Banbury Golf Course Review

We are wrapping up our time in the Boise, Idaho area and were hoping to get in one more round of golf before we left. As luck would have it – our schedule did support just that. We went ahead and made a tee time at Banbury Golf Course in Eagle, Idaho.

As with most of the U.S., this area is in the middle of a “Heat Dome” and even though we had a 10:16 tee time, it was a hot one.

When we checked in at the proshop, we found the staff to be friendly and efficient. Since this would be our first time playing the course, they were very helpful with telling us about some key things to note when playing the track. The fancy electric cart was very comfortable and had plenty of power. Even though we both have GPS on our watches, it was nice to have the golf cart with the added GPS hole layout feature to use as we thought about our shots.

Before getting started we noticed Banbury Golf Course has a grass driving range, practice chipping greens and sand traps, and a nice large putting green. Everything I would need to loosen up my swing and perfect my shots prior to playing.

The Starter called out our name to begin our round, and this is where we met Billy, our playing partner for the next 4 plus hours.

Yes, I did say 4 plus hours – more on that later. Back to Billy.

We were paired with Billy, a golfer from Chicago, who is currently in the area with his family while visiting his in-laws. Billy has played the course a handful of times and he was very helpful in sharing his personal knowledge about Banbury.

During our entire round, I kept commenting to Marc how well-maintained and immaculate the entire course was. The tee boxes were lush. Only a couple had some divot damage. The fairways and rough were green and thriving, though it was sad to me to see that some players did not seem to be replacing the divots they created with turf or sand.

The sand traps were in good condition (ask me how I know?) and the maintenance crew kept them full of new sand. The greens were in excellent shape running very smooth and fast as the day went on, though a few had divot damage and I fixed two or three on each green.

Of particular note was how beautiful the course is with the multiple fingers of the Boise River running through it. This water, as well as the many trees and sand traps all can, – and in some cases for me – DID come into play!

I think the only real downside to my round at Banbury Golf Course, was the pace of play (POP).

As I mentioned at the beginning of this review – our POP was over 4 hours! We were behind a foursome that just seemed to be in no big hurry at all. Once my POP slows down, my game just falls apart. Hey – I am a recreational golfer. I find the constant waiting between holes, stiffens my muscles, and my mental game gets distracted. I am not a fan of a round time over 4.5 hours that mostly consists of waiting for the group in front of me, and that is what happened to us. Sadly on this day, there was no marshal on the course to keep things moving.

While our POP was a distraction, the course is open and forgiving, provided I kept my shots out of the water. (Am I right Billy?)

Billy assured us that our POP was not normal. He did mention quite a few times that he had never seen it this slow on a weekday. Overall we did enjoy our round and would consider returning for another round.

Based on our scorecard I give Banbury Golf Course a solid PAR.

Fairways and Greens – We are 18 Holes and Counting

Written By Kathy Festa

COURSE REVIEW SCORE CARD

Course: Banbury Golf Course

Type:  Public

Date Played: 25 June 2024