We played Red Tail on Monday. $28 for 18 and a cart. Another solid layout but it was pretty wet and some holes very wet. In fact they told us #7 had just reopened from being underwater and they had it playing as a short par 4 from it's usual par 5.
For $28 we couldn't complain Tee boxes were good and greens were excellent and decently fast. Hard to judge the fairways because of the water. When things start growing again it would likely be a nice cheap option.

Played Palmer Legends today. Impeccable conditions! You get what you pay for I guess. It was enjoyable not having to hit out of such tight/bare lies. Greens were pristine.

Must have re-dyed the greens.

I played Palmer twice last week. Greens were good to very good. Not close to the realm of "pristine".

Right. Years ago played a course in Eustis. Black Bear I believe. At the nine they gave us a beer and a hot dog. At the 17th hole a magnificent flock of birds came sailing into the pond there.They covered the sky and the pond. It was stunning. We stopped for a beer and we heard people screaming. We looked and saw the biggest bear ever moving slowing across the ninth hole. DiCaprio would have screamed. Nobody gave a damn about their golf score.

I guess it depends on one's definition of pristine. I didn't see any dried out ball marks, no dead spots, they ran true if not overly fast. What else would constitute pristine?

On my scale of 1-10, Palmer's Greens are about a 6-7 on a good day. After "good to "very good" comes "excellent". After "excellent" comes "spectacular". "Pristine" is typically Augusta National quality.

Ok, there's the difference. I'm not comparing anything to Augusta. I'm comparing everything I rate to other public golf courses. So what might be unacceptable /bad conditions at Augusta might actually be excellent for a public course.

And, in most cases, somehow still cheaper!

Played Harbor Hills today. So far it's the best course we've played outside TV. $50 for 18 and a cart. Nice conditions and a good interesting layout with lots of elevation changes. Well worth the 15 minute drive.