I wanted to give my old hometown course a shot after all the recent turmoil surrounding its closure and reopening.
Facilities/Staff:
The Good-The pro shop staff are extremely welcoming and very accommodating. You will feel taken care of. The range is grass with good yardages. Range balls are good enough for a municipal course.
The Bad-The carts are very outdated with no attachments for washing clubs or balls. The cart paths are in extremely rough shape. I understand the cost involved with repaving, however, you almost need a Jeep on the back nine. Tee box monuments do not have trash cans.
Price/Location:
The Good-The course is conveniently close to the interstate. The front nine offers some very nice views into the mountains.
The Bad-The price… $45/weekend round is stretching it for the quality of this course. The majority of players I spoke to were here simply because they’ve always played here. My home course is in the Tri-Cities where we are blessed with an abundance of competing courses driving prices down. I can’t help but imagine this would be a $30-$35 course with some competition.
Course/Experience:
The Good-This place really is a “Tale of Two Nines”. This would be a much different review if I had only played the front nine. Enjoy a scenic view of the mountains. The front relied on doglegs to make up for the lack of flat land. That’s not a bad thing and offers a unique experience. The tee boxes are level and in good shape.
The Bad-While not a particularly long course, tipping out at 6,387 yards, the fairways are artificially tightened by overhanging limbs. I’m not sure if this is deliberate. The back nine feels like an unkempt afterthought. Undulating elevation makes for a very frustrating experience. Tree stumps, mud patches, and wild grass pollute the fairways and the rough on the back nine.
The Ugly-The greens are due for some healthcare. There are no sand bunkers on the course. I can only assume that the sand has been transplanted onto the greens. Pace is slow but unpredictable with burnt patches and pitch mark acne.
Golf etiquette is unknown to half of the players you will run into. The old-timers on this course are extremely polite and know the game. The latest generation… not so much. Prepare to duck for cover for errant tee shots without so much as a “Fore!” from the firing end. You will get to watch the group ahead of you take 7 shots per person in every fairway on EVERY hole. Pace of place suffers. I would dismiss this as one bad group if I hadn’t played through 2 groups to watch exactly the same scenario play out.
Overall I’m grateful that Newport has access to a hometown course. I hope that it continues to improve and finds stability under new management. Hopefully, with that stability comes growth. The current course and experience does not qualify for standard rate...
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