Review: Monterey Country Club

What is the oldest golf course in the United States? It's a surprisingly difficult question to answer: News and records aren't particularly reliable when you go back 130-plus years. As of right now, the official record holder is Foxburg Country Club in western Pennsylvania, where golf has been played on the same site since 1887. However, there's a strong case for Dorset Field Club in Vermont, where a course seems to have been laid out in 1886.

If the website for Monterey Country Club, a 9-hole course in Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania, is to be believed, it is the true oldest course in America, with a course being laid out in 1885. However, this claim is not substantiated by any sources, so there's no reason to take that claim at face value. Maybe one day I'll do the research and find out, but for now, let's assume that this claim is incorrect. A newspaper article from 1899 does confirm the course's existence, so while it may not be quite as old as it claims, Monterey is still a pretty old golf course. And there's history beyond the course: A minor Civil War battle was fought here (a Union raid on a Confederate wagon train retreating from the Battle of Gettysburg) and Wallis Simpson, who would go on to marry King Edward VIII of the British Empire, causing him to abdicate the throne, was born in a house across the street from the first fairway. In the early 1900s the golf course was attached to the Monterey Inn and marketed as a summer retreat for the D.C./Baltimore crowd. Over the years, it hosted multiple presidents, including Wilson, Coolidge, and Eisenhower.

The site, located adjacent to a mountaintop marsh, is dead flat, and the golf is decidedly primitive. Beyond neglect, nothing much has changed at Monterey in a very long time, so this is really a peek into golf's past. What did 19th century golf look like? Let's find out.

The first hole is by far the longest par 4 on the course, but this is a very short course, so long for Monterey means 390 yards. However, what it lacks in distance it more than makes up for when it comes to accuracy. The hole bends right around a road, and a ditch plus a native area narrow the fairway where a driver would end up. There is very little space if you hit your drive more than 240 yards. The prudent play is using a wood or long iron and laying back before the dogleg, favoring the left side (stray too far right and you'll be blocked out by trees). The second shot will be pretty long, but the green is completely open, so using a longer iron isn't a huge deal. The green is quite flat and very small, and also not cut very short. Many golf courses have fairways that run faster than Monterey's greens. As I said, this is a very primitive operation.

The first hole.

The first green.

The second hole is somewhere in the 160-170 yard range (distances at Monterey are often not precise), making it the first of the course's five par 3s. While there are no bunkers, dense forest right and ditches and high grass left (and formerly a large tree) do a decent job of protecting this green, which is also essentially flat.

The second hole. That big tree protecting the left side is no longer there.

The second green.

The third hole is about 120 yards, playing over a couple of ditches to a reasonably large (by Monterey standards) green. There's a couple bunkers behind the green, which slopes from back to front. There's woods and marsh behind, but they're not hugely threatening. This is a good birdie opportunity.

The third hole.

The third green.

The fourth hole is Monterey's lone par 5, playing a bit under 500 yards with marsh all along the right side. This course is quite unforgiving if your miss is a slice; the course is routed so that the trouble is always on the right. The entire left side has a line of trees, which is preferable to a lost golf ball, but still, you'll want to hit the fairway here. Do that and the rest of the hole is simple and open, with no bunkers and an uncomplicated green.

The fourth hole.

Approaching the fourth green.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is about 150 yards, with a long mound running all the way across the hole about 20 yards short of the green. A very old-school mound. Beyond that, there's not much to this hole. No bunkers, no tricky green, just hit a solid short iron and you can walk away with a birdie.

The fifth hole.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is a very short par 4, maybe 250 on a good day, but it's one that makes you think a little. Two bunkers run across the fairway about 30 yards short of the green, roughly where many people going for the green with their tee shot would land their drive. You either need some height on the tee shot or scoot around the bunkers to the left by hitting a fade. Or of course, you can lay up short of the sand; the fairway is very wide, and the green is open. It's an easy par, but if you want that eagle, you'll really have to work for it.

The sixth hole.

The sixth green.

After five holes playing in the same direction, the seventh hole turns back toward the clubhouse. Unlike the first three par 3s, the green on this 120-yarder is very well defended. The green is tiny and protected by two bunkers encircling the front half of the green. The back side of the green is built up, so shots that go long result in extremely difficult chip shots, since the green does have some back-to-front tilt. Also it's tiny, so there's not much space for shots to roll out before they run out of space. Hit this green and you'll likely make birdie. Miss it and you may have to work for bogey.

The seventh hole.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is the third and final par 4, playing around 330 yards. Beyond a few trees, there's not much to worry about on the tee shot, unless you're quite long and hit a giant slice. A good drive will leave a pretty simple pitch, although this green does have a bunker protecting the right side. It's not a big issue, but still, favoring the left side of the fairway on the drive is recommended. 

The eighth hole.

The eighth green.

The ninth hole is tiny, 100 yards at most, but it's also one of the most delicate tee shots you'll ever see. Not dangerous, per se, since there's just one bunker in front and no hazards beyond that, but this green is honestly nearly impossible to hit. For one, this is definitely the smallest green on the course, and it's also the only one with any appreciable elevation change. The whole thing slopes from front to back, and it's split down the middle by a large tier. My family and I have played this course many times in the past 15 years or so, but you can count the number of times we've collectively hit this green in regulation on one hand. We're talking a success rate of maybe 2%. Even getting up and down is tricky, par is honestly a good score here.

The ninth hole.

The ninth green.

Should you go out of your way to play Monterey Country Club? No. It's extremely basic golf, and unless it actually is the oldest golf course in America, there's little reason to make the effort to see it. Maybe the most devoted of golf historians would get a kick out of the place, but if you come here with the expectation of seeing something interesting, you'll be disappointed.

That said, I'm perfectly happy to play here a couple times a year, since it's not especially out of my way. It's simple, basic, unpretentious golf that'll set you back $10 for nine holes. That's not a bad deal. And the course isn't devoid of interest. You can hack it around, but you can't hit the ball literally anywhere and be okay. Also, there's definitely some charm to the few old-style quirks scattered around the course. I'll sum up by saying this: There are golf courses I enjoy less than Monterey.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Honeysuckle Grisette

Brewed by: Mobtown Brewing Company, Baltimore, Maryland

Description (from Untappd): "A classic Belgian style beer, Grisette is an often forgotten cousin of the Saison with lower alcohol. Brewed with a ton of spelt & wheat for a soft & zingy body and fermented dry with an expressive Belgian yeast, we added just enough honeysuckle to lend a floral note that brings it all together. A refreshing, easy little beer for Summer."

Would I buy it again?: I was really curious about this one, since I'd never heard of a grisette beer before. So I went in having no idea what it would taste like. And the answer is pretty good! It's got the nice honey taste, it's refreshing, it's great for a hot summer day. I would get it again.

Three Cheers For The Craft Lager Boom

When it comes to craft beer, it's still an IPA world, and probably always will be. Microbreweries will probably always favor IPAs, with a minority going hard into sours, with a few heavy stouts mixed in. We're talking big, bold beers with equally bold flavors. Traditionally, there hasn't been a place for the relatively humble lager, but in the past couple of years, that is actually changing. Pretty much any brewery you go to nowadays has a lager on tap, if not multiple. And while I'm sure they're not best sellers, they are often cheaper than their IPA brethren (and always cheaper than a stout or sour). 

There will always be the kind of beer people who stick their noses up at a lager, preferring their IPAs and sours. But for many of us, sometimes all we want is a beer that tastes like beer, and the market (finally) seems to be realizing that. Maybe now we can see some lager experimentation; I know I would personally love to see more doppelbocks floating around. It's too fun a style to have so few examples out there. 

Beer of the Week

The beer: Wanderer

Brewed by: Tree House Brewing Company, Charlton, Massachusetts

Description (from Untappd): "Wanderer is our unfiltered German-style Helles Lager. A meticulous, highly technical beer brewed utilizing traditional techniques and ingredients, Wanderer is crisp, bright, and immensely enjoyable. Wanderer pours a brilliant straw gold color in the glass with a puffy, bright white foam. It carries a flavor profile of doughy malts, light straw, clean lager yeast, and just the right dash of zippy noble hops. Beers that command your attention are a wonderful thing. Beers that can fade into the background and sort of be an unspoken companion to celebratory moments in life are also a wonderful thing and deserve to be held in equally high esteem. As a crisp, highly drinkable, and beautifully executed beer, Wanderer fits this profile beautifully."

Would I buy it again?: I've saved my favorite of the Tree House beers for last. Nothing fancy about this one, despite the rather long description, this is simply an extremely excellent lager. Smooth, tasty, drinkable, and perfectly hopped, it's a beer that easily passes my Yuengling test. I'm going to miss it once I've had my last one.

Review: Whiskey Creek Golf Course (Part 2)

It's time to check out the back nine at Whiskey Creek, go here to see the front.

The tenth hole is a mid-length par 4 playing uphill after the tee shot crosses a shallow valley. The fairway is pinched by fairway bunkers on the prime driver line, so you either have to negotiate them or lay up out to the right, leaving a longer second shot. The second shot is semiblind to a green hidden behind a large bunker (which looks closer to the green than it actually is). It's a long and narrow green with fairly significant back-to-front tilt; putts from above the hole can be slippery.

The tenth hole.

Approaching the tenth green.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is a 200 yard par 3 that's a lot more intimidating than one might expect. The green is not large and is maybe 20 yards wide. That is not a lot of space when approaching the green with a mid or even long iron. It's especially not a lot of space when you consider the big bunker in front, the slightly smaller bunker left, and the 10-foot dropoff right of the green. Shots hit left will bounce off the hillside down toward the green, so at least that's something. Still, this is a tough hole, and further proof that you don't need water to make things difficult for the golfer.

The eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is Whiskey Creek's longest par 4, playing 445 yards. On the one hand, both the tee shot and second play downhill, so it theoretically plays shorter then that 445, but on the other, the fairway narrows pretty significantly once you get about 200 yards from the green, squeezed between O.B. left and trees right, so you have to be pretty confident in your driver to use it. A safe 3 wood will leave a mid to long iron to a medium-sized green with a fair amount of undulation. There are two greenside bunkers left, which is honestly the preferable place to miss. It is tough getting a chip to stay on the green if you go long or right.

The twelfth hole.

The twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is 416 yards and plays uphill to a mostly blind fairway. A single bunker guards the left side, which is where you want to aim your drive. Doing so gives you the best angle into the green, which has two bunkers protecting the right side. This green is especially tough to approach from the wrong side of the fairway; it's much tougher to get away with it here than on 2 or 8. 

The thirteenth hole.

Approaching the thirteenth green.

The thirteenth green.

The fourteenth hole isn't the longest of long par 4s, playing 430 yards, but the tee shot here is very tough. The fairway is plenty wide initially, but around 250 yards out, the fairway is narrowed significantly by a bunker and encroaching trees right. Plus, of course, a pond runs along the entire length of the left side. If you want something less than a mid or long iron into the green, you're going to have a very difficult drive. And if you lay back, you'll have a long second to a green mostly hidden behind a bunker. The twelfth is a tough hole, but this one might be even tougher.

The fourteenth hole.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is 222 yards from all the way back, and with the water right, three bunkers, and a narrow green angled 45 degrees away, this is a tough tee shot, to say the least. There are holes where you can be aggressive, and this is not one of them. Aim for the center of the green and hope to make par, that's the best strategy. 

The fifteenth hole.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is a straightaway 545 yard par 5 with a fairly wide fairway sloping significantly from left to right. There are a couple bunkers, but the one left isn't really in play. The drive isn't the tough part here. That comes on the second shot; with the green perched up on a hillside behind a complex of multiple bunkers, you are very much discouraged from going for the green in two. The smart play is to lay up to 100 yards, favoring the left side, leaving a relatively simple uphill wedge. 

The sixteenth hole.

Approaching the sixteenth green.

The sixteenth green.

The seventeenth hole is the fourth par 4 at Whiskey Creek to utilize the classic "the side of the fairway with the bunker is the better side to be on." The bunkers guarding the left side of this green are particularly big and deep, and the green is on the more undulating side, so it's not an easy second shot no matter what. Also, at 425 yards up the hill, it won't be a very short second either.

The seventeenth hole.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole is a big sprawling par 5 at almost 550 yards. The old farmhouse sits right in the middle of the fairway, and it's very, very easy to end up right behind it. That is certainly extremely inconvenient, and rather annoying too, since there's really not much you can do from behind a big stone wall. If you want to go for the green in two, you need to slip past the farmhouse left, while bailing out right gives you more room but basically forces a lay-up. You have options with your lay-up, either stay on the right side, which is far easier but leaves a tough third over water and bunkers, or carry a stream and native area, which will leave you with a pretty simple pitch. The whole farmhouse certainly makes this hole memorable, though it feels a little forced in terms of quirk, especially considering its location. I would not have put it in the middle of the hole. That's a little silly.

The eighteenth hole.

Had to get a decent picture of the farmhouse.

Approaching the eighteenth green.

The eighteenth green from the safe lay-up area.

The eighteenth green.

So, how does Whiskey Creek stand up amongst the other golf courses in the Frederick metropolitan area? Pretty well, I would call it second best, behind P.B. Dye. It doesn't do anything spectacular, but it's better all around than Musket Ridge and it's certainly better than Maryland National. The 18th is a talking piece, but not really good design. The routing is okay, but it could be better. The four uphill holes to start followed by the fifth going down about 100 feet in the first 200 yards is a little silly, in my opinion. Strangely, the four par 4s that utilize the literal exact same basic strategy isn't too bad, since I didn't notice it during the round. The holes do play different enough that it's not incredibly obvious until you look back and think about it.

Overall, this is fairly solid, better-than-average golf, but solid golf isn't worth $100. That's twice as expensive as it should be. The conditions were very good, which might justify the price tag for some people, but not me. I wouldn't play this course again unless it was $60 or less.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Old World

Brewed by: Tree House Brewing Company, Charlton, Massachusetts

Description (from Untappd): "Old World is our Scotch Ale. Brewed with a complex array of malts and fermented with a classic Scotch Ale yeast, this beer is a complex and smoky classic sure to delight lovers’ diverse flavors derived from authentic ingredients. Pouring a deep chestnut color in the glass, Old World carries intensely malty notes with gentle contributions of peaty smoke and caramel. The flavor follows suit with rich malt character, hints of kettle caramelization, and varied nuttiness. We are delighted to have this beer in our lineup. We hope that you love Old World as much as we do. Enjoy!"

Would I buy it again?: That rather depends on the time of year. When I first had one of these, I was in New Hampshire and it was unusually cold for late June. Cloudy and barely above 60. So a lot like Scotland. And in that situation, I loved this beer and would absolutely buy it again. However, drinking it on a 90 degree day in Maryland? I mean, it's still good, but this is not an easy-drinker. It's very heavy and complex, and definitely malt heavy. I'll save the one I have left for a more Scottish kind of day. 

Review: Whiskey Creek Golf Course (Part 1)

If there's one thing Frederick, Maryland is not lacking in, it's upscale public golf. There are five of these "country clubs for a day" within 20 minutes of downtown, which is a lot. Why we need so many (or any; needless to say I'm not a big fan of the concept) is unclear to me. But we're stuck with them, and of the five, Whiskey Creek is generally considered to be the best. It's ranked the highest out of the central Maryland golf courses on Golfweek's best public courses in Maryland list. It's definitely the highest profile, considering its well-advertised connection with Ernie Els, who served as a consultant as the course was being built back in the late 1990s/early 2000s. How involved he actually was during the height of his career is an excellent question, and the answer is probably not much. This is really not an Ernie Els–designed golf course.

As with the other upscale public golf courses in Frederick, Whiskey Creek occupies some very rolling terrain, which is strange to me. I don't think of Frederick County as being particularly hilly, but if the golf is to be believed, this is quite possibly the hilliest place in the world. An exaggeration of course, since the affordable local golf courses are much flatter, but Whiskey Creek is very much not an easy walk. You can, and my brother and I did, but it's tough (even tougher since this was our first official 18-hole round of 2022). So at the very least, Whiskey Creek has topography going for it. Does it have anything else though? Something substantive enough to justify a price tag that often tops $100? Let's find out.

The first hole is a classic gentle handshake opener. At just over 400 yards, it's not long, and there's plenty of space around, since there are no trees around. The hole doglegs right pretty significantly, and the fairway narrows at the turning point, squeezed between four fairway bunkers. You can bail out well left, but that will leave a pretty long second shot. Challenging the bunkers will leave a much shorter approach into the green, which is fairly long and narrow and protected by three bunkers. Whiskey Creek doesn't waste any time revealing its party trick: The ruins of an 18th century farmhouse. They don't come into play on this hole, but we'll be seeing them again.

The first hole.

Approaching the first green. The old farmhouse is in view.

The first green.

The second hole is another mid-length par 4, this one playing 390 yards. It's uphill the whole way though, so it's effective 10 or 20 yards longer. The strategy is simple: A drive that favors the left side, challenging the fairway bunkers, will leave the golfer with an easier shot to the semiblind green. If you bail out right with the drive, you'll have to carry a pretty big greenside bunker, and you'll have a lot less green to work with. Not revolutionary, but there's a reason you see holes like this. The strategy works.

The second hole.

Approaching the second green.

The second green.

The third hole is just under 200 yards, but plays significantly uphill to a fairly shallow green guarded by a big bunker short, as well as a smaller one behind the green, hidden from view. This is a hole where you really don't want to go straight for the flag when its tucked in the right corner, like it was for our round. An iron to the middle of the green is all you really want here.

The third hole.

The third green.

The fourth hole is the longest hole at Whiskey Creek at 560 yards, and it plays uphill too. I promise, not every hole on this course plays uphill. This is actually a pretty tight driving hole, with trees surrounding the fairway quite closely, not to mention a pair of bunkers pinching in right where a good drive would finish. If you've hit the fairway, the second shot is more about position, getting yourself into a good place for the third, though there is one small bunker about 100 yards from the green. The green is long and narrow, and has two tiers, with the back higher than the front. I don't imagine too many eagles are made on this hole; positioning and accuracy are much more important.

The fourth hole.

Approaching the fourth green.

The fourth green.

At long last, the fifth heads down, and it does so very quickly. The fairway lays far below the tee, which makes the tee shot a tricky proposition. The hole is 400 yards and doglegs hard left at about 250 yards between a pair of bunkers. There's definitely something to be said for laying up with a wood or long iron, but even that can be difficult considering how much further the ball will go. The aggressive play is along the left tree line, flirting with the left bunker. And it's definitely advantageous to be closer to this green, considering how shallow it is. There's a bunker beyond, and the fairway slopes down short, so you can't really run a shot into the green. It's not an easy approach.

The fifth hole.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is 344 yards and plays pretty steeply uphill. Not quite to the same extend that the fifth plays down, but you regain quite a bit of elevation on this hole. The hole doglegs slightly right, and while the first fairway bunker isn't really an issue, the second one definitely is, especially considering the right-to-left slope of the fairway. Using a 3 wood leaves you in the widest part of the fairway and leaves a full wedge on the second, which is just fine. The green is semiblind and fronted by two deep bunkers, so in all honesty a full wedge, which is easier to control, is preferable. You also don't want to miss long; that leaves a tricky chip from a downhill hanging lie to a green that slopes away.

The sixth hole.

Approaching the sixth green.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is the shortest hole on the course, playing a bit under 160 yards. That's not quite under the threshold for a true short par 3, but it's pretty close, and the next tee up is only 135. The green is pretty big, but so are two of the three bunkers protecting it. The one front left is especially nasty. Still, it's a very playable hole, and it gives shorter hitters a good chance at a birdie.

The seventh hole.

The eighth hole is much like the second in the simplicity of its strategy, though I like this one more, since the advantages are much clearer. The fairway doglegs left around a big bunker, and if you challenge that bunker, or carry it with a big drive, you'll have an clear, easy wedge into the green. Bail out right, and you're left with a much tougher shot over a bunker to a shallow target. Plus, this hole doesn't play 50 feet uphill. 

The eighth hole.

Approaching the eighth green. 

The eighth green.

The ninth hole is the front nine's second par 5, playing 545 yards to a sprawling fairway. If you want to go for the green in two, you'll have to clear a section of native area and a long fairway bunker off on the right side, otherwise the fairway ends too far back. If you can't clear that native area, the second shot will be complicated by a bunker about 100 yards from the green right in the middle of the fairway. This is the only hole with a true fairway bunker, so don't expect any more. But it is nice to see once. The green itself is sloped pretty severely from front to back, and has two bunkers alongside, one front left and one back left. 

The ninth hole.

Approaching the ninth green.

The ninth green.

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