Color me kind of underwhelmed.
Booked this track as a fairly inexpensive, forgiving course for opening day, & had heard so many good reports about how much better the course is now.
Had played here once before a few years back, prior to the last renovation, but none of us could remember much about it.
Bag drop & check were smooth, but staff seemed very indifferent to us being there.
Forecast called for heavy rain moving around 1 pm, & we were booked for 8:12 & 1:35 pm. (Free replay)
Played the morning 18 @ just over 4 hours. Condition were good/so-so. Most fairways were OK, some kind of spotty. There seems to be a LOT more bunkers now, especially around the greens, a few to a ridiculous amount. Sand was inconsistent, some were more soil than sand, & a lot of the bunkers were that weird mix of turf/sand, I guess from sand blowing out of bunker over time? There's also a lot of forced carries into greens, and none of us could get anything short of a full swing to check when it landed, no matter how crisp you hit it. On the plus side, the greens putted very well & had decent pace. Putting on these greens was the shining star of course conditions.
About 10 minutes after we got done, here came the rain. It steadily got harder, & based on the radar, it would continue till about 5 or 6 pm. Went to see about a raincheck, walked up to the counter & was greeted with "What do you need?) I told him we had a replay scheduled at 1:30 & given the radar & current conditions, wanted to inquire about rainchecks. (4). I half thought he might say this, & I was right. Since it was a "free" replay as part of a package, it did not qualify for rainchecks. I gave him a smile & told him I thought he might say that, but he had a chance here to invest in some great advertising by only writing 4 rainchecks which may never even get cashed! "Nope"
So....iike they say, hard to have a bad day on a golf course with your crew, & overall it was it was good times with some memorable shots on both ends of the spectrum, and naturally, about 45 minutes later, while we were at pga store, the rains quit & the radar went all clear. A rookie mistake by these 32 year veterans, but maybe a blessing in disguise as we all are moaning with achy backs and limbs.
Not trying to scare anyone away from AS, just as opening sentence said, we left feeling underwhelmed.
Better forecast for tomorrow for 36 at Glen Dornoch.
Cheers
S
Golf can best be defined as an endless series of tragedies obscured by the occasional miracle.
Skippy thanks for sharing AS we played it last year. I thought it was a second shot course we did enjoy it.
Brownwood Bandit
I am fairly sure AS didn't add bunkers during the renovations.
It always had plenty of bunkers. They should remove some on certain
holes, with a bunker in front.
AS seems to fit what you were looking for on day #1.
You are still off to a good start.
Thanks for reporting!
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Skippy, over the winter time the greens held well for us and we played many times as it is right across the street from where we stay. Bunkers have those big lips to hit over and can be intimidating esp. if bunkers give you fits. I agree with Art that some could be removed completely to make that 2nd shot a bit easier. One thing it has a good range and wide enough fairways to make it a good day 1 course, good luck at Glen Dornoch and the rest of your stay be a dry one.
When our group played AS last October I got the same feeling as you did about the course and customer service. The staff (one in the pro shop and one in the snack bar) was not very helpful. When we finished our round there was just one person inside the clubhouse.
I agree with you about the bunkers. There were no rakes either.
Hope the rest of your trip is much better!
Too bad customer service at Arcadian Shores wasn’t on par with your usual kindness @Skippy!
Denis Gilbert
Quebec City, Canada
Skippy thanks for the honest upfront report! This is a place i have never been to but one day want to play!
Let the Big Dawg Bark!!!
I've lived around the corner from AS for 15 years now. A very enjoyable course...
but always a headscratching experience in the pro shop. The cart staff was always stellar. The ONLY place I refuse to play now---and it's a cart ride away!
AS has always been in good shape when I play there (not often) While a decent layout, hard to believe that years ago AS was in the top 100 courses in America
Golf is just an excuse to drink whiskey and smoke cigars
I do hear you on the Pro Shop and the way they deal with customers, always a mystery. One other thing, if they have a Tournament going on you can't even hit practice balls as the course is closed to the group playing, no matter how big or small that group maybe. It is still a course though that we will play often over the winter time as the price is right and not long drive back to the condo.
