Providence Golf Club — Attraction in Poinciana

While the layout of the course is very nice and houses are gorgeous, the quality is miserable right now. A lot of places are overseeding this time of year, but this course was just about unplayable unless you pickup on every green. Don't get me wrong, it was probably gorgeous at one point in time, but they shouldn't be charging more than $20 for the quality the course is currently in. Here were some issues in our round.

Cart path only Fairways were overseeded Greens were overseeded and hadn't been cut in several days. Rolled about a 4 speed. The overseed wasn't going to save most of the greens as it looked like most of them had died from either disease or under-watering. Tee box was mats only, practice green was closed Only short game warmup was 2 small flags put into a random patch of rough next to the first tee box.

Worst part was we paid $42 per person not knowing the greens were in that shape. No mention of it on golfnow. When we told the guy in the pro shop, he gave us a deal and dropped the price to an "even $40". Then they charge $10 for a bucket of warmup balls. On top of that, no cart person on the course for any food or drinks.

Similar situation happened at Bella Collina over the summer when we paid $80 not knowing they overseeded. They completely understood and dropped the round down to $30 for every person who had a tee time for the week. They also overseeded in sections. Either just do greens or just do fairways. If you are doing the entire course overseeded, just close it like Orange County National does.

For now, as far as overall rating, I'd rate Providence a hair lower than Metrowest or...

It’s actually about 3.5 stars, but it’s definitely not a 4. The driving range was mats only (-). The putting and chipping greens were fine. The cart had GPS. The construction is not limited to the back 9, but it is definitely more noticeable on the back. The tee boxes must have been somewhat recently sodded, but they are still spotty at times. Fairways were fine/tight. The rough was basically what ever was growing and unkept. There was little height difference. The only penalty is an uneven lie. The bunkers were well maintained. The greens looked nice, but l felt the speeds were not consistent, and occasionally bumpy. And two things that really bothered me: Almost every tee box was moved up (a lot). The whites were supposed to play 6023, but l kept track of the shortages and it actually played about 5800-5850. The blues were the same. The other thing was the lack of respect the players on the course had for the course. Broken tees on all the tee boxes like I’ve never seen before, and unfilled divots. I saw a ranger multiple times, but l don’t know how active they were. Slow play is definitely present. A lot of retirees/snow birds. All in all, the course is not dull. The holes have varying yardages and interesting shots. Tons of wildlife - gators, turkeys, cranes, etc… l don’t think l would drive 45 minutes from Orlando again. The construction is most definitely a factor when earth moving equipment is operating next to multiple tee boxes. But in 4-5 years when the construction is hopefully over… l...

The course is set in the middle of a growing housing development. I would rate this course based on its condition overall as very playable. We were originally booked at Falcon's Fire but they were overseeding and only let people out on the back nine. So, we booked Providence through GolfNow and there were plenty of tee times. We arrived to find the driving range was closed, no beverage cart and no snack bar to be found. So we headed to the putting green for few minutes, then headed off to the first tee box. We all played from the tips and hit great drives with very few warmup swings. I liked the layout of this course, and the only problem I saw was the rough was a mix of about 3 different types of grass. There are a handful of holes that are blind shots where you can't see the green and it was a bit of a guessing game. The greens were in great shape but rolling really slow....The staff was friendly, but didn't inform us at all about the precautions they took due to Covid. The key to the restrooms are on the cart keyring, I had to ask the marshall!! There are no water coolers or fountains on the course and they have dividers on the cart if you don't live in the same household. Overall, we will be back, but not until we get a chance to play other courses in the same area. BTW, the Golfnow price was $45 dollars, and we felt that was fair due to the course conditions. All these precautions should really be spelled out more before you book, so people can prepare for...