Hilldale Golf Club

My first round at Hilldale was 4 decades ago well prior to the "redesign" of the 16th and 17th holes which always had flooding issues. This round I'd estimate was at least my 20th round at this RT Jones mess...it had been awhile...maybe 10 years since I've last bothered to play Hilldale. It's never been a favorite of mine....but it's popular with the locals, usually decently priced and in good shape. Even years ago the course was a test of navigating around a bunch of trees to hard rock greens where if you're short sided or putting 40 plus feet away you have to be on your game to keep a ball close. Some of the green slopes can be too severe in areas and longer putts could have two or even 3+ different breaks. A perfectly struck nine iron on the uphill par 3 4th landed on the very front of the green and still went over it. When crowded slow play abounds-the course was not overly busy but our group still were held up quite a bit...round was well over 4 hours and might have even took close to 5 hours. To score course knowledge is absolute mandatory on most holes. Nothing is straight forward here. Hit an off line shot it's usually a severe penalty. It will amaze you to be a mere twenty feet off the cut fairway surface and behind a tree with only a shot sideways. It will amaze you to be in the fairway and then be required to hit a towering wedge over a 60 foot high tree.....or having to hit a punch shot under/around it. The 12th hole always has been a poorly designed pace killing short par 4....14th and 15th holes are now over treed to the point where they are borderline unplayable. Facilities have held up fairly well. There's still a locker room which desperately needs renovation, driving range off mats and practice putting green but you have to walk quite a distance just to get in the pro shop, bathrooms or even the halfway house/bar.....which makes navigating the turn extremely slow to get hot dog & beverages unless you know where you are going. A beverage cart was out....and on a weekday prior to Memorial day which was nice to see.

I'm will "reluctantly" recommend Hilldale for play....but absolutely it's not for me. Hilldale is a solid three stars but I'm downgrading it to 2 stars. We finished our round at 540pm and everything was locked up already - no post round beverage....and even worse there were no post round bathrooms available. That's unacceptable.

the course was awful. every putt my ball jumped, dandelions everywhere so if you have a yellow you will never find it. fairway grass needs to be cut. I usually enjoy playing this course but it's not to the level it was before.

Not the greatest course but Im a crappy golfer who just likes to get out. $29 with a cart is worth it

The grounds were soft due to 2 days of rain. Understandably, they were not able to mow the greens as well. The course has a nice lay-out and fun to play. I recommend this course.

Great course! Under the conditions there weren’t a lot of players out, it was light rain. Course played very nice, staff was super friendly and attentive. I will be scheduling more rounds at this course!

We were thinking no way we can't play afterr a ring that's all like that the hilldale had it drained and ready to go and they were on top of their game Great job hilldale And thanks for everyon I don't made it work..

I played Hilldale with my friends on Saturday and it's a great course!! Honestly, my expectations were low due to most my friends never heard of it (we play a lot around the city), the pictures were ok, and the price point. But, we were wrong! The course is GREAT. It is super challenging (if playing tips), nice variations of holes, really really well maintained, and overall a 5-star course. The course was already in great shape in April! Note: the Ranger joked that it gets much harder in the summer - they increase the speed of greens. Also, the Staff in the club house was super nice (spoke to them twice) and the rangers & starters were all great. You must add this to your list to paly.

This is a well maintained course with some unique holes. But one huge negative and it is huge. Pace of play is horrendous with no rangers moving things along. People spending way too much time with practice swings and looking for balls. This has been the 3rd time in a row the round has lasted over 4 1/2 hours. I deal with it since the course is nice and the price is fair but I draw the line at 5 1/2 hours regardless of price.

Play was very slow. No golf now credits or weekly promo codes were allowed