auburn links at mill creek

My name is Fred Holton and I am the PGA Head Professional at Auburn Links. I would challenge all the bad reviews to try the course now. Yes we had our issues early on due to a severe winter but our greens have recovered nicely. I will never make excuses for the facility that I work at and our staff will always treat you with great customer service. I believe for the rates we charge our course compares with any in the area. I know everyone is entitled to their opinion so I decided to post mine.

I have been interested in playing this course for a while and it was easy to get a tee time. Now I know why.This course is in very poor shape and the ghastly greens are not near worth the amount of green to play the course. Way overrated with no memorable holes other than number one and that is because of a very weird landing area between creeks/ditches.The pro shop was a tad late and very little in there.Simply disappointed in Auburn Links. Choices!

It's sad, really. I literally live across the street from this place, but I would rather get in my car and drive several miles to play another course. It's really a shame that I can see the putting green out my front door, but I don't want to play the course because they just take such poor care of it. Now I've played some lousy courses before and didn't complain because the green fees were dirt cheap. If Auburn Links went that direction, I might reconsider. But it's certainly not worth 40 bucks for 18 holes (their "twilight" rate is a laughable $30). I would play here if I could pay $8-10 to walk 9 holes, because it's worth about that much. Otherwise, aside from simply beating balls at the driving range, it's not worth walking across the street.

I used to play Auburn Links years ago when it was an outstanding golf course. I played today for the first time in many years and I was astounded and the degradation of this course since it was purchased by Tom Hayley in 2002. Tom Hayley is well-know in Auburn for his cheap and shoddy developments, especially along South College St., and for taking the cheap way out on just about everything. Well Auburn Links is no exception. When I checked-in the Pro Shop, I found that the water fountain hasn't worked for months because it is so old that parts were not available any longer. Then on the second hole, one of the mowers was broken down directly in front of the tee box and I had to hit around it. The golf course itself was in miserable condition. It was clear that it was no longer maintained adequately and the greens were unputtable. The grass on the greens was so thin and sparse, the it was impossible to putt in a straight line. The greens generally added at least one stroke to each hole due to their inadequacy. During my round, I also found the the green on hole #11 was temporarily closed and I was told that I should skip the hole and come back and play it later. Throughout the course it was obvious that numerous sand traps had been filled-in and planted with grass, clearly to save maintenance costs. Overall the course was not properly maintained in any way. The icing on the cake was on hole #15, a long par 5, when I was making my approach shot to the green, I couldn't see the flagstick anywhere. Well I eventually located the flagstick in a makeshift green on the side of the fairway about 60 yards in front of the regular green. 'Makeshift' in that they planted a cup in the fairway, mowed that grass a little shorter than the rest of the surrounding fairway, and placed the flagstick in the cup. Certainly you couldn't putt on this 'green'. Absolutely ridiculous! And as I passed the regular green I didn't see any sign, rope, or fencing that would indicate a problem with the regular green. All in all, this course is ridiculously bad and on it's way to being another Pin Oaks (Auburnites will likely remember exactly how bad THAT place was). Playing Auburn Links is a waste of your time and your money. With so many other quality golf courses in the Auburn area, nobody should play here. It's an absolute shame that Tom Hayley has ruined this course by refusing to maintain it properly and operating it on the cheap. What was once an outstanding golf course now isn't worth your time or money. By the way, the information on their website is wrong regarding green fees, etc. I was told that they no longer have control over the website because someone else owns it. Geez!

Best way to attend an SEC game is to have a game of golf before the tailgate and golfing at Auburn Links is the best way to enjoy the day. The course is convenient (just off I-85). Check-in went smooth, good tips from the Marshall to start us off. Fairways and greens were in great shape. Carts ran smooth and got us where we needed to go. Biggest complaint was getting distances from tee to green; it was not well marked on any of the holes. Even though the holes were mostly narrow, it was a challenge to keep the ball in play. The best part was seeing Auburn beat Miss State to end a great day.

We get up a couple of groups of firend and have a play off to see who is the best, but you can't go wronf when you have the best to play on

The Staff:The most special thing about this course is the helpful and knowledgeable staff. They are very friendly and have no problem answering any of your questions. The teaching Pro is a great guy.The Course:While its not a traditional Links course it is a challenging yet short course. If you are long or and play the Men's Tees (White) you may find the course to be pretty short where you are hitting 9 irons to par 5s on your second shot. The course is well maintained for a course that goes through drought conditions in summer and rainy conditions during the winter. Every green seems to have a different speed as some holes stay wet in the shade while others dry out in the sun. You will be able to determine the condition once close to the green. Overall the course probably rates as a 3 out of 5, but the staff and short game facility make up for it.Practice Facility:This course has a wonderful short game practice facility with a pitching green that has a green side bunker and several hole locations to practice from. You can even putt the pitching green to get a feel for the course greens. The short game practice area also has a moderately large practice green with a lot of hole locations to practice different breaks in the greens. The only thing lacking in the practice facility is the driving range. It seems like a road side range only type of setup. The range is narrow and dated with not very many targets to practice your distance. If you like a range with pins, well there are only 3 or 4 and the rest are just targets with yardage written on them that may be slightly off. Total Review:This course would have gotten 5 out of 5 if not for the driving range and some of the minor drainage issues on 4 or 5 holes on the course. The staff are great and friendly and the course is mixed with challenging holes to test your range/skills and easier holes to pick up some birdies. All in all for the price compared to what is around you can't beat Auburn Links if you are on a budget, but still want to play a decent course. The membership dues pay for themselves to a weekly golfer and the course also offers a savers card for those who don't want to commit to membership. Pretty much everything you could expect and more from a public course.

Lots of challenge but playable by both intermediate and beyond.