Lakewood National Golf Club - Commander Course

First time playing this course and found it to be very challenging. Course is in excellent condition the greens are true but very fast...undulation on every green. If you make it on the green in regulation, expect to three put - but don't hold your breath because you could four or five putt. Very large greens. A must play course but bring your "A" game. We had a lot of fun even if I did shot 98 from Palmer tee box...that's bad for me. I will return to redeem myself. The greens are what made my score so high.

The worst thing is the "automatic shut off system" on the carts. Its RIDICULOUS. Just holds up play.

Toughest and largest greens you will find anywhere in absolutely pristine condition and very fun to play.

My favorite Palmer design.

The only issue that was confusing was the cart path. One of the best courses in the area. Design was excellent..

Course is good condition and pace of play was fine. Basically, 18 driving ranges with a tricked up green at the end. Most greens were three putted and I think somebody got up and down once. Some of the pin placements were automatic three putts if you were above the hole. Not particularly scenic.

Well what can i say it to 3 hrs and 15 min to play THE FRONT 9 i loved the look of the course and the grounds were amazing althoug they need to put more water out and let the players know if there is a tournament or charity event so we can plan to stand around back 9 was awesome pase of play picked up but other than that absolutely beautiful definitely will go again

Nice wide open course with 5 par 5's and 5 par 3's. Greens are huge and they play as hard and fast as a pool table. Great sand in the bunkers. The par 5's are reachable in 2 shots if the wind isn't in your face cause the ball just keeps rolling down the fairway. There are really no amenities and barely any water on the course but thats only because its still under construction. DON'T rely on your google maps to get you to this location its on the left about 2 miles east of the interstate.

Lakewood National would remind you of a higher end course in Michigan, finally a few hills to play.

Green are true and undulating, it was a welcome change to a lot of the greens we have been playing, you can actually have a 100 foot putt on a couple of holes. It is beautifully maintained, the staff is very friendly, ask for Tina the cart girl she is a true gem.

The course layout was great and well manicured with great greens. We played the first nine in a little over two hours while having to wait on a few holes. We were a threesome so that is expected. On the back nine, we had to wait multiple minutes on every shot with no ranger in sight. When I got off the course and commented on this, the staff member said you just had to wait when it is like that. I won't go back for a five hour and fifteen minute round of golf.

Considering the course is new, the conditions were good, especially the challenging greens. However, the course needs rangers to monitor pace of play - the round took nearly 5 hours.

While in good condition tough for a first time player of course. Many blind shots and very tough greens. Big error if land in the wrong part of green.

Course was in very good condition. Excellent pace of play. Light rain the back nine but enjoyed my 2nd visit. Course app not updated for garmin watch but

Cart had GPS. Range balls included to loosen up before hand.

Staff was great. Greens are hard since they are so new, but they putted true and consistent. Tees and fairways in great shape. I've always liked Palmer designs as I feel they can be very playable or quite tough dependent on the tees. We played the National tees at about 6,400 yards and it was quite playable. A few tight drives, but mostly open fairways. A bigger variance between short par 4's ( a couple around 300 yards) & long par 4's ( a couple well over 400 yards) than typical. Fun course, fun day.

Big fairways very tough greens to read. Aim for the front of the greens because the ball rolls pretty good. Also they don't break as much as they appear. Great challenging course. Slope 130 if you play the national. Enjoy!!

I have played this course 12 times and it is one of my top three favorite courses in the Sarasota Bradenton area. The greens are very, very challenging. You can actually have a 100 foot putts on this course. It is difficult to lose a ball as it's very wide open.

Pros:

Wide fairways and great greens

Greens are huge with a lot of undulations

Bunkering looks great and they have good quality sand in there

A drivable par 4 with a bail out and a hazard

Bunker placement causes a lot of illusions

Nice practice facility

New carts and the GPS are nice

Cons:

Some holes have rough (course quality) some holes have rough? (Backyard quality). It's weird, not sure the purpose of this

The golf carts have a field range on the course. If you exceed the range on a hole the cart locks up and tells you to reverse yourself out of where you are. Sounds neat but I got locked out of the rough on the first hole. Literally 2 yards off the fairway and I had to reverse back on to it haha

My putting (not an issue with the course but it can really hamper you because of the green difficulties)

Course is really young. It'll be great once trees open up, landscape grows in.

We have played the course 3 times. The staff have been excellent each time. Since the course is so new, the landscaping and cart paths are still under development, and there is no restaurant on site. However we expect the course to be wonderful when we return next year. Wide ope n layout with very difficult greens. A fun experience.