Esplanade Golf & Country Club at Lakewood Ranch

Nice straight forward course. Water on most holes, but it does not come into play. Greens are still too hard since the course is new, but they will be great once they soften.

As a first timer, I wish the course was better marked with yardages, colored flags to indicate pin position, or had been mapped for my GPS. The lack of distance knowledge cost me a few shots.

I enjoyed getting a chance to play Esplanade a few weeks back. The fairways are somewhat on the hard side which I believe is due to the ground being fairly new. We played the back tees which allowed us to use our drivers on practically every tee. Fairways are large with several holes asking you to carry water or hazards on right or left. Greens were hard but weirdly not running fast which took some getting use to. The greens didn't allow for spiny type wedge shots so we adjusted for that also. Overall my group enjoyed the course and will be back at some point when things are more up and running to check out the operation. Not a hard course to work around I recommend it.

Not a very friendly staff as someone else noted. Fairways were a little shaggy and the greens were firm but in good condition. Nice practice facilities with separate driving range, chipping/sand & putting areas.

Only played 4 holes.
A strong storm closed the course.

The fairways and greens were great. Tee/hole markers and clubhouse will be updated as the development gets more inhabitted.

Definelty not a walking course.

Played as a single. It is a brand new facility so there are many things to be desired, in a year it should be better. Overall however each hole seemed to be the same. There are like 3 different hole layouts throughtou the 18. So after 14 holes it got really boring. But greens were interesting and condition was good

You will enjoy playing this new course. I played the silver tees & shot 76 which is good for me since I am a 7 hcp. The greens were slow but this will change because they are lush with a hybrid Bermuda. They had aerified the fairways & top dressed with sand, expensive to do, so with some good rain the fairways will be great soon. The greens are huge & fun to putt but be aware of pin placements that can increase or decrease your club selection. Have Fun.

Very young couse open to public for now but expect eventually will become private. Pretty wide open, some interesting holes. Great greens.

This course is brand new and has great greens. This is one of the best values in Manatee/Sarasota area.

This course plays hard and fast as it is very new. Don't expect your ball to hold on the green. Once it ages this course will definitely be a favorite. Have already recommended it to people and will be returning.

As the title says it is a great track for a serious round, fun with friends or introducing a new player to the game. The course conditions are firm yet playable. The course looks fantastic and while the 1st hole isn't that exciting and 18 doesn't really leave you wanting more, the rest of the course certainly does. The early holes are subject to the wind as there aren't any trees due to the community construction, but the trees that are in play will force you to properly place your tee shot or really need to work the ball for your 2nd shot.

The 6 pk of beer price is 14$ so a good deal there to split with friends. And the beverage cart ladies are really nice.

Course was in deplorable condition. Would not go back until conditions improve dramatically. For a new course very disappointing!

Course is new and fairways are not plush for a high end golf course. Boring golf course as there is construction going on all around. And all the new plants need to mature. In closing in about two years this will be a five star club. Waite to play.

This is a new course with beautiful surroundings and a great layout, fair to pretty difficult and quite interesting. However, the course conditions were poor. The tees were just okay, the greens very slow and somewhat bumpy and the fairway conditions were poor with many burnt-out areas. It sounded like they were having trouble withthe irrigation system and the fairways were not getting enough water.

As the course conditions improve over the next year or so, this course could become one of the best in the area. However, because of the mediocre conditions, we will definitely wait till next year to try this course again.

Wide open course in pretty good condition. Played on a windy day. Greens and fairways firmer than most local courses. Fairway grass thinning in many places. Greens putt true. Large distances between greens and next tee boxes on many holes.

This course was AWFUL. Truly an embarrasment for Lakewood Ranch. It might be a good course one day, but right now it's awful and should NOT be open for play. The grass was drier that hay for horses and there were many areas without grass. The greens reminded me of "Shaggy" from Scooby Doo. The only reason I can figure the course is open is because the developers need money. Short of that, the course needs to be closed and allow it to mature and to allow the grass to grow, that is IF they ever water it.

Nice Course. New, a lot of homesites being prepared, plantings still new, green good but slow. In a year should be fantastic.

overall a very good course for being as new as it is. Usually windy. Greens need to be cut and rolled. Good grass but slow.

Very pleased with the condition of the course, despite being brand new. It will only get better with age, and more challenging, as the landscape continues its maturation process. Greens were deceptively fast and well maintained. The practice facilities were fantastic...free balls at the range, putting greens, and both short and long distance chipping areas. Definitely visit this course if you haven't had the chance yet.

First time playing this course. Got there at 11:30am for a 12:02pm tee time. They were out of carts. Waited for a cart behind the clubhouse for about 10 minutes. Bag drop attendant came around with a cart and drove me to the driving range where he asked me to take my bag off the cart so he could drive the cart back to the bag drop. I asked why I couldn't keep the cart to which he replied that they were currently short on carts and he needed it. The starter then got upset with my one of our threesome when he asked about a cart for me. At least 20 people were on the range and putting green with tee times after ours that had carts. Finally got a cart and was on the first tee 10 minutes late. The entire situation made no sense.

They also were not staggering tee times. We were sent to the 1st tee while the group in front of us was still on the tee. Because of this, it was a slow first 5-6 holes before it started to spread out. After it thinned out a bit, the pace of play was good.

The course is absolutely beautiful. Beautiful green tees and fairways, albeit the fairways were cut too a bit too short. They should let them grow out a little bit. The greens were undulating and painfully slow. There was literally not a flat spot on any green and it seemed most holes were cut on the sides of hills. If the greens had been fast, putting would have been a lesson in futility. As it was, the greens were very long and slow and obvious side hill puts did not break. Missed many putts that showed a break but didn't. I guess I will take the long grass on these greens over slick greens based on the crazy hole locations.

I will definitely go back to this course once it grows in a bit. The layout is nice. Some easy holes, some challenging holes but overall a course that rewards a good shot but doesn't kill your score for a bad shot.

I have a 15 index, so some of the holes a bit long for me. Back is shorter. Played from silver tees. Greens very slow. Sand is very playable. Enjoyed course overall.