Hyde Park Golf Club

Notes

I heard that Hyde Park was in good ahape, so I was willing to try. I can see that they are doing many things there to improve the course and facilities, and it is much improved in many areas. So maybe it’s the drought, maybe it’s the mid spring day we played, but there just isn’t that much grass on the course. Now I didn’t hit it in the middle of the fairway often today, but when I did, it sat on dirt and not grass. Areas around the green were very thin. Despite all this, the routing is a pleasure. 16 through 18 is a fun finish with great elevation change for a flat city like Jax. Seems like they are spending some money, but haven’t been able to fix the turf yet. I’ll be back in three years.

Notes

I wish I could give Hyde Park a better rating, but unfortunately, from a playability standpoint, I can't. The tees were ok (they are getting better though), the fairways were spotty (a number of lies without any grass), cart paths were very rough at times (poor new carts!), Traps were ok (would love to see white sand instead of darker dirt), and the greens, I would rate them 4 out of 10. There were spots here and there, and they were hard, but they ran fairly true depending on the green. That being said, I have played the course for many years, and it's great to see the owners working on improvements such as a new clubhouse, a paved parking lot, new carts, bridges, and a couple of new paved paths at #1 and #10. The back nine is my favorite, and I believe it has the bones for being a great course if a lot of love, and $$$$, was added. I will continue to play to support the course and recommend it as a somewhat lower-cost public course.