Slammer/Squire, King/Bear

[LeftyHawk]

I heading to the WGHOF in February and playing the 2 courses there. Just wondering if anyone here has played them, any advice?

Chris

[HighFade]

Never been, but my folks live nearby.  We’ve talked about going to WGGOF.  Let us know what you find.

[Kenny B]

My wife and I played both courses when we visited in January 2016.  It was cold and wet.  Actually one day it was warmer back home here in WA State than in FL.  The visit to the WGHOF was fantastic; well worth the trip. 

I played the King & Bear better than I did the Slammer and Squire; not sure why.  I've played a number of courses designed by Jack and a few by Arnie.  Maybe that is why.   But it might have been that the S&S was the first round of our trip after a cross country plane ride.  Shot 86.  The next day on the K&B course I shot 82, which I thought was pretty good for me playing on Bermuda grass. We finished 5 minutes before a downpour!!  They were nice courses, but truthfully after a few days, the details ran together.  Not all that memorable from other nice FL courses I've played.  Sorry I can't be more help.

[fixyurdivot]

16 hours ago, LeftyHawk said:

I heading to the WGHOF in February and playing the 2 courses there. Just wondering if anyone here has played them, any advice?

Chris

On my bucket list.  Did you buy and stay & play package deal or ala carte?  

[LeftyHawk]

Looked into a stay and play. Ended up going ala carte because I could get hotel/air/car and golf for less than the stay and play cost.

Chris

[Flog4]

Have played em. Good courses. Enjoy

[Kenny B]

12 hours ago, fixyurdivot said:

On my bucket list.  Did you buy and stay & play package deal or ala carte?  

I stayed free on Marriott points and got a tee time deal.

[fixyurdivot]

18 hours ago, LeftyHawk said:

Looked into a stay and play. Ended up going ala carte because I could get hotel/air/car and golf for less than the stay and play cost.

Chris

That's what I'm finding as well. The packages did include breakfast, HOF exhibit tickets, and guaranteed tee times however.  I'm actually now considering a long road trip so that I can also play a couple of the RTJ Trail courses.

[Headhammer]

Played both courses. King and the Bear a little tougher than Slammer & The Squire. Typical Florida flat tracks, nothing overly exciting about either course, but a fun golf weekend for the wife and I.

[Gopokes14]

My wife and I played the Slammer and Squire and it was your typical Florida golf course experience, in our opinion. Greens had just been aerated and sand was coverinjg them. We were offered no discount of course and paid $150 each, not happy. The HOF itself and surrounding areas seemed to be struggling financially. We went across the pond out front and went Murray Bros Caddy Shack themed restaurant and sports bar for dinner, which was fun. The elder brother (I think) was on hand as the host at the door. I was really surprised at the empty shops all around the pond area there. We could not get on the King and Bear due to rain but we did go over to the pro shop which was nice, as well for what little of the course we could see there.  We ended up playing one of the muni's north of there and had a blast playing 18 and then in a group 9 hole scramble they talked us into. The place was called Cimmarone Golf Club about 20 minutes north of HOF. Meanders around through a neighborhood and was really nice for the money. I think we paid $40 each with a cart. Greens were a little grainy but better than 1/2 inch of sand! 

[Mr. 82]

25 minutes ago, Gopokes14 said:

My wife and I played the Slammer and Squire and it was your typical Florida golf course experience, in our opinion. Greens had just been aerated and sand was coverinjg them. We were offered no discount of course and paid $150 each, not happy. The HOF itself and surrounding areas seemed to be struggling financially. We went across the pond out front and went Murray Bros Caddy Shack themed restaurant and sports bar for dinner, which was fun. The elder brother (I think) was on hand as the host at the door. I was really surprised at the empty shops all around the pond area there. We could not get on the King and Bear due to rain but we did go over to the pro shop which was nice, as well for what little of the course we could see there.  We ended up playing one of the muni's north of there and had a blast playing 18 and then in a group 9 hole scramble they talked us into. The place was called Cimmarone Golf Club about 20 minutes north of HOF. Meanders around through a neighborhood and was really nice for the money. I think we paid $40 each with a cart. Greens were a little grainy but better than 1/2 inch of sand! 

Disclaimer:  I have never been there myself.

But I will share a story straight from my Dad, who went there a few times, granted it was at least 30 - 40 years ago when he was traveling the entire State of Florida, and playing every golf course in the state known to man.  He went there on a "business trip" when he worked for TWA and just wrote it off.  Again, 3 to 4 decades ago, so the information is so dated as to not be worth mentioning, but since it sort of lines up with what is said above I'll say what my old man said here.

"The Hall of Fame charges WAAAY too much money for me.  The place was empty for good reason, because no one was gonna pay what they were asking to go in the place."

"We checked out the Slammer and the Squire and the King and the Bear courses and they are a total marketing rip off.  Not one memorable hole or experience from playing those courses, and they aren't even worth half of what they were charging for greens fees, based on the level of condition or the design of these courses."

Have you ever wondered why you see Gary Player on your TV every day begging you to travel to the World Golf Hall of Fame saying, "You've got to go."?  Have you ever wondered why these same golf courses are endlessly marketed on TV?  Again, I haven't ever been, and can only go off of what my Dad says about that place, but even based on your comments above I am pretty convinced that nothing has changed in 30-40 years.  Marketing BS and a total tourist rip off.  At least that's what I glean from all of this.

 

[LeftyHawk]

On my arrival day I grabbed some lunch at Murray Bros Caddy Shack themed restaurant and sports bar , If you get to the HOF be sure to stop by this place, food is great and the theme is fun. Played the Slammer & Squire on Monday. Very nice course, the range, chipping area and putting green were in excellent shape. Unlimited balls on the range. The course itself was in excellent shape. The green were lighting fast compared to what I play here in Michigan, in the first few holes I was consistently blasting it past the hole by 6 feet or more, then I learned that a light tap would send the ball 10 feet or more. Fairways were cut short and as a result got some real nice roll out on my drives. I thought the course was challenging but fair. I played a combination of blue and white tees with a total yardage of around 6000 yards.

The King & Bear is definitely more challenging than the Slammer & Squire.  A great deal more sand and water. From talking to the folks that work there sounds like Arnie like natural settings with water, Jack preferred sand. I played the same tees (blue/white combo) and the Slammer & Squire which also played to about 6000 yards. Didn't score as well, mostly due to the fact I lost 2 balls to the water!!!

All in all I will get back there in the future to play both courses again, beautiful settings and challenging courses. The weather was on my side, being the first week of February I figured it might be a little chilly. I had sunny and 80 both days!!

So if you get to St. Augustine I would highly recommend both courses !!!

Chris  

[fixyurdivot]

On 1/29/2020 at 8:31 AM, Gopokes14 said:

My wife and I played the Slammer and Squire and it was your typical Florida golf course experience, in our opinion. Greens had just been aerated and sand was coverinjg them. We were offered no discount of course and paid $150 each, not happy. The HOF itself and surrounding areas seemed to be struggling financially. We went across the pond out front and went Murray Bros Caddy Shack themed restaurant and sports bar for dinner, which was fun. The elder brother (I think) was on hand as the host at the door. I was really surprised at the empty shops all around the pond area there. We could not get on the King and Bear due to rain but we did go over to the pro shop which was nice, as well for what little of the course we could see there.  We ended up playing one of the muni's north of there and had a blast playing 18 and then in a group 9 hole scramble they talked us into. The place was called Cimmarone Golf Club about 20 minutes north of HOF. Meanders around through a neighborhood and was really nice for the money. I think we paid $40 each with a cart. Greens were a little grainy but better than 1/2 inch of sand! 

 

On 1/29/2020 at 9:04 AM, Mr. 82 said:

Disclaimer:  I have never been there myself.

But I will share a story straight from my Dad, who went there a few times, granted it was at least 30 - 40 years ago when he was traveling the entire State of Florida, and playing every golf course in the state known to man.  He went there on a "business trip" when he worked for TWA and just wrote it off.  Again, 3 to 4 decades ago, so the information is so dated as to not be worth mentioning, but since it sort of lines up with what is said above I'll say what my old man said here.

"The Hall of Fame charges WAAAY too much money for me.  The place was empty for good reason, because no one was gonna pay what they were asking to go in the place."

"We checked out the Slammer and the Squire and the King and the Bear courses and they are a total marketing rip off.  Not one memorable hole or experience from playing those courses, and they aren't even worth half of what they were charging for greens fees, based on the level of condition or the design of these courses."

Have you ever wondered why you see Gary Player on your TV every day begging you to travel to the World Golf Hall of Fame saying, "You've got to go."?  Have you ever wondered why these same golf courses are endlessly marketed on TV?  Again, I haven't ever been, and can only go off of what my Dad says about that place, but even based on your comments above I am pretty convinced that nothing has changed in 30-40 years.  Marketing BS and a total tourist rip off.  At least that's what I glean from all of this.

This information is making me rethink my HOA/RTJ road trip .

[Kenny B]

11 minutes ago, fixyurdivot said:

 

This information is making me rethink my HOA/RTJ road trip .

I think you will find it enjoyable as @LeftyHawk found, if you are a true golf nut.  The courses are very nice, but weather can play a big part in the how much fun it is to play, but that's true at any nice course.  We skirted the rain barely by playing a lot faster than I wanted to, but we finished minutes before the storm hit.  Of course you have to do a little detective work to find out when the aerate, but that's not difficult.