Worst Golf Course You Have Ever Played

[Canadan]

This is more than welcome to be moved, but I imagine there are other people with comparable experiences, and being that it's about golf, I felt it relevant to this sub-forum.

I had the single most frustrating experience I have ever had today on the golf course. We played a local course (public, 25 bucks for twilight golf -- yeah, not terrible, but 25 bucks is 25 bucks--) for the first time. Upon arriving, we are told by the starter to 'hurry up' because a league was about to get started following our tee time. Now, that's fine, but we had a good five minutes before our actual tee time, and being that the tee time was available on their website, it was a bit frustrating that they made no attempt to welcome us to the course, and have a brief discussion about the style of play, and maybe a quick few notes about preferred rules.

Now, regarding the course. I was aware of it being a bit unorthodox, with a par 71 along with par 3s and 5 par 5s. With that said, every hole had something irritating. Whether it was a green 50+ feet above the tee, a tree directly in line with the tee box, forcing me to lay up, or worse, try to go over. Essentially, it was one of the worst courses to play without any advice off the tee. Beyond that, every green was cratered with no less than 20-30 ball marks, as well as them placing the hole in a diseased area of the green on three holes. Also, each tee box was so worn down, that we had to tee off from a separate part of the box just to get some grass on our ball.

Finally, we made the turn in great time, which makes perfect sense seeing that we managed to get off at 4.30 before everyone got off work. We pulled up onto the tenth tee to find a foursome teeing off. Ahead of them, there were a mess of additional foursomes. We tolerated two more holes before giving up, being that we were waiting at minimum, ten minutes on every hole.

I suppose it was simply not the course for me. I felt their customer service was terrible at best, and them throwing foursomes off the back nine with other people clearly making the turn is in my opinion, inexcusable.

/end rant

Feel free to add yours... I'm sure this pales in comparison to some of the stories you can share.

 

[jefffann]

I've been in like circumstances.But I haven't been to a course I could single out.Some have made me score high by the way they were set up or made me indure extremely slow play. I don't think I have any to add to a worst list. After all I was golfing and not mowing the yard or some other chore I should be doing.

 

[Dent]

Played this farmers field course one time when I was bored on vacation, it seemed like the family just made it in their back yard. I drove like 5 or 6 of the par 4's and the greens were just sponge, It wasn't really a course.

 

[jefffann]

Played this farmers field course one time when I was bored on vacation, it seemed like the family just made it in their back yard. I drove like 5 or 6 of the par 4's and the greens were just sponge, It wasn't really a course.

that story reminds me of a nine hole sand green course I play sometimes.There's not much difference from it and a pasture other than occasional mowing.But I'm not saying it deserves worst distinction.

 

[Sunday_Hacker]

place called Quail Ridge here in FL, the fairways were horrible, appeared to be bahia grass and some areas were cut and others were not. the greens were just as bad and full of sand. staff seemed nice at first but when we asked how the course was when we got there they told us it was in great shape! when we complained at the turn they got rude. what comes around goes around though cause they closed up shop about a month latter

 

[BigLeftyinAZ]

The worst courses I've ever played have both been in AZ.Fred Enke and 49'er CC. Lay out and conditions are horrible

 

[Canadan]

It blows my mind that anyone working in customer service at a golf course would be able to retain their job while being a prick to the people paying to play.

Oh well, really, I just needed to blow off some steam. It would be a great course for someone learning the game, or a place where a father/mother can take their kids to play, it just doesn't work for a guy who likes to take a full swing off each tee. Fortunately, I never have to go back there!!

 

[Smallville]

Oak Country Golf Course in DeSoto, KS. They make a big deal about #18, a Par 3 with an island green, but the one time I played it, you'd be standing on the tee box asking "where the heck are we supposed to hit?" There is also one hole with a huge tree about 150 yards out in the middle of the fairway. It's cheap to play but in this case, you get what you pay for. Like I said, we played it one time. There won't be a second.

 

[wilwin]

There's no worse course than San Francisco's Lincoln Park. It's partly due to the fact that the city spends all it's money on Harding Park and doesn't give a damn about the other muni courses in the city. It's a shame because hole #17 directly looks out to the Golden Gate Bridge. Most scenic hole in San Francisco. It's a Par 68, so maybe it gets a pass, but impossible to play because of all the white daisies on every fairway. They sell orange balls in the clubhouse and recommend them to you because it's near impossible to find your ball.

My other vote goes to Lake Chabot Golf Course in Oakland. The only course I've played that has a PAR 6.

 

[royalwulff]

It would have to be Mariana Buttes Golf Course in Loveland. by the time we were on the third hole it was a ten minute wait between groups to tee off. We finally made the turn after three hours. the worst thing is several time the ranger came by and told us we were to slow. We could see two foursomes on the tee in front of us waiting to tee off!! 16 holes and six hours later we called it quits. When I went to the clubhouse to complain, the staff there really didn't seem to care. No apology or nothing. When i told them i would not be back before I started to walk out is when the all of a suden started to act concerned. That was two years ago and still have not been back.

 

[TwoSolitudes]

Briarwood Golf Course. A long 15 hole par 3 (average hole 155 yards, with 3, 180 yard way uphill holes) just outside of Halifax 'designed' by a local farmer on his unused land and still owned and managed the family.

Thick with blackflies, every hole surrounded by dense forest. Fade into the woods at all and it's probably a lost ball. Greens are all elevated, really small, pock marked and the fairway would be rough anywhere else in the world. They didn't seem to have the equipment to cut grass on a slope, so every green is surrounded by thick rough- forget rolling onto any green. In the summer many of the players have no shirts and wear flip flops. Hole #2 is 120 yards straight up in the air- bring your hiking boots. Two of the holes are water holes- but for some reason he put them so that the water is behind the tee box? The 'water' is a swamp so you have to douse yourself with mosquito spray before you approach them. Lots of tee shots off in every direction as folks react to mosquitoes on their face. #7 has a 'trap' that is always as hard as concrete. I've actually chipped a ball after it landed in the trap and then bounced 50 yards back out. Almost every other group is drunk- and you can find every trash can filled with beer cans. The tee boxes are all dirt- the grass around there long long gone- and hard as a rock. Lots of bruised knuckles from trying to push a tee in there.

All of that said- I had some great times playing here when I was in my 20's! It was cheap (8 bucks I think) and you could play skins with almost any level player and have a pretty even chance of winning.

Maybe it's better now, but I have yet to play a course with a worse layout or in worse overall condition. Good times!

 

[bogey_russ]

It blows my mind that anyone working in customer service at a golf course would be able to retain their job while being a prick to the people paying to play.

you'd be surprised...
i nominate bow creek country club... we call it bow ditch
2 of the staff are the rudest ppl but only to ppl they dont like... if they like you... you get hook ups with everything... if they dont like you... they hassle the crap out of you and are extremely rude

the course itself is horrendous... its in a neighborhood and the track goes clockwise so every house is on the right hand side... that means 90% of the hackers playing there are bombing slices into ppls houses...
lets go from tee to green...
the teebox's are uneven dirt patches that you cant get a tee in
the fw's are like cement on a dry day and like a swamp after a sprinkle... the course drains horrendously
the rough... there is no rough
the woods are sparse
the only way you can lose a ball is in grandmas backyard or in the stinky trash filled no water muddy ditch they call a creek
the greens are a joke... nobody fixes ball marks... hell they yell at you if you do(slows down play?)
there is one turtleback that its better to pitch it to the bottom and attempt to putt it from the fringe 4-6 times usually not a big problem cuz the greens play at -8 on the stimpmeter

the maintenance guys are everywhere... all day... i have no idea why... there is no grass to mow... basically they are moving targets that you have to try to avoid while playing

besides their dirt driving range thats only 200yrds deep... the practice facility is world class... this is the only saving grace... unbelievable shortgame area... as long as you dont get hassled by the previously mentioned employees with zero customer service skills

altho this is the only course i can actually say i reached a greenside bunker from the teebox 400yrds away(see cement fw's above)

 

[Flagg]

Briarwood Golf Course. A long 15 hole par 3 (average hole 155 yards, with 3, 180 yard way uphill holes) just outside of Halifax 'designed' by a local farmer on his unused land and still owned and managed the family.

...

That's where I learned how to play golf! My father took me there to teach me the game throughout my early to mid teens.

It is definitely a 'starter' course, located in a diverse part of town with diverse players. It was a 9-hole course when I started and slowly increased to 18 over a number of years. TwoSolitudes description is entirely accurate: swamps, mosquitoes, beer cans, shirtless players, rock-hard dirt tee-boxes.

The green maintenance was the funniest part for me. They didn't have the proper equipment to professionally cut the greens, so on occasion they would bring out was looked like a giant rolling pin to flatten the long grass and make a more puttable flat surface. It was run by a very nice old couple who, last time I visited, were still working 7 days a week collection green fees. The 'club house' was actually the living room of their home.

Just horrible, but I also had a lot of good times there learning how to play the game.

 

[Golf Chick]

I've got one!!

Me, the BF and Sacul were playing at Lake Elizabeth Country Club a few weeks ago. Its horribly the worst course we've played at and we all had our hopes up for this one!! Its a country club, so we thought it had to at least be great, right? NOPE!!!

They didn't have fairways, their fairways were rough. It seemed like they didn't mow in a while, same with the greens. Lots of dead spots, tons of dry panned areas, horrible. When you tee off, you can't even find a flat spot in the "grass" to tee off from and your foot always seemed to be in a dip. It was bad, we all shot bad that day and the price, the price was too much for what it was. Even if it was free, we wouldn't play there!!

We should've known. It all started with the lack of military discount that was advertised on their website. Then, it was the photo copied score cards, then the very dusty/dirty golf carts with cob webs all over them, to the range buckets that were beach buckets for sand. It was just BAD!!!

 

[bogey_russ]

I've got one!!

Me, the BF and Sacul were playing at Lake Elizabeth Country Club a few weeks ago. Its horribly the worst course we've played at and we all had our hopes up for this one!! Its a country club, so we thought it had to at least be great, right? NOPE!!!

They didn't have fairways, their fairways were rough. It seemed like they didn't mow in a while, same with the greens. Lots of dead spots, tons of dry panned areas, horrible. When you tee off, you can't even find a flat spot in the "grass" to tee off from and your foot always seemed to be in a dip. It was bad, we all shot bad that day and the price, the price was too much for what it was. Even if it was free, we wouldn't play there!!

We should've known. It all started with the lack of military discount that was advertised on their website. Then, it was the photo copied score cards, then the very dusty/dirty golf carts with cob webs all over them, to the range buckets that were beach buckets for sand. It was just BAD!!!

thats just crazy... you shoulda took a bunch of pics... thats ghetto golf at its finest!
what were the greens fees?

 

[Golf Chick]

thats just crazy... you shoulda took a bunch of pics... thats ghetto golf at its finest!
what were the greens fees?

Here's their website: http://legrc.com/
Don't let the pictures fool you, because that's not how it was when we played haa haa. Green fees were about $40/person including cart. But their prices are off as well. The BF and I had a buy 1 get 1 free GREEN FEE ONLY and had to pay for 2 riders and it came out to $60.

It was horrible. It wasn't even worth me taking pictures of and we'll never be back!!

 

[bogey_russ]

Here's their website: http://legrc.com/
Don't let the pictures fool you, because that's not how it was when we played haa haa. Green fees were about $40/person including cart. But their prices are off as well. The BF and I had a buy 1 get 1 free GREEN FEE ONLY and had to pay for 2 riders and it came out to $60.

It was horrible. It wasn't even worth me taking pictures of and we'll never be back!!

i would have taken pics cuz nobody would believe me if i described something that ghetto... hahaha... plus pics would be great for the laugh factor

Spoiler

not that i dont believe you or anything

 

[Golf Chick]

I also forgot to mention, they were missing the different colored flags. The flags in the pins were all yellow with the hole # on them, so you couldn't tell if it was in the front, the middle or the back!!

 

[derelict]

My vote would be River View Golf Club in Santa Ana... now that place is ghetto. most of the holes go back and forth over this "river" which is like a couple foot wide creek. Most of the fairways were dirt with these rocks in the middle, and most of the time you couldn't even tell where the hole you were aiming at was. The tee box for hole 3 is really close to the hole of number 2. And number 2 is a par three. There is this weak little net that tries to provide some protection, but my friend hit a slightly errant tee shot on 2 that ended up hitting someone at the tee box on 3. Then when I was standing on 3 getting ready to tee off, a ball lands 6 inches from my feet. And you can't hear anyone yell fore because there is a little league game going on from the other side of hole 2... needless to say, I am never playing there again!

 

[TwoSolitudes]

That's where I learned how to play golf! My father took me there to teach me the game throughout my early to mid teens.

It is definitely a 'starter' course, located in a diverse part of town with diverse players. It was a 9-hole course when I started and slowly increased to 18 over a number of years. TwoSolitudes description is entirely accurate: swamps, mosquitoes, beer cans, shirtless players, rock-hard dirt tee-boxes.

The green maintenance was the funniest part for me. They didn't have the proper equipment to professionally cut the greens, so on occasion they would bring out was looked like a giant rolling pin to flatten the long grass and make a more puttable flat surface. It was run by a very nice old couple who, last time I visited, were still working 7 days a week collection green fees. The 'club house' was actually the living room of their home.

Just horrible, but I also had a lot of good times there learning how to play the game.

You still play there ever? I will be in Halifax this September and was thinking of going back for old times. Was it still old man Rex running it? He must have handed it over to one of his sons by now.

and how can you live in Halifax and be a Dophins fan? Go Pats!

 

[the_paulo]

I also forgot to mention, they were missing the different colored flags. The flags in the pins were all yellow with the hole # on them, so you couldn't tell if it was in the front, the middle or the back!!

Ruchill muni course in Glasgow, 9 hole. It's now closed.

First time I played, the 'flag' for the 1st hole was a tree branch with a beer can stuck on the end.

 

[clam fist]

Bays Mountain. No cart paths. I have seen people drive on the green and putt polo style. We call it the goat ranch. I have lost balls in the fairway. The clubhouse is a cinderblock building next to an algae infested swimming pool. They are overpriced to top it off.

 

[sacul1573]

I've got one!!

Me, the BF and Sacul were playing at Lake Elizabeth Country Club a few weeks ago. Its horribly the worst course we've played at and we all had our hopes up for this one!! Its a country club, so we thought it had to at least be great, right? NOPE!!!

They didn't have fairways, their fairways were rough. It seemed like they didn't mow in a while, same with the greens. Lots of dead spots, tons of dry panned areas, horrible. When you tee off, you can't even find a flat spot in the "grass" to tee off from and your foot always seemed to be in a dip. It was bad, we all shot bad that day and the price, the price was too much for what it was. Even if it was free, we wouldn't play there!!

We should've known. It all started with the lack of military discount that was advertised on their website. Then, it was the photo copied score cards, then the very dusty/dirty golf carts with cob webs all over them, to the range buckets that were beach buckets for sand. It was just BAD!!!

I just saw this thread and was going to post the SAME THING, but I see GC has beaten me to it. Everything she has said is 100% accurate, and to call this place a golf course is a disgrace to golf. Absolutely, hands down the worst golf facility I've ever been at, by far!

 

[Golf Chick]

Ruchill muni course in Glasgow, 9 hole. It's now closed.

First time I played, the 'flag' for the 1st hole was a tree branch with a beer can stuck on the end.

That's hilarious

 

[bogey_russ]

That's hilarious

i actually lol'd