Golf Course Review: Cypress Lakes Country Club

After 3 long months of almost no golf, at all, it was finally time to get out and play my first full 18-hole since my knee surgery on August 29th. I have been wanting to go see Cypress Lakes Country Club ever since they reopened after some renovations so yesterday was a great day for it. It was a tab bit chilly but a beautiful day for golf and doing a course review video.

Cypress Lakes, formerly known to many as Ormond Country Club, is where I had my first official golf lesson. I think I was about 7 or 8 years old and at that time Ormond was one of the premier golf courses in the area. The golf course was private but after some years of decline, it went public and things never improved. I don't recall exactly when the name changed to Cypress Lakes Country Club but even just a year ago the golf course was still having difficulties. Difficulties that brought on the renovations from owners that not only care about their golf course but understand what golfers want.

The golf course reopened on September 1st. Their main renovations were the greens, however, there was some drainage work, and some work expanding the ponds. This is what I mainly wanted to see. I almost caught the golf course on a bad day as they just recently were overseeding the tee boxes. All this meant is that some of the tee boxes, especially the par 3 holes, might have some longer grass on them or could look somewhat bare. When overseeding takes place the grass is not cut so the roots can take but in our climate, it may not grow as quickly as the Bermuda will go dormant. This was not a problem as the staff let me know about everything I may experience.

Tee Boxes: 3 out of 5

Although some of the tee boxes may not have looked that great the playability was not a problem. Only on a few of the par 3's where the overseed took well and was longer was it a slight issue. For the most part, every tee box had a good amount of grass that was never an issue. Out of all 18-holes, there were only about 3 tee boxes in total that were not as level as they should be or caused a challenge finding a place to tee the ball up.

Fairways: 4 out of 5

There were some areas in the fairways that were not ideal or dead spots but about 80% of all the fairways were nice and plush. Most of the areas that were somewhat an eyesore were mostly from the work they did on the drainage and the grass hasn't fully grown back yet. That is mainly due to the strange year we have had of such little rain. The overseeding may eventually cover this up but chances are it may keep that look until next spring. There were only two fairways that had small areas that I would consider a ground-under-repair situation, however, the majority of everything was very playable. The fairway approach areas were near perfect and really looked great.

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Rough: 3.5 out of 5

The rough surprisingly was a little thick in some areas, especially around the greens. There was good definition between the rough and the collars of the greens as well. It didn't make things difficult but the lie would challenge you just enough to decide which shot to play. The rough off the fairways was just enough to make you think about a flier lie but not so deep you had to swing hard and chop it out of there. The only disappointment in some areas of the rough were some bare spots closer to the cart paths.

Greens: 4 out of 5

The greens are what impressed me the most. The renovations not only changed the grass but it looked like they expanded them back to the size and shape of the original design. This was a welcoming sight and allowed for a better distinction between the green and the collar. It also allowed for a better visual of the undulations on the green. The greens were smooth and with a good speed that was slightly on the quick side. Some putts caught some ever-so-slight bumps but the majority of putts was a good true roll. The greens were very firm but also receptive. I had a hard time finding any ball marks but I was able to get most balls to stop after just one bounce. Only the lower trajectory shots would take more than one bounce and roll towards the back of the greens.

Overall I give Cypress Lakes a 4 out of 5. This time of year you almost couldn't expect much better for a course under $75. The maintenance staff is doing a fine job and know they have more work to be done. I am really looking forward to next spring and seeing the grass in every area really fill in and thrive. If they continue on this upward progression Cypress Lakes could be back in the premier New Orleans area course within the next year. Only time will tell but as for now, it is well worth going to play. The golf course is a fun layout that can be challenging. It is not long but requires some course management to position yourself to score.