Southern Oaks
 

Southern Oaks (no oaks but lots of turnpike)
It is a bland course they make harder by having ultra small fairways not close to the tees or greens with ultra tall shaggy rough the kind that if your ball falls under the grass you cannot see it 3 feet away.

So I take it that you didn’t like it.

And yet, others complain that at some of the older courses the rough is cut so short it really isn't a rough.
Tough to please everybody......................................

Have been waiting for first hand reviews of the new course, keep them coming.

Playing Tuesday. That being said, some have problems playing tight fairways, water, sand. Playing the correct tees, make the game enjoyable.

The complaint of the turnpike would be a new one for me. Did OP have problems with the noise, slicing onto the freeway, or playing thru the traffic, to get a Frozen Mocha at the Service Center.:clap2:

An 18 hole course has been a long time coming south of 44. Happy that it's open for the people living there. Makes that area more if a golf car community. Hit 'em straight.

Just watched Don’s video on Southern Oaks - it seems like a great course.
His video showed lots of Southern Oaks trees - and Don commented they tried to preserve as many healthy Oaks as possible.

Sounds like a course you need to plan your shots and not just swing away. Not a course everyone would appreciate but many players will.

Golf Ambassador
 

We like playing championship courses. Don’t mind paying to play a longer course. Gold Tees. The ambassador continues to tell us to go up to the 150 mark, drop a ball, to pick up pace of play. The group’s following us tee off from the shortest tees. It doesn’t seem fair that we can’t play gold just because the people behind us play a shorter game or have only 2 players. We still play a 3.75 hour game without being rushed. It totally ruins the play!

Play better and you won’t be able to complain….

My neighbor just played this course and was very pleased. Me, if i shoot my age on an exec course I am doing good.

Played it yesterday morning (had to start on 4 because of the fog delay) rough was longer than most places down here which I liked, obviously some of the fairways weren't in the best of shape with some shaggy areas and some sparse spots, as it's still a work in progress. Greens were in good shape and there will be some interesting pin placements. No satellite yet for the Garmin watch but I guess they're working on that and the individual holes haven't been rated/handicapped yet.

Staff kept everyone informed as to what was going on concerning the delay and how they were going to handle it (I think it ended up being a little over an hour)

Liked the set up although the highway is pretty close to a few of the holes

I'm looking forward to playing there again

Played it today. Obviously the course is immature, but hardly "bland". IMHO, the rough is overly punitive, there are many lies from which I couldn't get any kind of decent contact, and a ball that hits that rough will roll about 2 yards. It is relatively short--I played the blue tees which were barely over 6,000 yds., the golds are about 6,500, there are no blacks, and the whites are only 5,550. Similar to playing Pensacola to Destin at Bonifay, there are 6 par 3's, 6 4's and 6 5's. For a course that just opened, the greens were in pretty good shape and there is plenty of contour. The turnpike is a non-issue. I'll be back. Best advice---don't hit it into the rough:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Great advice on the rough…..if only if I could get my swing to cooperate.

Distances
 

I don't suppose this course will be in the databases of GPS range finders anytime soon.
Hope I'll get paired with a laser range finder player.

Thanks for the review, I like the same amount of par 3, 4, and 5’s. Deep Bermuda rough is always very nasty, I wish we could play summer fairways with winter rough year round.

I keep yelling at my ball to stay out of the rough and water but for some reason it never listens.

:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

According to the supervisor, it's already mapped and will be available on golf buddy(and I assume all other systems) Friday. I put my score in GHIN and they have the course rated and sloped from all tees.

Looking forward to playing it. Thanks for the warning on the roughs.

At least it is not another dang Pitch & Putt. Need more executive & championship courses south of 44.

I find hybrid irons are great for getting out of that cabbage. I carry a 4 & 5 hybrid... Much easier to hit than the regular irons...

Southern Oaks
 

Pretty harsh. It is a new course. Agree long rough was very tough but will probably be shortened with time. Some holes very wet in front of the green making it hard to roll on. Pay attention to where the middle of the fairway is on your drive as the holes have minor doglegs. It will get easier when it firms up with traffic and less watering. For now expect to be penalized for being in bunker or rough more than other courses. You don't have to wind thru streets or houses but turnpike not far away on some holes.

Those homes are going to get pelted with golf balls. Bad way to meet new people.

People who love golf should have thought twice living south of 44.

I was invited to play a free “preview “ round last Friday along with my guest. I was disappointed that the “preview” was only nine holes !

That said , I totally disagree with the OP ! The layout is very nice and the course has a lot of character.

Greens were in great shape as was the rest of the course (generally). Difficulty level , as with any course, will vary according to the tee box you choose to play from .

The OP is entitled to his opinion but don’t let his comments dissuade you from wanting to play the course whereby you will form your own opinions !!!

All of the championship courses have holes where you can meet new people with an errant shot……not that unusual.

Southern Oaks parking
 

Gold Wing's fly-over shows what looks like a starter's shack instead of a pro shop. Is this correct?

Also, if one would come there by car, where is the parking and cart rental?

Looks like the course is open but not complete as far as convenience and necessities go.

Doesn't listen
 

Unless you're playing a Titleist, your ball only understands Korean.

I live south off 44 and love golf. I golf all the time, in and out of the villages.

Pro shop to be ready in a couple of months in the Market building across the street; pay your fees at the starter shack. Cart rental is in the parking lot adjacent to the new putting course.

There are already 5 executive courses(more to come), (now)1 championship course, and a pitch & putt course with another being built now. If that's not enough you can get in your golf cart and go above 44. I do that to play the courses south of 44...

:popcorn::popcorn::popcorn:

Draw bigger ears on your balls.

I hope it wasn't the same raters (or equivalent) who rated our other championship courses. Those ratings (both slope and rating) are out of line.

Great use of land close to the turnpike!

Played Southern Oaks yesterday
 

Our foursome, two couples, played the course yesterday. We decided to play it as a best ball foursome to both speed up our play and learn the course using our best shots. The good news is that as a foursome, we shot a two over 74. We felt guilty taking divots on the new and immature fairways, especially since the course did not have sand available for our sand bottles. As stated before, the rough is very fluffy and if you can find your ball, which usually is buried in the fluff, it’s a challenge to get a clean hit out of it. They have mowed the fairways thin and a long distance from the tees. I would suspect that eventually the fairways will be widened and brought closer to the tees. The greens are very mature, fast and challenging. There are more undulations than what you see from above in Don Wiley’s drone footage. As a group our overall impression is that we welcome the opportunity to play this course as part of our regular rotation. And when the new bridge is open across the turnpike, this course will go from being 35 minutes away to 10 minutes away.

Rough/noise
 

Will play it soon. My guess is they kept the rough long until the course matures a bit more. Maybe because of basketball I have always thought noise as such, while I was playing golf, was overrated as a distraction.

Just one correction----there was a sandbox on both 1 and 10, plus the ambassador has sand

Don't forget the Putt-Putt!

I've played golf for 52 years, in years gone by at a fairly high amateur level, but I have absolutely no expertise in determining a course rating or slope. Do you? Or are you just babbling?

Played Southern Oaks today. Nice course IMO. Narrower fairways and longer rough put a premium on hitting the fairway. I like the force carry to carry the taller grass to make the fairway. The greens were excellent rolling smooth and true. I also liked the undulating greens, not drastic but challenging. Back nine needs a bit more time to fully mature but in good condition. Front 9 was excellent. I think most all would enjoy this course.

I haven’t played it but a friend did. He liked the course but said noise from the turnpike was annoying and took away from an otherwise enjoyable round.