This has been a long time coming. Ever since April, Gunpowder Golf Course, located in Laurel, Maryland, has been my home course. It's a bit of a drive from my apartment, but every other golf course in the area is either private or way too expensive. It's not a very fancy place, but that's fine with me. You don't have to wear a collared shirt, and that's a big plus. Anyway, let's get to the course. Since I've played the course quite a lot over the past several months, I'll split the review into 2 parts. Today, we'll talk about the front line.
The first hole is a short par 4 that doglegs to the right. If you can hit a high fade I think the green is reachable from the tee, but I've never tried it. I can't hit a driver high enough. So I just hit a long iron and go at the green with a full lob wedge. There's not a lot of trouble, but I would not recommend going over the green. If you do, you're in a bunch of trees and whatnot. It's not pretty. I'd tell you how long the hole is, but to be honest, I'm not entirely sure. There's a scorecard, but the yardages on there are rather...generous. According to the scorecard, the course is over 6,000 yards, but I can tell you that the course is not that long. Anyway, the first green is pretty simple, if often quicker than the other greens on the course.
The second hole is a slightly longer par 4 that doglegs to the left. Unless you can hit a big draw off the tee, you can only hit the tee shot about 200 yards. Go further than that, and you go into the trees. However, don't hook the tee shot too much, because there are trees on the left that will block you out, and yes, they do come into play if you're on the left side of the fairway. There is a bunker back right of the green, but it really isn't a factor. I think I've only gone in it once. The green plays smaller than it looks, since balls will roll off some of the edges.
The third hole is a very short par 5. When I say very short, I mean very short. At its longest, I can play this as a 3 wood, short iron. If the tee is up, I have to use a 4 iron, because the hole is split around 120 yards from the green by a stream. There's out-of-bounds right, and if you go too far or too far left, trees on the left block the green. There's not a lot of room if you hit your drive a long way, another good reason to hold back off the tee. The green slopes pretty severely from right to left, so you really don't want to go right. It's really hard to keep a chip from the right on the green, especially when you're not particularly good at the whole short game thing.
The fourth hole is a par 3, the longest on the course. This hole is a perfect 7 iron for me. Unfortunately, I don't have a 7 iron, so I don't hit this green very often. The green has a false front, and when I use an 8 iron, I usually hit that false front and spin the ball back off the green. The green's pretty straightforward other than that.
The fifth hole is a very short par 4 with a dogleg to the right. Unlike
the first hole, which is pretty wide, this hole is quite narrow. You do
not want to go right. You do, that golf ball is pretty much gone. Again like the first hole, this green is reachable if you can hit a high fade. I can't, so it's a long iron, 50 yard pitch or so for me.
The sixth hole is a shortish par 4, and for me personally, the first opportunity to use a driver. The hole goes up a hill, then goes back down at the green. There's O.B right, so I tend to hit pretty far left. The seventh hole runs parallel to this hole, and I'm pretty sure I've hit my drive next to the seventh tee more often than I've hit the sixth fairway. The green has two tiers and has no bunkers.
The seventh hole is another shortish par 4 (Yes, they're all pretty short. This isn't a long golf course). Just like 6, the drive is blind. I think this hole has the most blatant exaggeration on the scorecard. According to the scorecard, this hole is 450 yards. Either that is a huge overestimation, or I'm hitting 375-400 yard drives. There's not much to this hole, it's straight, wide open, and there aren't any hazards to speak of. Just don't go over the green, the ball can really get away from you.
The eighth hole is a short par 3, and while it's only about 130 or 140 yards, it's fairly difficult. The green is small, and there's a false front. Of course, there's the water short, and if you go long, you have to hit a chip from a severe downhill lie to a green that slopes away. As is usually the case, it's easiest if you can hit the green from the tee.
The ninth hole is a shortish par that doglegs sharply to the left. Unlike the other big dogleg par 4's, I can actually cut some of the dogleg off. Not with a driver, but with the 3 wood. This one isn't reachable from the tee. A good 3 wood leaves an approach of around 100 yards. There is a bunker by the green, but it doesn't come into play, really.
So, that's the front nine. My record for the front is a 34, 1 under par. I hope to cover the back nine pretty soon.
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