Stay away from this golf course. It’s not worth your time or money. I’ve played many courses all across the East Coast, and I didn’t even know a golf course could get this bad. The clubhouse looks rundown, the rough is so long you can barely find your ball, let alone enjoy the round if you land in it, the fairways are cut basically the same length as my lawn at home, the bunkers are just weeds no sand what so ever, and the greens are in such bad shape that reading them is pointless. To make it even better hole #13 is closed because the green is so bad and they didn’t even tell us until we paid full price and were standing on the first tee box…. Also one of holes flagstick didn’t even have a flag on it. I wouldn’t come back even if it was free. The craziest part is they charge $52 a round, the same as other public courses nearby that are actually nice and well-maintained. Complete ripoff. I don’t know if it’s bad management or lack of funding, but this place is terrible. Go to Blue Hills down the road instead. Hopefully, this review saves someone the trouble.

7 months ago

While Ole Monterey has never been known as one of the nicest courses in the Roanoke area, my round today confirmed that it has now become an absolute dump. The greens are atrocious (I am including a photo of one of the “better” greens that I could find along with one of a “typical” green). Most of them have large bare patches and sand areas. There is a decent amount of crabgrass in addition to the pitiful looking grass. A well-struck shot may hold the green or bounce many feet in the air. Rarely was there a line to the hole that contained all grass, like any normal green, so good luck putting. The fairways and tee boxes are overrun with bad grass (idk the type), but at least you can hit a shot from there. As to the rough, who knows when it was last mowed? The clippings have obviously laid there for a good while. You would rather have a lie in the deepest rough of the US Open versus Ole Monterey. Forget being unplayable; it was challenging to find any spot within the rough where you could even move your ball to try and play it. This is also assuming that you actually find your ball in the rough. Unless I saw exactly where it landed, I rarely found my ball and, given the number of balls I found, others have had the same problem. For reference, see the last photo of a rabbit by what they are calling a teebox. The traps have far more weeds than sand, yet ironically they still have rakes. I have no idea what the management is even trying to do to “maintain” the course, but it would be better for everyone if they sold it, or even just abandoned it. In any case, they should be ashamed and embarrassed for calling this a golf course.

6 months ago

I played Ole Monterey on 10/25/25 and was really let down by the overall condition of the course. The greens were in very poor shape, patchy and inconsistent. The only thing I can compare the roll on the greens to is a plinko board. They didn't appear to have been recently punched, however so the roll was simply due to being in poor shape, making putting a frustrating experience. On top of that, the fairways and rough were overwhelmed with crabgrass, which made it feel more like a neglected public park than a golf course. For the price they charge ($52), I expected a much higher level of maintenance and care. Unfortunately, the quality just doesn’t match the cost. While the cost of the round may have been in range of other local courses for a weekend morning round, there are other courses in the area that offer a better experience for the same or even less money. I have played this course many times in my life, never seeing it as bad as it was this time around. Perhaps staffing is an issue, finances could be an issue as well. I hope for the best with the course in the future, but I can't see it continuing at this rate of quality.

4 months ago