Review: Cumberland Golf Club (Part 2)

It's time for the back nine at Cumberland Golf Club, here's the front if you haven't seen it.

The tenth hole is a par 5, just like the first, and it plays parallel to the first. So the general strategy is pretty much the same, get your drive to the plateau and have a full view of the green. The hole is just over 500 yards, so it's definitely reachable in two. All I can say is the hole is a bit narrower than the first, so accuracy is a bit more important off the tee. Otherwise, pretty much everything I said about the first applies here.

The tenth hole.

A good place to hit your second shot from. Note: this isn't where I hit my second shot from.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is a reasonably nice looking par 3, playing 200 yards slightly downhill to a small green guarded by bunkers on each side. It would be better if that wasn't the same basic description as all the par 3s.

The eleventh hole.

A slightly closer look at the eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is the final par 5 at Cumberland. It's 515 yards, and pretty much the most interesting thing about this hole is that it doglegs. Several holes on the back nine do have doglegs, which elevates it ever so slightly above the front nine. Otherwise, it's another flat hole devoid of much trouble. There's O.B. left, but you'd have to hit a hook of monumental proportions to reach it.

The twelfth hole.

Might as well go for the twelfth in two if you can.

The twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is the final par 3 at Cumberland. It plays exactly the same as the rest, and is the exact same length. The most interesting thing here is that this hole ends a 4-hole stretch where there are no par 4s. The par sequence of the back nine is 5-3-5-3-4-4-4-4-4, which is unusual. But if that's what fit, then that's what fit.

The thirteenth hole.

The thirteenth green.

The fourteenth hole is just under 370 yards, and while the fairway does dogleg slightly, you can very easily play at the green. A very simple hole, though the green does have a fairly noticeable tilt from back to front, so putts from above the hole can be a little fast.

The fourteenth hole.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is just under 400 yards. The hole doglegs left when it hits a property line, so if you're an especially long hitter, you might want to use a 3 wood. There's a dropoff behind the green, so going long is not recommended.

The fifteenth hole.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is, at 310 yards, the shortest par 4 at Cumberland, especially seeing as the tees were moved up. The green is reachable, but you do have a few trees threatening shots that are pulled or hit a little too low. A lay-up and a full wedge work about as well if you're not confident with the driver.

The sixteenth hole.

The sixteenth green.

The seventeenth hole is one of the better holes at Cumberland simply because it's long and has some elevation change. The drive is fairly straightforward, though a hook will land you in an unseen pond behind the trees. The second shot is to a green elevated significantly on top of a plateau. The green is a bit bigger than some of the others at Cumberland, but it's still not a huge target, so you had better be precise with your mid to long irons if you want to hit this green in regulation.

The seventeenth from the tee.

The elevated seventeenth green.

Looking back down 17.

The eighteenth hole is a bit shorter than the previous hole, but at 445 yards, it's still pretty long. It's also by far the most interesting hole at Cumberland. The pond left definitely comes into play, but bailing out right is also a poor idea, as a cluster of trees will stymie any drive hit over there. The best play is a fade aimed at the pond and brought back along the right-to-left sloping fairway. The second shot, of course, is business as usual, though the green is guarded by two bunkers on each side, rather than just one. Still, it's nice to end on a somewhat positive note.

The eighteenth hole.

The eighteenth green.

This was a very boring round.

Cumberland Golf Club is never going to win any awards for being a good golf course. It's actually pretty bad, though I'm willing to let the terrible fairway conditions slide, considering the record rainfall we got in 2018. I pretty much only did a full review because I took more than 100 pictures of the place, and I didn't want that work completely going to waste. In fact, I'm going to say, with a reasonable amount of certainty, that when I do my 2019 round-up of all the courses I've reviewed, Cumberland will be at the very bottom. Sure, this is the first review of 2019, but I would have to work quite hard to find a course worse than this.

Does Cumberland have anything going for it? Well, it wasn't very busy, but it was a weekday and quite dreary when I played. I can't vouch for what it would be like on the weekend. It was only $20, which isn't a steal but it isn't bad. An appropriate amount of money for what you get, I think. But the area south of Harrisburg is littered with inexpensive public courses, you can do much better than Cumberland for not a whole lot more money.

Bottom line, Cumberland Golf Club really isn't worth your time. The only reason I'm not completely against the course is because I played well there, and frankly, that's not a good reason. If you're looking for a cheap round in Carlisle, look elsewhere.