Played on 8/6, and greens were having problems. Three were unplayable, and the other fifteen were a mixture of fair to poor. Very frustrating…particularly since the folks in the clubhouse never said anything about it when I made the tee time. A few minor glitches, well OK, I can understand not saying anything. But when most of the greens are trashed? That’s what actually bothers me more than the lousy greens….it’s called the “bait and switch” technique. I should not have to go through a phone interview with the greenskeeper to learn about major course issues!

Passed your note along to the course manager, Boyd Everling, and he gave me this very detailed response:

“As of August 1st we have been giving discounts off of our full rates to every player when they come in and explaining that we have some thinning of the greens and that we have been quad-tining (using 1/4 tines) on the greens to get air and water to the roots. We also have been explaining that holes #2, #9, #13 were bad and that they should consider a mandatory 2-putt. On 8/6/05 our morning rates should have been $59 but we were charging $49 automatically.

As of today, 8/12/05, our problems greens (2,9,13) are now 90%+ covered and playable. The other 15 greens are good except for some quad-tines still healing. Besides the greens, we have been told (and I agree) that our fairways are some of the best in the Carolina’s.

For anyone not familiar with our courses, the Carolina Trail courses have a central tee-time office in Chicago that takes tee-times on occasion. They will not mention course conditions or fee reductions because they do not know. If any golfer wants our course conditions or rates, please ask the operator to transfer them to the golf shop. We have been up front with every customer that we have talked to about this situation, with most saying that they appreciate our honesty. For anyone that has fallen through the cracks, we apologize, but we are doing everything that we can. Please be sure to ask for the “Golf Shop Staff” to answer any questions and there should not be any problems. Going forward, our greens are much improved but still have small quad-tine holes. From what our customers are telling us, our greens are the same as many in the area due to the tough summer stretch of weather. We should be much better in a couple weeks as long as we don’t hit 100 degrees for an extended period of time again.

What I would like to say is that our greens are just O.K. right now, but very playable. We have made it through the tough period and we are improving each day. We are still discounting through this weekend and may continue depending on the conditions. I would recommend that anyone wanting to play a great conditioned course immediately, call the Tradition at (704) 549-9779 which is a sister course of ours. The whole course is great and the A-4 greens are outstanding.

I appreciate the opportunity to explain our situation.

Professionally,

Boyd Everling
PGA Head Professional/GM
Charlotte Golf Links”

Plyed CGL on 1/7/06 and actually wrote to the Pro to complain about the conditions. Course obviously wet from prior rain (3 days earlier) so cart paths only. Course does not drain that well. Traps were poor and sand was like wet concrete. Greens were horrible and heavily spotted with Bermuda as well as disease, couldn’t find a true roll anywhere. Still charging $52 for bad golf in dead of winter, play somewhere else.

Played 36 there today — the greens keep getting better, but still have more room to improve. In addition, they’re pock-marked with ball divots (does anyone repair their ball marks on the greens anymore?!?). Fairways were in good shape. One gripe though — you won’t find any real sand in the bunkers here. Instead, it’s more like packed, hard dirt. For the money, this course rates around a “B.”

My buddy & I are playing Charlotte Golf Links this Sat a.m. Does anyone know what type of condition the course is in? Are the greens in decent shape? I played at Verdict Ridge last Thu (8/17) & the greens were, by far, the best I’ve putted on in the Charlotte area. Mahalo nui for any feedback!

Played Charlotte Golf Links today (9/23/06) and noticed an improvement from my previous round way back in February. The greens are not all the way back, but improved – the front nine greens were a little smoother than the back. The fairways were in good shape. BUT – they are aerating in a few weeks, so call ahead to check before you book anything.

Played at 2 and finished by 5:45, right when the sun was setting. The course was pretty empty, and the rough wasn’t as brutal this time. Heard they just cut the rough for the rest of this year. The fairways had a lot of roll, and I couldn’t get anything to stick on the greens. They were super fast and the fringe wasn’t any slower. I swore never to play here again, but it was close so I gave it a try. Actually enjoyed my round, but that’s because the rough wasn’t as bad. FYI they are aerating the greens in the next few weeks. Not sure about an exact date.

Played at golf links today, at 5 (only got in 9) but even so, it looked ok. It is my stomping ground, play there at least once a month since it is 2 seconds away from my house. There is a major drainage problem. The last time I was there it was soggy, and today (2 days after snow) it was real nasty. Even still bunkers could have been better, and greens needs some work. They need to just till the heck out of the bunkers and lossen up the packed in sand. I still chipped in #10 from the bunker guarding the front of the green!!!! I like this course, I just wish they would put a little of the money I spend into it and make it a great public course!

Played 7/19/09 and the course was in poor condition. 3 of the greens are virtually unplayable. The staff is very rude. I would rather pay a bit more and play Springfield or Emerald Lake.

I played Golf Links on the 24th. I have to disagree with Jim – the course was not in that bad of shape (in my opinion). Not to say it’s pristine at this point in the summer, but fairways are decent and you could always seem to find a nice lie within inches of your ball (if you felt like you were on a bad spot). Greens were fine and rolled pretty well for me. Some were very very nice. Some of them (3-4 maybe) had been punched recently but the mini-tines were used and it really didn’t affect putting. They were also soft and held good approach shots well. With the recent Click It coupons (I payed $37), it’s a pretty good deal. I enjoy the layout and will be back soon.

I will agree, however, with the staff. Very rude in the clubhouse and almost dismissive of patrons.

How is Charlotte Golf Links looking these days? Planning on playing the weekend of April 20th with a friend from out of town.

thanks,

Charlotte Golf links greens are good but the course is not in great shape overall. Still a decent play for cheap money.

See the article on Charlotte Golf Links in the Course Review section. So, since the land Carolina Links was on wasn’t part of the auction, ultimately the course wasn’t foreclosed on because of the value of the real estate. So much for that theory…