Course Review: Lakewood Golf Club

I went and played Lakewood Golf Club Monday afternoon. Not only has it been overdue for a review but with Lakewood being one of the few courses open since Hurricane Ida, I wanted to see how they handled the storm.

Before I start I have to say Lakewood is one of the best overall golf properties. With the exception of having a full driving range, they have one of the best practice facilities in the area. Three short game greens, a chipping and putting green, and putting only green. This all goes well with the wedge range they have to work on shots from 20 to 110 yards. Lakewood also has one of the best staff of any golf course. They are always professional, friendly, and happy to greet you.

Once I got to the first tee you can tell the golf course is recovering from damage. The grass was slightly discolored and you can tell it had some growth before they got a chance to get back to mowing at golf course height. It just made it look worse than it actually was once you went to tee your ball up.

The fairways were in good shape but they were soft. On occasion, you would get a small amount of mud on the ball after a good drive down the middle. The length of the grass was normal and the fairways looked good. There was a noticeable definition between the fairway and rough. You can tell the property has had plenty of rain in the last few weeks as much of the rough was long, unable to be cut, and was a challenge to play from. The Fleur de Lis, Flames, and Firemans Crest Bunkers are all still intact.

The greens were in better shape than they looked as well. As was the grass on most of the golf course there was a yellowish tint to the greens. This is actually normal when grass receives too much water. You have probably seen it happen at your house before. This also caused the greens to look much slower than they actually were. They were not quick like Lakewood normally is but they rolled at a very good pace and were smooth.

Lakewood lost at least 10 trees that I noticed, maybe more. The course looks different on some holes without those trees but it is something we will have to get used to. Everything is what I would expect from any golf course that is open right now. Lakewood is very playable right now and I give them two weeks and the conditions will be back to what we all expect. My only pet peeve was that many of the tee boxes for the gold tees only had one tee marker. I'm sure there is a good reason as this is the first time I have ever seen this at Lakewood.

I want to add that Lakewood Golf Club is hiring outside service staff for anyone interested or if your kids need a place to work. You can contact them at 504-373-5926 xt4 for any questions or stop by and fill out an application.