Played a majority of my rounds at Woodstone CC, my current club in Northeast, PA.
The best of the rest...
Schuhlkyll Country Club: (local, private) originally a 9-hole layout designed by Willie Park, Jr. and then redesigned to an 18-hole layout by Donald Ross. Very fun layout, with some incredibly challenging greens. Course is always in great condition, and wish I lived 20 minutes closer - otherwise I would join there. It's an old, traditional layout with tree-lined fairways and smallish, lightning fast greens.
Moselem Springs: (local, private) a Fazio design that opened back in 1964. A traditional parkland layout with difficult greens, with lots of elevated tees and elevated greens. Hosted the Women's US Open back in 1968, a real gem of a layout all these years later.
Berkleigh Golf Club: (local, public) designed by Carnoustie, Scotland resident Robert White back in 1917, who relocated to the US and became the first PGA of America president. This facility was private up until 2007, when it became open to the public. Prior to becoming public, this course hosted the LPGA's Betsy King tournament for several years. A very enjoyable layout, very traditional in nature, with a lot of elevated, undulating greens.
Bay Hill Club and Lodge: (resort) the original (tournament course) 18-hole layout was designed by Dick Wilson back in 1961, and an additional 9 holes was added to the resort property later on after Wilson's death in 1965, by Philadelphian Bob Simmons. Enjoyed the experience, but very thankful that I don't have to play there every round, as it truly is a "big boy's" layout. Lots of long holes, made longer with the prevailing winds and elevated greens. Greens were not overly difficult, but the length and the strategic placement of water hazards and fairway bunkers make it an incredibly challenging test for the average golfer. As a 5 handicap - I shot 90 there and felt like I played reasonably well.
Orange County National (Crooked Cat) in Orlando: So-so layout. Nothing special. This facility used to host Q-school for a number of years and although the conditions were good - nothing memorable about it. The same could be said of the Panther Lake course that I played a few years back.
Shingle Creek (Orlando): not one that I'd recommend. The course is much too tight, with holes running much too close to one another. Conditions weren't great, and the staff there was (for the most part) just holding down jobs without any real sincerity in making the experience memorable for the golfer. Not a fan of neither the layout nor the staff.
Champions Gate (Private/Orlando): the nice conditions aside, the staff seemed indifferent regarding customer satisfaction. No water coolers on the course, saw the beverage cart once during the 4-and-a-half hour round. It was 90º the afternoon we played, and although I bought several bottles of water prior to the round - was basically dehydrated by the 15th hole. The layout is so-so... nothing memorable.
Golden Bear Club (Private/Orlando): my buddy's club. It was fantastic. Very fun and challenging layout, conditions were excellent. Greens were perfect. The fairways are huge, but the greens are well protected and several of them are quite undulating. One of the best Nicklaus Signature courses I've ever played, great layout, very personable staff. Got to play 4 rounds there a few weeks back while down visiting him and enjoyed it more than all the rest (including Bay Hill).
