Old Corkscrew Golf Club
4.3
5
43
43
Beautiful! Unforgiving!
Every hole was a picture. Every hole required accuracy. Hit a little left or right = lost ball. If you are a 90 or higher scorer, be prepared to lose a lot of balls, be very frustrated, and enjoy the amazing course. If you are a scratch golfer, you will love the challenge. Greens are lightning fast and never level. You will be challenged from the tee, to the approach, to the putt. While my skill level wasn't good enough to play this course well, I still enjoyed it, but be prepared to fork out a lot of money, unless you get a good sale on GolfNow.
December 2, 2012
The best public access venue in southwest Florida.
Not really a place to play for high handicapers. A great test for single digit handicap players. Challenging green complexes ... fast & firm. Great variety in hole design... no redundancy.
April 2, 2013
Great time
This course was the highlight of my five day golf trip to Naples area. Very nice clubhouse and welcoming area. The range is complementary and both wide and long and stacks the balls in a pyramid for you. Great putting and chipping greens complete with practice bunker and unlimited balls. The course rating from just 6200 yards is more than most quality courses from the tips. Every single hole is well thought out, challenging, and stands on its own. The property is off the beaten path, which means no highways or houses to be seen. If only they could get rid of that cell phone tower within view :) Fairways and greens were in great condition. Fairways were lush, not what I would call penalizing rough like the thick Kentucky Bluegrass I'm used to in the upper Midwest, but to be honest, who needs rough when most every missed shot either goes in the wetland or the bunker! Greens are heavily top-dressed and cut very low. I'm sure they were running in the 10-12 range. Nice and fast just the way they should be at a course of this stature. I played on a Golf Now "hot deal" for $79 on a weekday afternoon. Regular afternoon price is $100, which is still well worth it considering the competition in the area. This was easily the best bang for my buck possible in the Southwest Florida market. Now, back in Minneapolis it might be a different story. This is a very difficult, strategic type course with roller coaster greens. Truly the kind of golf courses that have and continue to be built in the modern era to offset the performance of newer equipment. If you are just an ordinary hacker, you might not want that, but if you are up to the challenge, you have to play this course!
March 29, 2013
Not for hackers
The course is beautiful. And in excellent condition. But is very punishing for the average golfer. Immediately off the fairway is a lost ball 90% of the time. And if you have not played the course before, you are painfully unaware that your approach shot and landing area on the green are crucial to even stay on the green. The greens were super fast (13 minimum). I look forward to playing it again but as I was told at the course "Don't take it personal"
March 28, 2013
Beautiful but very challenging
This is a shot makers course. It is one of the nicest courses you can play in this part of Florida but will definitely also be one of the most difficult. I am an 18 handicapper and it proved to be very challenging for me. Nevertheless, you have to play this course at least once because it is quite an experience.
March 23, 2013
Expensive, very challenging, overall good.
The 7:00 AM tee time I booked on Golfnow.com turned out to be 20 minutes before daybreak. I was first off as soon as it was light enough to see. People were very friendly, course was in excellent condition and a real challenge. Course knowledge would be a tremendous advantage here. First-timers should not expect to play to their handicaps.
March 21, 2013
Greens were pure and enjoyed my time.
Old Corkscrew is a very nice club that tests your game. Lots of risk reward holes and presents many challenges. Greens have great contour and are fun to put on. I would recommend to others.
March 20, 2013
Play it more than once...
I wish I had a chance to follow my own advice on this one... I played it the last day I was in town and didn't get to play it again but I know I would have scored much better a second time. This course is a fairly easy driving course (but you won't use driver every hole which is fun) but the approach shots require some thought and local knowledge because where you end up in relation to the flagstick is a HUGE deal. Next time I will choose my club in the interest of missing short of the hole on just about every hole even if that means missing the green short entirely.
I loved this course, the restaurant, the service... Everything was great. If work calls me back to the Naples/Ft Myers area I will definitely give it another shot. I put a 92 out there (I'm a 12 index) but had I left the ball in better positions I could have shot pretty well. Hard but fair is a good way to summarize the course.
March 20, 2013
Consider what you're getting into
If you have a fragile golfing ego, cannot laugh at yourself or express humility, this course is not for you.
This is a really, really hard tract. There's danger everywhere and the greens are like an ice cube on the hood of an overheating car.
The day we were there, the fairways were a bit difficult and brown, but there are a lot of courses suffering this situation due to the dry weather. Still, it would be nice if they were a bit plusher or maintained a bit more.
Overall, the course is like a scorned woman - no matter how much you try or beg for mercy, there's no forgiveness.
March 18, 2013
Difficult course. Very challenging
Very challenging course. Need to hit them straight. Second time we played here. Not in as good a condition as the first time
March 17, 2013
Not worth $179 + tax
I played there back in December for $100 and it was in amazing shape. I now just played in march and they are charging $179+tax and the bunkers were not raked all the way to the edges. Fairways unevenly cut, and pins were located right next to the precious days cup if that. Still a really nice track and alot of fun, I'm just saying that it looked like the maintenance crew had an early lunch meeting or something because it definitely wasn't in the condition it should have been for $179+tax
March 15, 2013
This was a very challenging course with difficult greens.
I will come back again to this course. The location is beautiful. The practice areas are great. The staff was friendly. Bring a lot of golf balls.
March 15, 2013
Great course.
Typical Nicklaus design. Highly recommend playing tees according to golfing ability. A must play.
March 15, 2013
Hardest Course in FL
This was by far the toughest course I have ever played in 20 years of golfing. Fairways are tight and all tree lined and greens were very small with way to much undulations. Almost impossible to get the ball close for a birdie and all the pins were tucked in a corner. I would not tell anyone I knew to play this course. It was not fun at the end of the day my group was in a terrible mood. Our new saying is you got "corkscrewed" when somethine bad happen. I think that describes playing this course.
March 12, 2013
Slow play
Great challenging golf course. They need a ranger to keep the pace of play moving. took us close to 3 hours to play the front nine, instead of not finishing 18, we played the front again in little under an hour and half.
February 25, 2013
it was not worth $180+
Super layout and friendly staff. Every hole interesting.
It appears to have run out of cash - greens were poor color and don't putt well, no defined collars on greens. Tees/bunkers in poor shape, as was the rest of the course .
The design is great(although most holes favor a fade - thanks Jack) and I would play again and go further back on the tees but while its the height of the season conditioning is poor and the $180 is not value. Staff very friendly/helpful.
February 18, 2013
This course was wonderful and a great challenge
This course was great, it was a good challenge but it wasn't as hard as it seemed. It offers great tee selection for all types of golfers, very friendly players and staff. An overall great experience and I will defiantly be back soon
February 17, 2013
Amazing but tough
Coarse is pristine. Extremely challenging. Jack must have been in a foul mood when he designed the greens. Toughest greens you will ever putt on. Worth trying but be warned, get use to 3 and 4 putts.
February 7, 2013
Tough golf course
Excellent, difficult golf course. Need to have a handicap limit on it. Played behind a foursome that were all 20+. Frustrating to wait as they sprayed shots all over, then had to try to find every ball.
Punitive greens.
February 3, 2013
Challenging and Insteresting Greens.
The course is fair. If you hit a good shot you will be rewarded accordingly. Likewise, a poor shot, you will pay for it. Greens are hard and difficult to hold. Greens are probably the most challenging aspect of the course.
January 31, 2013
Love this course...challenging and beautiful!
Always enjoy returning to Old Corkscrew, especially with newbies golfing with us and enjoying their reaction to the layout with all the fairway bunkers and the challenging, rolling greens!!!! The course and greens were immaculate! The pace of play was perfect and we had time to enjoy the quiet and the scenery along the way. Hope to make it back again soon!
January 29, 2013
Great course but condition needs a bit of attention
Great layout and challenging off the blue blocks. Pace of play a bit slow and no ranger to chase up the slow groups.
This was a our second visit and the condition of the course seemed to have deteriorated since our first trip back in 2011.
Whether It was due to our late tee time but several greens were pock marked with pitch marks, many bunkers not raked and some of the tees were very patchy.
Staff great on reception and on course.
Overall I still enjoyed the course but would have felt a bit short changed if I hadn't got a good Hot deal rate from Golf Now given some of the course conditions. Treviso Bay is as good a challenge and in better nick.
We will visit again but for an earlier tee time.
January 19, 2013
Challenging but fun
One of my favorite courses in SW Florida. The course is in good shape. We played in under 4 hours. Staff was friendly and helpful. The drawback is that it is a bit expensive in season.
January 17, 2013
One of the most difficult courses I've ever played !
This is not a course for handicaps above 15. Greens were firm and fast and with the amount of undulations you must be able to read and have great touch. Fairways were firm and fast and many well sturck tee shots ended up in in the rough or worse. I've played at least 10 Nicklaus courses and this is by far the toughest. I'm a 10 handicap and I called uncle after my well sturck 7 iron found number 9 green, only to gather pace and roll off into a chipping area to the left front of the green next to the bunker, which left me an impossible chip with the green running away from me. And, this was not the first time this happened to me during the round. The green complexes are all elevated and really suited for the single digit player, who can hit high shots to a precise 10 to 15 foot target area on each green. Once was enough for me .............
January 6, 2013
Well worth it when you play during non-peak hours
Probably the most challenging course I've played in south-west Florida. I've been coming to the Fort Myers / Naples area for almost 20 years and I always look forward to playing at Old Corkscrew. The difficulty of the course is heightened if it's windy. Differs from many of the traditional Florida course layouts as there are elevation changes on most holes and generally shot-making is required in order to be successful. The low to higher handicap golfer will enjoy playing this course from the variety of tees. Don't use the distances on the card to determine which tees you play from - play the course using only the slope as your guide.
December 31, 2012
Excellent track. Probably the best we've played in the area.
A challenging but fair golf course. The will women find it quite long from their tees. This course rewards shot making and being able to control distance and direction. Undulating and steeply sloping greens will add strokes to your score if you're not paying attention.
December 30, 2012
Great Facility
I really enjoyed this course. Great integration with the surroundings. Well maintained fairways and greens. Layout offered nice mix of difficulty. Greens required well placed approach shots in most cases. I would definitely play this one again.
December 27, 2012
Good South Florida Course
I like South florida courses without housing on every hole. This is that kind of course. There are a lot of semi blind shots so a first visit may leave the idea the course is unfair. After playing the place two or three times, it gets easier. Conditions are usually good here.
December 17, 2012
Good Course but very expensive
Played this course at the end of our Thanksgiving Holiday in Naples FL. We had played 3 other courses prior and I was somewhat dissapointed. While the course is in great condition and it is a nice challenge, the high price tag compared to other courses in the area would make me not play this one again. The carts were outdated, there was a very poor club house and pro shop with no showers (since we headed to the airport after the round this was an issue) and overall is not worth it. You get much better deals for similar courses in the area which is why I would go back to Bonita Bay courses, pay less and have at least the same amount of fun if not more.
November 27, 2012
Very difficult layout
This is an extremely tough course and I can't say I really liked playing it. Very interesting layout but the greens were bumpy and the fairways were a little thin and soft. Very freindly and accomodating staff but it's unlikely I would return.
November 26, 2012