Lake Wales Country Club

Given the path taken by Hurricane Ian I was happy to find Lake Wales was open Saturday (only two days after the hurricane). Actually playing the course was even more impressive. They were not cart path only, there was no ponding in the fairways. Yes, there were still some downed branches being removed from the rough and the bunkers, but, the course was open and was in good condition.

Thanks to an impressive crew! It can't have been easy, but it was very nice to have a chance to play and relax after a stressful week for the area.

This was the second time in the last few weeks that my regular course has been closed due to heavy rains, and this course has not only been open, but relatively dry (not even puddling in bunkers). So this is a definite go to during the rainy season. They had recently aerated the greens, so between the sand and moisture they were slow. The aeration was well done though and there were no big bumps from holes or fine rocks.

Considering I had screwed up and booked a Friday tee time instead of the intended Saturday, the pro-shop was gracious and let us play. We finished 18 holes (started on the back due to a tournament), in 3 hours 15 minutes, so the pace of play was awesome.

This is a very nice course with a ton of upside potential. The fairways, roughs and tee boxes are in pretty dire condition right now, but still playable.

The greens were all very nice however and rolled true, which shows promise.

The course was littered with utility flags which also offers promise of better days to come.

The property of the golf/tennis area are in definite need of rehabilitation to revive this beautiful venue. Maybe start with replacing the 1970’s soda machine by the tennis courts and offering water throughout the course for a start. Your bar/restaurant serve good food and drink, but is uninspired and not inviting. We have patronized this before and have been very happy with food and service in the past.

I/ we will return and keep playing and we hope the course returns to its better glory days as it is fun to play here and the views are beautiful.

Best wishes

A friend and I played here on a Hot Deal from GolfNow.com. I wouldn't play here again until greens and fairways improve.

I'm a fan of Donald Ross courses, and have played several. This course is not that long (which is nice for me, since I'm not a long hitter), but...the fairways had thin to no grass in a number of places, and the soil was soft and loamy, so...even though the course wasn't wet (after the first couple of holes), there wasn't much roll, and even a couple of embedded balls. As usual for Donald Ross the course is well bunkered including several strategically positioned fairway bunkers. Very little water for a Florida course, and in all but two cases the water is lateral. So only a couple of short forced carries.

Overall it was fun, but...there are other Donald Ross courses in the area that are in better condition and are about the same price.

Tee boxes weren’t the best, but you could get to a decent spot on each box. The fairways were a little bare in spots and not much grass. Greens were in great shape, rolled really good.

The greens and most of the tee boxes are in good shape but the fairways have a lot of thin, or no grass areas that just shouldn't be the case in the middle of a Florida summer. The course layout is well bunkered, but tee shots are fairly open, and the couple of forced carries off the tee are short. Water (other than the three forced carries) is all lateral, and mostly on the left, so not a big risk for the average amateur with a fade.

I like Donald Ross courses, having played several. In this area Bartow is a better conditioned Donald Ross course, but this was nice as a change up on a week when the home course had just been aerated.

Well… I’m pretty sure Donald Ross didn’t intend for these conditions when he built the course a 100 years ago. It’s soooo bad. The first red flag was the dilapidated bag drop. The 2nd one was the empty pro shop. The tee boxes are 2/3 bare. The fairways are (if you can even define were they start and stop) is patchy. By patchy l mean you need to find a patch of grass that exists. When the app asked if l landed in the fairway l wanted to answer - maybe… The bunkers are semi-defined, and thin. The greens were coated with this fine sand/powder mix. When you putt it would leave a trail, but usually it was not a complete line. It was a dash, dash, dash, because the ball bounced so much. It’s such a shame, because the layout was classic Ross. Green to tee were close. Elevated greens. Multiple options - driver or 3W. Loved the layout. I bet it was amazing 20-40 years ago. There was one good thing. I played it in literally 2 hours. There were literally 6 cars in the parking lot. That’s where the good ended.

The only good thing to say was the greens were in great shape. Everything else needs work. Pumps are broke so grass is crispy and sparse on the fairways.

Golfnow charged $44 per person...that is $12 more (per person and that was with my $10 monthly tee time credit) than if I called the course. Could have paid $32 which is a very fair price for the course. Manager said he has called but GN hasn't fixed it. Still at winter rates. Book through the course for better deal!

Greens in great shape and I can see the improvements under the new ownership in the bunkers and on the fairways. Great staff and pace of play when I was there. I'll definitely keep going back, but I'll book through the proshop. Happy with the course and my day of golf...not happy with GN. Sorry in advance to the person that takes my call. I don't pay $200 a year for Golfpass/Golfnow to get the wrong rates!

They are replacing the greens on the back 9 so had to play the front 9 2times they did not say anything about it at the time of booking had no Idea till I go there the 9 I did play where in pretty good spake over all the fair ways need a little help but over all not to bad nice people

Enjoyable game at Lake Wales. Arrived early and after friendly welcome in pro shop were allowed off early to get ahead of large group. This is a great Donald Ross layout with really good smooth greens. Would have rated the course as 4* but for the fairways which were not great. We played preferred lies and would suggest this for all.

This course very much worth visiting - play preferred lies and enjoy this great layout

Good ol Lake Wales CC. It’s a fun layout and the conditions are very playable. The greens are always pretty good and they are getting better. The whole course is showing signs of the owners putting some money into it. It’s one of those places that’s too good to let go down. Go play and help them with what they’re doing. Keep up the good work!

We travel back and forth between the coasts often. Always try and book a round here. Usually a fairly quick round and a beautiful layout. Rough around the edges(tees/fwys), but greens were in great shape. I like this place…

Radar was showing most areas around Wnter Haven with storms coming in, Lake Wales was close by, took a chance, made the drive.

Certainly you can see and feel this course was a shrine / mecca in it's heyday, likely in the 80's strolling through the facility clubhouse - the history is obvious. These days it is running on shoestring funds kind of just hanging on waiting for a rescue makeover.

Paid more on Golfnow than the counter rate about $8. No big deal. Using the app is easy, peace of mind, and worth that $8.

Glad I experienced the course, certainly not busy at all on a Saturday mid day tee time.