Review: Fore Sisters Golf Club (Part 1)

Yes, you read the title right. It's Fore Sisters, not Four Sisters. Yes, the name of the course is a pun. And I appreciate that a lot.

Now that we've gotten the obvious out of the way, we can talk about the actual golf course. Last month we were at Glenn Dale, a nice, quiet golf course in an outer D.C. suburb. While we're still in the same state, Fore Sisters is a very different beast. Located about 10 miles south of Cumberland, Fore Sisters rests on some rambunctious terrain on the side of Dans Mountain, the highest point in Allegany County at nearly 2,900 feet. For Maryland, that's pretty tall, and the ridge certainly towers over proceedings. The surroundings are pretty rugged and wild, and as we'll see, that's a trait that extends to the golf course itself, for better and for worse.

The first hole is a mid-length par 4 playing gently uphill to a partially blind fairway. If you want to aim for a specific side of the fairway, left is probably better, as it gives you a slightly better angle at the green. The entire hole has a noticeable right to left tilt, and the right side of the green is obscured by that elevation change and a small bunker. A very mild opening hole.

The first hole.

Approaching the first green.

The first green.

The second hole is a short 300 yard par 4 playing on the same line and general terrain as the first. The tee shot is again partially blind and again, the fairway is canted so that the ball will pretty much always be above your feet. In addition, the small green is angled so that it is better approached from the left.

The tee shot on the second looks pretty similar to the first.

The second green.

The third hole is where things start to get interesting. This is a short par 5 (only 450 yards) that plays from an elevated tee down to a fairway with a severe right-to-left tilt. There's a bit more room left than right, but if you do go left, you'll have absolutely no shot at the hole, leaving your only option a 100-yard lay-up. Frankly, I'm not sure too many people could go for this green, the hole doglegs sharply about a hundred yards from the green, meaning you'd have to hit a big drive into a progressively narrowing fairway to get a reasonable look. After descending down by a narrow creek, the hole rockets back up for the last 50 yards, with the green cut into the hillside in a fashion reminiscent of the seventh at Westminster National. I still think that hole's a little sillier than this one, but it's pretty close.

The third hole.

Heading up to the third green.

Looking back at the third hole, and the valley you have to negotiate to get to the green.

The fourth hole is the first of six par 3s at Fore Sisters. This one is about 170 yards, I think. Given distances weren't exactly precise out here. The hole is downhill, and you really don't want to go long. That's dead down there. The green also slopes from front to back, which adds a fair amount of difficulty to an otherwise simple mid iron shot.

The fourth hole.

The fourth green from behind.

The fifth hole is a short 320 yard par 4 with a drive over a steep ravine to a fairway sloping from right to left. There is a fairway bunker, and a true fairway bunker within the confines of the fairway, but it's not hugely relevant since it's so close to the tee. A decent fairway wood will get you over it. If you can pull off a big draw, the green is probably drivable. There is a bunker to the left of the green, but if you hit a good 225-250 yard lay-up, it's not really in play, but the half-pitch from a sidehill lie is tricky, especially going at a very small green.

The fifth hole.

Not a bad place to be on the second shot.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is a fairly short par 5 sweeping left down a hill. The fairway is in a subtle valley, and if you want a decent shot at the green, the drive should be hit down the right. A big tree separate from the rest of the forest sits in the left section of the fairway, about 150 from the green.

The sixth hole.

Approaching the sixth green. I'm making sure we get plenty of mountain views in these pictures.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is a classic drop-shot par 3. Only 140 yards, downhill, water short and left, it's the stereotypical wedge that makes you sweat. The hole is so short, it's an obvious birdie opportunity, and if you hit a poor shot and miss the green, the frustration may cause you to compound the mistake and end up with a bogey or worse. Adding a bunker right to further add to the peril wouldn't be the worst idea in the world.

The seventh hole.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is, according to the scorecard, a 515 yard par 5. I feel it's necessary to make that distinction because there is no way the hole measures anything close to 515 yards, not in a straight line. The tee shot is reasonably straightforward, hit over a pond to an undulating fairway. Things get interesting on the second shot. From the ideal position, all you can see is a bit of fairway down in a valley, quickly disappearing behind the forest to the left. If you've never played the course before, you would therefore assume the green is out of reach and lay-up with a mid or short iron. The hole's supposed to be over 500 yards, it's downhill, but surely an 8 iron wouldn't be too much. Wrong, the hole's actually 50 yards shorter than it says, an 8 iron was enough to get hole high, but instead, you're 50 yards right, underneath a tree, and there's a nice little stream in between you and the green so a run-up shot is out too. I'm still angry over this entirely hypothetical example of how to play the hole. Bottom line, the hole's a lot shorter than it says, and if you hit a good drive, a short iron is all you need to get over the trees and onto the green. It's a better play than trying to lay up.

The eighth hole.

The second shot plunges down to a small ribbon of fairway.

The eighth green. This is where you'd want to lay up. This is not where I laid up.

The ninth hole is another fairly short par 3 over a pond, though it's a bit longer than the seventh. The green is fairly tilted from right to left, and I imagine the greenside bunker gets a fair amount of action as people bail out away from the water. A pretty average hole to close out the front nine, which does not return to the clubhouse. The routing isn't out and back, exactly, but it's a nice change of pace.

The ninth hole.

That's it for this week, next week we'll check out the back nine.