Beer of the Week

The beer: Triple Dog Triple IPA

Brewed by: Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, Maryland

Description (from the website): "At a whopping 18% ABV, Triple Dog is Flying Dog’s highest-octane brew. Citrus and resinous hop notes dominate the aroma and flavor profile which ends with a touch of alcohol sweetness and a dry finish."

Would I buy it again?: This is one of those beers that is technically a beer, but practically it's kind of not. This beer has an ABV of 18.6%, making it about three times more alcoholic than a regular beer, and you can't get away from that. There is a strong taste of alcohol when you drink this beer. It barely tastes like a beer, and it especially doesn't taste like an IPA. I would buy this beer again, but as an occasional indulgence. Since it's so strong, you have to be careful with it, otherwise that alcohol will sneak up on you. Plus, it's $20 for a four pack, which is quite a lot of money. 

James Webb Has Arrived

Yes, the James Webb Space Telescope has arrived at its final resting spot (the second Earth-Sun Lagrange point) and has fully deployed. Now all we have to do is wait for it to cool down, and the science will start to pour in. Bonus points: It seems to have used less fuel than initially predicted to reach L2, so the James Webb team says the telescope should be able to operate beyond the 10 years they originally planned on. That's some great news right there.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Birra Di Levante

Brewed by: Levante Brewing Company, West Chester, Pennsylvania 

Description (from the website): "A fine Pilsner is crafted from water with terroir. West Chester provides our brewery with such a pure water source that we hardly manipulate our water profile to achieve the characteristics of a true Bohemian-style Pilsner, lagered and further clarified through filtration. True to classic style, Tettnang hops brighten this crisp golden-straw hue Pilsner with earthy aromatics of noble spice."

Would I buy it again?: I was about as happy with this as one can be with a pilsner. I think it may actually be my favorite pilsner. Not a terribly exciting achievement, but this beer was incredibly drinkable and not hoppy at all. Just how I like them. I don't recall how much this cost, but so long as they're not looking for $5 per can, I would absolutely buy this one again.

Review: Musket Ridge Golf Club (Part 2)

It's time to take a look at the back nine of Musket Ridge, go here to see the front nine

The tenth hole is 540 yards, making it the second par 5 in a row. This one plays downhill over a rolling fairway in a little valley. There's a bunker right as well, but otherwise it's pretty open driving hole. If you're not going for the green in two, you'll probably want to lay up to 100 yards or a bit further back, since the fairway is narrowed by a massive bunker past that point. The green is protected by sand on three sides, but it is fairly flat.

The tenth hole.

Approaching the tenth hole.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is definitely an interesting proposition. There is technically a fairway on this short par 4, but it's extremely narrow at first and only gets narrower as it threads between six pot bunkers. We're talking 10 or 15 yards wide, which is not really adequate for anything. You can lay back where the fairway is at least hittable, but then you're leaving yourself with over 150 yards on a hole that's only 360 yards. If you can hit a driver over the three left fairway bunkers, I would recommend that. It will give you just a little wedge into the green, which has three more bunkers around it. I don't think I'd call it a good hole, but it's at least memorable, and that's better than nothing.

The eleventh hole.

Approaching the eleventh green.

The eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is the final par 5 at Musket Ridge, and the third in four holes. It's a double dogleg, bending left quite severely around a forest, so much so that you really can't use a driver if you can hit it more than 250 yards. Maybe even less, since 250 will land you in the bunkers just past the fairway. An aggressive draw/hook around the trees can let you hit the green in two; I got a 3 wood to about 150 yards. If you're not so aggressive, the green is pretty much out of reach, since it's small, heavily sloped and elevated, and fronted by bunkers. Lay-ups aren't easy either; while the fairway is wide, there are big bunkers on both sides. Usually the double dogleg par 5s aren't my favorite, but at least this one is pretty short and there's opportunity for aggressive play. That I'm okay with.

The twelfth hole.

Approaching the twelfth green.

The twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is another exciting installment in my semi-recurring series: "Uh oh, we ran out of room in the routing, time to place a par 3 in an awkward location." The green is barely more than 50 yards from the previous green, but the tee is almost 200 yards away, close to where drives on 12 would end up. And perhaps not surprisingly, this isn't a very exciting hole. The green is flat and on the smaller side, and there are three bunkers around it. It's pretty generic.

The thirteenth hole.

 

The thirteenth green.

The fourteenth hole is about 400 yards and plays slightly uphill around a fairway bunker left. It can be carried with even a mediocre driver, so I'd recommend that rather than trying to go around it with a fairway wood or long iron. The second shot is up to a green flanked by bunkers. It's not the most exciting hole in the world.

The fourteenth hole.

Approaching the fourteenth green.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is a shortish par 4, and a narrow one at that. The fairway is threaded between a hillside left and dense forest right, and it narrows to a tiny ribbon past 250 yards from the tee. You really don't want to use a driver on this hole, it's not made for it. The second shot will be a wedge or short iron up to an elevated green with a single small bunker front right. You can bail out left, there is some fairway over there if you don't want to risk going right down into the forest.

The fifteenth hole.

Approaching the fifteenth green.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is by far the most interesting hole at Musket Ridge, no offense to everything else. But this is something else. At 413 yards, it's not particularly long, but it manages to have plenty of challenge regardless. The hole swings right around dense forest, and it does so quickly. Driver isn't really a good idea unless you can hit a big slice, which is admittedly not a problem for many people. The fairway is canted severely from left to right, which makes the second shot very tough. The green is not large and there's more forest long and right. With the stance you've got on the second shot, which encourages slices, it's a very tough short or mid iron you'll have left. At least the green itself isn't particularly undulating.

The sixteenth hole.

Looking down at the sixteenth green from the eighteenth tee. I'm not entirely sure how I managed to get my drive to this point, but I did.

Approaching the sixteenth green.

The sixteenth green.

As it turns out, the seventeenth hole is as poorly routed as the thirteenth, meaning both par 3s on the back nine are kind of stuck in wherever they can go. In this case, the eighteenth tee is right next to the seventeenth tee and the green is 200 yards away. The seventeenth is at least a decent hole. It's the same length as the thirteenth, but it plays uphill to a green significantly tilted from back to front that has bunkers on both sides. Those bunkers are fairly deep as well.

The seventeenth hole.

The eighteenth hole is a pleasantly straightforward mid-length par 4 that gives the golfer an excellent chance to finish with a birdie. There's a bunker left of the fairway, but since there's a ton of room right, there's no good reason to go left unless you're a massive idiot (note: I'm a massive idiot). Going right also gives you the best angle into the green. The second shot is a wedge or short iron to a green that slopes from back right to front left.

The eighteenth hole.

Approaching the eighteenth green.

The eighteenth green.

So, is Musket Ridge better than Maryland National? Uh, yes, and it's not even close. If I had 10 rounds to play at those two courses, I'd pick Musket Ridge all 10 times. But being better than the golf equivalent of being packed into an overly crowded bus at rush hour isn't exactly a high bar to clear. Maryland National is one of the worst courses I've ever played. Is Musket Ridge worth playing if you're in the Frederick area? If you only have time for one course, no, I don't think so. P.B. Dye is quite clearly better and more interesting. However, of the courses I have played within 20 minutes of Frederick (and there are still holes in that list), this is the second best.

I don't think Musket Ridge is going to win any design awards, though the sixteenth was kind of fun. But it does provide 18 holes of pleasant, moderately challenging golf, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with a course doing that. It matched my expectations of a Joe Lee golf course. There were no pretensions here, no delusions of championship golf, and that was a good thing. The price was a little high for what you get; I paid $70 on what was admittedly sort of a holiday (the Monday after Independence Day, which I had off). With the cart, it's not quite so steep, but still, I wouldn't pay any more than that. The unfortunate truth is that Maryland golf is overpriced no matter where you go. 

Beer of the Week

The beer: Tropical Oberon Ale

Brewed by: Bell's Brewery, Kalamazoo, Michigan

Description (from the website): "Oberon shines vibrant and bright in this limited release. Brewed with real passionfruit, pink guava and mango, this ale takes your favorite summer beer to new shores. Mini drink umbrellas sold separately."

Would I buy it again?: One thing is for sure: This was the cloudiest beer I've ever had. You can see the bits of condensed yeast in the glass there, and it looked even more unappetizing in person. Yeah, it all settled down, but still, not a great start. Honestly though, the beer tasted fine; not my favorite, but decent enough. But when it comes to beer, there's a fine margin for error, and the yeast is enough reason for me to pass on this in the future.

Review: Musket Ridge Golf Club (Part 1)

Last January I reviewed Maryland National, a golf course very close to home, and one I really didn't like. Actually, that's being kind, it was actually one of my least favorite courses of all time. I can only think of a couple courses I liked less. Anyway, a year later, we return to Frederick and Maryland National's next-door neighbor, Musket Ridge. Seriously, they don't quite border each other, but they're less than a mile apart.

It's not just geography that Musket Ridge shares with Maryland National: They were built at virtually the same time, opening within a year of each other, and both share rugged topography that's basically unwalkable. Musket Ridge was designed by Joe Lee, an associate of Dick Wilson way back in the 1950s and 1960s when Dick Wilson was Robert Trent Jones's primary competitor. Of course, Dick Wilson died in the mid 60s, but Joe Lee continued on with his own design firm. Musket Ridge opened in 2001 and is actually Joe Lee's last design; he died in 2002. While Dick Wilson was known as a designer of heroic, difficult courses, Joe Lee built kinder and gentler courses, friendly to all kinds of golfers. Will that make Musket Ridge a more inviting prospect than its neighbor? Let's find out.

The first hole is a mid-length par 4 playing from the highest point at the course (the clubhouse, naturally) way down to a bowl-shaped fairway in a valley. The pond right of the green is quite a ways off, but since the drive is so far downhill, it can threaten longer drivers, and since the fairway narrows a lot about 100 yards from the green, a 3 wood is really all you need off of the tee, preferably down the left side. That will leave a wedge or short iron into the green, which is medium sized and protected by bunkers front right and back left. 

The first hole.

Approaching the first green.

The first green.

The second hole is the shortest hole at Musket Ridge, playing 170 yards over the pond from the last hole. There are three bunkers on three sides; the front bunker is especially deep. Missing right isn't great either, since a shot could easily roll back down the hill. The green is reasonably undulating, and there's a shelf in the back portion of the green that I imagine provides some pretty tough hole locations.

The second hole.

The second green.

The third hole is 400 yards, though it can play a lot shorter than that. The fairway doglegs almost 90 degrees to the right, so you can cut off a lot of fairway by cutting the corner. Just be careful, there's a marshy area right of the fairway hidden behind some trees. For the second shot, you could have anything from a short or mid iron if you play safely to a half wedge if you're more aggressive. The green has a bunker short right and is sloped from back to front.

The third hole.

Approaching the third green.

The third green.

The fourth hole is 450 yards from the back, though it's a more reasonable 390 from the next tee up. The fairway bunker right isn't really in play, but the one left is, and if you want the best angle into the green, you'll want to hit your drive close to it. That'll leave a wedge or short iron into the green, which has a bunker right. The green is sort of domed and falls away on most sides; you especially don't want to go long, the ball might bounce down a long way.

The fourth hole.

Approaching the fourth green.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is another mid-length par 4, with this one featuring some blindness. The fairway crests the top of a ridge, and if you want to see the green, you'll need to use a driver. Of course, the fairway is narrow that far, squeezed by a bunker and hillside right, and O.B. left. The green has a single bunker left, meaning you're better off approaching from the right side, but you're more likely to have a blind shot, so there's a tradeoff.

The fifth hole.

Approaching the fifth green.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is the first par 5 on the course, and the tee shot plays significantly downhill to a fairway threaded between a hillside right and forest left. You can hit some pretty big tee shots here, so even though the hole's 520 yards, it's pretty easy to reach in two. I'd recommend it too, if you can, since there are three bunkers about 50-100 yards from the green that narrow the fairway and guard the ideal angle into the green. The green is elevated above the fairway to the right and surrounded by forest on every other side, so if you do bail out a bit right like I did, you'll be left with a really tough chip to a shallow target 10 feet above you. This hole isn't as easy as you might think standing less than 200 yards away after a 300 yard plus drive.

The sixth hole.

Approaching the sixth green.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is a long par 4, almost as long as the fourth, and this time the next tee up isn't so far forward. The fairway is quite narrow, carved out of a hillside. There's forest left and more sporadic trees right, though they're still dense enough to block out any shots. You can use a fairway wood or long iron to make hitting the fairway more certain, but then you'll have a really long second shot. The green is on the quieter side though, and there's only one bunker left. Plus, shots bailed out right will likely bounce back down toward the green. They might not get onto the green, but they'll be contained. 

The seventh hole.

Approaching the seventh green.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is a fairly long par 3 at 215 yards, and with a bunker right and one short left, there's not much room to run up the mid or long iron you'll be using. The green is sloped from right to left, so if you're going to miss, I'd recommend going left or short. I missed right, and my bunker shot rolled right on through the green. 

The eighth hole.

The eighth green.

The ninth hole is the longest hole on the course, and it plays steeply uphill, so you're going to notice every last bit of its 570 yards. Also, the fairway is really narrow, forced between two significant sideslopes covered in pine. I mean, that's what you get routing a fairway on the side of a hill. A good tee shot will give you an easy lay-up, but if your tee shot isn't great, a pair of fairway bunkers about 150 yards from the green will be in play. The third shot is up the hill to a semiblind green guarded by two bunkers right.

The ninth hole.

Approaching the ninth green.

The ninth green.

That's it for this week, next week we'll take a look at the back nine.