I'm a beginning golfer, and I played the front 9 with my 3 brothers-in-law on a Saturday afternoon. The price was fair at $22/per with a cart. One of us got a rental lefty set for $5.
We arrived to find that it was a cash only operation. Our total was $88 (before we had decided to rent a set). Remarkably, we were able to come up with $87 between the 5 of us. However, when waiting for the woman to tell us "that's close enough," she just stood there, waiting for the missing dollar. My father-in-law had to drive across the road to a bar to get money from the ATM.
We were a bit put off when they refused to let my father-in-law walk the course with us. He didn't have any clubs and he was not going to play because of some issues with his back. He wanted to walk along just for the sake of spending time with us (we each live out of the area), but they told him "we don't allow guests - $16". Did you really think we'd pay for 4 golfers and stiff you on a fifth? Instead, he was left to go run errands.
One of us rented a lefty set. The only set they had was missing a putter but had 2 7 irons. They still charged the full price for the set (though, they did find a "putt-putt" putter for us after the fact).
After getting back home, we discovered that there was no 9-hole rate; the $16 covered all 18 holes. The woman who took our money never told us this (despite the fact I said "4 for 9 holes, please"), and instead let us believe we could only play 9.
There weren't many people at the course this day. I don't know if this says anything about the club, but it was a late-August afternoon in the 80s with some storms possible later. It turned out well for us as we didn't have to worry about letting anyone play through.
As far as I can tell (as a beginner), the courses were ok. The greens were in decent shape. However, the course design was pretty basic with few hazards, bunkers, or turns. Most were straight shots between 150 and 350 yards.
I played at South Shore down the road just a day prior. The course there wasn't in nearly as good condition, but the designs were a bit more creative, the prices were cheaper (albeit a Friday), and the staff was friendlier. Avoid Shamrock; the staff is rude and primarily concerned with making profit instead of creating a nice environment for the customers.
Don't forget; cash only. read more
