Dwan Golf Club

Teed off after 10 am this morning when it was 40 degrees, overcast, foggy and breezy. Pace of play was bad with a foursome in front of us was already three holes behind the group in front of them, and this was after only 5 holes.

The course rangers rarely take steps to speed up play.

This must have been a special maintenance day. Fresh blue fertilizer was on the soaked greens and pins were tucked on most holes. A greenskeeper was also aggressively watering fairways and tee boxes, spraying many golfers, myself included, to make sure we were all wet and cold as we often waited to hit our shots.

The bunkers continue to be subpar, often with insufficient sand and a hardened dirt base.

The course continues to charge its regular, over-priced fees late in the golf season.

I've played Dwan for years and pay higher than expected green fees because the course has been very well maintained with fast greens. This year the maintenance has been less than stellar and pace of play has become slower. The greens seem to have many ball marks that either haven't been repaired or. If repaired, left noticeable depressions in the green. The sand in some bunkers seems to be mixed with mud and forming clods of mud/sand that interfere with play. Some bunkers lack adequate sand. One sand trap (on hole 8) appeared to be a dumpling ground for sand, leaving my ball 3 inches below the surface. Pace of play on this short par 68 is increasingly an issue with some rounds this year taking 1.5 hours. There are no senior rates. At $64 per round with cart on a glorified executive course seems a bit much. The course is popular, though, so I assume management sees no need to do better on maintenance or fees if golfers are lining up to play here.

Love playing Dwan. Great course, easy to play. Staff is always nice.

Dwan Golf Club is a pretty little parkland style suburban course. The course is short and not very difficult, with the tips measuring 5,485 yards with a par of 68 and a 119 slope. Three other sets of tees run down to 4,033 yards, with the two shorter (women’s) tees being a par 72. The course property is gently sloping and undulating, but with no extreme elevation changes, making the course easy to walk. Fairways are smooth and generously wide and are lined with moderate tree cover. The rough was cut low enough that errant shots were fairly easy to find within the three minute time limit. The greens were smooth with no significant undulations, moderately fast, and rolled true. One off-putting characteristic of the course is that many of the fairways run parallel to each other, and without heavy tree cover separating them it is very possible for errant shots from one hole to threaten golfers on an adjacent hole. The number one handicap hole is the par 4 fifth, straightaway 380 yards. The fairway slopes significantly from left to right, which is good because the slope may keep some balls from going OB if they are pulled to the left. The dogleg right 480 yard par 5 twelfth hole features a large bunker on the inside corner which will penalize some golfers who try to cut the corner. Longer hitters can carry the bunker, but if they go too far they may find water which runs farther along the right side. Playing a safe tee shot to the left of the bunker is the best choice and should lead to a reasonable chance at par or even birdie. Probably the prettiest hole on the course is the 410 yard par 4 seventeenth. The fairway makes an almost ninety degree turn to the left at about 300 yards away from the tee, leading to an elevated green. Small trees and a pond run along the left side of the fairway so that trying to shorten the hole by hugging the left side can be risky. Taking this risk isn’t really necessary, because an average tee shot will leave a mid to long iron shot over the pond to the green. The light rough and short length of most holes leaves the course with only one defense- bunkers guarding the greens. Every green on the course has at least two bunkers, usually flanking the right and left front, and several greens also have bunkers around the back to deter those who would play it safe by going long. Single digit handicappers may not find Dwan to be their cup of tea, but for most average golfers it should provide a fun, interesting, and not too stressful round of golf. Try it!