Crane Creek Reserve Golf Course, Melbourne, FL

Unfortunately, Crane Creek Reserve golf course just isn’t what it used to be. Lack of maintenance has become a problem for municipal golf courses in Florida. Since 2012, I’ve heard that public courses have lost over $100 million in funding. So the ownership of this course isn’t entirely to blame.

This course has an interesting background that might draw you to it. I wouldn’t recommend travelling just for the purpose of playing this course. It originally opened in 1926 and was designed by Donald Ross. In fact, it’s even part of Florida’s historic golf trail.

With that being said, the greens are almost unplayable. I’ve heard complaints of balls that bounce or barely move from fellow golfers. Expect to take a least 2 strokes on the green. It also seems like the fairways aren’t watered regularly. In fact, this problem is so bad that I actually saw bald and bare patches on the fairway. In my opinion, this is simply unacceptable for a regulation course.

Another problem with this course is that it’s long and boring. I think this course would be very frustrating for a beginner golfer simply because of the length. But, since it is pretty wide open, it could also be a good place to practice longer shots.

It’s frustrating for a more experienced golfer because rangers just aren’t around to control the pace of play. As well, it takes me more than 4 hours to finish a round (walking,) which to me just isn’t worth it considering how dull this course can be.

It’s flat and wide open. The longest hole is #9, which is 480 yards. There are only a handful of holes under 200 yards. So, bring your best driver and be prepared to hit for distance. For a course with such long holes, the distance markers are sparse and if they are on the fairway, hard to see. I strongly recommend bringing a rangefinder to help with club selection and avoid frustration.

Crane Creek Reserve is a municipal course, so the clubhouse is sparse, but you can get food there. In my experience, the staff aren’t very knowledgeable. Also, in my experience, you should arrive at least half an hour early. Things just aren’t very well organized here and play generally runs behind schedule. Yet, the staff expect you to arrive early. Go figure.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you get charged for golfers who ride along. I do recommend renting a cart because the holes are so long and pace of play is generally slow on this course.

Overall, I didn’t have a good experience at Crane Creek Reserve. It was a slow, boring round on holes that desperately need proper maintenance. Despite the interesting history of this course, I would say to skip it on your next Florida golf trip.

Played a round recently while visiting daughter in Palm Bay. We've played a couple of other courses in the area, including the other muni, Mallard's Landing.

This is a pretty nice course and prices not bad for late October. Course was in excellent condition. Greens and tee boxes well-kept. Fairways in good condition.

Couple of tips if you are going to play here:

1. They expect you to arrive no later than 30 minutes prior to your tee time. Counter guy and starter were a bit miffed that we got there pretty close to our tee time, but in plenty of time to tee off on schedule. They made it sound like the 30 minutes prior was a standard at golf courses; new one on me. We routinely arrive about 15 minutes prior to tee time where we usually play in Sarasota County.
2. Riders, not playing, get charged for riding along. Not sure what this is supposed to accomplish. In addition to my wife, daughter, and myself we had our 11 year old son along. He plays some, but usually when there's no crowd, so he was just a ride along this time. First time we've ever been charged for his riding along and we've done it at numerous courses.
3. The rough is brutal in some areas, don't miss the fairways.

Driving range was beat up today, but that seems standard around this area. Tee boxes were well maintained. What I don't understand is how the greens were in such bad shape. They were very bad. There has been enough rain here lately to keep the fairways muddy and rutted yet not enough to maintain the greens? Putts should not be bouncing!

Nice course for a practice round (which I need!) Big, open fairways, very little water or other hazards in play. Easy course, but this isn't bad as I find it great for building confidence. Inexpensive, fairly well maintained.