Forest Dunes Golf Club - Bootlegger Short Course

There are endless fun golf shots to hit on the bootlegger. You can really let your creativity flow and use your imagination on your way to holing out. It's a great walk, has a wide array of green complexes, and takes the award for the best views on property. Once it matures a little more, it'll easily be one of the best short courses around, and it's well on its way.

There are some things you should know about the Bootlegger before you get started.

1. As often as not, you may find shoes piled up by the first tee (people like to play it barefoot and this is not discouraged).

2. You may see really large groups playing together (I think the group in front of us was about 12 strong, this was *not* a pace problem at any point).

3. There will be music (there are speakers installed throughout the 10 holes).

The fun and loose environment of the Bootlegger is not an accident, it's the idea... and it's great.

All of the holes are relatively easy to play (the longest is the straight forward 1st, playing a whopping 119 during my round. Tee boxes are range matts that are re-positioned if a different length is wanted. I'm not a fan of matts in general but for essentially just pitching, it's just fun (I think it also helps ensure good contact and therefore a more enjoyable experience for everyone). I brought two clubs (GW/52) and my putter which proved to be one club too many (the 52 would have been fine) as most holes are between 80 and 90 yards.

You won't find it a challenge to hit many of the greens, but there is some play in them and some strategy to your approaches. There really is not any meaningful defense offered by the course either (again, the idea is to have fun). The only bunkers - for example - are safety nets in case of a long shot.

I wound up playing with someone from the Forest Dunes staff and letting them play first gave me some advanced intel on the course (for example, a couple holes where a slight miss to the left led to the ball trickling very nicely onto the green).

In speaking the the staffer I was playing with, the goal is to speed up the course so that it plays similarly to the Loop (read: FAST), but right now I'd say it plays more like the Dunes course (probably more like what you're used to at home). I gave the course conditions a 5 in my review, but that was based on my enjoyment of them, not a reconciliation of where the course hopes they will eventually be.

The greens fees for the Bootlegger are a little pricey at first glance ($49); however, you can play it all day long (after the 1:00pm first tee time, that is) so the value grows as you continue to play. Again, keep in mind, this is designed to be fun, not overly serious golf. We found ourselves really enjoying our conversation and taking one or sometimes two putts on the greens and picking up everything that was within a couple feet. You don't have to play it that way.. but it's also just fine to do so. And, even playing that way, we hardly waited at all for that group of 12 in front of us that I mentioned before. At an average of ~85 yards a hole, it's easy to keep moving, even in a large group.

Some of the tee boxes are a little cozy with the previous greens (close enough that I thought about it before I took my shot); but again, the course is so short that it never appeared to be an issue at all.

I thought it was a blast and will certainly spend time up there the next time to go to Forest Dunes. if you're staying on prem, get in in the afternoon, and play the following the morning (especially if that round is on the Dunes course), it would be a terrific way to spend your first afternoon... and also get in some short game work before you round the next day.

Many resorts are adding short courses to their property and FD finally did the same. Having played the Winter Park 9 in Florida, I wanted to play another course by these architects and sought out the Bootlegger course at FD. I was blown away by how much fun I had.

The greens are large and full of humps and twists and turns, that only add to the excitement if you need to make a recovery shot or end up in the wrong section of the green. The course is built near the Hilltop putting course and the greens are well positioned on this hilly portion of the property. The cost is a little high for a short course, but you can play as many times as you like.