2 Average Joes Vs. Black Bear Golf Club (Eustis, Florida)
Aye, Lasses and Lads... I had the best time playing my round of golf today. A crisp cool 50 degrees with a wind that would make you wish you wore something under your kilt. My wife thought I was insane to go out today, but I needed to satisfy my craving for the course.
If the roughs were knee high reeds and heather, I could have sworn I was playing on a Links course over in Scotland today. Between the weather and the course itself, I was probably as close as I ever would be.
So let's get started with this review from 1 Average Joe. Yes, you heard right... 1 Average Joe. Marc had an "Open House" that he had to attend to. (Turns out he paid the price for not showing up... no one showed up at the "Open"). Rich, who made plans to play about a week in advance, backed out at the last minute. All my other backups were out of town for the weekend. So that left Me, Myself, and I to play. And we did just that.
RULES: Normal rules in effect.
GAME PLAY: Best Ball - huh? Me gets to hit, then myself, and finally I. Pick the best lie, gather up the other two balls, and hit the three balls again. Repeat until a ball is holed.
(SIDE NOTE - I had the best score every because of the best ball play, but I do not expect anyone to believe me since no one else was present to witness. I will just enjoy the satisfaction myself.)
I got lost trying to find that club house. There are no signs directing you once you enter the Black Bear development. I guess that they are trying to make the semi-private course more private by hiding the club house amongst all the other houses. No biggie, I finally found it. The club house is one of the nicer ones that I have been in. It almost ranked up there with a Disney course, especially the friendliness of the staff
After paying for my round, I was greeted at the door by the Starter who took the time to find out that I was a local playing the course for the first time. He gave me the whole tour of the facility. The driving range (2 way), the putting green, the chipping and pitching area, and even the "dig yourself out of the sand" area. I soon found out why he was stressing the latter. There is only one hole with water; however, every hole had sand. In fact there are over 140 bunkers on the entire course (that's just shy of 8 per hole). BRING YOUR SAND WEDGE!!!
Ok, Ok... the course. Remember my intro? Scotland? The course is a par 72 with not a single flat fairway, green, or bunker. There are hills galore on this course. The greens could have up to 4 elevations effecting your putt (uphill, downhill, slop to the left and slope to the right). These were the fun hole to try to putt out. There were times where I was hitting blindly because the hill was so high. This also made a couple of the bunker shots a little difficult, too.
The course was pretty much wide open, which makes it good for a beginner. However, because of the undulations, it could pose to make a beginner a little frustrated. I would have to say that this course may be better for the novice to pro player. There were a couple holes where homes came into play, but most were vacant and up for sale. (Anyone want to buy one of the homes? Talk to Marc. Need a mortgage for the home? Talk to me.)
Oh, before I finish... I did take the time to stop by the halfway house when I made the turn. They had one of the best hotdogs that I have had in awhile on a golf course. There are two reasons why. 1) The hotdog was grilled, not microwaved or put on one of those roller cookers. 2) The price... For $7, I got the hotdog, a bag of chips, a candy bar, and a soda. I have been on some courses where the hotdog alone costs $7. And speaking of costs... I only had to pay $40 to play the round. A little high for my liking, but still reasonable for playing in season. Who am I kidding? It is a great cost for the course in season.
Me, Myself, and I give the course 5 out of 5 on behalf of "2 Average Joes Golf."
* 2 Average Joes Golf and 2AverageJoesGolf.com is owned by Knightlines Mortgage Services, LLC and is maintained by Jason Price and Marc Blasi of Internet Realty Brokers.
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