More Fun Country Golf
Written: Jul 23 '06 (Updated Jul 23 '06)
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Pros: Inexpensive and quickly played.
Cons: Not very challenging. But that's not necessarily a "con."
The Bottom Line: Leave your resort-wear behind and whack the ball. Lambert Acres is laid-back and straightforward, and the White Course is the longest, straightest 9 of the 27 holes.
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| davke's Full Review: Lambert Acres Golf Club - White Course |
The White Course is a nine-hole track that's part of the twenty-seven-hole Lambert Acres facility, located just outside Maryville, Tennessee, which is located near Knoxville. Epinions has the 27 holes divided up among the three nines at Lambert Acres. If you're all agog for a comprehensive Epinion of Lambert Acres, and I know you are, you'll need to read through the Red Course and the Orange Course.
The White nine is situated between the Red and Orange courses, and you'll be directed onto it from either the starter or from a sign at the end of one of the other courses directing you toward the nine to come in on. This is a fairly nice situation, as the starter can control traffic on the courses -- otherwise, everyone would want to play the Orange nine (I would, at least).
The White nine is the longest of the three nine-hole tracks from all three tee boxes, running 3,245 from the tips to 2,481 from the forward tees. It is dead straight on every hole, with little slope, no water, no sand. You could land a Cessna on four of the fairways. It's that wide. The only real trouble is the trees lining the fairway, mostly pines. Free golf tip: stay out of the trees. However, if you really slice it, you might clear the trees and find yourself with a nice lie on an adjoining fairway. Don't be embarrassed; that's not an unusual occurrence at Lambert Acres, which attracts a wide variety of golfing skills.
Naturally, the wide, straight fairways make the nine a grip-it-and-rip-it setup. Or at least that's the way it first appears. But there are some tee boxes where I've found that a more imaginative club selection is useful, so I've drawn up a little play-by-play here.
The first hole runs 345 yards from the middle tees. The tee box is well elevated, the fairway is wide, the green and pin are clearly visible. Pull the driver out and stroke it. You'll be on a slight uphill lie for your wedge or, if you prefer, your bump-and-run -- behind the green is a bumper-like slope that will keep your ball healthy. The green itself has the usual public course woes, but is flat and predictable. Go for the one putt or lag up for the tap-in par. It's that simple. As are the next two holes. As long as you keep the ball within the spacious fairways, you'll do well on the 475-yard par 5 and the 360-yard par 4 that follow. Number 4 is your first par 3, 185 yards slightly downhill. Hit the ball 175 yards and let it roll up. Again the green is unprotected.
The toughest hole on the nine follows, a 402-yard par 4 with a rise in the fairway that hides the green from the tee box. Don't worry about the green, and just aim to get to the top of the rise, roughly a 275-yard drive. If you don't have that distance off the tee the hole can hurt you. But, again, remember that the fairway is straight, and your main concern is keeping the ball in the fairway. Hit two six irons and a wedge if that's what it takes to keep you safe; after all, it's the number one handicap on the course, so go for the bogey if you're not a scratch golfer. Trouble seems to come when players reach back for a couple of extra yards, throw their timing off, and find themselves trying to punch under pine trees from a pine straw lie just to get back on the fairway.
Number 6 is a par 3 that lists at 135 from the middle tees. But that yardage is actually measured from the ball washer, as is the case on all Lambert Acres tees, and it's not unusual to find your tees 15-20 yards behind the washer. But again it's a downhill shot to an unprotected green, and landing it short of the green with a mid-iron is a good, safe play. The 490-yard par 5 that follows requires a little course management. The big, wide fairway invites a driver, but that puts you on a steep upslope for your second shot. You can actually find a nice, flat lie with a 4-iron to the bottom of the hill, a mid-iron to the top of the hill, and an 8-iron or smaller to the green. It's very difficult to hit two shots and reach the green, so it's best to resign yourself to covering the distance a bit at a time, and hope to score with your putter.
The two closing holes are pretty straight-forward. Number 8 is your best birdie opp on the course, a 320-yard par 4 that funnels left to right. Anything you've got in the bag that carries 200 yards should be hit toward (but not over) the cart path, and it'll roll you down to wedge distance in the middle of the fairway. Short of 200 yards should be kept well short, as there's a hidden gully that will collect your tee-shot about 200 yards out. Number 9 is steeply downhill from the tee box and then steeply uphill to the smallish green, 365 yards away. Pretty much any iron off the tee will get you to the bottom of the fairway, from where you'll want to aim about five yards left of the green to catch a side slope that rolls your ball onto the putting surface. A driver off the tee, however, will put you on an upslope from where your approach will tend to go right of the green. Missing to the right isn't good, as the green is on a left to right slope that will kick you further right and leave you with a flop or partial pitch and a one putt, making par difficult.
The greens on the White Course show all the bad signs of public course traffic, and can have some bare spots where the seams between the greens and fairways are visible. But the greens are flat and the speed is consistent. Don't count on one-putting, but I imagine that many golfers find themselves breaking 100 (or whatever) for the first time when they play the Red and White courses at Lambert Acres, if for no other reason than that the putts are so simple to read.
In all, the White Course is very similar to the Red Course, though a bit longer and straighter. Both courses have plenty of room in the fairways, little to nothing in the way of sand and water, and easily negotiated greens. On both courses, it's best to club down and play safe if your driver isn't working, and count on the unprotected greens to let you approach with mid to long irons play. This isn't the case with the Orange Course.
Lambert Acres doesn't have a driving range, and there's no place where you can loosen up with some chipping practice. Generally, you'll walk into the club house, hand over $28 in cash (they don't take credit cards, but there is an ATM next to the counter), walk out of the club house, and be directed to a cart and a tee. It's that quick. So you won't be standing around much wishing for a driving range anyway. Still, it'd be nice. The club house has a decent selection of balls and now offers some caps and souvenirs. There's a small snack-bar, and the people that run the course are friendly and efficient. In all, it's a laid-back place to play some golf. The straightforward greens keep traffic moving at a decent pace so that even a Sunday round takes only four to four-and-a-half hours.
Simply put, Lambert Acres is a fun, inexpensive place to play golf. And it's definitely one of the best places to play in and around Maryville, Tennessee. If you're visiting Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge, and you want to get away from the outlet malls and the various Ripley's attractions for a few hours, it's worth the drive. Located at 3402 Tuckaleechee Pike, which is south off Highway 321 between Townsend and Maryville, Lambert Acres is dialed with the numbers (865) 982-9838.
Recommended:
Yes
Green Fees Paid (US$): 28 for 18
Speed of Play (typical weekend): Less than 3 Hours
Look Out For: Trees
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Epinions.com ID:
davke
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Member: David
Location: Greene Co., Tennessee
Reviews written: 51
Trusted by: 27 members
About Me:
I Epinions, therefore I am.
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