If you have followed Golf Nola on social media for some time you would know we have played Copper Mill Golf Club a few times this year. Each time I said I would be back soon to do an official review, but I never got a chance to do so. This time was different and I was able to get this full review and video done.
Copper Mill Golf Club is located about 20min Northeast of Baton Rouge in Zachary, LA. The golf course features a unique layout, with six par 5 holes, six par 4 holes, and six par 3 holes. Not something you see often at any golf course.
Every time I visit Copper Mill the staff is always wonderful and treats me like a member. The clubhouse is not much. It somewhat looks like a temporary building but they do have everything you need, from a stocked golf shop to a full bar and grill area. The practice putting area and chipping area are pretty good as well. They used to have much better practice facilities with a full grass range but sold it to build more real estate. Something I wish they wouldn't have done, but they did at least make a little wedge area to hit some balls before playing. It's not great as you hit off of mats that are just on tops of grass but hitting wedges up to 80 yards to warm up is better than not having a way to hit balls at all.
The golf course routing and layout are very fun. Even though the course is built in a subdivision there are very few homes that actually border the golf course. It's only on 4 holes where you can hit into someone's property that would be considered out of bounds. For the rest of the golf course, the homes are across water or far out of play, with everything else being surrounded by wooded areas.
Overall: 3.5 Out of 5
Tee Boxes: 3 out of 5
Although the tee boxes are cut to a good height and very level the main reason I give them a 3 is due to upkeep. As I mentioned in my review of Cypress Lakes, the tee markers are set too far apart. This has resulted in the teeing areas getting torn up by golfers across the whole tee box and leaving very little area they can be moved to so the grass can heal. Also, the golfers are not doing their part. Every par 3 has a sandbox, but it would appear very few golfers are actually using the sand to fill in their divots. If they set the tee markers at the recommended 6 yards apart they could maintain better turf to move the markers around better. They really just looked worse than they are making it more of a visual issue than it was a playability issue.
Fairways: 4 out of 5
The fairways were very good. There were some wet areas on a few holes but on the majority of the golf course, the fairways were really good. They were tight enough to control the spin into the greens and firm enough to get a good bounce and roll from your tee shot. The cut height was very consistent and there was a clear definition between the fairways and rough. The only somewhat bad areas were those that were wet for some reason and the only reason those areas looked bad was due to someone driving through them and leaving tire marks. I feel if these areas were wet or driven through you would probably not notice as they were mostly not in the way.
Greens: 4 out of 5
The greens were really good. Consistency from hole to hole with firmness and speed. There were a few holes that had some sanded areas around the edges of the greens but they were not near the hole locations. Those areas looked more like an eyesore than a playability issue and I feel like the ball would roll over those areas just fine with the same pace. The speed of the greens was slightly on the quick side. You did not have to hit a putt hard to get it to the hole, even on some uphill putts. Downhill you had to be a little cautious but they were not so fast it scared you to hit a good putt. Besides plenty of unfixed pitch marks on some of the greens, they were also very smooth. Putts went right where you hit them and did not wobble or bounce offline.
The bunkers were decent. I was only in one for the day but the sand in that one was pretty good. The only thing I would say is they could use a little TLC and more rakes. The bunker I was in I didn't think had a rake until I walked around a bit and it was still far enough away from me I asked a playing partner to grab it for me. Some of the bunkers looked unkept like they may not have been maintained by the maintenance crew in a few days. The sand in each bunker looked consistent but I can not say for certain if that is the case.
I really enjoy playing Copper Mill and will be back. The overall conditions were a tad bit better last time I was there and I know they will be back to that shortly. I'm sure the weather patterns since my last visit in July are a huge part of the differences in the course conditions and I am positive these minor blemishes I mentioned will be handled by my next visit.
Side Note: Copper Mill does a great job with hosting fun tournaments. Many are open to anyone and some are for their members and passholders only. I have played a few and they are fun formats like a 3-person scramble or 2-man 3 club tournament. Each was not much more than a regular green fee and included food. They also do many contests they post on social media for complimentary rounds of golf.
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