Goose Pond Colony, Scottsboro, AL golf and lodging review

[me05501]

Just returned from a 20-man weekend golf trip to Goose Pond Colony. The location is on Guntersville Lake in Scottsboro, AL about 45 miles from Huntsville, AL and 75 miles from Chattanooga, TN. 

 

The main resort property includes the Lakes course, rental cabins, a campground, a large marina with a tackle shop and waterfront restaurant. The resort also owns the Plantation course located on the other side of the lake about 15 minutes away by car. 

 

We played the Lakes course ($65) on Friday and Sunday and the Plantation course ($50) on Saturday. We stayed two nights in the Cottages and I believe that cost was $275/man including two catered dinners. 

 

*****

 

The Lakes course is routed on a somewhat hilly peninsula with a few large ponds and the lake nearby on all sides. The elevation changes were put to good use in the course design leading to a broad variety of shot values. The lake itself is in view intermittently throughout the round and features prominently on several holes. 

 

Conditions at the Lakes course were good overall. The Bermuda fairways and rough are healthy though there are places along the edges of some fairways where the Alabama red clay is exposed. 

 

The greens on this course were replaced a year or so ago with a Bermuda hybrid and they're not fully mature. They played firm on approaches and putts were often slow and quite bumpy. They're playable but you can still see the individual sprigs of turf grass. This leads me to think the grass will eventually fill in and the greens will be much better in a season or two. 

 

*****

 

The Plantation course has a bit more of a parkland feel though there are several water hazards dotting the layout. The elevation changes are more subtle and there's no view of the lake. 

 

We always play the white tees with this group because there are some high handicappers who would never finish a round from the blues. In the case of the Plantation course this resulted in a very short layout. I'd like to play it again from the blue tees to get a better idea of the typical shot values. That said we were fighting a significant wind throughout the back nine and it would have been much more challenging as a longer course. It was still really enjoyable. 

 

The greens at Plantation were perfect. Hopefully this is where the other course's greens are heading. The Tif Eagle was grown in thick and the greens were very smooth and consistent. Some of the pins were *very* tucked to the edges which kept the course challenging but most of us had our best round of the weekend on Saturday at Plantation. 

 

*****

 

We rented several of the Cottages which are located on the lake across from the Lakes clubhouse. All of them are a little different so opinions varied among the group.

 

The cottage I was in looked like it was last decorated during the Reagan administration. It had one bedroom on the first floor with the second one in an open loft above. There was no place you could go to have a private phone conversation without stepping outside. The other cottages were mostly laid out on one floor. Some were roomier than others. Some were decorated more recently but none are new by any means. 

 

It was a bit of a crapshoot but adequate for a short guys' trip. For couples? Maybe not so much. The overall feel was a bit closer to a Motel 6 than I'm used to these days. 

 

On the bright side the resort catered evening meals for our group both nights and the food was excellent. BBQ one night and lasagna another. No complaints at all. 

 

*****

 

The Docks is a casual waterfront restaurant near the Goose Pond Marina. A few of the less rowdy trip participants walked the mile there for dinner on Saturday. It was a pleasant surprise. We had a good meal and enjoyed the sunset over the water while an acoustic duo provided the soundtrack.

 

*****

 

My overall review is positive. Our group has done similar trips to other affordable destinations and most of us rated this experience highly. It's nice not to have to do a lot of driving which can be an issue at Fairfield Glade or on the RTJ Trail. The golf was a good value for reasonable quality and variety. The courses are very comparable to the Bear Trace courses at Tennessee state parks. The accommodations are adequate for a short stay and the price is right. 

 

Recommended if you're on a budget and aren't bothered by a few rough edges. 

[me05501]