This older public course is about 30 miles (45 minutes) from uptown Charlotte. The front 9 was the creation of Scottish-born Donald Ross and opened to the public in 1936. The back 9, designed by Tom Jackson, was completed in 1982. All 18 greens were redone in 2007-2008 and are now all Champion Bermuda.
The course now has its own official website with online tee times available. Memberships available for less than $100 per month. Covers green fees. $10 annual handicap fee. Rack rates are no longer a bargain but the twilight rates are excellent.
This course is very reasonably priced and easily walkable. The layout features a good mix of easy and tough holes. Just outside of downtown Monroe, you'll find a laid back atmosphere and rounds played at a good pace, though the locals traffic keeps it pretty busy. The staff keeps it in pretty good shape year round. I especially love the par 5's. They're all usually reachable in 2 from the white tees and give up many birdies. The par 3's on the other hand can be quite a challenge. Hole #2 has a severely sloped green, #9 is a good 3-iron, #11 goes over a pond and #16 can play longer than #9 since it's uphill. I find the back 9 easier than the front. You should be able to score well if you can adjust to the greens. They are usually fast and have always been tricky for me to read. One word of caution that if you are not local or a frequent visitor to the club, you may not get a very welcome feeling. This course definitely caters to regulars.
Tee | Par | Yardage | Rating | Slope |
---|---|---|---|---|
Championship (Blue) | 72 | 6744 | 72.6 | 132 |
Mens (White) | 72 | 6276 | 70.7 | 126 |
Other (Gold) | 72 | 5798 | 67.9 | 123 |
Ladies (Red) | 72 | 4807 | 68.2 | 117 |
For $55 on a weekend (Sunday no less) it's a great course. There were some areas that were a little bear on the but mostly not in the fairways. Fairways were firm and in good shape. As hot and relatively dry it has been, the fairways are in as good of shape as I would expect, which I'd say was pretty good. The greens were super fast and rolled true. Missed putts that were even a touch too fast were punished, but no pock marks to bump the ball around. Impressive to say the least. I started to get in sync with putting later in the round compared to my last round. The folks there were friendly, so I guess they've improved their customer service. I felt pretty welcome and the starter and ranger were decent folks that got me paired up efficiently and earlier than my booked time. A note about the range. You'll find it quite a cart drive, but it takes roughly 5 minutes (probably less) from the clubhouse. It's to the right after the cart return heading toward Tee #10. You then bear to the left right before the 10th tee onto a gravel path. You can see it on the satellite, but you'll be driving through spider webs. hehehe The range appears to be little used, so that's a plus. :D
Read The ReviewIt was cart path only. Kind of surprising, but there were several areas that still had standing water. The greens were smooth with a few spots of grass growing in them. The traps are need of some upgrade. They were very hard and appear to not have been raked in awhile. This used to be the premier course in Union County. It’s slowly declining. Still a good course at this time.
Read The ReviewI’m starting to get a little disappointed in Monroe. Being the course I grew up with and knowing its potential, they’ve let the conditions drop the last couple of years. The fairways are struggling to keep any grass and there’s several worn areas where the water has come through. The greens were slower than normal, but rolled nicely. It is still a course I recommend playing. Hopefully, they will put more money and effort to regaining their he condition from a couple years ago.
Read The ReviewStill a very nice course. It was cart path only. Not as pristine as it used to be, but a very good municipal course. The greens were slower than usual, but rolled true. I recommend this course to anyone.
Read The ReviewGreens were in very good shape except for 17. Fairways were in great shape. Some of the tee boxes could use a little TLC. If you have not played here before, the front 9 is a real treat as it was designed by Donald Ross - turtle back greens and fairly tight fairways. Worth the trip
Read The Review