Palmer at Saddlebrook Golf & Tennis Resort

Didn’t live up to the hype for me. I was not overly impressed. Very confusing on where the clubhouse was exactly. People working there were great and friendly. Course was in good shape and condition. ( Palmer course). Just wasn’t a wow factor for supposedly being 1 of Tampa’s best courses.
Greens were excellent and super fast and rolling.
I will probably try the saddle brook course just for fun but won’t expect much.

Parking is a nightmare ... they need to figure it out.

Got an amazing bargain $30 rate through Golfnow and couldn't wait to play. This course is in MUCH better condition than any other non-private course in the area. Greens were smooth and consistent. Some rough spots in the fairways, but they were few and far between. Highly recommended.

They force you to valet, add $12 + tip there. Valet couldn't find my keys, ended up walking to my car and driving it back to the bag drop myself...
Course was in very mediocre shape, greens were full of bumps.
NO water on the course at all and charge you $5 per bottle of water ... your course is located in Florida, its June, have water for the people paying $75 to play an extremely mediocre course..

Course was in okay shape. Some fairways were better than others. It was a hot day, however there were no cart services extended to golfers on the course.

A lot of prices have gone up recently and a lot of those courses don't live up to the price. I think Saddlebrook is right on par with what it offers. The course was in great shape, really nice greens, fairways were good, rough in some areas was patchy and my only real complaint is some tee boxes were bad. But for the money, excellent and will definitely be back.

The fairways and greens are in pristine condition, but otherwise it was fine

For a resort course it was very sub par, greens were great but that’s about it. Not worth more than $40 imo

I have to preface this review by saying that I'm 62 & have played golf since I was 4. My father was a golf pro, I was an assistant many years ago. I state this just so you have some idea that I know what I'm talking about & am not just picking on a course for whatever reason. I moved to the area in 2004 & have played Saddlebrook several times a year since & it's never disappointed or been in less than pristine condition until recently. I played here last month & it was barely tolerable but I wasn't too upset because it hadn't rained in the area for many weeks so I gave them the benefit of the doubt. I have to say, the course has actually gotten worse in the last month-much worse. The greens are still in good shape but the tees aren't just suffering from lack of water, they have various issues going on from obvious lack of care-disease insect infestation, etc (heck, the first tee box was overrun with armor plated brown grasshoppers). Many tee boxes were so hard I had to poke around looking for a spot to tee off & my driver didn't get green grass on it all day, just dirt & brown, burnt grass. The fairways were a mix of green & brown, maybe 50-50 but that shouldn't be on a course like this. The rough, forget it--burned to a crisp & not a hint of green color in sight.
Arnold Palmer would NOT be happy. I've played on some GREAT golf courses during my almost 60 years of playing the game & really can't recall playing on a course in such disrepair. New owners bought the resort, promising drastic improvements but it's obvious what their plan is--let the course fail & develop the entire property. They already plan on taking 9 holes from 1 of the 2 course & build homes & apartments in its place. I live 10 minutes from Saddlebrook & will not be back. Sad, there have already been 2 courses in our area that were allowed to sell to developers & build homes & apartments & another nearby course might be headed in the same direction as the owner who bought that course a few years ago has turned it from a premier course into trash & it's right next to my community.
Anyway, for the amount of money they want to play here, there are many other nearby courses more deserving of your golfing dollar.

Great layout, challenging but not impossible. Greens in good shape, roll well. Pace of play was excellent. Staff in the Proshop and starter were helpful and efficient. One negative is the parking. Confusion at Valet, always was included now they seem to want to charge an additional $12 plus tip. Self parking is not doable, half mile walk. It is not easy to navigate from Valet to proshop, too far to carry your clubs and you pass thru the resort swimming pool area. If it is your first time, you'll need help. Budget an extra 15 minutes.