General Reviews
Golfing Comments from Bob from Canada
My wife and I were very pleased to spend the month of March in Rotonda at a beautiful home which we rented from Homesearch Overseas. I had recently retired and we decided that we really didn’t need the cold Ottawa, Canada winter this year. I will say first and foremost that we were very happy with both our rental and with the Homesearch team in Florida and in the UK. Being a golfer, I was pleased to accept an invitation to write a short critique of a few courses in the area of Rotonda. Hopefully, this will be of some use to golfers considering local courses.
I am an aging mid handicapper who at this point enjoys the game in a non competitive
kind of way……honestly! My remarks therefore are to be taken in context. I played three courses over the course of my stay: Long Marsh, The Palms, and the Venetian. I played Long Marsh several times primarily because of its proximity to where we stayed. I will keep my observations very general as all of the course stats and course designer information can be found on the Homesearch web site or at www.golf-gulf-florida.com.
Long Marsh is the kind of course that makes golfers of all skill levels feel good about their game. The best word to describe it would be “straightforward”. I played from the white tees, however from whichever tee box chosen a driver is usually the best choice. Most fairways are fairly straight or slightly doglegged and no matter your skill level all par fours are easily reached in two. There is some water around and two of the par threes are played over water but are not difficult holes with plenty of green to work with. From the whites, the par fives are under 500 yds and with a good shot can be reached in two. As mentioned, there is water around and a wayward t-shot can find trouble. Aside from the water and marshes there are an abundance of palms, oaks and pines making this a very esthetically pleasing course. There is also an abundance of wild life and even a few alligators to keep an eye on. This is a mid priced course and the staff are very accommodating. I showed up as a single unannounced several times and never had to wait more than ten or fifteen minutes. This is the newest course at Rotonda and I think, the best of the two I played. All courses operated by the Rotonda Golf Club can be found at www.rotondagolf.com.
The Palms course at Rotonda offers a lot of water and strategically placed bunkers. It is a fairly flat course but shot and club selection are important. The back nine is particularly challenging especially the last five holes with water to contend with on each one. You will find holes 15 and 16 particularly interesting. I played this course from the “golds” with a total yardage of just under 6000 yds. It was an extremely windy day so my game suffered accordingly. On a civilized day this course would be a lot of fun but if a choice between the Palms or Long Marsh were mandatory I would just slightly be more inclined to the latter.
If your budget allows, there are several courses in the area rated by Golf Digest. The closest is Riverwood which I believe has a four star plus rating. This course is only about 10 minutes from Rotonda and although I wasn’t able to set up a t-time, would strongly recommend it based on reports by others. At a similar green fee rate is The Venetion Golf and River Club. For a green fee in the 90 to 100US$ range however, you receive a level of service similar to what would be expected at any of the better courses anywhere. A complimentary sleeve of Pro V1’s with the Venetian logo greet you upon check in. At the driving range a ball pyramid is set up for your convenience. Clubs are wiped down by a courteous staff at the end of your round, etc, etc. The course itself offers beautifully manicured fairways and greens. Tee boxes are set up to please golfers of all skill levels. The greens are generally large but most are multitiered and undulating and consequently quite challenging. This is a fairly new course and is almost a “must play” if you don’t mind the 45min. drive. Another course that is a little closer but is reputed to be quite good is Heron Creek. Once again I didn’t get to play there as my scheduled round was rained out……the only half day of rain for the month. About a 20 to 25min drive gets you there and if the course is as nice as the clubhouse, it should be well worth it.
Clearly there is no shortage of courses for avid golfers visiting Rotonda with a decent selection of green fees to suit all budgets. All the courses within Rotonda itself are quite respectable and a golfer of any skill level could very easily play only these and be more than satisfied. I hope these comments will be of some use to visitors in the Rotonda area. Happy golfing!
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Riverwood Golf & Country Club
Riverwood Feedback from Rosalind Barnes May 2006
As a medium handicapper playing golf in Florida, I thoroughly enjoyed playing this lovely course which seems to have something for everyone. There is plenty of water, lots of trees planted in awkward places and sand mounds built around the greens creating steep runoffs into trouble in the shape of trees or lakes.It is very well organised indeed, with a starter at the first hole, course marshals to ensure steady play and adherence to the rules of golf and plenty of toilets, drinking water stops with cooler boxes of ice and cups which fit neatly into the holders in your golf cart. It was a very hot day when I played, so all of this was very welcome. The Clubhouse is very pleasant indeed with a good choice of food and some of the nicest surroundings I experienced at any golf club in Florida. The staff were very pleasant and the service wonderful. This is a rather more expensive course than those on Rotonda, but well worth the extra for a beautifully kept course and all the little “extras” provided here.
Click here for a hole by hole review.
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Deep Creek Golf Club
Awaiting player review
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The Palms
The Palms Feedback from Bob (Ottawa) March 2006
The Palms course at Rotonda offers a lot of water and strategically placed bunkers. It is a fairly flat course but shot and club selection are important. The back nine is particularly challenging especially the last five holes with water to contend with on each one. You will find holes 15 and 16 particularly interesting. I played this course from the “golds” with a total yardage of just under 6000 yds. It was an extremely windy day so my game suffered accordingly. On a civilized day this course would be a lot of fun but if a choice between the Palms or Long Marsh were mandatory I would just slightly be more inclined to the latter.
The Palms Feedback from Rosalind Barnes May 2006
This is a nice looking course, with friendly staff in the clubhouse and a nice pro shop there too. There was a good choice of drinks and hamburgers or hot dogs available after you have finished playing your round.In spite of the long spell of dry weather the course was in very good condition and the greens were excellent. This was a par 72 course and playing it was very enjoyable with a good mix of holes to play. There were rest rooms and drinking water available around the course too.
Click here for a hole by hole review.
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The Hills
The Hills Feedback from Rosalind Barnes May 2006
We played this course while staying in a Homesearch “Golf Scoop” villa which meant that we paid only the cost of a cart for two people which was $25. Very helpful staff in the Clubhouse and looking after the carts - $25 for two people when we played. The Clubhouse serves snacks and drinks all day and there is a small pro shop there too. Our cart arrived behind our car before we had even had time to park! Excellent service.
Click here for a hole by hole review.
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The Links
The Links Feedback from Rosalind Barnes May 2006
We played this course while staying in a Homesearch villa which was part of the “Golf Scoop” programme, meaning that we paid a cart fee only for two people of $17. Small unpretentious clubhouse with very pleasant and helpful staff who are generally club members fulfilling in turn a part time role. There is a small pro shop and hot dogs and drinks seem to be served all day. Carts were available just outside and we could see as we drove in what an attractive course this was. It is a relatively short course (par 63) and, at first sight, we thought this might be a course particularly suited to seniors, as all the holes are par 4 and 3. However, once we started playing the course it became apparent that the amount of water made it anything but an easy option!
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Long Marsh
Long Marsh Feedback from Bob (Ottawa) March 2006
Long Marsh is the kind of course that makes golfers of all skill levels feel good about their game. The best word to describe it would be “straightforward”. I played from the white tees, however from whichever tee box chosen a driver is usually the best choice. Most fairways are fairly straight or slightly doglegged and no matter your skill level all par fours are easily reached in two. There is some water around and two of the par threes are played over water but are not difficult holes with plenty of green to work with. From the whites, the par fives are under 500 yds and with a good shot can be reached in two. As mentioned, there is water around and a wayward t-shot can find trouble. Aside from the water and marshes there are an abundance of palms, oaks and pines making this a very esthetically pleasing course. There is also an abundance of wild life and even a few alligators to keep an eye on. This is a mid priced course and the staff are very accommodating. I showed up as a single unannounced several times and never had to wait more than ten or fifteen minutes. This is the newest course at Rotonda and I think, the best of the two I played.
Long Marsh Feedback from Rosalind Barnes May 2006
A very well organised club with an attractive and well maintained course. It’s a long course (about 7 miles) and the access to the 10th hole is about a mile from the clubhouse across five roads and two canals! Hence the need for a cart which cost $25 for two people.We found it a very enjoyable course to play, with plenty of variety between holes. This is certainly one we shall go back and play again. We played as part of a Homesearch “Golf Scoop” deal and found it excellent value.The clubhouse is very pleasant, with a good pro shop and very helpful staff. A good choice of drinks is available and hamburgers in the steamer as well as a good choice of salads if you want to stay for lunch after your round.The course was well served with rest rooms and drinking water and we were sorry when our round ended.
Click here for a hole by hole review.
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Pinemoor East
Pinemoor Feedback from Dave - Missouri Apr 07
We are grateful to Dave who called us today, asking us to add his comments to our player reviews. He has just played Pinemoor and although he said the standard of the Rotonda Golf & Country Club courses was good, he felt that the quality and condition of the Pinemoor courses is currently not as good as it should be. He recommends that anyone considering playing either Pinemoor East or Pinemoor West should check the condition of the courses before playing.
Note: Please note that this is not one of the Golf Scoop courses.
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Pinemoor West
We played this course while staying in a Homesearch “Golf Scoop” property and paid only the cost of a cart for two people which was $10. An excellent deal!This is a fairly new golf course – less than three years old – and more development is planned for the course. It is currently suffering (as all the courses in south west Florida are) from the several weeks with no rainfall and many of the water traps were very short of water, with long muddy slopes down to a puddle, with the exception of the lake on the 8th hole, which is home to a reasonably large alligator! This should right itself naturally in the next month or so but we found the greens were not in a very good condition – bumpy with tufts of grass. Many of the greens have several large pine trees close by and, although they are not supposed to be water sapping trees, a similar problem has been found on other courses when there are pine trees too near the greens. The course, as a whole, was slightly on the scruffy side and needs a few more hazards to make it a more enjoyable course to play.There is a small clubhouse with a few golf items for sale in a corner and hot dogs and sodas available all day. We fetched our own golf cart and were disappointed to find that there are only chemical toilets on the course and only one (as far as we could see) point where you could enjoy a cup of ice cold water during your round. I am sure that proper toilets and more cold water points will be added as the course is improved.On the plus side, we enjoyed the fact that it is a course with a lot of mature trees and the sand cart tracks were pretty, running through large clumps of low growing palm trees.
Click here for a hole by hole review.
Pinemoor Feedback from Dave - Missouri Apr 07
We are grateful to Dave who called us today, asking us to add his comments to our player reviews. He has just played Pinemoor and although he said the standard of the Rotonda Golf & Country Club courses was good, he felt that the quality and condition of the Pinemoor courses is currently not as good as it should be. He recommends that anyone considering playing either Pinemoor East or Pinemoor West should check the condition of the courses before playing.
Please note that this is not one of the Golf Scoop courses
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Venetian Golf & River Club
The Venetian Feedback from Bob (Ottawa) March 2006
At a higher green fee rate is The Venetian Golf and River Club. For a green fee in the 90 to 100US$ range however, you receive a level of service similar to what would be expected at any of the better courses anywhere. A complimentary sleeve of Pro V1’s with the Venetian logo greet you upon check in. At the driving range a ball pyramid is set up for your convenience. Clubs are wiped down by a courteous staff at the end of your round, etc, etc. The course itself offers beautifully manicured fairways and greens. Tee boxes are set up to please golfers of all skill levels. The greens are generally large but most are multi-tiered and undulating and consequently quite challenging. This is a fairly new course and is almost a “must play” if you don’t mind the 45min. drive.
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