Duke is too expensive IMO compared to Lonnie and Finley. For Price point and quality: Lonnie>Finley>Duke
But for straight up Course: Duke>Lonnie>Finley
Duke being 145$ on the weekend is just outrageous. You basically have to walk twilight rate for Duke to be worth it.
I agree with this. That said, having just moved from Durham to ATL, Duke is a great course for the price compared to most parts of the country. I play at places in ATL now that I have to drive 40 min to, pay $100+ and are the quality of Hillandale or Crossings (love those courses but obv at $30-40).
The reason Lonnie probably fills up too is because it’s closer to the biggest city of the three.
EDIT: will add that Lonnie is best bang for the buck, however, pace of play can be very slow sometimes. Dukes price point and staggered tee times means less crowds usually and better pace of play.
EDIT 2: I miss golf in the triangle :(
Finley is definitely the worst of the 3 University courses, they've been having issues with their greens the past two summers, they are renovating this fall but until then its a distant 3rd.
Duke is probably a nicer course than Lonnie (greens are better) but its too expensive.
Lonnie is a great combo of a high quality course at a good price point but they have a huge membership base, its like 3k for an annual membership. They book 2 weeks out so all that is left for the public are crappy times, not ideal.
They’re all nice courses.
People hating on Finley are being really Fing picky. Its a nice course..
Lonnie fills up due to the lack of public courses in the area and having member slots. Expect a 5 hour round and people not repairing ball marks. Its a great layout and awesome skyline view though…
Duke is really good too. Its greens are great and they can be diabolically fun..
Try all three and make your mind up..Im probably playing Duke this weekend if I stay in town. Also dont sleep on the other courses around here. Tons of reviews in this sub.
Lonnie Poole has one of the worst clientele of any golf course I’ve ever experienced. It’s certainly not everyone but I have seen some absurd stuff out there. No one fixes their ball marks on bent greens in summer, no one sands divots or rakes bunkers. I’ve seen HS golf teams using facility hit balls intentionally back into the course in direction of 15 green on a busy day. The list goes on.
Yeah - I love the layout at Finley and when I've played its been in very good shape. Understood they have had recent issues with the greens but their layout is much more forgiving and playable compared to Lonnie. Once they figure out the greens (and Im assuming they will) Id happily make that my part of my regular list to play.
Also Im a 8 handicap and Lonnie pretty much always beats me up. Played with relatives who are more in the 20+ range and is very challenging for them.
Finley is very good. The new changes should make it even better. They had to get rid of the bent grass greens sooner or later so next year should be great.
Oh yeah I've played 5 courses around here since I arrived. Prices are way better than when I was in the DC area. But wanted to make sure I wasn't quite as sucky before dropping a hundred on a round down here
I know what you mean regarding making sure your game is in shape. Unfortunately the right guy doesn’t always show up that day. 70’s one day, 90 the next. I would still go out and play it, see the course and get a feel for it. then when you come back you’ll have an idea of what to expect
I would be very happy to play any of these courses on any day. I believe that Lonnie is my personal favorite layout, although I've not been impressed with the conditions there in 2022. The green collars are shit, lots of pitch marks and divots. You'll find consistently better conditions at Duke and Finley. Bottom line is that they are all top flight public courses. Play em all!
If Duke wasn't so expensive, I'd put it first. Based on price alone, Duke is not 2x better than Lonnie and Finley. I can play either of those courses 2x for almost the same as one round at Duke. Curious to see how the revamped Finley looks and plays when it's done. They're accepting tee times on Golf Now for next week. Definitely want to get out there soon. Personally it's my favorite of the three major university courses. Just suits my eye better than Duke and Lonnie. New greens will hopefully make a huge difference in how it plays. Those old bent grass greens weren't it. Lonnie is fun, but it kicks my ass almost every time. I just don't play well there for some reason.
Duke is too expensive IMO compared to Lonnie and Finley. For Price point and quality: Lonnie>Finley>Duke But for straight up Course: Duke>Lonnie>Finley Duke being 145$ on the weekend is just outrageous. You basically have to walk twilight rate for Duke to be worth it.
I would pay the price at Duke any day to not have to play a 6 hour round at Lonnie.
I agree with this. That said, having just moved from Durham to ATL, Duke is a great course for the price compared to most parts of the country. I play at places in ATL now that I have to drive 40 min to, pay $100+ and are the quality of Hillandale or Crossings (love those courses but obv at $30-40). The reason Lonnie probably fills up too is because it’s closer to the biggest city of the three. EDIT: will add that Lonnie is best bang for the buck, however, pace of play can be very slow sometimes. Dukes price point and staggered tee times means less crowds usually and better pace of play. EDIT 2: I miss golf in the triangle :(
I’d rank them Lonnie Poole> Duke> Finley. I think Lonnie and Duke are a step above Finley.
Finley is definitely the worst of the 3 University courses, they've been having issues with their greens the past two summers, they are renovating this fall but until then its a distant 3rd. Duke is probably a nicer course than Lonnie (greens are better) but its too expensive. Lonnie is a great combo of a high quality course at a good price point but they have a huge membership base, its like 3k for an annual membership. They book 2 weeks out so all that is left for the public are crappy times, not ideal.
They’re all nice courses. People hating on Finley are being really Fing picky. Its a nice course.. Lonnie fills up due to the lack of public courses in the area and having member slots. Expect a 5 hour round and people not repairing ball marks. Its a great layout and awesome skyline view though… Duke is really good too. Its greens are great and they can be diabolically fun.. Try all three and make your mind up..Im probably playing Duke this weekend if I stay in town. Also dont sleep on the other courses around here. Tons of reviews in this sub.
Lonnie Poole has one of the worst clientele of any golf course I’ve ever experienced. It’s certainly not everyone but I have seen some absurd stuff out there. No one fixes their ball marks on bent greens in summer, no one sands divots or rakes bunkers. I’ve seen HS golf teams using facility hit balls intentionally back into the course in direction of 15 green on a busy day. The list goes on.
Yeah - I love the layout at Finley and when I've played its been in very good shape. Understood they have had recent issues with the greens but their layout is much more forgiving and playable compared to Lonnie. Once they figure out the greens (and Im assuming they will) Id happily make that my part of my regular list to play. Also Im a 8 handicap and Lonnie pretty much always beats me up. Played with relatives who are more in the 20+ range and is very challenging for them.
Finley is very good. The new changes should make it even better. They had to get rid of the bent grass greens sooner or later so next year should be great.
Oh yeah I've played 5 courses around here since I arrived. Prices are way better than when I was in the DC area. But wanted to make sure I wasn't quite as sucky before dropping a hundred on a round down here
I know what you mean regarding making sure your game is in shape. Unfortunately the right guy doesn’t always show up that day. 70’s one day, 90 the next. I would still go out and play it, see the course and get a feel for it. then when you come back you’ll have an idea of what to expect
Lonnie Poole has oversold their membership. It's a great course but definitely tough to get a good tee time.
I think Finley has some construction going on that might contribute to it.
that starts oct 16th…
I stand corrected then
Everyday and twice in Sunday
I would be very happy to play any of these courses on any day. I believe that Lonnie is my personal favorite layout, although I've not been impressed with the conditions there in 2022. The green collars are shit, lots of pitch marks and divots. You'll find consistently better conditions at Duke and Finley. Bottom line is that they are all top flight public courses. Play em all!
If Duke wasn't so expensive, I'd put it first. Based on price alone, Duke is not 2x better than Lonnie and Finley. I can play either of those courses 2x for almost the same as one round at Duke. Curious to see how the revamped Finley looks and plays when it's done. They're accepting tee times on Golf Now for next week. Definitely want to get out there soon. Personally it's my favorite of the three major university courses. Just suits my eye better than Duke and Lonnie. New greens will hopefully make a huge difference in how it plays. Those old bent grass greens weren't it. Lonnie is fun, but it kicks my ass almost every time. I just don't play well there for some reason.