The second round of golf with my Virginia friends was at Juliette Falls Golf Club on Monday. I played here back in 2015 and enjoyed my round, so I was excited for a return trip!

Juliette Falls (a John Sanford design) opened in 2007 and while it doesn’t get the consistent recognition among Florida’s best public courses, many people – including myself – think it should be somewhere on those lists each year. I’ve played a handful of the courses on the public lists for Florida and feel Juliette Falls deserves more praise than it gets!

Anyway, the course and community are associated with the Ocala area. Juliette Falls is actually in Dunnellon, which is about 20 minutes west of the I-75, roughly halfway between Ocala and the Gulf Coast. There are some signs of development (the 2008 Recession hurt development of the community), but for the most part the area is rural and you won’t find many homes on the course.

To me, the highlight about playing Juliette Falls is the great piece of property. What I like so much is the course’s sandy look! Specifically, I like the large waste areas. Besides the sand there are plenty of pines and oaks and everything is nicely landscaped.

If you are into golf course eye candy then Juliette Falls delivers there as well. Everywhere you go the place presents so well visually. The course is beautifully bunkered (a bit over bunkered for my personal tastes) and there are three waterfalls, on the 7th, 13th and 18th holes. The 7th and 13th are both par-3’s with water in play and are the signature holes at Juliette Falls.

Both times I’ve golfed here I’ve played the blue tees which are 72.6/139/6729. While the course has plenty of width its difficulty comes from some long holes and wildly contoured green complexes. I’d be prepared to spend some strokes around the greens! Overall, I find Juliette Falls to be one of those places where a par feels like a birdie.

Both times I’ve played the conditions have been very good, especially when you consider the bargain green fee of about $60 during peak season. A few greens had sanded spots, but nothing terrible. From my experience the course plays firmer and faster than most which leads to some fun!

I don’t think the fairways were overseeded so lies were tight. However, there was still plenty of “green” to the course. The greens were smooth and rolled at a medium-fast pace. The bunkers had plenty of sand, which was nice to see.

I’ve enjoyed my rounds at Juliette Falls and look forward to a return trip! It is a course that I would highly recommend trying out, especially if you are driving to/from Tampa or Orlando on a golf trip. The course is convenient to the I-75, which would make it a good stop on a travel day.

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):