Beer of the Week

The beer: Paw Paw's Pils

Brewed by: Rough Edges Brewing, Waynesboro, Pennsylvania

Description (from Untappd): "Indulge in the refreshing and exotic taste of locally grown Paw Paws that we infused into our crispy Pilsner. As tropical as they are rare, these fruits ripen quickly and have the tropical flavors of banana and mango."

Would I buy it again? Fun fact, there's a very real possibility that I was the first non–Rough Edges employee to taste this beer. They released it on October 30, the first day they were open that week, and when I showed up a few minutes after they opened, there were no customers yet inside. 

So, why the hurry to drink a pilsner? Well, for the paw paws, of course. Explaining the big deal about this particular fruit would take a while, so here's a nice rundown of the paw paw and why it's such an infamous delicacy in the eastern US. Basically, it's a very tasty fruit that belongs to a tropical fruit family but grows in temperate climates, and once picked, it has a shelf life of about 10 minutes. You have to be quick with paw paws, which is why they're not commercially viable.

Anyway, the beer: It was very good. Sweet and also tart, tasty but also very easy to drink. Perfect for a unnaturally warm fall afternoon. I think making this a pilsner was an interesting choice, as when I think beer styles that go well with fruit, that isn't the first one that comes to mind. Personally, I would have gone with a wheat beer. But that's not what they did, and it's not like there's anything wrong with it. Hopefully the beer will last longer than the fruit and you can get one for yourself, should you be in the Waynesboro metropolitan region in the next week or two.

Review: Great Cove Golf Club (Part 2)

It's time to take a look at Great Cove's back nine, go here to see the front.

The tenth hole is, much like the first hole on the other side of the driving range, a 420-yard par 4. The tee shot is significantly downhill with very little in the way of hazards. It's normally a great opportunity to blast driver, but that opportunity was somewhat diminished during our round, as my brother and I played this hole into a pretty strong headwind. That made the second shot fairly challenging, as we had mid irons into the green. Really, the place you don't want to miss this green is left, as the bunker guarding the green is both large and deep. The green's also got some pretty significant slope to it, maybe the most on the entire course. 

The tenth hole.

Approaching the tenth green.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole presents a little bit of a mystery. Today, this hole is a short par 5, playing 470 yards and involving a 200-yard walk in the wrong direction to get to the back tees. While neither my brother or I can remember for certain (and we don't have any old scorecards on hand to prove otherwise), we're fairly certain this hole did not originally play as a par 5. It used to be a shortish par 4, and it's kind of interesting that they changed it. The way it is now, pretty much any tee shot that the people who frequent a course like this can hit (ie, not very long) will leave a blind second shot. This was not an issue before the change. Oh well.

Anyway, provided you hit a solid drive, you can get to this green in two, just be sure not to miss left. If you're lucky, you'll catch the bunker. If not ... well, your golf ball's probably gone. Right is a safe place to bail out, or you could just aim to lay up just a little short, leaving a pretty simple uphill pitch into the green.

The eleventh hole.

Approaching the eleventh green.

The eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is a short par 3, playing 155 yards downhill to a slightly elevated green with moderating mounding all around. And that's about it. Really a very simple hole, as usually short par 3s have some element of danger to compensate for the lack of length. But not here. It does have a pretty nice view of the mountains, at the very least.

The twelfth hole.

The thirteenth hole is the first in a three-hole stretch of mildly awkward short par 4s. The designer clearly routed themselves into a corner, and while it doesn't show so much here, it will soon. This particular short par 4 is 325 yards that plays to a fairway that's eventually pinched by trees left and a small pond right. Any drive hit more than 250 yards is entering the danger zone, so a fairway wood or long iron is the best choice off of this tee. That will leave a little wedge into the green, which has a decent amount of slope to it and is protected by two small bunkers left.

The thirteenth hole.

The thirteenth green.

The fourteenth hole is just 300 yards, which technically puts the green within reach for longer hitters. However, the hole bends left significantly, and with numerous tall trees guarding the corner, you'd either need to hit a giant hook or hoist a driver very high to reach the green. Further complicating matters is the pond lining the right side of the hole. Not only is it very close and in play even if you lay up, the fairway tilts heavily from left to right, encouraging big bounces right in the direction of the water. You need to be careful on this tee shot; fortunately, it's a short hole, so even teeing off with a mid iron will leave you with a wedge second. The green is sloped significantly from back to front, and while it's bunkerless, there's forest long and a lone tree guards the left side, complicating drives that stay too far away from the pond. I'll give the fourteenth this much: It's definitely not mindless.

The fourteenth hole.

Approaching the fourteenth green.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is 310 yards, and it's everyone's favorite design: the 90-degree dogleg. Like the previous hole, the green is technically reachable, but with about a thousand trees between the tee and the green, you'd need supreme confidence in your abilities to try. For most people, this is a long iron followed by a little wedge up the hill to a small green tucked into the forest, with a single bunker left. No need to complicate anything.

The fifteenth hole.

Approaching the fifteenth green.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is a mid-length par 3 playing ever so slightly downhill to a narrow green flanked by sand. It's not a terrible hole, but it's hardly the most inspired thing in the world.

The sixteenth hole.

For the first sixteen holes, Great Cove does not present much of a challenge. This is not a difficult golf course. However, once you step onto the seventeenth tee, things take a turn. At 550 yards, the seventeenth may not seem all that long on paper, but this is a true three-shot hole. It plays uphill the entire way, gently but endlessly. And with dense trees hemming in the narrow fairway, there's precious little room to maneuver or recover should your drive stray offline. And the fairway only gets narrower as you go. The smart play is to accept this as a three-shotter and hit a 3 wood off the tee (or even a long iron), followed up by another fairway wood or long iron. That should leave you with a wedge third, but don't think the challenge ends there. This green slopes very sharply from back to front, and while the greens aren't fast, I've watched someone six putt this green back in the day. Par is a victory here. Honestly, even bogey is fine. Just avoid the dreaded other and move on.

The seventeenth hole.

Approaching the seventeenth green.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole is by far the longest of Great Cove's par 4s, playing nearly 460 yards. Admittedly, that is mitigated by the steeply downhill tee shot, but in order to access the fairway, you must first thread your drive through a narrow chute of trees. Hitting a draw will work very well for you here. Provided you do make it through, the hole opens up tremendously. A good drive will leave a mid iron into the green, which gently slopes from back to front and is protected by bunkers on both sides. Not an easy shot, but way less difficult than the drive. Still, this is not a gentle finishing hole.

The eighteenth hole.

Approaching the eighteenth green.

The eighteenth green.

So, does Great Cove have any secret hidden depths to it? Uh, no. It's definitely not the worst course in the world, but neither is it good in any real sense of the word. It's a pretty average golf course, tending toward the basic. And that's reflected in the price: $25 to play 18 holes is really not too bad. For that, I can excuse quite a bit. So, while I wish the course was better, I think you definitely get out of Great Cove what you put into it. I wouldn't say no to another round there.