CHIMNEYS
Reviewer - StanB1
Date - August 3, 2009
Course - Chimneys
Tees - 4
Fairways - 5
Greens - 3
Bunkers - 3
Layout - 3
Staff - 3
Pace - 3
Comments -
Two of us played at 2:30 on Tuesday, Aug. 3rd.
Although it was a very hot day, the course was a little backed up on the front,
probably due to reduced rates starting around 2:00 PM.
Rather than wait, we went off the back, which was wide open.
The front was pretty clear by the time we made our turn, and we enjoyed a
reasonable rate of play.
The course is in very good shape, with fairways that would rival any others in
the Atlanta area.
Bunkers were consistent with type and amount of sand, and tee boxes and greens
were in pretty good shape as well.
Players just don't seem to care about raking bunkers and repairing ball
marks on the greens though. Too bad. Any course would benefit from some player
attention.
Chimneys is a good value if you don't mind a little waiting from time to
time for those in front of you.
*
On July 21, 2009, Tony posted:
Played the course on 7/13/09 and had a great time.
Staff was awesome and the new
carts were so much better then the old ones.
The course itself looks great and
plays great.
Tee boxes in good shape, fairways in great shape and greens in good shape.
Great deal makes this a great place to play.
I will say that the front nine and the back nine of this course are like night
and day.
Front nine is a true test of golf while the back nine has quite a few
drivable par 4s with much less
trouble.
Get thru the first 9 and you have a great chance at shooting a great
score.
Definitely a fun course to play!
*
On July 21, 2009, Mark361 posted:
Played Chimneys yesterday (7/20/2009).
Kudos to the golf courses for participating in the program.
It's just plain
smart to fill up your off-peak
hours with golfers who wouldn't otherwise play which would leave the course with
no revenue during those times.
So, on to the course. We started on the back nine and I LOVED IT.
Was on track
to shoot my best score ever until we came around to the front nine.
The first
thing that we noticed was
the smell of, well, let's call it natural fertilizer! Phew!
Actually, #1 and #2
treated me fairly, but then, holy cow we had to hit over this psychologically
daunting ravine,
filled with all manner
of brush, bushes and who knows what other kind of plant life.
It was pretty, but
this is where the carnage began. You will cross this ravine not once, nor twice,
but THREE times!
I've
been pulling my driver horribly lately (can't figure it out) though my iron
shots have been a thing of beauty right down to the 3 iron.
I finally smartened
up (after wrecking my card) and
actually laid up with an iron off the tee for Pete's sake on 18 and came away
with a par.
So, if you aren't comfortable with bombing your drives for whatever
reason,
be prepared to take a
different strategy off the tee on the front nine where you have to cross the
ravine.
The greens were beautiful and actually soft enough to leave a ball
mark...something a little out of the ordinary given all of the baking our ground
has been taking lately.
Note: Nobody in
our foursome was able to get the speed right on the greens. Every time we
thought we over hit the ball, it came up short.
I lost about 4 strokes during
the course of the round because of
the slow rolling speed.
My guess is that the ground/grass was holding a lot of
moisture and slowing the ball down.
It definitely felt quite moist to the touch.
Not much in the way of food, just kind of a snack shack inside the clubhouse and
the guys were nice enough.
You should know that the practice range is not huge,
but it is probably large
enough to accommodate the number of golfers who are actually there at any given
time.
The main thing I didn't like about the range was hitting uphill.
My complaints are minor, and I would definitely go back and play
again...hopefully very, very soon.
*
On July 21, 2009, Josh posted:
The Chimneys is a fun course and is almost always in great condition.
It is a
challenging course if you do not keep it in the fairway, but you can shoot low
if you do.
Greens are kept up
very well.
The people there are always friendly, except for the starter, and the
cart girl will come by about 4 times during a round.
Always an enjoyable round
of golf.
*
On July 14, 2009, Chris posted:
Still one of my favorites! The course was in good shape overall.
The greens were
nicely cut and rolling good. There was a good bit of nutsedge surrounding the
greens,
but overall the
course was pretty clean. They allow you to bring your own cooler
and Mon.-Thurs.
you can play all day for no additional costs!
This course is absolutely worth
the money and I will
continue to keep going back. Good job guys!
*
On July 10, 2009, Dennis posted:
One of the best values in the Athens area. The greens are a little slow right
now, but the breaks are easy to read and they are pretty true.
The clubhouse
offers some awesome "grilled"
hamburgers & hot dogs during lunch.
Playing from the "Blue" Tees, the course plays a little easy, there are some
reachable par 4's for the big hitters.
My only suggestion for the course is to
cut the natural area that crosses #5
& #9 before the bushes get any higher.
You can be penalized by hitting a really
good shot on #9 and unless you can carry 245, it's difficult to make this a 2
shot hole.
Maybe I'm just not
good enough yet but that seems to be the common "gripe".
The front 9 takes some accurate tee shots, nothing too long, just consistency,
and the back nine offers some really challenging holes around 15, 16, & 17.
*
On July 3, 2009, bird posted:
Played here on July 2. Course is in very good condition.
A few greens,
unfortunately, had a number of ball marks. Overall, the greens rolled true and
were in good condition.
This is a
nice layout which challenges your iron game.
There are a some holes where you
will need to pull out the "big stick", but mostly you have to come prepared to
have a good short game.
Very fair course! The price was great and the staff very accommodating.
It was
very busy yesterday (Wednesday afternoon) but the pace seem to move well.
Played
18 holes in
3 1/2 hours so that's a nice pace. I will certainly visit here again soon.
*
On June 30, 2009, Frank posted:
Too long since my last visit there! I played yesterday and it was a joy!
They
had us starting on #10 and we played that nine in an hour and a half!
Pace
slowed a bit on the other nine but
still came in under 4 hours. The new carts are great.
Fairways in excellent
condition. Greens have come almost all the way back from the aeration earlier
this month,
but they are
extremely slow. Only other negative is they are letting the brush in the washes
get way too high.
#4 is an elevated tee to a dogleg right fairway but you have
to carry a wash that is
overrun with growth.
Some of that growth is about 10-15ft high. That tee shot is
tough enough without that extra trouble.
On #9 your second shot is now totally
blind because of the
same problem. You almost have to flop it over the vegetation if you hit it too
far off the tee.
Still, with all my whining aside, get out there and treat
yourself to this great golf course.
*
On June 29, 2009, Joseph posted:
Hadn't played this course in about a year and took my dad to play for Father's
Day (Monday after).
Great course. He liked the fact that they have Sr. tees.
He's 75, but he still hits them
straight.
Overall the course was in great shape. Just looking at the holes and
the layout is pleasing.
Started on #10 (large group going off on #1) and didn't
see another golfer until the
turn.
The greens rolled true. I plan on going
back often.
*
On June 25, 2009, Lawrenceville posted:
This is a hidden gem. The greens are always smooth and the course it self is in
top notch shape.
Don't let the score card fool you.
Yes there are some very
short par 4's but it does not
mean an automatic birdie or even par for that matter.
The value is unbeatable.
During the week if you are not a Barrow county resident, you can play all day
for about $35,
and even less
for Barrow county residents. I would highly recommend the course to others.
*
On June 16, 2009, lpusa posted:
Played this course on 6/14 and had a great time. Last time I played this course
was when it was still owned by Eagle Greens.
Since changing new ownership, I
have noticed quite a few
changes. Here are some of the things I've noticed.
1) they have all new golf
carts,
2) fairways are in excellent shape
3) pace is steady
Greens on the front were a little slow due to the recent aeration, but was
pretty good on the back.
Although the course is a little short, it's a fun
course for the higher handicaps.
If you're
a 10 or under handicap, you might not enjoy it as much.
*
On June 5, 2009, Double P posted:
Played this course last week and have played numerous other times as I used to
live in the area.
This course layout is not very challenging, there are many
holes that are short.
The
greens condition continues to become more lush and speedy.
For the money this
course does have a good value but needs a little more length on some of the 270
yard par fours.
The
fairways have some dead areas in them but overall in pretty good condition.
The
staff on the course is friendly and accommodating.