Laura S. Walker State Park

Teeing off at 2:00 pm in Georgia can be a rather warm experience, and my afternoon at The Lakes at Laura S Walker state park was no exception; by 2:10 I had a nice sweat going. Fortunately, this really isn’t a bad place to be, if you have to be overheated. With plenty of trees and forested areas, The Lakes does offer some escape from direct sunlight, and some lovely scenery as you make your way around the course.

Relatively flat, this course relies on a lot of turns and strategically placed bunkers for defense. In particular, they are fond of having traps on the inner elbow of their doglegs so any attempt to cut a corner that comes up short will result in sand play on your second shot. Number 12 also uses a large bunker in the center of the fairway to mitigate the relative shortness of the hole.

The Par five 13th is also a good example of the angles and trees used for green protection with your third shot needing to navigate a gap in a stand of trees into a green protected on the left by approaches from the center or left hand side of the fairway and on the right from anything coming from the right. I often ignore pin placement sheets before my rounds, but on this hole it would be a good idea to know the position before beginning in order to maximize your second shot.

There are also… some other hazards to avoid… The course’s web site mentions alligators as a hazard of play and on this track, this proved to be quite true. We ran into several along the way, two of them “in play” sun bathing along the left hand side of the fairway on the 8th hole. Relatively docile in the afternoon heat, given 20 yards or so of space, they didn’t seem to really pay any attention to use at all (since the course won the 2011 “best place to hook a kid on golf” national aware, I felt comfortable with the staffs comments that the gators don’t pose any real threat as long as you give them a bit of space). There are all sort of critters living around the course, including the largest turtle population I have ever seen. In short there’s no shortage of things to see as you make your way around this course.

The victim of intense heat and not much in the way of rain when I played there, you can still see how nice this course could be with a bit more water. As mentioned above trees are plentiful and the course makes good use of the three ponds scattered across the property. The fairways, in general are fairly generous and you can certainly keep the ball in bounds with average striking; however, be aware that a truly wayward shot is likely gone as the forested areas get pretty thick and a ball hit in there is likely lost.

The staff was exceedingly friendly/welcoming and the pace of play was great (although in the heat of the day the course was fairly sparsely populated). As you might guess by the 6000 yard length and 68.9/119 rating/slope (from the whites where I played, it does stretch to 6600/71.9/122 from the back), it’s not the toughest course you’ll ever play; but, sometimes, it not about the challenge. If I had it to do over again, I’d make sure I got an early morning start time for my round; however, other than that I think The Lakes is well worth you time.

You'd be hard pressed to find better golf anywhere with a price under $40.00 (really cheap when booked with Golfnow-$14.00). When the extreme weather we have here in south ga hasnt taken its complete toll, the course will be in excellent condition. It can be quit a challenging course, unlike most courses under $40.00 that simply allow you to slam a driver out to straight away, wide FW's. It isnt very long, but if shots stray to far right or left it is a penalty (gone in the woods and water!). The best feature, IMO, is the solitude the course offers; no homes, highways, trains, etc, just you and the course, with each hole seemingly all by itself as well. I highly recommend this course to every golfer out there. You're doing yourself a disservice if you love golf and dont give The Lakes at least a single play.

Reasonably challenging and unique layout. Course in good condition despite lack of rain. Recommend, and will play it again.

The greens at Laura Walker have returned.

Smooth & slick.

Fairways are greening up.

Tee boxes were aerified this past week...should be great by First of April.

Keep your eyes peeled for the Big Gator!!!

The only complaint is that the Waste Bunkers are in serious need of attention.

WISH IT WAS CLOSER TO MY HOME. NICE COURSE AT GOOD PRICE. SOME GREAT HOLES.

Course has good layout. Staff was excellent. Course is in rough shape. If not for staff would have been a wasted day. If the course was in better shape it's worth the ride.

Greens were in fair shape as well as fairways. Nice layout for the average golfer. Not too long but still challenging.

Dead hardpan greens were our biggest complaint

Bumpy and hard greens can't hold an approach shot and are lousy to putt also. Should spend some extra $ and overseed greens for the winter. Rest of course was good with pleasant staff.

We drive past several courses in NE Florida to play this course a few times per year. The fairways are in good shape and the layout is scenic. The greens are good but somewhat slick with the winter weather. Staff here is always friendly and helpful.

My son and I, had a great day, greens were nice. Really fun to play, will be back soon to play again.

Nice peaceful course.Golfer friendly layout except for # 8 & 17. Much much improved. Give it a try when in the area.

Played this course for the first time, and really fell in love with it. Played 3 more times during the week. The staff was awesome and extremely friendly. The course Pro was very helpful and quite funny. Would definitely recommend this course to anyone. There is something to be said about hitting the fairway, which is critical on this course. the Bermuda rough is deep and tough to get the club head thru. Course was in great shape from tee to green. This is two courses in one, the front nine is more traditional while the back nine is a links style. Very challenging.

My son & I played an early round. The ground crews were playing catch up from a heavy rain the day before but course is in pretty good shape. Greens were nice. The huge waste bunkers that define some of the holes have not been maintained.

Had a great time on our first trip to this course. Super friendly staff, to include the cafe' staff. Other than the greens, the tee boxes and fairways were in great shape. The greens were not good. Speaking with the Marshal, he stated that for some reason, the greens didn't come back this spring, but they are working on getting them back. I'd call ahead of time and inquire on the green conditions before I went back., Oh, and one hole, the entire hole from teebox to green was dead, and brown, but still playable.

I've been playing here for years & have never seen the greens in this bad of shape. We drove an hour to play & we're very disappointed. I was told after we finished that in May the course is closing for 2 months, that's how bad it is. Right now it's worth $10. The pro shop should be telling people when they book what they are in for. We play once a week & never would have came if we had known the course conditions. The course is normally in excellent condition, one of the best around.

The Course plays very well, normally not very crowded. But expect to two putt about every time, no matter how close you are to the pin...the greens are in very bad shape. There is hardly any grass, and they are choppy in several areas, a ball won't hold a line at all, and forget sticking it on the green. Bunkers need raked, very hard in places. I'd recommend the course every other spot, fairways are very nice, and the ladies in the shop are so friendly! Course has a beautiful natural layout, just got to get the greens fixed and quickly.