- "Great course"
 I am reluctant to rave about the course cause I want to keep it a secret. Damn!!! Greens are coming in beautiful. Still rock hard cause they are new, but they may be the best in Charlotte BAR NONE!
Johnny Harris WISHES Quail had these! Rest of course is well maintained and I cannot wait to see what this course is like mid summer once it has greened up.
Only reason not 4 stars is that cool weather seems to have delayed green-up. Read The Review
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- "Average"
 I don't like "cons" and therefore want to call these guys out!
Advertisement says "$185 for 10 rounds, 10 range tokens and 10 lessons....a value of over $1800 bucks!"
BS- Add $230 more dollars to play (mandatory cart fee); the "lesson" is 5-10 minutes. What you end of getting is 10 rounds + a small bucket of range balls for $41.50 + tax. Read The Review
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- "Worth playing"
 Sorry forgot to post this. Greens were a pleasant surprise. Way too many un-repaired ball marks, but except for being just a bit slower than fast they were smoother and greener than advertised. Generally speaking the Carolina trail folks have "dumbed-down" their holdings in ways obviously targeted at cash-flow (less maintenance / easier, faster-to-play / less interesting). I will cautiously state the Highland Creek seems to be an exception. They seem to generally (not totally) be committed to providing a really nice golf course that retains it's architectural interest and above average conditioning. Read The Review
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- "Great course"
 This course had everything I want. Interesting layout; very good if not excellent greens; well maintained and manicured bunkers, fairways, tee-boxes, etc.
Others have complained about the fairways being too firm? I did not particularly notice this or more accurately did not perceive this to be a problem. All in all right up there among the better public tracks in the area right now. It is priced $10-$12 more than I think is fair, but outside of Charlotte National and Sycamore there aren't any alternatives for a consistently well conditioned "Championship Caliber" (ie 7,000+ yds)public course on the southeast part of town. Read The Review
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- "Worth playing"
 Greens - 8.5 stars out of 10....rolled perfect with excellent speed, but still 2 or 3 greens have MINIMAL remnants of the "troubles" from last summer. (Maybe 5% total area on the offending greens had colored sand filling in bare spaces). Solve those remaining issues and National again will claim "best public greens" in the area. OVERALL I WISH THE GUYS RUNNING CAROLINA TRAIL'S COURSES INTO THE GROUND WOULD GET A MANAGEMENT LESSON FROM THE "NATIONAL". They provide a superior value- "EXCELLENT GOLF COURSE where it counts--with no $tupid frills". You CONSISTENTLY get: country club quality greens; maintained/ raked bunkers with adequate sand, better than average if not perfect fairways; and NEVER A WARM FEELING that you just got screwed over paying full price for an aerated course etc. Read The Review
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- "Below average"
 The "specials" they are running make it just about acceptable from a value standpoint. Some might call the layout "unique"- I would call it amateurish and tricked-up. A poorly executed and inadequately maintained course that has the same lack of professional course architectural design as Ballantyne Resort's original routing. The rumors of financial troubles certainly seem to be supported by what is presented. It is never a good sign when they tell you to "#1 is the old #6, #2 is #7, #6 is the old #1 etc. Not sure I would like this course even in pristine conditions...so when 30% of many greens are bare dirt, and the average trek from green to tee-box i about a 1/4 mile, and every landing area is poor man's Mike Stranz imitation- well, "you get what you pay for". Read The Review
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- "Worth playing"
I am considering all the "troubles" from this summer in giving the course an overall positive rating. Three or four of the greens still suffer from bare/sanded over areas. The majority of greens are however quickly reclaiming National's "best rolling greens in Charlotte" status.
Not a lot of corporate bells and whistles, but from the tips, still one of my favorite "players" courses in the area. Read The Review
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- "Average"
 Recent heavy rain noted; however here is what AI observed: FAIRWAYS - cut but heavy clumps of grass EVERYWHERE, we had to play lift clean and place, not because of wetness, but because partial maintenance; GREENS - slow, generally healthy, but terrible problem with weeds;
GENERAL MAINTENANCE - totally lacking....not sure what the deal with bunkers hear and at Birkdale is? It is like the superintendent prays for heavy rain so it can be an excuse for the sorry ass bunkers. 99% were TOTALLY WASHED OUT, CAVED IN, PUDDLED ETC. Without a single field crew anywhere near a single one of them. i call out Birkdale here too because they ceased caring for their's about 18 months ago.
What happened to the respectable $55 public round of golf? Am I asking for too much (greens with grass no weeds, bunkers with sand and raked and fairways cut and decently clean???? Read The Review
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- "Below average"
 I played the front 9 only:
The good news: their greens aren't burnt out like most of the rest of the course's in the region.
The bad news: Greens were absolutely covered with weeds. It was the biggest tease EVER! As I pitched onto the 1st green I thought, "wow, what a surprise...of all places to not have lost the course...".
Then I got on the green and was snapped immediately back to reality. I guess Golf Links has officially replaced Crystal Lakes. It almost makes me cry, because the DESIGN is among my favorite, and in it's heyday (in MY opinion), THIS IS WAS ONE OF THE MOST FAITHFUL re-creations of links play this side of the Atlantic.
FOR SHAME FOR SHAME FOR SHAME!!! Read The Review
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- "Below average"
 B-man you are being too polite regarding the slow play issue. In my opinion the BIGGEST IMPAIRMENT to playing more rounds is the pace of play. It is downright RUDE and arrogant for some hack shooting 105 to wait until the green clears (from 280 away) before hitting a shot. AND THEN circling a putt for 8 minutes from 45 feet for triple bogey. I REALLY WISH folks would understand THEY are not on tour and we do not have 6 hours to devote to playing a round. I don't advocate rushing folks, BUT a REALITY CHECK IS CERTAINLY IN ORDER for folks who think it is OK to take 5+ hours for a casual round. Read The Review
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- "Average"
B-man you are being too polite regarding the slow play issue. In my opinion the BIGGEST IMPAIRMENT to playing more rounds is the pace of play.
It is downright RUDE and arrogant for some hack shooting 105 to wait until the green clears (from 280 away) before hitting a shot. AND THEN circling a putt for 8 minutes from 45 feet for triple bogey.
I REALLY WISH folks would understand THEY are not on tour and we do not have 6 hours to devote to playing a round. I don't advocate rushing folks, BUT a REALITY CHECK IS CERTAINLY IN ORDER for folks who think it is OK to take 5+ hours for a casual round. Read The Review
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