Cobblestone Park Golf Club, Blythewood, SC

I had a membership out here in when I was at USC and it was still the University Club. I really enjoyed coming out and playing. Practice facility was great, and the people there were always fun to talk to. Now. I don't know what happened. The tore down the beautiful old clubhouse and halfway built a new one and stopped. The proshop is in a shed, and the bathrooms are in trailer /porta-johns. The course and practice facility are still close to the best in Columbia and the track can't be beat. However, since they became super private and now semi-private (I guess being ultra exclusive wasn't working out so well) they seem to have a chip on their shoulders to non-members. Cost $80 for a Friday morning round which wouldn't be horrible if the Pro didn't act like you were a pain for coming out to play the course. I would say it was a fluke, but both times I came out their this year, I felt like they didn't want me out there. Unfortunately I think this club will fall apart if it continues down this path. I was really excited to come out and play it since it was semi-private and I hadn't played it since college. However, I just... I just don't know, it's not the same place or a place I want to play again. But the course itself is still one of my favorite layouts.

I (7 hcp) played this course for the first time on a Monday (7/25) and the range, surprisingly, was closed for mowing. I played the gold and garnet nines. The gold nine is a glorified executive course with very slow greens; the garnet was more of what I expected of this course. Pros: Very scenic, challenging layout, forces the use of every club in the bag. Fairways, bunkers and garnet greens were in great condition. Cons: No clubhouse or cart service, unfriendly pro shop, didn't attempt to pair me a few twosomes, blind shots galore, driving range closed. I based my rating on playing the gold and garnet nines. Next time, I'll only play Garnet/Black combination or not play there at all.