Palmetto Golf Course

There appeared to be a relaxed attitude from the staff with respect to directing customer to starter. I was allowed to start 30 minutes before my 1:00pm te time. Single players were allowed to golf alone creating play through requests throughout the round. A twosome behind us drove into us twice before we let them through. They could have simply asked to play through. Another hit into us while on a green and another while we were on a tee box. It was like a firing range for the blind out there.
On a scale of 1-10 the greens were a 7, not what I expected for such a popular course. All in all, perhaps I should not complain since I got a great deal through GolfNow.com. Still, this is not one of those situations where you get what you pay for. It should not be that way with golf.

This course is challenging but the best part of this course is the customer service from all the employees.

Greens: 7
Fairways: 7
Bunkers: 6
Layout: 6
Difficulty: 6
Driving Range: Yes - mats only
Practice green: Yes - best practice green in Miami-Dade

The greens and fairways are in good condition and they have redone a few of their tee box's that needed attention, so those are now of respectable quality. There are still a couple holes where a portion of the green is burnt, roughly a square yard in size but in general they are very playable. They have made considerable efforts to increase the condition as of late, so perhaps in the near future I could rate the greens and fairways an 8.

As far as difficulty goes, most of the holes are pretty straight forward. If you go by the card the course runs 6206 from the whites and 6711 from the blues (there are no championship tees). Since a canal snakes throughout the course you will find it cutting through 9 holes, with 3 of them having it just infront of the teebox. There are non-canal water hazards on 2 other holes.

This is a par 70 course. The greens look ok because they keep them long and slow but putts are bumpy. This could be a challenging beautiful public course with a little effort. Sadly Dade County puts its money on Key Biscayne and CC of Miami rather than this course. New management is trying to make improvements and seems to be doing so but they are slow to come and long over due. The course has so much potential that isn't being met. It really needs a total makeover. Esthetically it is ugly. The holes themselves are challenging. A number of par 4's are tough to reach in two for the average golfer and the par 5's can't be reached in two because of trap placement. Many traps around the course, some in odd locations, but generally they don't maintain them or the landscaping well. Fallen palm fronds are everywhere. Yard markings on the course are not well maintained either. On weekends, the restaurant doesn't open before 10am so forget a coffee or breakfast before your round and no beverage cart on the course. Occasional water fountains but no water coolers on the course. Hole #9 has palm trees along the tee box to keep you from hitting it straight down the fairway and forces you to the left ruff or into the 8th fairway which slows things down on the course and is a potential hazard. The 10th tee has some strange and largely ineffective screen to keep a person from hitting it into the road next to the course but forces you to hit the ball into the left rough. Careful if you hit it right of the green on #7, you might get hit by a tee shot from the 8th tee box. The par threes are long and challenging. The layout is challenging, the maintenance leaves a lot to be desired. There is water, mostly canals running horizontal on most holes, but it is more a nuisance than esthetically placed near greens etc. The course designer obviously didn't use the water in any effective way in the design of the course. Regrettably if you are in South Dade there aren't many other better options and the price is reasonable.

This course could be terrific,but it is poorly maintained. The sand traps are not edged and they need attention. Most fairways are ok and most of the greens are ok. The rough is terrible as tree leaves and branches are left to rot on many holes. This course needs a couple of workers who are not afraid to work and clean it up.