greens in the fairways. I asked the general manager in a very polite manner about charging full price for the conditions and make shift greens. His response is that you re paying for a premium course last time I checked a premium course doesn't have those conditions. The thing that really irked me was they didn't tell anyone or have it posted anywhere that they had 2 or 3 make shift greens. If they did I wouldn't have gone and this issue would have never come up.

3rd time we showed up about 35 minutes before our tee time the guy in the pro shop is struggling to ring up a hat. Now we have about 10 minutes till our tee time so I walked up to the desk and said that we have a tee time in 10 minutes and the guy says I'll have you out of here in no time. My playing partner went out to the starter and said that we've been waiting inside and at the rate it's going this guy is not going to have rung up in 10 minutes. The starter says he can't do anything until we have our receipts so he comes back in and the guy in the pro shop is still struggling. Finally we get to the counter and it's 2 minutes past our tee time so I tell the guy and he says well you need to show up at least 20 minutes early for your tee time. I pretty much lost it at that point but tried to keep my calm as much as possible so the starter tells us we can go out but we have to skip the first 2 holes. I just lost it at that point because the group who had the time behind was behind us in the pro shop so they were just getting rung up while they have us bouncing back and forth. If they just would have let us pay and go to the tee the group behind us would have never noticed especially since we had 2 and it was 4 some behind us. I gave the guy in the pro shop and the starter my thoughts on how they handled the whole situation then I left. 

There is way too many nice courses in this area that I will never waste my time with Renditions. 

Not sure if it's still there, but Myrtle Beach used to have one called the World Tour of Golf or something like that where they had (I think) 27 holes which were just a compilation of the best holes in golf.

"Not sure if it's still there, but Myrtle Beach used to have one called the World Tour of Golf or something like that where they had (I think) 27 holes which were just a compilation of the best holes in golf."

Yup, World Tour ... played all 27. Some replica holes are just cut into the ground that was there. 11, 12, 13  of Amen Corner is okay, but (like Hertz) not exactly ... 17 at Sawgrass was just some island cut into a hill, surrounded on 3 sides by water ....

Played Golden Ocala many years ago (15+).  Enjoyed it but having played a few of the "real things" can say that it just isn't quite the same.  I'd rather play a course that has its own character instead of one trying to be something it isn't.  But I remember Golden Ocala as being very reasonable - in fact they had a temporary office so we actually played from #6 instead of #1.  Still - had a good time there.

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Originally Posted by stealthduffer 

Played Golden Ocala many years ago (15+).  Enjoyed it but having played a few of the "real things" can say that it just isn't quite the same.  I'd rather play a course that has its own character instead of one trying to be something it isn't.  But I remember Golden Ocala as being very reasonable - in fact they had a temporary office so we actually played from #6 instead of #1.  Still - had a good time there.

I agree. What's wrong with playing a course for its own character, merits and particularities? I would probably enjoy something like renditions once as a novelty but it certainly wouldn't be my regular course.

Most of these replica courses are crude mockups of the originals.  I've played Tour 18 several times and it only vaguely resembles the real Amen Corner based on the voluminous information on Augusta National.

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Originally Posted by mattttt25 

Your opinion.  I love the course, its far from a novelty.  And crude is the last word I'd use to describe it.  Come play Amen Corner or the island green at TPC, my treat.  Tell me how it feels when you're done.

I've played renditions, been to the masters, played oakmont, and played merion. The hole layouts at renditions are the only thing that makes them similar. If you saw the amount of slope on number 11 at Augusta and Oakmont #3 you would realize it's not that same. I can say that the Merion #11 hole is nothing like the real thing but looking at it on the card you can see the similarities. No replica course is going to be exact but that doesn't mean it's not a nice course. The fact is to people who are coming to play it just to see the replica holes it is a novelty if you're a member it's not a novelty. Crude is probably not the best word but the point is it's nothing like the real thing and that's ok because it's a replica.