Rock Barn Country Club (Jackson Course) – Golf Course Review

The beauty of Rock Barn Country Club sets in as you enter the community and catch your first glimpse of the fairways. The club is home to both a private course – the Robert Trent Jones, Jr. Course – and a public course – the Tom Jackson Course. We had the pleasure of playing the Jackson Course for the first time this year, and it exceeded all expectations.

The course is in tremendous shape. The fairways were like carpet – among the best we have seen anywhere this year. Also, the greens were firm and rolling exceptionally well. A few of the tee boxes were a bit worn, but this can be attributed to the large amount of traffic the course has rightfully seen lately. From tee to green, holes one through eighteen, the Jackson Course’s current conditions are on par with the nicest golf courses in the area.

The course is a par 71 and is shorter than most in greater Charlotte, but the layout features numerous elevation changes and blind shots that make proper club selection essential to scoring well. The course is lined with breathtaking houses along several holes, which makes for incredible site seeing but also tight boundaries. Accuracy off the tee and your approach shot is key to a good round.

Rock Barn Country Club features a great public practice facility as well, with a large putting green and grass driving range. If you make the trip to play the Jackson Course at any point, we advise getting there early to get some swings in. The course doesn’t give you any time to warm up as the first hole might be the most intimidating opening tee shot in the area. We highly recommend making the trip up to Rock Barn – it’s well worth the drive and price.

The Jackson Course features several magnificent holes, many of which could be considered signatures. But here are four in particular that really stood out to us:

#1 Par 5, 555yds, Handicap: 1 – There’s nothing like getting a round started with the most challenging hole on the course. The tee shot carries over hazard to a narrow, uphill fairway that doglegs left. The second shot is also uphill, and you may want to club up for it. If you don’t clear the hill on this shot, you’ll likely end up watching your ball slowly trickle back down. Be happy with a par on this hole to kick off your round.

 #6 Par 3, 202yds, Handicap: 3 – A longer par 3 that plays downhill with a green surrounded by water and bunkers to the left. There is little margin for error on the tee shot. The hole is very picturesque, but it can quickly lead to a bogey or worse if you fail to hit the green.

#10 Par 5, 514yds, Handicap: 6 – It’s a bold statement because the entire course is so beautiful, but this might be the most beautiful hole on the course. The tee shot is elevated and leads down to a fairway that doglegs left with bunkers along the back side and a large pond and fountain to the left. The hole plays as a true three-shot par 5 for most, but longer hitters can try to carry the pond to be on the green in two. The safer play is to keep to the right and be happy walking away with a par.

#15 Par 4, 398yds, Handicap: 8 (Pictured in main photo) – Another beautiful hole, the tee box overlooks a downhill fairway to a green guarded by a large pond in the front. It’s better to be short than long off the tee so you don’t risk the slope of the fairway feeding your ball into the water, which means you may want to keep the driver in the bag on this one. The second shot will need to carry the pond, but the green should be plenty reachable. The right club selection on this hole can make for an easy par.