Majors Golf Club at Bayside Lakes, The

This was my first time playing The Majors and like any course you play for the first time I was excited about the day. I can say without hesitation this was also the last time I will play The Majors. I will start with the positives. The Majors probably has some of the nicest practice facilities of any course in the county. A very nice driving range, two undulating practice putting greens, a pitching area and a bunker practice green. The clubhouse is also nice. They have very nice bar/restaurant and service was fast and friendly.

Unfortunately, I didn’t go there to practice or hang out at the bar. Let’s start with the course conditions. The cold weather has hit The Majors hard. The fairways were brown and very thin. It was difficult to use lofted wedges because it was like hitting off of a green. There just wasn’t anything to get your club under. The greens were also brown and it was difficult to get anything to hold on them. It was like hitting onto a pool table. That being said, the greens rolled as true as any I’ve played and were some of the fastest I’ve experienced recently. Fortunately, the practice greens were a true reflection of the course so we were able to adjust to the speed prior to playing.

I can forgive a course right now for its condition because of the weather we’ve had. All the courses I think are in some fashion. What I can’t forgive is overbooking and The Majors was way over booked for the day. Upon my arrival I had to wait 15 minutes just to get a cart because they didn’t have enough available. We had to wait for players to finish their round so we could get their cart. Our tee time was 12:48 and we didn’t tee off until 1:10. It was so crowded that the par 3’s had a foursome waiting to hit on the tee box and two foursomes lined up on the cart path waiting behind them. At one point we were on the tee box at a par three and had three foursomes waiting. After four hours of play we completed 12 holes and decided enough was enough and left the course. We contemplated asking for a rain check after nine holes but that would have meant we had to come back and we have no intention of doing that.

This was a premier golf course before the course changes were made. #12 was a beautiful long, challenging Par 4 and turned it into an eyesore. #13 was a short but challenging Par 4 and now has been eliminated. #14 was a very challenging shot placement hole and also has been eliminated. The replacements are mediocre at best. Before the changes were made, I thought this to be the best course in the county. After the changes were made, I would rate this course probably 4th in the county.

I played 36 holes here on 6/19. I gave the course value a 4 because it was $35 for all you can play including lunch! This is one of my favorite courses and is an Arnold Palmer signature course. It has such an amazing layout and is very challenging. However, the greens received a 2 because they were a little sandy and still coming back from an aerification. The fairways looked good from the tee's, but once you were on them, the grass was pretty thin. They weren't in your typical summer fluffy state with all the rain we have been getting. This course is usually in pretty great shape and I'm positive it won't be long before its back to 100%. Definitely worth the summer deal. I posted the special in "Course Specials" within this sites forum.