After my round at Pinnacle I made my way over to check out Star Harbor Golf Course, which is a bit more south along the lake. In a direct line the courses are probably just a few miles apart, but it took 20 minutes in the car to get around the lake and over to Star Harbor.
I picked Star Harbor because it is a nine hole course and fit perfectly into the amount of time that I had! I got over there a bit after 5pm and parked in what looked like the clubhouse parking lot. Come to find out that parking lot is for City Hall and that is where you pay your green fee!
There is a drop box for green fees and I put $15 in an envelope and headed to the 1st tee. I suppose it is pretty common at short courses to pay your green fee on the honor system, but I’ve never done that before. It may be an after hours thing though, I’m not sure. There are plenty of signs to remind you to pay, ha!
Star Harbor is a par-34 with three par-3’s, five par-4’s and one par-5. The par-5 is the opening hole and at 420 yards it felt more like a par-4. Still, a drive in the rough and a short iron into the trees had me struggling on such an easy hole.
The rest of the course is made up of short par-4’s, mostly in the 300 yard range. The 8th is a 257 yard par-4 and gives you a chance to drive the green. The tiny greens here should play plenty of defense!
The course’s design is very basic with back and forth holes that make it a nice place for a walk. I played some tunes while carrying my bag and certainly enjoyed the walk, even if the course wasn’t anything special.
The conditions weren’t anything special either. The fairways were better than expected and the tees were playable. The greens were less impressive as they were furry, spongy and super slow. However, the greens seemed to have some decent contour to them.
At its core Star Harbor serves the community and that is a good thing. But, unless you are a golf course nerd like me, there isn’t really a reason to go out of your way for a round here.
Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):