Carolina Trace CC
Looking back from a green at Carolina Trace Country Club
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Rating Index Rating
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4.5
349 Reviews (349)
5 Stars
197
4 Stars
109
3 Stars
26
2 Stars
9
1 Stars
8
Conditions
4.3
Value
4.2
Layout
4.6
Friendliness
4.6
Pace
4.7
Amenities
4.1
86.7%
Recommend this course
313 out of 349 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.7
12 Reviews (12)
5 Stars
10
4 Stars
1
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
1
1 Stars
0
Conditions
4.4
Value
4.2
Layout
4.6
Pace
4.5
Amenities
3.7
StaffFriendliness
4.6
91.7%
Recommend this course
11 out of 12 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.5
24 Reviews (24)
5 Stars
18
4 Stars
4
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
1
1 Stars
1
Conditions
4.3
Value
4.1
Layout
4.6
Pace
4.7
Amenities
4.0
StaffFriendliness
4.8
87.5%
Recommend this course
21 out of 24 reviews
Read Reviews
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AI summaries based on real golfer reviews
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Course Highlights
The Lakes stands out for its creative layout featuring doglegs, elevation changes, and demanding par threes that require every club in your bag. Friendly staff, excellent pace of play, and well-maintained conditions make this one of the premier courses in the area.

About

Holes 18
Type Private
Par 72
Length 7263 yards
Slope 143
Rating 76.0
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Carolina Trace Country Club - Lake
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Course Details

Year Built 1971
Fairways Bermuda Grass
Greens Mini Verde Bermunda Grass
Golf Season Year round
Architect Robert Trent Jones, Sr. (1971) David Whelchel (2015) Roger Rulewich (1971)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes - included in green fee
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Bunker Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Metal Spikes Allowed No
Dress code Appropriate golf attire.

Accolades

  • Golf Advisor: Top 25 Courses for Pace of Play in the U.S. (2025 #2)
  • Golf Advisor: Top Courses in North Carolina (2021 #18)
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Reviews

4.5
349 Reviews (349)

What Golfers Are Saying

Course Challenges Include:
Bunkers 8
Water Hazards 8
Elevation Changes 7
This course/club is great for:
Advanced Golfers 6
Locals 6
This Course's Location is:
Worth the Drive 6

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Carolina Trace - Lake Course

The course was in excellent shape. The greens were by far the best greens I've played in a couple of years. The staff was very friendly and willing to accommodate our early arrival. The clubhouse has all the amenities for before, during and after the round. Great day!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 420
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Top 25 Contributor
First Time Playing

Fantastic Layout and Conditions

First time playing Carolina Trace Lakes course. The Bermuda greens were immaculate. The layout is very traditional, good mix of lefts/rights and straight away par 4's. Several of the par 3's have elevation changes of 1-2 clubs. The sand is blinding white and very consistent. Can't say enough how much we enjoyed playing here and we will be back. The sister course, The Creek, is a great layout too....just more old school in terms of fitting the lay of the land.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 6
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

Great Course

The Course layout is really good. Some holes have breath taking views. The elevation changes will challenge your distances and lots of bunkers A must play in the area.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 29
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Beautiful & a steal!

We absolutely lucked out. For some unknown reason (fear of the heat??), we literally had the course to ourselves. A 3 1/2 hr round!

The layout is challenging but fair, fairways were plush & greens were incredible (the speed was around 11 and they rolled true. Just perfect.) We played from the blues (~6500 yds) and carted 4 birdies, all one puts and none closer than 4-5 feet.

We don't expect the lack of players next time, but we will definitely be back.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 5
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
3.0
Previously Played

Nice, clean fairways. Poor staff discipline

First time playing here since the renovations. Course is nice. Greens could have used a trim and a roll. There was a wedding at the club house. The staff let 3 18-22 yr olds from the wedding cruise around the course on golf course. After nine holes my brother and I went in to grab refreshments. Came out and found they had stolen my phone and one of my brothers clubs. Long story short, the club staff didn't get back to us for 3 days. Tracked the phone and police arrested the perp. Got my phone back but the club, my brothers brand new driver, is gone forever. Expect more from a course, especially paying ~$50 for a round. 2/10 will not recommend.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Poor
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Good weather
Used cart

Great pace and greens

Friendly staff and the course was in excellent condition. The greens were consistent and fast. Pace of play was under 4 hours.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 10
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Average weather
Used cart

Carolina Trace, Lake Course

Course was in good shape, and people in the shop were friendly. Those are the most important things. One minor issue was that there was no drinking water available on the course. It was a very hot and humid day. Played the Creek course last week, and water was available there. Like I said, minor issue, but might want to bring some water with you, or buy some in the pro shop. Also no ball washers either. Maybe they are getting some new ones? Will definitely play there again!

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 10
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

WOW

Been wanting to play this course for years & it was well worth the wait. Everything was perfect: club house, staff, view from tee to green, fairways, & greens. We played the Lake course. I can only imagine how good the Creek course is.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 4
1.0
Previously Played
Poor weather
Used cart

BEWARE of rain check policy

Just facts:

Considerable rain had fallen. Was raining lightly. COURSE OPEN

Played 2 holes and rain became significant. COURSE OPEN

next hole rain pouring, pools of wate in fairways, rooster tails on putts, then thunder started and greens were underwater COURSE OPEN

went back to clubhouse, requested raincheck. First they said no rainchecks, then after discussion, said a 9 hole raincheck. Asked to speak to manager, he was abrupt and stated IF YOU HIT A BALL OFF THE FIRST TEE, YOU CAN ONLY GET A 9 HOLE RAINCHECK. Did not see this policy on their website.

Course flooded, fairways and greens with standing water COURSE OPEN.

Also, if play on Monday or Tuesday, NOTHING offered to eat except chips, crackers, and candy, no sandwiches. WILL NEVER RETURN TO THIS COURSE!

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Friendliness Poor
Pace Good
Amenities Poor
Default User Avatar
Commented on 07/11/2016

FOLLOWUP:

After calling owners to express dissatisfaction with the rain check policy, the General Manager called me and stated this was not their policy, he had new personnel, this would be a teaching opportunity, and he sent me 18 hole rain checks for our group.

Would return to play course again after this corrective action.

Played On
Reviews 7
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing

Great course - lake

The fairways and bunkers were in great shape. The greens had been aerated so they were still bouncy. Great layout with some amazing views and elevation changes. Wish the par 3s had the distance on the course. We will be back soon!!!

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Nice layout

Great course-- just aerated so it was like putting on a plinko board. Golfnow discounted my next round since it wasn't communicated on their website. Give a week or two and greens should be perfect. Played 6/12/16

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
1.0
First Time Playing
Good weather
Used cart

Just Punched the Greens!

Played the Lake Course on Saturday, June 11th. Beautiful course! Tee boxes and fairways were excellent and there was plenty of fluffy white sand in the bunkers - trust me on that. Unfortunately, they forgot to mention that they had just punched their greens on Monday when we made our tee time!!!! We played for $35 which included range balls and a free beer if we filled out a questionnaire. Also, they added some new bunkers last year and SkyGolf/SkyCaddie doesn't know about them yet.

Conditions Poor
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Nice layout

Nice course, great layout, sparse fairways but it is mid May, healthy but slow greens.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 12
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Excellent greens, pleasant challenge, nice layout

Very nice golf course. Some interesting holes with some degree of challenge but very enjoyable, will play this again.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 63
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Just a great course

Beautiful course in great condition. The numerous and large bunkers were immaculate with sugar white sand. The greens rolled as true as any I've played. The staff are super friendly. Overall a very enjoyable experience.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Used cart

Very enjoyable Lakes Layout

Very challenging and a great value. Look forward to playing here again soon. New greens were tight but held approach shots, rolled good for this time of year, some tee boxes need some attention.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 13
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

Great Course

Even though it is winter, the sand traps and greens were in GREAT shape! The course was quite challenging regarding the placement of the bunkers and water. I enjoy being challenged!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

CT lakes

Tee and fairway grass was long, which I understand for the winter months and the course went through a renovation in the previous summer. Greens, which were not renovated, were slow and not painted. Other Bermudagrass greens in the area are quick and painted. Great renovation of the bunkers. Course was basically weed free. Will be a great course this summer.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

First time

Fun and challenging course. The greens were too slow.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 420
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Top 25 Contributor
First Time Playing

Traditional Layout with Small Greens

Creek course is a great traditional layout. Surprising amount of elevation change throughout the course. Tree lined fairways. Fairways were in excellent condition. Greens (bent) were a little inconsistent, spongy and getting thin. Par 5's on the short side, par 3's are challenging and some stout par 4's. Bet this course will be in great shape come Sept/Oct. The Lakes course is scheduled to reopen in early Sept.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
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