Refuge Golf Club at Gulf State Park

I normally play the Refuge once or rwice when I vacation in Orange Beach. I love the proximity to OB, the Gulf Park venue, and course layout. The degree of difficulty is moderate which suits me as a bogey golfer. However, the greens have reached a poor condition, and the asphalt cart paths are so broken up by tree roots, that it is better to drive off-path. I heard there is a state referendum in process to get more funding for the parks and I hope they save this beautiful public course.

Golf Now did not warn me that only the back nine was open and playable

The course is fun for the average golfer. The no cooler policy makes it expensive to have a beer though. Overall good experience.

Course was in good condition it's set up for the average golfer and the rates are very good. The only issue is they need to work on their cart paths.

Course need attention. Greens were not in very good shape. Looked like it needed some attention and water. Greens were crusty and brown. Not the experience that I had expected.

The so called "Marshall" of the course followed our group and just sat and watched while harassing us as we played the first 5 holes. We had a fairly large group and reserved 3 tee times. His antics of telling us to hurry up were uncalled for. We
Continued to play, but when I got to the clubhouse I explained my problem I had. I spoke with one of the managers and he informed me to come back tomorrow at the same tee time we had that day and he would take care of us. We were going to play the back 9 and since it was so early we would not be disturbed. I get there the following day and he meant he would take care of our golf club rentals, even though all of us clearly had our own clubs which he knew since we did not rent any the day before. We are on vacation but we're all ready to play multiple days so we could enjoy and conquer a course before we left for home. I can assure you for the years to come as we are starting to vacation here quite regularly that we will not be coming to this course anymore.

Greens are in terrible shape, Bad shape so obviously they can't cut them. Not happy with course.

Gave this a play..haven't played it in at least 10 years...now I remember why I have not been back.
Greens are damaged and they are overgrowing them (= unmowec)...like putting on a fringe for 18 holes. Otherwise, a nice playable layout.
Pace of play very slow (kids who have never played, parents with them with no idea of golf play etiquette, 5somes, twosomes that will not let you play through).
Not coming back.

I had a nice time on my round but the greens and some of the bunkers need some TLC!! The rough is pretty thick on some holes so stay OUT! I will play again in the near future!

I know this is price cheap, but save yourself some time and pay a few extra bucks to go somewhere else. Golf staff unfriendly. Golf Pro gets rude when confronted about a problem.

Coarse is pretty easy. Wide fairways. Almost every hole seems to be a dog leg. Greens are in bad shape and really slow. If you get off fairway good luck finding your ball. It's a good choice if you want to just want to go hit a ball around.

Although some greens were under repair, the course layout and attendants great attitudes made this a great golf experience.

The course could use alot of work. CONSIDERING it is a state Park course the greens are terrible, the holes are cut terrible. Awesome Layout ruined by poor maintenance.#12 is the hardest hole in Alabama. I shot 78. Fairways &bunkers are good. Make the course worth about $20 but I wouldn't pay a dime more.

Only thing possibly wrong with it is a lot of the greens and a few of the tee boxes were under big repair. The areas where the greens were not in repair, it was very bouncy. Otherwise, everything else about the course is in top form.

I hate leaving negative reviews for courses but I only get to play out of my home state occasionally and therefore get peeved when the course conditions were as deplorable as they were this past weekend. First off let me say that the staff was EXCELLENT. Very friendly, helpful, and the food was great! The course was another story.

The greens were incredibly slow and looked as if they hadn't been cut in a day or two yet, you could see the mower swipes from the mornings cut. That tells me that they just leave them tall. I average 26-27 putts per round and I putted 42x because of how slow they were. Every green had large dead spots where only mud was exposed. The greens were bumpy and nothing putted true. I don't know when the last time they changed the holes were but it had been a while.

Tee boxes were left in the same spots and a few of them were just sand. Fairways were okay and easily the best attribute to the course. The layout has a lot of potential but bring your approach game if you play, because anything outside of 10ft is a 2 putt at best.

Save your money and play one of the other courses in the area. GlenLakes is a phenomenal course and the hot deals can be had for about $22.

Good layout, terrible greens

It is apparent the State of Alabama has not allocated adequate funds to maintain this course. Greens are in awful condition. Played a couple of years ago and worth the money. Now - due to very poor condition of the greens it is not worth spending the money to play. There are patches of dirt/mud on most of the greens and ball has little chance of rolling. Some of the tee boxes are mostly sand. Unfortunately, I would not recommend playing unless you can not find anywhere else to play. Too bad as fun lay-out and hopefully they can do something but hard to imagine it getting better with the coming summer heat.
Wish it were not so but also wish I knew the conditions of the greens before I signed up to play.

First time playing this course and I was very disappointed. The greens were nothing but sand! They claim it was because they just aerated. But their was no grass! Even in the fairways. I play a lot in Alabama and our greens in north Al. Look nothing at all like these. Ours are green and plush. The state is not taking care of this golf course and that's all their is to it! Such a shame! Because it could be a nice course. Skip by this one.

This course is a fun course to play great value for You money a little work it could be a outstanding course. The staff is great the restaurant was one of the best

Fairways were not grown in yet. A lot of bare spots and hard pan. Good lay out.