Olde Liberty Golf & Country Club

I’ve played this course a few times and today was great. Pace of play was quick, course was in really good shape for the most part, greens were great. For the money you can’t go wrong. Love the new carts as well!

Most grass I've seen in the fairways in over a year.....

yes, the sand traps still are played as GUR, greens had been top dressed but were good. This is a great layout...some good, strong par 4's. New golf carts so you don't have to worry about getting stranded way out from the club house (trailer). Give it a try and keep an open mind!

I played this course for the first time on a Friday at .7:30am I’m the morning. As a lady golfer, new to NC, I was hoping to have a relaxing round of 18 holes through this beautiful riparian course.

When I arrived , the computer was down so I checked in but no one could say if I had been paired with anyone for my round. There was no starter sheet. There was another gentleman there who stated that he played the course often, had the same start time, but insisted on going off alone. I let him get ahead and went off after him— keeping him in sight for the entire round. The course had some delightful forced carries and interesting approaches. The out of bounds were really wild but it was easy to stay away from them. However once in awhile I found myself in high grass that should have been marked as out of bounds.

The first hole from the yellow and white tees was refreshing and I made it in 4 . However, there had been rain the night before— and the course did not drain. On the next hole I lost my ball in some deep water in a sand trap! I thought of wading into the water to hunt for my ball— but I could not reach the depths with my longest club.

Hole #12 was horrible. There had been some major erosion on the hill to the left of the green. Even though the signs for “No CARTs beyond this point” we’re out- they were not sufficient. The wheels of my cart was caught on the eroding downslope and my wheels spun for a second or 2 without gripping . I thought my cart was going to turnover!

After that I noticed the signs of erosion at every transition. There are wooden bridges between holes. The planks of the bridges had been chewed up with wear and every one of them needs to be replaced. You can see through the planks to the ground beneath.

The last hole #18 was very pleasant. This hole requires a carry over a depression of trees onto an upsloping fairway. A 200 yard hit put me in great shape to make par. This was the only fairway that was drained well enough for me to use my fairway wood. The next shot of 180 yards put me within winking distance of the green ( and my “partner”) . I wondered why the grounds crew did not work as hard on holes 2-17 as they seem to have done on holes 1 and 18.

Post game, there was no food. I had my bag of nuts and bottle of water . I caught up with the gentlemen who played before and after me. Both admitted that they play Old Liberty often but that they believed that the course was not well kept. They played because it wasn’t crowded. We joked about loosing a ball or two due to drainage— and that’s when they told me about the snakes. On other courses the management places signs to warn about critters that could challenge a golfer. This is the least that Olde Liberty could do.

I played the other three courses in this four-course group, leaving this one for last, which may not have been the most fair order for Olde Liberty. The other three - Eagle Ridge , Riverwood and Hedingham - are in better shape and are also very good tracks. Eagle Ridge is probably the best.

Olde Liberty has some great challenges, interesting doglegs, and picturesque Par 3s. It even has a few very pretty views. However, many of the holes have some large areas with bald spots and shabby patches. The greens were OK. It had rained a few times in the past week, and most cart paths had been washed over with dirt. In 18 holes I never saw any maintenance people, no cart refreshments or even a starter/ranger. The “clubhouse” is a converted double-wide. I asked for some ice from the person who checked me in, and he said they only give you a cart cooler (the kind that attaches to the cart) if you buy beer. There was a big pile of those coolers behind the grille counter.

Anyway, it’s a nice course with interesting holes and really deserves some more attention. I would play it again.

The greens are always in excellent condition. The fairways are mostly okay but there are several red clay areas that can cause a runaway on your shot. Bring your best game because some holes are quite challenging and tight. Overall, I recommend this course and have added it to my list of courses to revisits.

Overall from the outside looking in it appears that this course has some potential but once the actual play began you realize just how difficult and uncared for the course is. There were weeds growing out of multiple sand traps and sand all throughout the actual course itself and we couldn't even push our actual tee's into the ground at the tee box because it was so hard.

If you are going to go out to this course expect to play on sand pretty consistently.

I wouldn’t recommend this course to a beginner. It was definitely difficult, which is good because it is supposed to be a challenge. The greens had been recently aerated so putting was a little more challenging. Overall it’s a fun course

Another of the Fred Sheyacht courses!! His business model is JUST CUT THE GRASS!!… Could be a top ten course in the area but not from the penny pinching Freddy!!!! Rock hard dirt playing surface! Breaking tees just trying to put in the ground at the tee box????!!! They are so cheap that they punched the greens and didn't even put sand in the holes????? I HAVE NEVER MADE A PUT BEFORE THAT ZIG-ZAGGED on the way to the hole?????? Stay far away until it is under new management!!!

I live near the coast in south eastern North Carolina. Visiting the area I had read great reviews for this course and the other courses associated with this one. This course fit into the time frame so I decided to give it a shot.

This was one of the worse experiences on a golf course I have ever had. You could not get a tee into the ground on the tee boxes because they were so hard, the greens were aerated and had huge round holes in the greens, bare spots in the fairways, and the golf carts were not working properly. You were instructed to pop the seat up and hit the starter one good time to make the cart work properly again.

If I would have paid $40.00 for this round of golf I would have been even more aggravated than I was. I would stay away from this course and I will not be returning!!

Pros: they have a driving range

Cons: -fairways are 50% grass 50% dirt

-tee boxes are impossible to get a tee down

-greens aren’t great

- carts are in horrible condition. Our first cart couldn’t park. The second cart we switched to after the turn would only start after hitting the gas 2 or 3 times

- there’s no snack bar

Overall if you want to spend money on 18 holes of golf, there are many other places that’ll give you a much better experience without having to tear up your clubs trying to hit off dirt and rocks. I honestly don’t know how Fred Smith can have people pay to play here with a good conscience. It should cost 5-10$ to play here. I never complain about the courses I play at but this was ridiculous

Other than the greens being punched, the course itself was in pretty good shape. Yes there were some fuzzy tee boxes and spotty fairways, but, overall - not bad. The layout is fun and mixes things up including some short par 4's you can tempt fate by going for, reachable par 5's, and clearly indicated lay-up zones giving you the option to challenge or play it safe. A few blind shots off the tee keep it interesting and you can use more clubs than you are used to in your bag due to the overall layout and elevation changes.

Now for the bad - OUCH! Beware the cart "paths" as they are more like broken riverbed trails. Some of the fairways also had their share of "surprise - you are 3 feet off the seat" bumps that I didn't spot easily. I may walk this course, (if they allow that) when I return as I think it would be easier on my back and tailbone. Only complaint though on this otherwise fun, friendly course.

I love this course. It has its bumps but the greens are great and consistent. There are challenges all over the course and the par 3s are anything but gimmes especially from the blues. You realize quickly that you get to use a lot of different clubs in your bag due to the layout

Had a 12:40 PM tee-off time...waited 20 mins for 2 carts to become available...2nd cart lost power on 12th hole...fairways have spotty hard clay... poorly managed...staff uninterested in accommodating players

The greens were actually ok for the most part. However the rest of the course was not in very good shape. So many of the fairways were just dirt mounds with very little grass. Had to play lots of shots as grounds under repair because of the lack of grass. The course has a wonderful layout but it has to be in the worst shape of all the Fred Smith courses. The golf carts are in such bad shape. One cart wouldn’t start regularly and the other one had a flat tire after 5 holes. That was after we had to wait for golf carts to become available. If only they would invest a little money, it could be a great course to play.