Bowes Creek CC

Just played today. We paid $ 69 the golf course is in great shape. I wouldn’t pay any more to play but with that said we had a great round on a fun track. I just took one star off not a fan of hitting off mats on a practice range.

The course is nice and in great shape but is not worth the cost of $ 96. The facilities are nice and they give you free access to the range but I can play just as nice courses for $ 40 less then Bowes Creek.

Played the course for the first time this past Sunday and was extremely impressed with all aspects of my experience. The pace of play was better than expected for a Sunday as we played in just over 4 hours. The course was challenging as we played the blue tees at a 138 slope. The course has many elevation changes and few parallel fairways, with only a few houses along the 18^th fairway. Great course, I can’t wait to play it again!

The «bar area». Here is where it gets interesting and you did NOT hear this from me — -
The bar area is nice. Fine. I get it. It is a country club, not a bar in Cicero, no offense to Cicero.
HOWEVER– if they have the same lady behind the bar you should know that unless you are a regular, she WILL ignore you. I waited 30 mins. in between each beer. This happened 3x, and she served everyone first but me on each visit. Even when it came time to make change for beer #1 and #2, these long delays happened as she often left the bar, spoke to other «regulars» and flat out ignored me, and my friend as well, and both of us were polite, well dressed, and cash paying customers, so I ask what is up?

I had given this a 5 star review, now I am reversing gears. They (Bowes and Highlands) seem to have a running dispute with GolfNow and are making their patrons pay for it. They are bait and switching offering member for a day for a price advertisement and when you get there they tell you to check the fine print on your receipt (after you already paid) that it is an up-​charge. Plan to file formal complaint.

I wasant going to even put in a Unilocal about this golf course because I didnt want people to know about it… then I thought to myself, nah I’ll Unilocal it… let my peeps know whats up.
We played from the tips (back tees) 6800 yards.
The cart had a touch screen GPS and was quite impressive actually. What’s even more impressive (but pissed me and my buddy off) was that the cart would slow down on its own if you werent where you were supposed to be. No b/​s it shut us down, flashed on the GPS and said return to course… we were off the cart path by no more then 40 yards, WTF! LOL.
Back to the course… really nice. The greens werent beat up too bad and the fairways and tee boxes were good as well. There’s alot of challenging holes, the 18^th is a great way to finish the round.
$ 39 after 3 on weekdays… dont pass it up Unilocalers, for real.

One of the newest golf courses in the area, I have had the opportunity to play numerous times. Here is my take:
Clubhouse: For a new golf course, they could have done more, in my opinion. Everything on the inside looks great, but the outside just looks tacky to me. Not sure what it is exactly, but the outside looks like stucco siding with cheesy golf decorations. Inside is beautiful dark wood decorations and you get the feeling of some class. Locker room is small and leaves something to be desired.
Driving Range: One of the best in the area in terms of amenities, but I have a huge pet peeve about the driving range. How can you get accurate distances when you are hitting balls 10 to 20yds above the landing areas? I’ve never really seen this before where you are hitting into a valley. It will mess with your yardages. Boxes are well kept and its nice having a «pyramid» of balls waiting for you. Great bunker area to work on that part of your game. Would be nice if the chipping/​pitching area was better maintained though.
Practice green: Long and thin. Roughly 9 holes avail to practice on. Really only good for 4 guys at a time though. It is located right next to the 1^st tee so you can practice all the way up to your first tee shot, which I really like.
Course: I really like the course. Fairways are pretty wide in most places and the rough isn’t too bad. Just keep the ball out of the bunkers or anywhere near the bunkers! For those that have played the course, you know what I mean. For those of you that haven’t, and do hit into the eyebrows, I’m sorry. The greens are taking a beating at this course though. I’m not sure what it is, but routinely 4 greens are under repair, always. Its like they can’t get grass to grow and stay on them. Just a sandy collar surrounding some of them. Unfortunate. When the greens are in good shape, the ball rolls nicely. This past year, Bowes upgraded their GPS system from something that was a joke, to something that is NO JOKE. Easily the best GPS system on a course anywhere in this area!
Staff: This is where I think Bowes excels. You arrive, and there is a bag attendant to take you bag and get you set up in a cart. The staff inside the pro-​shop has always been nice to myself and my guests. The starter at the 1^st tee is always pleasant and talkative. I usually see the ranger on the course 3 different times when I am out there, and he does try to keep pace of play moving. When you finish at 18 and bring the cart in, there is a bag boy asking to clean your clubs. All of these things make my round that much more enjoyable.
Food: Major loss of points here for me. While I expect to be upcharged for food and drinks on a golf course, I feel Bowes takes it overboard here. $ 4 for an Arnold Palmer that was probably bought at the local Costco for $ 0.40? Hot Dog and a drink at the turn can easily set you back $ 10, and that is unacceptable to me. Because I know this though, I come prepared with Granola Bars. The bar inside is really nice. I love the atmosphere. Again, they overcharge for the beer and whatnot, but I don’t feel it’s as bad as at the snack shop. The restaurant has undergone management changes already, and I am not real impressed with the menu. Stick with the bar and you should be happy.
Overall: The number one consideration you need to make on playing this course has to be when you play. You can normally play for $ 59 or less during the week, but on the weekends, they jack the rate up to $ 98. These rates are good for unlimited golf, so there are options. If you are playing on the weekend and only want to play 18 holes, I say find some place else. $ 98 is robbery. If you can get 36 in though, then it becomes worthwhile. I would pay $ 59 or less at anytime to play 18 holes here, weekday or weekend. Its a good course that should only get better as it grows into itself.

Club House staff is neither helpful nor friendly. Keeping in mind that this is a new course wouldn’t you think that the Club house staff would at least pretend to be courteous? It should also be noted that I had a friend who played on another day and gave the same negative feedback…
At $ 95.00 per round this PUBLIC course is WAY over priced. Other then quality greens and overall well kept grounds there are virtually no redeeming qualities.
Save your money and play elsewhere!