Post by Richie3Jack on Sept 2, 2012 21:20:59 GMT -5
Juliette Falls Golf and Country Club is a John Sandford design course located in Dunnellon, FL, approximately 15 minutes from Ocala. A friend of my dad's recommended the course to us and after looking at their impressive Web site (www.juliettefalls.com) and seeing a tee time open for $18, we decided to give it a shot.
Ocala is horse country and so is Dunnellon. My dad and I often comment on how Florida is filled with high hopes for golf communities that saw their dreams crushed thru the difficult economic times and instability of the housing market. I suspected Juliette Falls to be another victim and while that was a reality on some level, the course seemed to be a popular social destination and the 'off the grid' feel was due to Dunnellon being out in the middle of the abyss.
I had no idea what to expect, but didn't think it would be too much given a $18 tee time. Fortunately, I could not have been more wrong in my expectations as all of the doubts towards a relative unknown in course design, John Sandford, vanished after the first few holes of this masterpiece and had me wanting more.
In an era where courses are often designed to fit within a structure to make money with the turn next to the clubhouse or designers who go to the opposite extreme of tricking courses up, Sandford found a way to design a beautiful and natural course that is downright fun to play. What I also found interesting was that the 9th and 18th holes were a bit of a distance from the clubhouse. The answer to this possible money loss dilemma? Stick a nice little outdoor bar next to the 9th green.
I would be curious to know what Sandford's mentors and inspirations are. I can see a little bit of Fazio in his ability to make tee shot sight lines appear to be tight, but leaving the golfer with one side to comfortably miss on. Or Pete Dye's exotic golf holes that can leave you talking about them for years.
The only thing I didn't quite like were the par-3's from the back tees which were brutal. I shot 73 (+1) and went +3 on the four par-3's and was happy with that. #3 plays 235 yards and while the ball will tend to bounce off the side wall on the left side, you can't miss left or right without taking a bogey or worse (I took a double, my friend took a bogey and my dad made a birdie).
#7 (pictured above) plays to 210 yards with little room to miss left and no room to miss right. Then there's #13 (pictured below) which plays to 190 yards and has a peninsula style green.
It's rough when the easiest par-3 is #16, a 208 yard forced carry. Still, any one of these holes isolated are still very good holes. It's just sticking them all on the same course pyschologically mugs the golfer. Cut off 25 yards or so on each of these holes and now you have a more fun and reasonable course.
Still, there were no holes that would have the golfer thinking that they were ridiculous. Even my dad, who played pretty well and played from 6,300 yards, about 300 yards more than he's used to, was able to shoot 81 due to the course's fairness.
Conditioning wise the course was another Central Florida venue who appeared to aerify their greens about a month ago. I had the greens rolling on a 9 stimp and were just a little slow more than anything. But the fairways tees and bunkers were all in fine condition. I think the bunkers take a little getting used to as they utilize a white sand which allows the ball to fly easier so you have to hit further behind the ball. They also have plenty of waste bunker areas that practically play like a shot from a tight lie.
I thought the most difficult holes were #3, #4, #5, #7, #12, #13, #16 and #18.
I thought the best holes were #2, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #18. So holes #7 thru #13 are about as good as it gets for 7 consecutive holes.
You can check out each hole with pictures at www.juliettefalls.com/golf/course/1.html
Overall it was a great time and a complete surprise. For $18, it was the greatest value I ever had on a golf course where I didn't get some type of employee discount. I've played Bethpage Black for $25, but that was back in '96 and it meant a 4-hour wait and 6-hour round of golf.
For other golfers, it would be a long trip from Orlando. But like Legacy Club at Alaqua Lakes, if you're looking for a great course that you can play for a cheaper price and not have a long, exhausting round, it's worth the trip.
3JACK