Links At Stono Ferry — Local services in Hollywood

Went here on my friends bachelors trip with a group of 7 guys but only 5 of us wanted to play. The other 2 just wanted to watch and hangout since we rarely all get to be together. We talked to the guy when we checked in and explained our situation which he was completely ok with, since we only had one extra guy and paid for two additional cart fees. We get over to the first hole and talked to the starter who said nothing about splitting our group up and that we can just start right there at 1. We get to hole five and let a group of three through that are playing captain’s choice hence moving quicker than we were. In doing so we lost a little time and that’s usually understandable. Though by hole 7 our carts start loudly beeping at us and the on screen message says split up so we all talk are decided to split up and at the turn link back up. We quickly get back to playing now as two groups. When Taylor Massey shows up for the first time to each of our now two holes separated group, screaming and yelling at the top of his lungs how we can’t be together in a group of 8, had we ever played golf before, we’re not allowed to “just be having fun” meanwhile arms in the air waving emotionally. We tried to explain we’ve split up were sorry we got a little behind but now we’re back in what their pre automated pace was. He then says “I live on 18 I’ll see you there” and gets on his cart and drives off. We go back to playing but now two of the guys are upset and their game is off so they quit too. Being only there guys wanting to play myself being one of them we re link and keep playing. The other guys hanging on the carts just being our peanut gallery and support system while catching up on life. We’re now 23 minutes ahead of what they say pace is so we stop for five extra minutes on a hole to get a group picture and proceed to play on. We then get to hole 17 Where Taylor decides to show back up and start yelling at us again but now that he’s kicking us off the course and doesn’t care we are way ahead and had no one behind us. We try to plead our case but with no response. So we get on our carts and give up on three good games all below a 90 pace. Get to the parking lot and we all go to pull to the truck unload and Taylor gets up and starts yelling at us he’s the GM and had members taking pictures of our group and on his gps we where together that’s all he cares about. Not that the group was approved ahead of play that we where not holding up the course we tried to follow every rule possible that a little more professional approach could have helped everyone. All in all it was a day ruining experience for everyone and nothing less that a complete lack of respect for others and respect for...

Assistant golf pro, Taylor Massey was yelling and very disrespectful (twice) to my friends and I, telling us we needed to speed up or leave and never play the course again. We understood where he was coming from, and tried to accomodate his request. But at the end of the day, the way Taylor handled the situation was rude, unprofessional and unfortunately a reflection on The Links at Stono Ferry as a whole.

We were a group of golfers of mixed skill level. We were playing a little slow, but let any groups behind us play through when needed. For reference, we were on track to finish our round in 4 hours and 15 minutes (a little slow, but still plenty reasonable).

Another thing that was weird, was that course members were taking photos and videos of our group without permission, and sending those to Taylor Massey as evidence of our slow pace... We felt like we were being watched and judged the entire time.

I'd avoid playing here if you're a non-member. The carts geo-track your location, pace of play, etc. They beep loudly if you get even 30 seconds behind recommended pace. Not a great place to play a casual round of golf with your friends.

For reference, I was on track to shoot an 81. My friend was on track to shoot an 83. Another group member was on track...

Staff: 5/5

Facility: 5/5

Excellent shop and bar area. Very nice range and practice area. GPS is excellent.

Layout: 2.5/5

The back nine is all target golf. The front par 5s are the same hole. Very tight off the tee then opens up. Back nine need trees trimmed. A few holes you will be blocked out from right or left side fairway.

The course overall is fun then you get to this gimmicky island green on 18. It’s a very short par 4, straight with an island green. I’d love to see something done with it to make it more interesting.

Conditions: 3/5 Fairways over seeded but they stopped at the collars and approach. Corridors need tree maintenance.

Greens: 3/5 They are sparse and then painted. Appear to be rolled. The issue is they don’t have enough surface for the ball to grab or to hold putts. Many patches were mostly dirt with little grass that was rolled. Putts will not stay on moderate slopes and trickle 12-15ft away. The greens need to be kept longer year around, otherwise off season the conditions will be poor. With that said, they rolled fairly smooth.

Overall: 3.5/5

I’d be curious how the course plays in season. I’ll be back to try it in June/July. Off season, it would be much better if they over-seeded more especially around the green...