B-Man’s Review of Springfield Golf Club on 3/21/23

Springfield Golf Club

Date: 3/21/23 Tue Afternoon
Overall Rating:

"Worth playing"
Conditions: Good - normal wear/tear
Pace: 4 1/2 Hours
Cost: $40
Username: B-Man
Profile: Avid Golfer (about once a week)
Handicap: 8
Today's Score: 89
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Got out to Springfield as I make my rounds for the updated Top 10 list (coming in May). This course has never left a great impression on me but I tried again to see if I could come to appreciate it. I made some strides in that direction, but a few things keep this course just outside my Top 10.

The greens are in great shape and I don’t remember them not being good. So in that regard, the course is a good value every time out. Almost every one of these Bermuda greens is elevated and sloped or crowned. So they can be very tricky to hold and to putt when they are slick. Today they were quick but not silly fast.

The dormant Bermuda fairways make this course play hard and fast. With all of the slopes and elevation changes, your ball can bounce or roll out of play quickly. That can be very frustrating and make the course play very difficult at times. Several holes play severely uphill, making them play much longer than the yardage (and several par 4’s are already over 400 yards from the Blue tees).

So, from a layout perspective, this course is very challenging. From a conditions perspective, outside of the near-perfect greens, the tees, fairways and rough were just okay. Thin, sometimes bare dirt lies. A few fairways had patches of weed grass throughout. The course is using the Cart Path Only rule until May. On a dry afternoon, that was no fun. That also meant the fairways were dotted with unfixed divots.

The rate was only $40 for a weekday afternoon (2:30pm) and that felt like a good value. Checking a few other courses online showed $50-$62 rates for the same time.

My primary reason for not ranking Springfield higher is that there are very few memorable holes. The long dogleg left par 4 No. 9 is probably the signature hole (it would be a great finishing hole).

I rate Springfield as one of the better but not best public courses in the area. The price puts it in the value half of the courses in the area. With very good greens, Springfield is definitely worth playing.