Decatur Lake's front nine has a lot of character. This older section plays through attractive 100-year old oaks, with narrow, well-groomed fairways. The first tee is elevated and points you to a gap in the trees leading to a dogleg left. The loud cracks you'll hear in the surrounding forest are not gunshots, but balls hitting hardwood. You'll want to keep your game under control to avoid tree jail. The air is also full of birdsong and you'll feel like you're playing your round in your favorite park or arboretum.

Maybe it's because of their 1920's vintage, but the early greens seem rather small, favoring sharpshooter golfers making accurate approach shots. The greens themselves are soft and fair, but they're a little rough around the edges. Although it is close to the river, water only comes into play on a couple of holes. Unfortunately, drainage was sub-optimal close to the lagoon. The beauty of the 4th hole is often marred by standing water in the landing zone, leftovers from recent thunderstorms.

Across the road is the longer back 9, which has a mostly suburban feel to it. The greens here are larger yet perhaps more challenging due to a lot more contouring. The fairways really open up and encourage you to pull that driver back out of your bag. Go for it! Water comes into view more frequently on Decatur Lake's latter holes, but is mostly avoidable. You shouldn't lose too many balls out here. There are a lot of young trees planted along the fairways that should mature nicely in the coming years.

The service, from the pro shop to the on-course employees to the 19th green, is very friendly and everyone here makes you feel right at home. The bar and grill at the clubhouse, Billy's Sandtrap, features diverse, tasty fare and inexpensive beer. They make a really good burger served on locally baked breads and their homemade potato chips and hand-battered cheese curds are both excellent.

Latest Update: 4/7/2011