Rates:

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Description

This 9-hole public course is only a few minutes from uptown Charlotte and convenient to I-77. It was originally named Revolution Park when it was built in the 1930's as Charlotte's first municipal golf course but was renovated in the summer of 2010. It now sports bermuda greens and a nice pro shop. It also now bears the name of Dr. Charles Sifford, the first African American to earn his PGA Tour playing card.

Notes

Rates shown here are for 9 holes only with cart. The course is managed by Ratcliffe Golf Services and is also home to the First Tee of Charlotte, which promotes core life values and introduces young people from all walks of life to the great game of golf.

B-Man's Take

Similar to all the Ratcliffe owned courses, it offers some of the best, most affordable deals for playing golf in town. It also caters to beginners and prides itself on great customer service. Since the renovation in 2010, the course has been kept in consistently good shape. The inner cluster of holes (2-5) are all side by side -- which gives you a chance even with wayward shots. There are some woods and hazards in play on a few holes. Several of the doglegs can make the course short for long hitters who can cut corners. The greens can be challenging - the small ones are difficult to hit and the large ones have tricky slopes and tiers. The 9th hole is the only par 5 and danger lurks off the tee with woods and a creek in play, then an uphill approach to a perched green where errant shots will bounce out of play. My favorite hole is the short par 4 5th hole -- if you can carry the tall trees on the right side with a high trajectory driver or 3-wood, you can reach it for an eagle try. With a location near uptown and only 9 holes encouraging beginners and newer golfers to play, the course can get crowded on weekday afternoons and evenings.

Most Recent Reviews

• 7/14/22 - Review by B-Man

  "Worth playing"

  Sifford is in good shape, no issues to report. Greens were consistent and cut to medium speed. Fairways were solid. As always here, if you get off the fairway, wide left or right, your lies can be dicey, with bare dirt or rocks and tree roots. I play a regular 9 hole game on late afternoon weekdays with a few friends and Sifford is a great place for that.

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• 4/13/22 - Review by B-Man

  "Worth playing"

  Sifford has gotten more crowded and I think that has put more stress on course conditions. I've seen the course in better shape. Greens quick but bumpy. The Bermuda here seems to be more fickle because of those bumps. Just not as smooth as some of the other nice Bermuda greens in the area. For some reason, a few of the back tee boxes were closed, which made the course play unusually short. In particular, this was the case on holes 2 and 6. There were areas under repair but I didn't notice any major changes since my last round here. They've almost finished the repair of the bridge between #1 and #9. One other thing I didn't care for was how closely mown the "rough" was around the greens. With many of the greens crowned or elevated, approaches and chips that either didn't quite make the putting surface or ran through would not stop rolling until they settled well off the green and down the hills. I noticed this especially on #4 where I was chipping from the right side and my ball rolled through the green down the left side and across the cart path. And then similarly on #8 where my playing partner was pitching from below the left side of the green and his ball hit the green but rolled off the front, missing the bunker and rolling all the way down the hill and across the cart path! It's kinda weird to me how the conditions and vibe here at Sifford can feel beginner/amateur/easy, yet shots around the greens can play so difficult, requiring the precise accuracy and touch of a pro. I like Sifford and it's generally priced for what you get, but conditions are just okay right now.

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• 10/2/20 - Review by Jonny

  "Great course"

  The last time I played this course was 22 years ago in a Father & Son Tournament. It's changed quite a lot since then and fortunately for the better. The greens, tee boxes and fairways are all in great condition. I got paired up with Bob & Haydon who had played before so I got some good guidance on the blind shots. Overall this is an exceptional Municipal Golf Course that has easy access off I-77. Ona sunny October Friday, we were able to go 9 holes in right at 2 hours. Just a perfect day for golf. I especially like hole #8 which is a dog leg right that plays about 300 yards. I was able to get on in two and had an eagle putt. The fairways are open and there is very little water and most holes are straight forward with just a couple of holes that are blind shots. I will definitely be playing this course again, at $23 bucks riding @ Sr rate, it's hard to beat. The carts are in fair shape and I understand the clubhouse was been newly rebuilt. There is nice driving range, practice putt area and chipping area as well. This is the home of the First Tee in the Charlotte area.

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• 8/19/20 - Review by B-Man

  "Great course"

  Sifford is in spectacular shape. Greens were rolling well, faster than I am used to here. They've really got them where they want them, in terms of maintenance and conditioning. The rest of the course was very lush. The course gets all levels of play -- so it can be slow when it's packed, as it was today. You'll need to be patient on those days. Just played one loop of the 9 holes and had to skip #9 due to an appointment. I used to play here every week during the summer in a work league, but that was postponed due to COVID-19. So I took the chance to get out while I was uptown today. Just a reminder, this course has an excellent practice facility too.

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• 6/9/20 - Review by B-Man

  "Great course"

  Last week was Charlie Sifford's birthday (June 2) and it reminded me I hadn't been out here to the course named in his honor in quite some time. Fun to be back. Sifford is a cool little par 35, 9 hole track that also hosts the First Tee of Charlotte -- there was a clinic going on as we teed off. The course is not long at all -- though the par 4 opening hole can almost reach 400 yards from the back tee. The rest of the holes give you options to cut corners -- especially #5 and #8, which are drivable for players who can hit high fades over trees. The two par 3's are not easy either -- #3 has a bunker protecting the right half of the putting surface and #7 is a long downhill shot to a large two tiered green. The closing par 5 requires a carry over a ditch for your tee shot then a careful uphill approach that can't miss left or right. It's an inexpensive, quick 9 hole trip. The course was in lush shape tee to green. The greens were not fast at all but rolled true. So get the speed down and it was fine. I'll be back for another 9 holes again soon.

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Updates From the Forum

• 07/16/13 - B-Man posted "Aerial footage of Revolution Park under water"

  This is amazing video of what Revolution Park looked like after the flooding rains last week:
  
  
  
  This aerial footage was shot by the WBTV helicopter last Thursday (7/11/13).
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• 09/16/12 - B-Man posted "Revolution Park added"

  I had the pleasure of meeting Del Ratcliffe last week. Ratcliffe Golf Services runs several courses around town, including Charles T Myers and Renaissance Park that are listed on the site. I've now added the Dr. Charles L. Sifford Course at Revolution Park. This 9-hole course was renovated in 2010 and looks in great shape (I took a tour but haven't played it yet). Look forward to hearing comments and reviews on it from you guys.
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