Golf Course Review: Stonebridge Golf Club (Oct 2025)

It has been almost a full year since the last Golf Course Review of Stonebridge Golf Club. Honestly, one of the reasons is that it is not one of my favorite golf courses. It has nothing to do with the layout either. I actually enjoy the mix of holes, and the routing isn't too bad either. I usually avoid Stonebridge due to the inconsistent conditions.

Every time you visit Stonebridge, you never know if it will be in really good or bad condition. I have played the course in the past, where I was there in consecutive weeks, and have watched the course go from good to bad to good in the same month. However, the inconsistency is not just from day to day but many times from hole to hole. Something you will notice in the video (at bottom) part of this review.

This visit was very similar, with the inconsistency from hole to hole, but with more consistency around the greens on every hole. I know the weather is a huge factor in maintaining a golf course, and this year's weather has not been friendly. We experienced snow early, then plenty of heat, while also experiencing long periods without rain. Many factors in the weather have not helped, but it has been the same for every course in the area, with many courses finding ways to improve their conditions.

Before I get to the conditions, I have to talk about the staff. Many times in the past, it wasn't the most welcoming experiences. The staff was never rude, but they were not friendly at the same time. The head pro at the time, who I would consider a friend now, did great trying to teach and mentor some of the staff, but when he wasn't around, it was different. I felt like the staff was either too lazy or didn't want to be bothered to check you in. This was in the golf shop as well as the bar. This time, I didn't recognize a single person from past visits, and the experience was so much better.

First, when I entered the golf shop, I was greeted with a smile and a sense that they wanted to help me. Even when I looked lost trying to find the golf balls. In the past, a staff member may have just sat there while I looked around, but this time I was asked what I needed, was there anything particular I was looking for, what tee time did I have, and if I needed tees or anything else. I was even given an unnecessary apology. The phone rang right as I received my receipt. I walked towards the door until I realized I did not have a key. I asked if the keys were in the cart. I was told, "No, I am so sorry I forgot to give you one". This was also right when two people behind me came to check in. A busy moment, and I wouldn't even call it a mistake. To me, there was no need to apologize, but I got it anyway. I felt walking out that this is someone who has pride in their job, has a great personality for dealing with people, and genuinely wants people to have a good experience.

It was similar at the bar when I grabbed some water and Gatorade for the round. Not only was I asked multiple times if I had all I needed and I was also offered a cooler to keep the drinks in. A smile and a compliment on my shirt were also given. This was also at an awkward time as the internet went down, causing their system to temporarily not be able to ring in any purchases. To keep it simple, I said I would leave my card so they could ring it up when the system came back online, and I would pick it up later. Again, with an apology that was not their fault and a thank you for being considerate. After the round, we were greeted by a different bartender who again was personable, smiling, and making conversation with us and a couple from Texas.

It is good to see staff at Stonebridge smiling and being so welcoming once again. When the staff is friendly and welcoming, it makes you want to come back regardless of the conditions of the golf course. I, for one, would rather play a mediocre golf course that treats me great than any high-end resort that treats me like they are doing me a favor. The second part is something I have experienced at a few of the resorts in Orlando, FL. Two hundred plus dollars for a round of golf, and they act like they don't want you there is horrible customer service.

Now for the conditions - This time, we did not play the tips. Something I will probably never do at Stonebridge again anyway. The back tee boxes on most courses are usually the best. They are the ones least played and usually do not get torn up as much. Although that is still the case at Stonebridge, that is not why I do not want to play them. The back tee boxes are like afterthoughts and not prepared like all the others. For example, on the first hole, the back teeing area is just St Aug grass cut as low as possible. Not raised for drainage or with Bermuda grass, just an area they must have said, let's just cut a circle here to add some length, and hope golfers like it. This is the same case with many of the holes as well. I get that there is a high cost to actually build a teeing area, but when the grass doesn't match the other tee boxes and looks like rough, it is not a good overall look for the course.

Playing one tee up was plenty as the golf course was on the wetter side, although there were no golf cart restrictions. The ball was not bouncing and rolling out much, if at all. This was also a good thing, as there was a good amount of rain the day before. The fact that there were no cart restrictions means the golf course is draining well. I do not recall standing water anywhere, and I only recall one bunker that had standing water in it. There were, however, many bunkers that were packed down as a result of still being damp. Many were playable, but they just were not raked with the sand fluffed up a bit.

The golf course itself was decent overall. Could it be better? Yes. Could it have been worse? Yes. One of the things that really bothered me and does not help the golf course at all comes from many of the members and golfers who have no respect for the golf course. We saw several groups around the golf course parking their carts right next to the fringe of the green, and on the opposite side from the cart path. I even took a picture of one group (below), and they were probably late teens to early 20s. I completely understand if they have a handicap and request a flag for special permission, but out of the 8 carts we saw park next to greens or almost on top of tee boxes, only one cart had a handicap flag on it. These are usually the same golfers who will also complain about the conditions of the golf course.

Overall Conditions: 2.5 out of 5

Tee Boxes: 2 out of 5

The tee boxes are very inconsistent from hole to hole. Some had plush grass and were pretty level, while others were crowned, had mini craters (holes), were chewed up, or had a different type of grass on them. For the most part you could find a decent area to tee the ball up but you had to make sure one foot was not lower than the other or the ball was not above or below your feet. One thing that would help the teeing areas recover better from play would be to arrange the tee markers better. Every hole, the markers were he width of the tee box, with some being nearly 15 yards apart. If they followed the 6-yard wide recommendation, the markers could be moved around more, preserving more turf for its longevity of health.

Fairways: 2.5 out of 5

I am being generous on the fairways here a bit. The fairways were also very inconsistent. I rate them a 3 based on that many were decent with enough playable turf. Some had good, thick turf on them, while 2 or 3 others had bare dirt on the majority of those fairways. You could play the ball as it lay, but you may catch a flyer due to some longer grass. The main issue with the decent fairways was that the grass was sparse. Meaning there was good grass, but there were a few inches between tufts of grass, making the fairways look thin. The kind of look you get mid-winter when the grass stops growing and starts to look thinned out. The problem was that the grass was not thin; it just wasn't growing fully for some reason. The fairways that were really bad had a lot of packed-down dirt and more areas than actual grass. Even though most of these areas you could hit over and find grass for your approach shot, it made those fairways look really bad. Then there were the ones where the grass was full and the fairway cut was tight. Overall, there was more good to decent grass on the golf course, and some of it was just longer than you want a fairway cut.

Greens: 2.5 out of 5

The greens were decent in the fact that from hole to hole, they had some consistency. I said 3 to 3.5 in the video, but in reality, they were middle of the road. Not great but not horrible. They were not fast or smooth, but they were not super bumpy either. Every hole, they did a great job putting the hole locations where the greens were the best. If you took 36 putts, less than half would bounce offline. It really depended on which angle you were putting from and how long a putt you had. The speed was a bit on the slow side, but again, it was consistent on each hole. At no point did I feel any particular green was faster than another. Yes, some putts were quicker if you had a big downhill slope, but they wouldn't continue rolling 4 or 5 feet past like a quick green would. If you watch the video, there is a point where I hit a chip that I thought would roll more down the severe slope, but stopped short of the hole. The one good thing was that after the rain, the greens were not really soft. You could hold a shot well, but the ball marks were not deep unless you hit a very high shot. Only on one hole did I notice where I hit a 7-iron, and it made a deep ball mark and actually spun backwards.

I know this review sounds pretty negative and critical. That is not my intent. I am being pretty positive and impressed with some aspect of the golf course. As much as I want every review to be all positive, I am just being honest with my observations. Yes, there are many things Stonebridge can improve on. Many things would probably take a good amount of money to correct, but they may not have. With that said, though, every golf course can not be a TPC or English Turn, and we need a golf course under $80 that we can have fun on. I am confident the next time I visit Stonebridge, things will be better and I will enjoy myself again. After all, the golf course has to be decent enough that I shot even par for this round, right?