The Gauntlet Golf Club

*I caveat this review by mentioning there has been rain in the area each of the past 6 days, and I had to stop at the turn to let a storm pass through, so the conditions were understandably soggy*

The Gaunlet's layout is the first and last thing you'll take notice of. Lots of split fairways and doglegs that challenge you to plan out your whole strategy for each hole from the tee box. Having said that, there are few gimmicks here, and while many holes present challenges, none of them are frustratingly unfair. In fact my only disappointment in the layout was the last par-3, which required a driver for me (I hit it about 220 and it still came up short) from the mid-length black tees.

The second and third things you'll notice are the greens and fairways themselves. The greens here are definitely faster than average with plenty of undulation to keep you entertained, and are smooth with few ball marks. The fairways are among the best I've ever seen (except that they were a little high, but likely from all the rain keeping the mowers away); lush, consistent, beautiful.

The bunkers appeared to be very good (again, tough to tell with so much water in them, no runoff gullies though) but the tee boxes were in need of attention. Concrete cart paths and electric carts make The Gaunlet feel like an upscale course, a nice touch.

The staff is very friendly (even gave me a free yardage book since it was only my second time playing there) and the amenities are good. I paid $20 for my round, and despite the wet conditions it was a total steal. Anything under $45 is good for a course like this.

Course plays to a very short 6000 yards. However, one must keep the ball in the fairway. The ruff was long, thick and on this particular day, wet.

A long hitter would not need to hit the driver except on the par 5s. Several holes one only needs to use a long iron off of the tee.

Proper position on the greens is a must on several of the holes. Had the greens been cut shorter the difficulty level would have increased dramatically.

Over all the Gauntlet was a scenic (several holes border a lake) and fun course to play. The greens were soft and rolled ok. However, they rolled very slow.

Priced reasonably well for weekend play too. Overall I would rate the Gauntlet at slightly better than average.

I love The Gauntlet!! Been playing here for years! The set up is fun, yet challenging. A true test because you definitely use every club in your bag! Staff is fantastic!! The rough is just long enough to lend a challenge, but short enough that you don't lose your ball! Perfect for pace of play!! My only complaint is the greens could roll a little faster!!! Several "downhill" putts ended up short.

Very Nice course, fun and challenging, B+ condition… The Zoysia fairways are awesome this time of year. A few ugly tee boxes, greens had a few too many “ignored” pitch marks (note – played after a big tournament that day). Pace of play was amazing! Our foresome had a 3:10 tee time and played in less than 4 hours. Water coolers were full and there was even a beverage cart running around at 4:30 PM on a Thursday afternoon. A great deal for $28! We will be back!

about what I expected. water coolers were dry--a problem on a hot day

especially front nine kind a like target golf, no need for driver, several blind shots, probably easier once you played it at least once. but nice layout, challenging but not unfair, several greens that require accuracy due to sloping away from green; 2nd nine more open, definitely does not get boring on this course;
negative: it took 3h to finish first nine, part of it was a tournament in front, part may be the layout where people wait to have green cleared after first shot. 2nd nine more smooth;
after first nine never wanted to play again, after whole round thinking about coming again; great course if it goes a bit faster, hopefully it was tourney related

We had a great time. It was packed for a Sunday and a little slow but the staff was great. We waited on the front nine but it opened up till the 18th,

It was Father's Day and the course was full. We had a blast and look forward to playing it again.

:)

The course was well maintained and in excellent shape. Tee boxes were well done and maintained and the fairways were very well groomed. The greens were in great shape but could be particularly challenging with different contours and slopes. Gauntlet was a good experience overall and my son and I are already talking about playing it again. The only negative was a slow playing group two groups ahead of us whose pace resulted in there being four groups on the same hole several times on the back nine. The group immediately ahead of us quit after the 16th hole out of frustration. We saw a marshall once while we were playing but apparently there was no effort to get the slow playing group to speed up. But if you want a challenging course that is in good shape, try the Gauntlet.

Some fairways spotty but we just rolled the ball, the staff is super friendly and the layout is challenging. Grabbed it for 32$ on sat afternoon so no complaints here!

Bunkers need work. #9 needs a bell or some signaling device so golfers know when they can tee off. Fairways, tee boxes and greens in good shape. Cart path needs work in some spots.

Recently moved to Virginia from Texas and am in love with the lush green foliage and rolling hills. This course has some very challenging holes for the mid-handicap golfer but overall it is fun to play if your drives are fairly straight. Few holes have wide bailout areas as there are either trees or water lining the fairways.
The greens are in good shape and soft enough to hold most approach shots. I hope to play this course often..

had a good time need to be straight but not long
fairway nice greens a little slow

We played on a Sunday afternoon but were never rushed or had to wait long for the tee boxes. Course was challenging but not impossible. The staff were extremely helpful from the pro shop, to the woman in the snack bar down to the starter who got out a few minutes early and let us play as a twosome instead of sticking us with strangers.

Love this place and will be back.

Course was in good shape. Very hot day and some of the coolers were empty for water. No cart personnel on course selling drinks or snacks.

And also greens are decent. I would reccomend this course for an average price good conditiin

Course was well maintained but very difficult. Not the usual difficult course that I expected. This course was extremely difficult. Some holes were almost to the point of unrealisitic for most. Otherwise, the course was very nice, well maintained, and staff was friendly.

I would play this course again because the greens and fairways were both in solid condition. There are parts all over the course that need work but its still a fun place to play. Lots of technical and blind shots required. The pace of play was very slow when I was out on 5/15.

Pro shop staff was very friendly and welcoming. Course was in great condition. Some of the bunkers needed new sand but some had brand new white sand in them. There are some very challenging holes, luckily for me you can aim left and miss right on a few and you will be just fine. The pin placements and size of the greens is very challenging but fun. Had a twosome ask me if I would like to join them on the front 9 and a single ask if I wanted to on the back nine. The food at the snack bar was pretty good. Arnold Palmer was priced at 3 dollars, but that's my only complaint about the snack bar. They had Bridgestone there at the driving range doing a ball fitting which was nice. Overall was a great experience and can't wait to golf there again.

The fairways were fine and the greens were just acceptable. The long rough made for slow play. The back nine was fun, but the front nine had so many blind shots that the first play here is very difficult. Access to the fairways in places was hard with a cart due to all the ropes draping along the fairways. Holes 2,4, and 5 were extremely difficult. Bring plenty of golf balls.

very nice lay out, I love this golf course and would play again