Boozer's Golf Review Volume 24 - Dunedin Golf Club

Good day, faithful BGR readers. We had a great day of golf Sunday at the Skins Game and a few FBGC members got some practice for the Hangover Invitational after celebrating January 11th a little too hard. Folks getting a little loose with the wine on Saturday led to some good Sunday scores. For a little bit, at least. As a winner of two Hangover Invitationals, I can tell you that high performance on the course for all 18 holes requires a delicate balance of cocktails throughout the day. Geoff attempted to sober up during the day. Bold strategy, Geoff. It appeared to be working until he teetered on 11 and completely fell off the beam on 14 and 15. So it goes. The BGR would have recommended picking up a few beers at the turn, par streak be damned. Hopefully this is a lesson learned for all of us.

You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning

Dunedin Golf Club took full advantage of being a private club and was as ready to serve as Pat Tillman after 9/11 (RIP). Clubhouse was open in the morning and the cart lady was on the course. Promising start for the review. 

Thrifty Boozing Conditions

While I was pulling my clubs out of the truck, a guy dropped off a cart for me. Hello invitation to bring my own booze. I'm pretty sure I could have brought a dead hooker cooler out on the course, but I didn't try as I had only brought bag bourbon to mix with my iced coffee for the beginning of the round. Still, I think the warning signs about only being allowed to consume alcohol purchased from the course were the most protest you'd get about bringing your own. 

They served the usual suspects of domestics in 12 oz cans at 6 for $20. Typical golf course pricing, but probably worth bringing at least a few of your own instead of shelling out that cash once or twice. Cart pricing for liquor was $9 per mini bottle. At the turn, one group member ordered a double and was charged $13.50 in the clubhouse. On the course it was $18 for the same drink. The importance of bag bourbon has rarely been so apparent. Cokes were $2.50. 

On Course Service

While the carts didn't come with a cooler, the cart lady had some and that made the 6 pack purchases go down a little smoother. The lady got around the course quickly and ran the credit card immediately. She gave us the old "I just work here" when we told her about the discrepancy in liquor pricing between the course and the clubhouse, and honestly I admired that. She was pretty honest about her thoughts about how much the liquor is. I don't think I could have been more transparent in my intentions to drink my own booze when Brendan suggested buying just a coke instead of the two overpriced airplane bottles with the same liquid I already had in my golf bag, but the cart lady was more than happy to oblige. All in all, we had a good experience with the on course service. Perhaps she had a new lease on life after Dave almost killed her on the first hole, too.

Pissability

Not great. Some parts of the course were a lot friendlier than others, but most of the holes were on top of each other or alongside roadways and businesses. There were a couple bathrooms out there. One was around the 4th hole in a particularly cramped part of the course, too, so that assuages the lack of tucked away spots a bit. Still, better to not be overly hydrated out there.

Clubhouse Experience

In this season of the pitcher, one could probably do worse than a $13 pitcher after tax and tip. Probably would have been good if I could have gotten off the deadbeat list there instead of Southern Hills on Sunday, but such is life. Service was good despite the heavy crowd, and the food received decent reviews. Being so close to downtown Dunedin provides better hangout options, though. Recommended to skip the clubhouse post-round and go have fun elsewhere unless you want to settle for just okay.

Overall

Early service, ease of BYOB, and quick cart lady with coolers provide a solid foundation. Liquor pricing gives it a ding and a pedestrian clubhouse keeps it from maximizing potential. Pissability brings it down a bit more. We generally had a meh impression on the day, too. Overall, we'll split the 6-pack two ways and give them 3 ice cold beers. That'll be $10 plus tip. Just Venmo me.