Pros:
(3.377 Rating) A challenging and heavily wooded layout.
- CHALLENGING - North Water Tower is one of those courses that demands your accuracy. There are a bunch of tight tunnel fairways. The fairway widths are generally fair with the exception of holes (4) and (16). Those two holes are more or less poke and hope shots. Advanced players should be happy with the challenge, unless they are the type that prefers hole length to be the challenge factor instead of accuracy. Advanced players should typically finish a couple under par from the back tees.
- TEE PADS - Adequately sized concrete tee pads that are in good shape. There should be no footing issues on a typical day.
- CHARACTER - In addition to the multiple concrete tee pads per hole, the course character resembles that of a well established course with a great club following. Most of the tees are shaded well and several also have seating. There is hole signage throughout the course (also see cons) and most of the holes have two basket placements. There are a good amount of trash cans and a few bag holders. There is a practice basket, picnic tables, shelter and restroom facility as well. I also very much appreciated the memorial located on hole (3) regarding one of courses founding club members. It's touches like this, that make a course very special to play.
- CHILL AREAS - Lots of secluded areas to sit and take a break at.
- SKILL LEVEL FRIENDLY - Although probably not the best course for beginners, as nearby Payne Park and Pinebrook would be better choices, the multiple tees do allow for a range of skill and arm strength levels. In addition to the pro and am tees, there are also junior tees on many holes as well.
- NATURAL BEAUTY - The raw beauty was above average IMO. The foliage was vibrant the day I played, and the ditch along holes (6 and 7) looked better than what one would expect it to look, with birds and butterflies zipping around. Not 5 star beauty, but I'd give it 3 1/2 stars.
- QUICK PLAY - The tight layout and resulting short transition between holes allows for a quicker round than one would expect when solely looking at the course length. A single with an empty course should easily complete a full 18 in under 75 minutes. Groups of 4 probably would finish in under an two and a half hours. In addition, if you happen to know your way, you can easily skip around holes to avoid big groups.
Cons:
No major complaints about North Water Tower but... the course is not for every taste.
- NAVIGATION - I struggled to work my way along the layout here. I had a map of the front 9 and had to reference it on several occasions. There are a bunch of blind baskets so I found myself running up the fairways several times to see where to shoot to. In addition, with the layout being as tight as it is, I found myself standing on the wrong tee a couple of times and asking other groups on where to go.
- HOLE SIGNAGE - Not a major Issue, but the hole signage needs an update. They are all fading away and some are very hard to read. Hole (9's) signage has completely fallen apart. The signage however, does give what appears to be an adequate description and distance of the hole.
- FORGIVENESS - For those that like well spaced fairways, you won't find it here as there are lots of tight fairways. It will be quite frustrating to have a sub-par accuracy day. In addition, there are lots of palmetto bushes lining the fairway, so when you ping a tree you'll often spend some time searching for your disc.
- ELEVATION - Really none to speak of. I know that this is typically for Florida, but this course is flat for even Florida standards. no more than 5 feet of elevation change throughout the entire course layout.
- UNIQUENESS - The holes themselves in terms of variety, are about average. In addition to no elevation, there are also no par 4's or 5's (some may play (9) as a par 4) and there are no open or true dogleg holes. As stated above, just about every drive has to hit a tight gap and also stay low. Several times it will seem that a run of holes are a bit repetitive. There are a couple of raised basket elements on holes (8) and (12).
- SHOT SELECTION - The day I played, the course was definitely favoring right backhand players. Only two of the basket placements pocketed right. Keep in mind though that there are multiple pin placements, so perhaps a few more may run right as well if it's in the other basket position.
- SPACING - Slightly below average. Although the fairways are mostly well defined by the trees and bushes, the bordering spaces are narrow. I found myself in an adjacent fairway a couple times due to ricocheting off a tree.
Other Thoughts:
I very much enjoyed this course. The locals were very friendly to me and helped me navigate the tricky spots of the course. Having played all 3 three Sarasota courses, my metrics place North Water Tower just a little ahead of Lakeview as the top course. I have a feeling that there is much disagreement over which is better among the locals.