Stone River Golf Club

I’ve played this course three times over the past 18 months, and somehow it’s managed to age faster than milk left in a patrol car in July.

Last summer, the greens were decent—slow, probably rolling around an 8. Totally fine. Not every course needs to pretend it’s hosting the U.S. Open. This winter? Honestly, pretty solid—rolling closer to a 10, smooth enough to actually reward a good putt.

Then came yesterday… and I’m not sure what happened, but something clearly did—and not in a good way.

Lower Your Expectations Immediately-The Practice Area

The setup alone should’ve been a warning sign.

The driving range is across the course near holes 12 and 13. That’s fine in theory—until you realize it’s basically a glorified wedge range. No driver, no woods, and long irons are more of a suggestion than a reality. It’s less “practice facility” and more “take a few swings and hope for the best.”

If you’re planning on setting up alignment sticks, dialing in numbers, or pretending you’re on the range at TPC Sawgrass—don’t. This is a “hit a few wedges and emotionally prepare yourself” situation.

The chipping green? Somehow worse. It slopes off from the center by what feels like 3–5 degrees—about a foot of drop—so instead of practicing chips, you’re studying gravity. It’s less “short game area” and more “putting on the side of a small hill.”

And the putting green? If you enjoy Plinko, chaos theory, or watching a golf ball make executive decisions mid-roll, you’ll love it. Otherwise, skip it entirely. Hit a few putts on the chipping green and head to the first tee before your confidence gets injured.

Tees (A Slip-and-Slide Experience)

The tee boxes are usually fine—but not yesterday.

They had just punched some of them using what looked like a half-inch aeration tine… and then just left it. No cleanup, no backfill—just a scattered minefield of plugs.

So instead of standing on a tee box, you’re basically trying to swing a driver on top of loose marbles made of Texas black clay. With a massive backup behind us, my buddy and I ended up doing emergency groundskeeping with our wedges just to create something resembling stable footing.

Nothing says “premium golf experience” like pre-shot landscaping.

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Fairways (Generously Defined)

Calling these fairways is… optimistic.

They’re mostly pasture, with occasional patches of grass that resemble what fairways are supposed to be. It’s like the course is playing a game of “Where’s Waldo?” but Waldo is actual turf.

Realistically, they need a full reset: aeration, nutrients, and an aggressive overseed. Right now, it’s survival golf—hope you find something green and swing away.

Greens (The Main Event… Unfortunately)

Now we get to the greens.

Mother of all that is pure and holy… these things should be illegal.

They somehow manage to be both firm enough to reject a well-struck approach *and* slow enough to make putting feel like you’re rolling through shag carpet. It’s a truly impressive contradiction.

From 100 yards out, landing on the green is basically a suggestion—you’re just as likely to bounce off the back like you hit a cart path. And once you’re on? Good luck. Between what appears to be poa annua, dallisgrass, ground ivy, and whatever else has claimed squatter’s rights, every putt is an adventure.

It’s not golf—it’s Plinko with a scorecard.

What’s especially concerning is that they’ve been aerating and top dressing… which, in theory, is great. In practice, it just looks like they’re feeding the weeds and telling the actual turf, “Good luck, you’re on your own.”

Come summer, this is heading straight toward scorched, unplayable surfaces unless something changes fast.

The Tragic Part (Because There’s Potential)

Here’s the frustrating part: the layout is actually really good.

This course *should* be a great, affordable option in the area—a place people choose instead of paying premium rates elsewhere. The clubhouse is nice, and the front desk staff are consistently excellent.

But the course itself? It needs serious help.

Not “call a landscaper” help—actual turf management. A real greenskeeper. A plan. Execution. And then, just as importantly, a maintenance routine to keep it from sliding right back to where it is now.

Yes, it’ll cost money. Probably a lot, given how long things seem to have been neglected. But without that investment, the trajectory is pretty clear.

Right now, it’s a golf course.

Give it a few more years like this, and it’s going to be a subdivision with a really confusing street layout.

Tee time for 2:20. No Marshall on the course. Tee times were 10 minutes apart so backed up already on the first tee! Guys with a 2 pm tee time showed up saying they were next even though they were late! No structure at all. Took three hours to get to the 12th tee. Twosome in front was hitting from the same bag! Cart path only so they would hit the ball 20 yards the. Go back over to there golf cart to grab another club. I told the guys that I was playing with I am not doing this. I turned and drove back to the clubhouse. I have been playing this course for years and it's far worse now then it was even a year ago. Greens are completely gone and the fairways are trashed. Not going back and I would recommend you going somewhere else.

Stone River Golf Club is really turning things around. The course is under new management and you can definitely see the improvements. The staff has been working on the course constantly and the conditions are much better than before. Fairways are in good shape, greens are improving, and overall the course is being maintained with a lot more attention to detail.

This course has the friendliest staff and in general the people and atmosphere is very pleasant to be a part of.

As for the course itself, the fairways are a bit rough and I'm still wishing for some sand traps to be built to make the course a bit challenging.

Overall, I still had a good time playing on a beautiful day!!

Stone River is a no frills, get what you pay for course. The tee boxes had some bare spots, and the fairways are all dormant, but the greens were surprisingly quick and rolled good. I’ll go back at that price!

The course had a fun layout. Dry fairways are probably true but it’s headed into that season where everyone has dry fairways so that’s not really something I’m overly concerned with. Greens were in great shape and pace of play was good. Good experience would play here again for sure.

This was my first time playing the course. I found the staff friendly and helpful in pointing out where number one tee was and how to get around. I had read several reviews on course conditions and found most sentiments to be correct. Greens were in very good shape. Would hold approach shots well and putts rolled true. As many have stated the fairways had been very dry and and some point in the past had a lot of bare spots. But it is obvious they are on top of it and seem to be making good headway in getting things back in order. I would have liked to have seen some signage at some holes to point the was to the next hole as the layout on the scorecard isn’t the best. Overall a good experience for the money and I will be back.

The course is getting better. The new management team is working. Need to water 💧.

This course had been very neglected. It was very refreshing to see the difference with a new management group.

the ground is extremely hard on parts of the fairway and there are a lot of dirt spots throughout the course. also there are no bunkers, so it’s decent for beginners. but for $50 per person not really worth it, there are far better courses that are way cheaper and for not much more you could get access to a far greater course

Course is much improved, greens are in bear shape I have seen. They are making improvements daily, course plays great.

The tee boxes were very hard. I broke many tees trying to set them.

The fairways were not cut properly. The grass was a bit high which made finding the ball that much more difficult.

My normal group wasn't playing so I played as a single. Staff added me to a threesome and off we went. Range is short. Short irons only. No issues with that. At least I got to warm up. Based on the reviews I wasn't expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised.

Course layouts was fun with plenty of open space but challenging tee shots on bseveral holes. Greens we generally good but very slow. Chips tenderd to rollout 2-3x further than expected so I had a lot of long putts that I generally left short. Part of the game I supposed. I chalked that up to never playing there before.

There were two holes that had temp tee boxes as they tried to fix the fairways. Some tee boxes were very torn up and super hard to sink a tee but at least they were mostly level. No gps on carts so it was good I had my GPS with me. Def helped

All in all I liked it and will go back again. If they had a dedicated maintenance program to soften up the greens, make them more receptive and grow the fairway and tee boxes back, it would be a hidden gem.

Staff was friendly and helpful. This is not some high end course. As long you know that going in, you will have a good time. It's a small muni that wasn't expensive. Def worth the green fee today. Will go back for sure.

The course is coming along nicely! They had crews out laying sod and making other improvements while I was there which was great to see. Course conditions are much better than what they’ve been the last year or so.

They are working their butt off to make this course nice. The staff is GREAT, except for the middle aged lady that works the desk (Not Miss T). Everyone is so nice except her. She is rude no matter the day or time.