I played an early morning time here on 10/21/12 from the blue tees at 71.4/134/6604. The Neuse is typically rated as one of the better courses in North Carolina by the golf magazines so I was anxious to play here. It is named after a local river, the Neuse River which was visible from one or two holes. The first part of the front nine drops from the clubhouse down to the river and the closing holes on the front climb back up to the clubhouse (the starter told me this elevation change is approximately 300 feet). The back nine had the elevation changes as well so much of the course required a club or down and there were some nice views. The course seemed to play longer than the yardage and I am not sure if it was the cool air, morning dew, or if in fact the elevation change was the main culprit. The course had some great design features including some flat looking greens, grass bunkers, and reachable par 5s. Most of the front nine (except #8 and #9) had flat looking greens that required a good eye to see the break while the greens from #8 onwards had more ridges and humps so it was a good mix of greens. I struggled putting on the greens as the speed from one green to another seemed inconsistent but it is just an observation as I am not good enough to give an expert opinion on the matter. The course was in great condition with true rolling greens which had very few ball marks, carpet like fairways, and good tee boxes and rough. The superintendent definitely does a good job. There were no burnt out patches and the course seems to drain pretty well considering how wet The Preserve was yesterday. The 14th, a 176 yard par 3, is the signature hole. It has a rock outcropping short of the green which I had to hit over and trust that there would be green on the other side, it was fun to play. My complaints about the course would be that there are a few too many approaches where I could not see the green and that the homes were placed too close the course. Because of the homes on just about every hole I thought it was tough to appreciate the quality of the course design. For $49 (and I actually saw it for cheaper if I would have waited longer to book it) during peak season for this nicely maintained of a course it is easy to recommend that someone play here.
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