Ambassador at Hickory Valley Golf Club
About
Hickory Valley Golf Club boasts two 18-hole, regulation-length courses, named the Ambassador and the Presidential. The Ambassador Course is the shorter of the two at 6,450 yards but it still offers a fair test. The classic layout is routed through towering hardwoods forests that stretch to over 70 feet high. The tall hickory trees loom over the fairways. The small greens are sloped back to front, presenting a challenge for even the most seasoned players. Water hazards come into play on several holes and there are a few tricky doglegs to contend with. The bunkering is minimal but the abundant trees will be enough to keep you on your toes. The golf course has some challenging holes but it's not overly punishing for the high handicapper.
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Golfer Photos
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Every fairway looked like this Photo submitted by COOcampo3 on 08/23/2025
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Photo submitted by cDrBv9n7iHmgGbUxd9Oi on 08/02/2025
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Photo submitted by cDrBv9n7iHmgGbUxd9Oi on 08/02/2025
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Best Brothers 1st Round of 2.0 Project! Photo submitted by StuKnod on 04/03/2022
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Photo submitted by ericgrafton on 11/14/2016
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Photo submitted by ericgrafton on 11/14/2016
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Photo submitted by ericgrafton on 11/14/2016
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Par 3 16th Photo submitted by bfalker on 06/16/2013
Golfer Reviews
Nice day with my Son, Fair round
Course was in good shape, but pin placements on some of the holes were on slopes and a little unfair for the average golfer.
It was hard to stop the put within 2 feet around the cup. Having a day on the links is still better than working. Good price thanks to GolfNow deal.
Great Value
The course is kept in great shape....The Ambassador course can be tough if you are a "ball-sprayer."
Thanks for your review! We're happy to hear that you had a good time at the course. Please come back and play again soon!
Tight and tough
Greens are small targets with greens that don't have a flat spot on them. Many of the pins were located on spines or the extreme front or back of the green. 16s pins was fifteen feet off the front edge and three of us putted off the front of the green from fifteen feet above the hole. A bit extreme, on a hole that is beyond narrow and 450 yards up the hill! Greens are smooth and roll well but slopes can be extreme
Thanks for playing! We're happy to read that you had a great round even though our pin positions were a bit challenging. Thanks for your review and we hope to see you again soon!
Dumb pins
Pins where on every hump. For weekend play the pins could have been in more score able positions.
Thank you for playing! We're happy that you had a good experience despite what sounds like some pretty challenging pin positions. Please come back and play again soon!
Do Not Play
Called Tuesday for a Sunday tee time. I had a groupon that couldn't be used until 11. Person on the phone said there was an outing on Sunday starting at 11 but I could play the tee time right before at 1048. I get to the course after a 50 minute drive and they tell me I cannot use it. Uh what?
Not only that, the guy who I am assuming is the manager kept saying how the person who booked it will be paying for my tee time. Golf is an expendable income hobby so I said I didn't want them to do that. It's probably some high school kid who was trying to be accommodating.
Let me be clear: it is not that they didn't honor the groupon. I'm totally understanding of why regulations are in place but 1 telling me I could use it and 2 how they approached the issue when I arrived. They were just flat out huge jerks about it. I don't want some kid in high school who was trying to be nice to pay for a $65 tee time. I asked if I could at least get the 11am rate if I'm going to pay full price. I didn't want someone else paying for my tee time. Nope. They're losing an additional golfer for the day off the tee sheet if I left but they didn't seem to care. It was 12 minutes! I wouldn't be complaining if they didn't already book me earlier in the week.
So I left and played Landis Creek down the road. With so many courses in the area, I will never return. Unbelievable. Worst service at a golf course I have ever received. No wonder you can't even email anyone on the staff through their website.
I am so sorry that you had such a bad experience with our staff. What happened was totally unacceptable. We would like to make this up to you. Please email me directly at HVteetimes@outlook.com. Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you.
Always an excellent venue!
One of my favorite courses in the area. It offers a challenging but fair layout. The golf course is always in great shape.
Thanks for playing! We look forward to seeing you again soon!
Pleasant surprise
Really interesting course with lots of character. Don't let the yardage on the card fool you. It plays much longer than 6300+ yards from the back. A few of the holes are about placement so the shorter length on a few par 4's and one of the shorter par 5's make it actually play more like 7000 yards. Greens were in excellent shape. Quite fast with lots of slope. A couple might be bordering on too sloped. One gripe on design. 16 from the back tees at 484 is far too hard for a public daily fee course and will definitely slow down play in general. A Slight dog right, extremely narrow with giant trees down both sides, and a small intensely sloped green make it too tough for its own good. Apparently it used to be a short par 5, but I think it's totally unreasonable as a 4. The Presidential course started as 9 holes. You can definitely tell. I prefer the front 9 plus hole 10. 11-18 are interesting, but can get a little claustrophobic if your driver isn't sharp. Overall a really nice experience. Staff was very friendly as well.
Thanks for playing! Thanks for sharing your experience with us and we're happy to hear that it was a good one. We're glad that you enjoyed our staff! Please come back and play again soon!
Goonie golf
Played Presidential course and it wasn't our 1st time. Like the layout and the course was well kept. A little too much maybe since it seems over watered. Balls dug into the greens even though there hasn't been any rain. Won't be going back any time soon and 2 of our 4-some don't want to come back at all. mostly because of the pin positions. Played on a Monday morning and was the 1st group to go out so there wasn't any pace of play issues but there were at least 10 greens that had the pins placed on slopes so if you were on the wrong side of the hole you couldn't stop the ball. The course itself is hard but when you add unfair pin placements it doesn't add up to a fun round. 2 of us log a handicap but as per USGA specs. they are not abiding by the rules. Here is an excerpt for those interested:The USGA suggests that at least a 2-foot radius surrounding the hole “should be as nearly level as possible and of uniform grade.” The hole shouldn’t be placed on a steep slope on which a missed putt from above the hole will roll a long distance past the cup. “A player above the hole should be able to stop the ball at the hole,” according to Rule 15-3(iii).
Thank you for your feedback. We're sorry that we didn't meet expectations and that you found our pin positions troublesome. We appreciate you expressing your concerns with us. We hope to see you again soon!
Nice
Nice maintenance except only could play 15 holes due to in unannounced league
Thanks for your review! We're sorry about the slight mix up. Please come back and play again soon!
Tough front nine!
(Please note that weather caused round to end after just 4 holes, so I am writing a review from a round here a few weeks back)
Very challenging front nine in which you must be able to place the ball to score well. This is NOT A COURSE for beginners. (Which is why pace was slow as a bunch of hacks spent plenty of time losing balls and looking for them) Greens are nice, putt true, and fairways and tees pretty well taken care of too. Back nine is not as tough, but can drive you nuts as still plenty of hazards to avoid.
Also please play the sister course across the street which is a beatiful course called The Presidential.
Thanks for playing! We're happy to hear that you had a great round and that you keep coming back. We appreciate your patronage. Please come back and play again soon!
like the course
Nice course and glad they participate in golf now and specials
Thanks so much!
great course but was crowded on a 96 degree day
My wife and I like the course and it was a good pace until the log jam at the 11th hole. We were at least 3 holes behind anyone else then bam. foursomes on the 4 holes in front of us. You would think they would want to get off the course as quickly as possible in that kind of heat. We got tired of waiting and went to the next open hole where we wouldn't hold anyone up.
It is a great course for the money and just wish they would monitor the slow play better.
Thanks for playing and for your review! We're happy that you had a good round despite the slower than usual pace of play. We appreciate your feedback!
good course
good course to play but today's pace of play made it horrible. think they was a tournament finishing before we teed off but it took 2 hours and 45 minutes to play the front 9 because of it. I understand tournament play but this was ridiculously too long to play 9 holes. I usually can get through 18 in 4 hours which is normal but almost 3 hours to play 9 holes is u called for. no attention to pace of play. I had to cut out after 14 holes because I'm a father of 3 kids and cannot spend 5-1/2 hours to play 18. noone should have to wait this long to play 18. definitely took the fun out of the day. also had the sprinklers going of most of the round I played. not that good when you are getting ready to putt and you get hit in the back with sprinklers during your backstroke. good course usually. just not today
Thanks for your review. We're happy to hear that you're a fan of the course despite the mess up that happened here. We're sorry that you had to wait so long for your round. Please email me directly at HVteetimes@outlook.com so we can make it up to you. Thanks for playing and I look forward to hearing from you!
Challaging
Course was Fun!!!! Had a good time
Thanks! We're happy to hear that you enjoyed yourself. Please come back and play again soon!
Very happy to return here
This course has been a pleasure to play each and every time. Easy to book, friendly staff, very good conditions and really terrific value. We rarely have to wait at any point during the round nor do we get pushed.
Secret tip: try the hot red relish in the snack bar. Really great!
Great tip! We love the red relish! Thank you! We're happy that you had a great round. Please come back and play again soon!
Good course to play
A lot of Dog Legs which makes thing a little challenging. Enjoyable!
Thanks for playing! Please come back and play again soon!
One of the best
This was definitely one of the nicest courses I have ever played and probably the hardest too. Fairway turf was tremendous and the bunkers were soft and always raked. Pace of play was not an issue at all as we played on a Saturday late morning. We were a two some and no tee time behind even got out 15 minutes early. Never had a problem. Lots of narrow tee shots. Couple that with the beer and the back nine got the best of me. Can't speak for the value of a full price round, but for the $25 we spent on group golfer vouchers, it was a great day. The Ambassador is nice, but this course has the feel of something far beyond just "nice."
Ambassador
We played the Ambassador course. It is a good course for beginners as it is not overly long and you certainly won't find many bunkers. A decent amount of doglegs will challenge the advanced golfers. We teed off a little after 2pm on a weekend. It is expected to be crowded so when nobody was in front of us, it was awesome. We flew through the front nine but then hit a wall on 11. It was at least 20 minutes a hole after that. I wouldn't want to know the pace in peak time.
One of my favorites so far.....
I would have a difficult time finding another course this nice for the money. I can't write a single thing negative about it. Other than my score, I would duplicate everything about my golfing experience here again and again. I plan on coming back and playing both course on the same day.
Thanks for your review! We hope to see you again soon!