Review: Stamford Valley Golf Course

Hang on a second, didn't we already do a golf course review this month? Well yes, but I have a spare 9 holes worth of pictures sitting around, and since there's five Wednesdays in October, I thought I'd throw this out there now.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, my brothers and I went to Kingsbury National because someone had to work a few hours on Sunday. But my other brother and I didn't sit around doing nothing, and since neither one of us has played golf in Vermont, we thought we'd find the nearest 9 hole course to Albany in the Green Mountain State. That turned out to be Stamford Valley Golf Course, tucked into a valley at the very southern tip of the state. Would this be like every other cheap little 9 holer I've played, or would there be some real interest around? Let's find out.

The first hole is about as gentle an opener as you'll ever find. A 250 yard par 4, dead straight, completely flat, no bunkers or hazards of any kind, wide open. And yet, it's not as boring as it looks, because the interior portion of the green is noticeably built up. Slightly inaccurate shots, regardless if they're a chip or a full 3 wood, will be shrugged away.

The first hole.

The first green.

The second hole runs parallel to the first, and while it's 85 yards longer than the first hole, it's not exactly a long hole. Also, it doesn't have a particularly interesting green, so this is an even simpler hole than what we just saw. The only things to avoid are a few trees and a greenside bunker on the left. Otherwise, this hole could not be more wide open.

The second hole.

Approaching the second green.

The second green.

The third hole is parallel to the first two holes, but it's longer than either at 355 yards. Still, a pretty short par 4. While the terrain is once again dead flat, the tee shot is made a bit more interesting by the presence of a cluster of bunkers left and a central bunker about 275 yards from the tee. Yes, dinky little Stamford Valley has an internal fairway bunker. If you can avoid all that, the second shot is pretty straightforward, just a wedge to an open green.

The third hole.

You don't see internal fairway bunkers too often.

The third green.

The fourth hole is the lone par 5 at Stamford Valley, though you wouldn't know it just looking at the yardage. It's only 430 yards, but you'll soon find out why it plays as a par 5. The tee shot is simple enough, though there are fairway bunkers on both sides of the fairway. A nice draw will do you well. But the second shot presents a more interesting challenge. The fourth is actually a double dogleg: It bends left at about a 30-40 degree angle at roughly 250 yards, and then it bends left again at nearly a 90 degree angle about 125 yards further on. To further emphasize the second dogleg, there are trees planted in the corner, so if you want to go for the green in two, you'd better be able to hoist your irons up high. This hole is also notable for being so close to the Massachusetts border. I'm fairly sure you could stand at the corner of the second dogleg and hit a wedge up over the trees into the next state.

The fourth hole.

Approaching the fourth green is an interesting proposition.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is a short (medium length for this course) par 4, but one with plenty of choices. The most obvious feature is the pond sitting in the middle of the fairway. If you're very short, you can play around the pond, as at no point does it cut the whole way across the fairway. You can lay up short and hit a short iron on the second. Alternatively, you can hit driver and attempt to clear part or all of it, leaving only a pitch. The green is definitely one to remember, and if it was cut short at all, it would be completely unplayable. It's that severely canted from back to front. The green is tough enough as it is now. Putts from above the hole are nerve wracking, and putts from below are ridiculous.

The fifth hole.

A nice clean pond.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is about the same length as the last one, but it plays very different. For one thing, the course gets to a point where there's actual elevation change, and this hole goes up the hill toward the mountains. The tee shot is very narrow, pinched between trees left and dense forest right. There's no need to hit driver, a wood or long iron is plenty. The second shot isn't long, but the narrow green is rather precariously perched above a very deep bunker and a long falloff to the left. Shots hit slightly right will bounce back onto the green, but the forest is close. This is a surprisingly tough 350 yard hole.

The sixth hole.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is the only par 3 at Stamford Valley, and it's a bit of a brute. Downhill, of course, but at 230 yards, it's only 20 yards shorter than the shortest par 4 on the course. And it's no easy target either; the green is very big, but it's dramatically sloped in a vaguely Redan sort of way, and there are four bunkers around the green. I don't imagine a whole lot of birdies or even that many pars are made here, as this is easily the toughest hole on the course.

The seventh hole.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole proves that holes don't have to play downhill to be scenic. The view on the tee is peak New England: a small pond in the foreground, with numerous mountain peaks covered in dense forest in the background. The hole itself is 400 yards, and it feels that way, since we're going straight up toward one of those mountains. The further you can get your drive, the better the odds you'll at least be able to see the flag. Once again, the green is severely tilted, this time from right to left.

The eighth hole provides quite a view.

The eighth green has some slope to it.

The ninth hole goes back down the hill the eighth just climbed up, and measures 150 yards shorter. Yes, it's the same length as the first, and it plays even shorter. A 4 iron got me to almost the front edge of the green. Other than some O.B. right, there's no bunkers or trouble and the green is on the tamer side, so this represents a fantastic opportunity to finish with a birdie or even an eagle.

The ninth hole.

Yes, I did almost hit the green with my tee shot, and yes, I did walk away with a bogey. Short game is literally without flaw.

The ninth green.

It's a shame Stamford Valley is all the way in Vermont, because I would love to have it down in Maryland. It's the sort of cheap casual course that I grew up on, but it's fun to walk and it's got some neat quirk to it. The stretch from 6 to 8 were honestly pretty good, and not in a comparative sense, in actuality, they're good, interesting holes. Honestly, the only really mediocre hole is the second, everything else has something going on.

The price was a little on the high side: $16 to walk 9 holes. I guess it was a Sunday morning, but that price doesn't change. Not a big deal, we're only talking about a couple dollars, but it's something I think I should mention. Other than that and the slow round (again, it was a very nice Sunday morning, everyone was out), Stamford Valley was a very pleasant experience.

UPDATE: My younger brother would like to add that he had a less than pleasant experience at Stamford Valley because his bag completely broke on the sixth hole. And the extra hour we had to spend getting a new one for him was not particularly fun. But the course was still fine.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Smokestack Black IPA

Brewed by: Smoketown Brewing Station, Brunswick, Maryland

Description (from the website): "A dark IPA with a cascading tawny head. Its light fruity aroma leads to its robust Citra and Centennial hop taste. Looks like a stout, but drinks like an IPA."

Would I buy it again?: I wouldn't say no to it, but I wouldn't go out of my way for one. It was okay, but I didn't love it. Personally, I would prefer something that looks like an IPA but drinks like a stout. That would be interesting.

We May Find Alien Life Very Soon

But don't hold your breath for intelligent life.

That's the crux of a pair of articles that are on the front page of Space.com today. I thought it was kind of funny that they were sharing space with one being so optimistic and the other ... being decidedly less so.

Let's start with the positive, which comes from a discussion at the International Astronautical Congress. Basically, a lot of really smart people think we'll find life in our solar system very soon. As in, 10 or 15 years. It'll probably be on Mars, but who knows, maybe Enceladus or Europa would surprise. I thought it was funny that someone brought up Frank Drake, the man behind the infamous Drake equation, which seeks to put a number of possible technological civilizations based on the likelihood of a variety of factors, like the number of habitable planets, the number of planets that can sustain life, and the number of planets where life lasts long enough to reach intelligence.

And that brings us to the second article. It's nothing I haven't seen before, true technological intelligence is going to be incredibly rare because there are so many factors that have to go right, blah blah blah. I have two problems with this line of thinking. One: Anything that puts Earth on a pedestal is suspicious. We should always try to avoid thinking of ourselves as important, or at the center of the universe. Two: We have absolutely no idea how common the things that led to the rise of life on Earth actually are. We're only just now able to get some idea of the number of habitable worlds in the galaxy, and there are so many other steps involved. We have a sample size of one. We can't know how common intelligent life is because we have no idea how common life is. Concluding something when we're missing half a dozen variables is silly.

Anyway, that's my rant for the day.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Rhino Fest Märzen Lager

Brewed by: Lost Rhino Brewing Company, Ashburn, Virginia

Description (from the website): "A beer designed for the funfair of traditional German culture (which wouldn’t be complete without beer). Our Märzen is an excellent companion to Autumn’s first chill with its full body, malty flavors and a clean, dry finish."

Would I buy it again?: Yeah, I think I would. This particular Märzen is thicker and fuller than most, which is interesting. And the taste is pretty good as well.

Review: Kingsbury National Golf Club (Part 2)

We're back with the back nine at Kingsbury National, go here if you haven't seen the front.

The tenth hole is the longest par 4 at Kingsbury, measuring 445 yards, 4 yards more than the sixth. The tee shot must be threaded between a cluster of fairway bunkers, and for the second shot, the golfer will have a short or mid iron to a green guarded by a bunker front left, and by a native area that runs down the entire length of the hole. I think this is probably the toughest hole Kingsbury National has to offer, and if you make par, you're doing well.

The tenth hole.

Approaching the tenth green.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is a short par 3, though it's a bit longer than the 143 yards that the scorecard suggests. The green is guarded by three bunkers which encircle most of the green. Even so, this is not a difficult hole, just a wedge or short iron.

The eleventh hole.

The twelfth hole is a fairly short par 4 that plays even shorter thanks to the downhill tee shot. However, this is one of only two holes on the course where trees really come into play on both sides, and as you go further, the gap between the trees gets narrower and narrower. If you hit driver, you'll only have 30 yards to work with. So it's probably better to use a long iron or fairway wood off the tee, leaving a full wedge or short iron. Hitting the fairway is important on this hole. From there, the second shot is hit over some mounding to a green protected by a single bunker on the left side.

The twelfth hole.

Approaching the twelfth green.

The twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is a pretty plain and simple 190 yard par 3. There's no bunkers, and no hazards save for some native areas short and left that really aren't an issue in any way.

The thirteenth hole.

The fourteenth hole is a much more interesting proposition. The longest hole on the course at 540 yards, the fourteenth can be turned into a much shorter hole by cutting the dogleg. You have to carry some trees to do so, but if you're successful, you can cut 50 yards off the length of the hole. Just don't go through the fairway into the O.B. The second shot is up the hill to a blind green pressed up against more O.B. right and long, and by bunkers left and short. If you lay back off the tee, you need to get your second shot up to around the 100-yard marker, otherwise the third shot will still be blind.

The fourteenth hole.

Not much to see from the fairway.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole could use a bit of tree trimming. It's a 410 yard par 4 that plays downhill, but you have to play every bit of that yardage. As you can see from the pictures, the hole doglegs right, but the treeline hangs in quite a lot. So much so that it effectively removes a big chunk of the fairway from play, unless you hit a big fade. Not that you'd want to, as there's a native area beyond the trees, and the lone bunker on the hole guards the front right portion of the green. Your best bet is using a 3 wood and hitting it out to the left, then hitting a short or mid iron to the green.

The drive on 15 has to contend with a few trees on the right.

The fifteenth hole, now without blocking trees.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is pretty similar in length to the thirteenth, but is a bit more interesting. For one, the green is one of the best on the course, providing plenty of interesting contours. While the water short isn't a massive issue, the two bunkers short left and short right are. Also, I'd just like to point out how good the lighting is on the picture I took. There are some definite benefits to playing in the evening.

The sixteenth hole.

The seventeenth hole slices through the same bit of forest that the twelfth did, except this hole is even narrower. At 375 yards, it's about the same length as the twelfth, and once again, using a long iron or fairway wood is the best course of action off the tee. There's just not a lot of room out there, and any shots hit right of the fairway will fall away into the trees. The second shot is slightly uphill to a small and very shallow green protected by a bunker front right.

The seventeenth hole.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole closes things off with a reachable par 5, barely over 500 yards. Once you identify where the fairway is (not an easy task considering the lack of framing and the native area obscuring the view), the tee shot must thread between a pair of bunkers flanking the landing area. Do that, or better yet, clear them, you'll be left with a long iron or wood to the green. You can certainly lay up out to the right, leaving a straightforward third, or go for it, challenging the water and a group of bunkers surrounding the green. Not an easy shot, but pull it off and you'll have a good opportunity to finish with an eagle.

Not much guidance on the eighteenth tee.

Approaching the eighteenth green.

The eighteenth green.

As far as the layout, routing, and strategy is concerned, Kingsbury National is nothing special. Not bad, it doesn't commit too many big errors save for a few parallel holes on the front, but there's no standout holes. It's 18 solid but generally safe holes. However, the fact that the course was playing so firm and fast helped a lot. If you're not a golf enthusiast, that means that when the golf ball lands, it doesn't just stop, but runs out instead. That is how golf is supposed to be played, as it makes every shot more fun. Even a relatively straightforward course such as Kingsbury National benefits from proper conditioning. It makes every shot more interesting. You always have to think about how your golf ball will react when it hits the ground, you can't just blindly fire away at every flag.

As far as value goes, the round was $25 on a Sunday afternoon, which is definitely not too bad. The course was in excellent shape, as I just mentioned, so clearly the money is being used well. I've definitely paid more to play worse golf courses than this. It wasn't the most interesting course in the world, but it definitely wasn't bad. Slightly better than average, we'll call it. My brother didn't make the worst choice in the world. If I lived in the area, I'd definitely consider it a good public option. But I live in Maryland, and if I was ever to visit the area again, I probably wouldn't go for this. It's okay, but nothing special.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Baked Pumpkin Ale

Brewed by: Lancaster Brewing Company, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Description (from the website): "Have your pie and drink it too! Bold in flavor with a deep amber color, our big Baked Pumpkin Ale is sure to remind you of Grandma’s pumpkin pie. Its lasting vanilla finish will leave your taste buds craving another."

Would I buy it again?: I haven't always enjoyed pumpkin beer, but this one was quite good, I'd definitely consider buying it again. The pumpkin wasn't overpowering, and the vanilla did leave an enjoyable aftertaste.

Review: Kingsbury National Golf Club (Part 1)

We continue our trip through eastern upstate New York at Kingsbury National Golf Club, located in Hudson Falls, an hour north of Albany. This was definitely not my first choice as far as the day's golf was concerned. My brother had to work for a few hours on Sunday, so we were limited in terms of distance and time. I had my eyes set on a course in Saratoga Springs, but my brother insisted on this course. He thought it looked interesting, and at the very least, it was less tree-lined than anything I had in mind.

As for course background, there isn't a whole lot of info out there. It's a golf course that opened in the early 90s, and was bought and renamed a few years ago. Other than that, I went into the round having pretty much no idea what to expect beyond what Google Maps could tell me. So the question is: Do I let my brother pick golf courses from this point forward?

The first hole is a reachable par 5 at 500 yards. There is a decision to be made right away: How much of the pond do you challenge? You could skirt around it entirely, but then you could only use an iron before you ran out of fairway. The more water you carry, the narrower the hole gets. Of course, there's another option if you're a big hitter, as carrying the water completely is definitely within the realm of possibility. Doing that would leave only a mid or short iron to the green. If you do lay up, a small valley cutting across the fairway has to be dealt with, and a bunker front right means that you're best off getting as close to the O.B. line as you dare. That opens up the long, narrow double green. Yes, double green, as the first shares a green with the eighth hole. Definitely an unusual occurrence, but not the first time I've come across a double green.

The first hole presents a challenge right away.

Approaching the first green.

The first green.

The first and eighth holes share a green. Definitely not something you see every day.

The second hole is a mid-length par 3 at 190 yards, playing slightly downhill to a medium-sized green guarded by three bunkers. Not the most exciting or interesting hole in the world.

The second hole.

The third hole is a fairly long par 4, playing just under 430 yards. The tee shot is completely blind, and there's no indication of where the fairway is. So you have to guess. The hole bends from left to right, and the fairway slopes from right to left, so hitting a fade off the tee is definitely a benefit. Just don't go too far right, as trees encroach quite a lot. The green is not large and is protected by a single bunker to the right.

The third hole. Picture of blind tee shot not included (for once).

The third green.

The fourth hole is a fairly short par 3, playing 165 over a ravine to a shallow green with a significant back to front slope. Missing long will result in either a delicate chip shot off a downhill lie to a green that slopes away or a lost golf ball. Missing left is okay as long as you don't land on the wrong side of the mound. Plus there's the bunker short right. Plenty to think about on this hole.

The fourth hole.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is a dead straight par 5 playing 520 yards. The tee shot is hit onto a fairway at the top of a small plateau that falls away on three sides. Clearly the golfer will be drawn left, as the hole is open on that side, but doing so and going too far left will mean tree trouble on the second shot. The hole isn't terribly long and is reachable in two if you hit a good drive. If you do lay up though, you'll want to be at least a hundred yards out, as two fairway bunkers pinch into the fairway past that point. There's a noticeable tier on the back-right section of the green, so if the hole is back there, second and third shots become much tougher.

The fifth hole.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is a long par 4, and it plays parallel to the previous hole. The hole is actually bunkerless, and the pond in front of the tee really isn't an issue. So while it's 440 yards, it's not a very difficult hole. Not exactly a birdie opportunity, but you'd have to work hard to get a really high score.

The sixth hole.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is a mid-length par 4 with yet another blind tee shot. It's straight, just like the previous two holes (almost like they all play parallel to each other), but you'll definitely want to favor the left side on the drive. And you'll probably want to hit a draw as well, as the left side of the fairway slopes from left to right. If you're on the correct side, the green is deep and pretty open, though there are some bunkers left. If you're on the right side, you're presented with a shallower target perched behind a pond.

The seventh hole.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is a short, almost drivable par 4, playing 330 yards slightly uphill. There is a fairway, but it's kind of shoved off to the right next to some trees, and is so narrow it's almost irrelevant. There's no trouble if you hit straight at the green, so why not do that? The second shot could be a full wedge or a little pitch, but either way, you have play over a bunker to the double green. Two more bunkers guard the hole left and right. It's not an easy pitch, but this is still a good birdie opportunity.

The eighth hole.

The eighth green.

This is not the easiest chip shot in the world.

The ninth hole is a 415 yard par 4, and a fairly tough way to finish the front nine. The hole doglegs left, with a pond at the end of the fairway doing a great job of discouraging the driver. Now, you can certainly cut off a bit of the dogleg, but the hole isn't tremendously long, and a 3 wood should still leave you with a short or mid iron. The pond may look threatening on the second shot, but it stops well short of the green. It's not an easy approach, as there's a native area long, but it isn't as tough as it looks.

The ninth hole.

Approaching the ninth green. The pond is a lot further from the green than it looks.

The ninth green.

That's it for this week, come back next week to see the back nine.