LPGA International - Hills Course

Incredible practice facility and the range line seems to be moved often enough that you’ll always have fresh grass. The Hills course was challenging, narrow in a lot of places and over 7000k yards from the back tees. Greens were a little slow and I personally prefer faster putting but it didn’t ruin the day. Great facilities, well manicured tees, fairways and greens. The greens were true just took a little getting used to on the speed. I’m working in the area for a few weeks and I’ll be back to play the Jones course. When I arrived early I wasn’t sure where any of the facilities were or first tee. I had both staff and other players (members perhaps) who helped me find my way around. If I lived closer I’d have a membership for sure. I included a photo of my best approach shot of the day. Kicked in for birdie, of course.

This has been my favorite Daytona course for years. However, I saw that there is major construction on the front nine - I assume for houses. Hundreds of trees levelled. That is so unfortunate as it was like playing in a nature preserve. This will not help the look of the course and will make the experience so much less. Really too bad. Don't ruin the back nine too. And some greens were a bit bumpy. But still love the course. Not sure after the homes come in...

Beautiful course but can be difficult. Keep the ball in the fairways. Don't miss a green too far left or right or your ball will be gone.

It was easy to hit your drive ob due to sloping fairways. Seemed to play longer than yardage on the card. Only played 12 holes due to heavy rain.

only complaint is that the snack bar at hole 9 was closed .

only saw the cart girl 1 time ...this isn't the first time

We drove from St. Augustine to play the Hills Course mainly because a lot of courses are doing greens maintenance this time of year and we were told the greens were in good shape. They rolled pretty good. Are almost fully recovered from aeration in May. The Jones course was punched this week. I always call to check this before we book as I have been burned before. Fairways are wide open on most holes, which I like. The conditions of fairways and rough was very nice. The bunkers were not great but not a huge issue. They are taking down trees on some hole to build houses I guess but this wasn’t an issue for us. Lots of water and thick woods if you are way off the fairway. Tee boxes were in good shape, not an issue. They offer very early tee times which was another reason we picked this course. Tee’d off at 0630 and finished in 4 hours. The pace of play was good. We were a little slow and let a few groups play through. The facilities seemed nice but at 6am only thing open was pro shop. Pro Shop was well stocked and even sold some drinks. After we played we did go back inside. Seemed like the restaurant was open but we didn’t go in. Had some golf shirts on sale and outside pro shop. Overall a great experience. A lot of reviews I read talk about staff and bathrooms. The course was great, greens really good. Fair price. Play here! We will probably add this course to our yearly vacation rotation.

During checkin we weren’t told that the snack shop, which was the only beverage option on the course, was closed. On a very hot and humid day, the only water option was an old water fountain at the bathroom. The construction around the site made most of the course an eyesore. One of our carts died on the 15th hole. Tried to call the course multiple times with no answer (eventually someone picked up). It’s sad because this course could be a premier course with better service.

Feels like it could be a Tour venue with VERY little effort. Greens running well on the Hills course today, fast too! Even for the summer! Love this place! Would play every day if I could! Wee snack shop at the turn was important, as there is no water freely available until you hit a restroom and a fountain is available.

Great track, played with 2 Locals. Had a blast. Love the challenge of each hole. Smart play allows for good scores.

I played this course a few times before and remembered it being beautiful. Unfortunately, they are now developing along many of the holes. The piles of cut trees, cleared out areas, and construction vehicles have ruined the natural element that really made this course special. Honestly, it’s depressing to play it so I quit after 9 and won’t be back.

Had a great round and course was great. Staff was not friendly at all. First time at course and no directions on where to go or how to get a cart. When asked directions was met with rude service as if I was bothering them. No beverage cart came around the whole round. Was dying of thirst when done. Mowers did not stop when I was on tee box or playing a shot. Very disappointing.

it finally happened, the golf gods were over thrown by the $$$$$$. Once only a hand full of houses were able to be seen on hole # 2, now the land near #1, 3, 4, 5, 8, and 9 is being cleared to put up homes and there are survey markers near #16. Just a shame.

Soon it will turn into Victoria hills, once a top 100 now I wont play whats left a beautiful layout.

The greens are still bumpy from aeration.

I sent this email to the management of the LPGA International and have yet to receive a response.

Thursday (5/12) our golf group came to play your LPGA course. We made our tee time 2 weeks prior to coincide with one member of our group celebrating his 73rd birthday. I had played the original course years ago when there was only a trailer for a pro shop. We were all excited to play what we believed to be a stellar course, particularly because of the price to play and the name association.

To say what we encountered was less than stellar would be an understatement for many reasons. To be clear, we realize there are varying degrees of golf course conditions, many times dictated by the time of the year, maintenance schedule, etc. One of the members of the group (our birthday boy) worked on a golf course maintenance crew for almost a decade. Many times he would explain the various nuisances of golf course maintenance so we would all understand why we were seeing certain conditions.

We arrived Thursday, loaded up our clubs, went to the pro shop, paid our green fees, and proceeded to the driving range to warm up. Nothing unusual there. However, we realized something was amiss when we pulled up to the practice putting green and saw the green had been aerated and sanded. Needless to say we were disheartened after spending just under $100 to play on your course and then find an aerated and sanded green. We all mentioned we hoped this wasn't an indication of what was to come. But sure enough, as we made our way around the front nine, each green had been aerated and sanded.

We realize this type of maintenance has to be done to maintain healthy greens. However, we had each paid just under $100 to play now a less than stellar, maybe even less than average golf course. We were not happy !!!! Please know that to many $100 isn't that big a deal. But to four retired golfers, spending $100 to play golf is a big deal. We even mentioned to the marshal our dissatisfaction with green conditions. He was surprised when we told him no one had mentioned these conditions when we checked in and was equally surprised we had been charged full price.

As luck would have it, we got rained out on #15 so we made our way back to the clubhouse, dropped off our clubs, brushed ourselves off, and entered the pro shop to air our concerns. Again, we all understand maintenance schedules but here is the real point. Someone, including the lady behind the desk, should have alerted us to the sandy greens. (I promise you we would have thought twice about playing.) As we spoke to the gentlemen behind the counter, they seemed complacent at best. They did offer to let us then play the other course in the rain. Here's another kick in the pants. They also said we could have teed off on the other course, had we wanted to wait about 45 minutes. We were never given that chance. They also mentioned their boss would not approve any kind of discount. To add insult to injury, the rate we paid is the highest rate you charge for The Hill course.

Case in point. If "you" were to buy a product for $100 and quickly realized that the product advertised was not the product you paid for, wouldn't you want to get a refund of part if not all your purchase price of that product.

Lets be honest. The LPGA International was not honest with us, even potentially deceptive. We believe your organization saw 4 tourists ready to play golf at whatever cost, knowing full well that we probably weren't coming back, so what difference does it make if we aren't totally happy with our experience.

I must admit we do have pretty high standards. We play 3 different courses on a regular basis, Fleming Island Golf Club, Eagle Harbor, and Eagle Landing so we are spoiled with great conditions, a stellar staff willing to accommodate our needs, and course conditions far superior to LPGA International, especially for the price. And each course always alerts us to any conditions that are the exception to the rule.

The purpose of the email is to give LPGA International an honest assessment of our experience.

Too bad LPGA International wasn't honest with us.

Great experience, was paired with three members who were very nice people and fun to play with. Staff, especially the cart attendants are very friendly. Played the Hills course and the only reason I didn’t rate it a five is because the bunkers are in bad shape. Rest of the course is great.