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Great course. It makes you use your entire club selection and makes you think about each shot... I will definitely play this course again
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On July 1, 2009, chad of Atlanta posted:
I've played bear creek formerly woodlake for 5 years and this is the best it's looked ever. Staff is extremely nice and more interested in the experience and atmosphere than running a buck- this will pay huge dividends in the future - I play here because of the new management and the effort that has been put forth to improve the course- tees, greens, and fairways and in very good shape- kudos to the new owners- Chad
2
On June 19, 2009, michael of Atlanta (10 handicap) posted:
For the money this course is a great deal. Especially if you play in the afternoon. What I do like about the course is the new owner is putting money into the course to make it nice. The old owners, Eagle Greens, did not do much with it. The fairways are not in the greatest shape, but most of that is to blame from the drought over the last couple years and the fact they put in a new sprinkler system. The greens are always in good shape. They are slow, but they roll smoothly. There are not many bunkers, but the bunkers they have are in good shape.
3
On June 16, 2009, Jason of Atlanta (13 handicap) posted:
Best shape this course has been in a long time.
4
On June 7, 2009, rayatuga of athens (10 handicap) posted:
Played in a tournament there about a month ago. This is a nice course but the layout lacks imagination. The back nine starts with a par 5, then a par 3. All the rest are par 4's. Kinda boring, if they could change the layout a little, then this would be a much more enjoyable course. Also, I gave them one star on amenities because they DO NOT HAVE a driving range!!! how can you not have somewhere to warm up? I have a suggestion. Make the 16th hole your driving range and rework the back nine, to change it up a bit.
5
On June 3, 2009, Robbie of Loganville (17 handicap) posted:
Once again, played there yesterday and as it has been for the past 3 months, its in terrific shape. Greens are true, fast and pretty. Fairways are coming along great. Why would you go pay more to play less.
Way to go guys, keep up the jam up work......
6
On May 21, 2009, Lem of Lilburn (12 handicap) posted:
Course is improving with each day. The course's improvements and the friendly staff make this a solid value. If you have not played there, you need too.
7
On May 9, 2009, Robbie of Loganville (17 handicap) posted:
Played there again yesterday. Man these guys have got it going in all the rite places. Its been fun watching the course grow and improve dramatically over the last couple of months. Now that we've had some rain and sun, the grass is growing. You would not believe how much this course has gotten better in the last 2 months.
Do your self a favor, Go play it. You'll be happy.
8
On April 30, 2009, rickw of lawrenceville (13 handicap) posted:
Been playing this course for past year. New management making this place alot better. They have been getting this course in better shape from tees to greens. Tough course from blue tees this ole man usually has to play the whites around 5900 yards. Very good course for money.
Bear Creek is definitely a challenging course. I started playing this course when it was still Woodlake and I must say that the atmosphere has improved. The course itself has something for everyone. For the most part the layout is pretty flat with at least 5 holes where water comes into play, 6 if you are playing from the tips. Hole 13 requires a precise 210 yard shot onto a blind fairway. Stay away from the tree line to the right from the tee box. You want to hit a provisional if you don't. Holes 17 is probably the easiest of the 18, but leave the driver in the bag on this hole. The hidden creek running along the left side is a lot closer than it may seem. Hit them well!
Bear Creek is a nice course! It's greens are in excellent condition! They punched the fairways a few weeks ago, but they have healed nicely as the plugs have disintegrated. The layout is nice with clear directions from hole to hole. There is a nature preserve in one section of the course that you pass through to holes #2 and #18. The clubhouse continues to stock up on merchandise and food/beverage.
They soaked the course in the morning so the areas around the green were soggy with standing water puddles on many of them. Obviously this can impede play for approach shots, particularly when chipping onto the green. This was frustrating for us but conditions improved slightly as our round continued and the sun dried up some of the saturated areas.
Overall, this is a great course and is worth the drive from Atlanta or Athens. Can't beat the last minute or red flag deals on LMTT! Will definitely be back!
11
On April 23, 2009, Wrazlin posted:
Great course! Great Layout! Improvements are coming to a already nice course. This will be a Gem of a course over time.
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On April 15, 2009, robbie1011 of Loganville (16 handicap) posted:
I love this course. The people are great and the course has come a long ways. The new owners are putting a ton of time and money into this place to make it as nice as can be. There doing things in all the rite ways. This place will soon be a 5 star course for a lot less then normal. If you have not been to play this course yet....... Your missing out.
The fairways are in terrible shape to play right now. They recently plugged the fairways and it is like hitting in a mine field of sod clumps. We actually had to enforce a rule that you could place the ball on every fairway because they were so bad.
The layout was a challenge. A lot of blind drives and unknown landing areas. I would definately enjoy trying the course again, but not until the fairways repair.
The starter and clubhouse attendents were extremely rude. We must have heard 20+ times about how slammed they were and we needed to try and play quickly (before we even tee'd off!)...and we were the first group out on the course.
Finally, there is ZERO signage for the course. In fact, it's still labeled Wood Lake which caused us to be lost for nearly 30 minutes.
Again, course seems to have potential but a lot of work needs to done with employees and fairways. I didn't find the greens to be very good, but not enough to complain about either.
14
On April 9, 2009, Fleetadmiral posted:
The fairways have major weed infestations. Greens look good but roll extremely slow due to length. I know this course has had a change in mgmt. Hopefully new mgmt. will improve course. Course currently not worth the $37 to play.
15
On April 9, 2009, AK of Athens (10 handicap) posted:
The fairways were in the worst condition I've ever seen. Their staff informed me that they were planning to make some major improvements in the near future; I hope they follow through. The greens were pretty healthy, but they were rolling slow and untrue due to their length. I do not recommend playing this course ($36.50) until their improvements are well underway.
16
On April 8, 2009, Ricky R of Atlanta posted:
Lonewolf:
Glad to hear mgmt realizes the issues/hiccups and are taking actions to correct. I would still recommend waiting a few weeks or so for the fairways to recover, but if they make the changes it will be a great course, at a great value, to play. As you noted, the greens are in great shape and roll true. The course, when in good shape is really fun to play, with fair and challenging layouts.
I’ll just wait to see more reviews that confirm the fairway conditions and give Bear Creek another shot later this year.
Just received a kind follow up email from Mr. Palmer over there explaining some of the hiccups. The course is under new management and will be remarked as soon as weather permits; the clubhouse is in process of being remodeled and restocked. Unfortunately, the GPS carts that were purchased are not functional. Sounds like better days are around the corner.
Nice to see management paying attention to their customers, acknowledging the issues and providing prompt, constructive feedback (unlike some courses on here...yes you, Durham Lakes...but I digress). Little things like this go a long way towards retaining business, especially in this climate. See yall soon.
Not sure why the last post is getting such bad reviews. I played the same day and had nearly the same experience, except I didn’t ruin a shirt! Fairways were aerated and the plugs dotted the grass everywhere. We played clean and place if that gives you any idea.
With that said the greens were in good shape and rolling nicely. Tee boxes were solid, and the sand traps were well maintained (big plus for me). We teed off late and still managed a 4 hr round. $40 is probably pushing it given the shape of the fairways and the lack of amenities, but it was Saturday, and $40 was the lowest rate we could find outside of the city courses.
Come to think of it, Bear Creek does remind me of Collins Hill, in that it’s a no frills kind of place – there’s no driving range, and the pro shop is pretty average. I just hope it stays better kept than Collins Hill come summer. Since I live in the city, I’ll wait until then when the fairways have come back to play here again.
BTW – what happened to the GPS in the carts? That used to be a nice perk for playing here. Hopefully, not a sign of things to come….
19
On April 5, 2009, Ricky R of Atlanta posted:
The fairways (if you can call them that right now) have been aerated so you are playing off dirt; alternatively, you are playing in mud or aeration holes/clumps. The only grass is the rough. Also, because of the rain the fairways are clumped with cut grass everywhere.
I ruined a Nike golf shirt and a pair of pants playing here on Sat, 4/4/09. The course is worth $20 right now, if that. Save your $40 and go to the range or play somewhere else. No cart person all am and the starter and desk person do not communicate and are non-existent on the course. We were 2nd to tee off (8:00 tee time-4-some) and played behind a slow 3-some who didn't let us play through until the 11th. No marshal.
No driving range either (unless you call hitting into a net a driving range).
Apparently, the guy who bought this used to maintain another lower grade course and has started to make this one equivalent to Collins Hill.
Pay an extra $5 or $10 and buy around somewhere else. It's a shame, this used to be a fun course to play at a moderate price. I would stay away for a few months to see of the fairways recover from the very late in the season aeration.
Bear Creek is a really great course! There was a recent soaking rain which made some holes almost swamp-like, but that's the case at a lot of courses. They recently punched some of the fairways but it didn't impede play too much. The greens at Bear Creek are outstanding! They were punched a few weeks ago and have healed nicely. The bunkers are well maintained and the pin placements make for challenging putts. Here on LMTT they offer some tips for each of the holes, just look up their course information. Definitely a must play for anyone in the Athens area or east of Atlanta!
21
A Message posted on March 22, 2009 by 'henry prock' was removed by a course representative for the following reason: Isolated issue resolved with golfer
On March 13, 2009, Billy of Monroe (15 handicap) posted:
Played the course on 3/10 and had a great time. The staff was friendly and got me out as a single player without a tee time. Greens at the time I played were in great shape and were rolling fast. Fun wide open course with its share of challenges and being able to play all day for one price was a great value. It would be nice if they had a better clubhouse with more to eat then just chips and hotdogs and a practice area.
Played 3/12... Bear Creek is a great course. It has its share of challenges, but is easy enough not to frustrate the novice golfer. They recently punched the greens, and the front nine were very sandy, which made the greens run slow. The greens on the back nine had been punched, but no sand, so they ran fairly true.
I've always received top notch service, today was no exception. This course has undergone moderate renovations over the past six months, including renovations to the clubhouse. We were told there were other renovations on the course, but I don't play there enough to notice.
The practice area are mats which you hit into a net, but it's sufficient for warming up. The course layout is interesting... both the front nine and back nine start with a par 5. The front nine also has three par 3s and two par 5s, whereas the back nine begins with a par 5 and par 3, the rest being par 4s. So it's a fairly unique layout.
It's a great course with friendly management, I highly recommend giving it a try.
Played this course yesterday. The course has a fairly nice layout, some holes are guarded heavily with wood line fairways, and other with wide opens ones. I was a little disappointed with the course not having a practice area, other than a net to hit into, and a small putting green.
The staff was ok, the amentities in the clubhouse were limited. The course was in descent condition, the greens roll true, and the fairways were in good condition for the weather we are having right now. Overall a fun little course to play, and I would return to play it again.
One thing that was a little disappointing to me was, I collect a logo ball from each course I play, and this course did not even have a logo ball. Well I was told that if I wanted to get a logo ball from there that I would have to purchase a sleeve of Callaway balls to get it. And from what he told me that those were the "Expensive" ones. So negative points from me on that.
Great course. It makes you use your entire club selection and makes you think about each shot... I will definitely play this course again
