Review: Quail Valley Golf Club (Part 2)

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

The tenth hole is a fairly short par 4, playing 355 yards. The hole doglegs nearly 90 degrees right about 225-250 yards out, with O.B. out beyond, so you'll either want to lay back or cut off a significant amount of the dogleg. I imagine long hitters could actually get quite close to the green if you're confident enough to hit at a blind target. For most, a fairway wood or long iron will leave a wedge into the green, which is protected by a bunker front right. 

The tenth hole.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is quite literally routed through a farm. There's corn on the right side, some other crop on the other (I'm not a farmer, so I don't know what it is), and a long par 4 heading through. Beyond the need to keep it out of the farm on either side, there's no trouble on the drive, and the fairway is reasonably wide. A good drive will leave a mid iron or so into a bunkerless, fairly large, reasonably undulating green.

The eleventh hole.

Approaching the eleventh green.

The eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is a mid-length par 4 playing uphill to a wide-open fairway. No reason not to hit driver on this one. A good drive will leave a wedge or short iron up to the green, which is fairly undulating and flanked by bunkers.

The twelfth hole.

Approaching the twelfth green.

The twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is, most unfortunately, a par 3 with an island green. And if you play from all the way back, a very tough one too, since the hole can stretch as long as 180 yards. The tees were up for my round, and I wasn't playing the back tees anyway. Even still, the green is fairly narrow, so there's not a lot of room to miss, and shots that miss the green at all will hit a sideslope and bounce down into the water. Just aim for the center of the green on this one and hope for the best.

The thirteenth hole.

The fourteenth hole is a straightaway mid-length par 4, playing to a deceptively open fairway. Right is fine, and you have to miss pretty far left to lose a drive. A solid driver will leave a wedge or short iron into the green, which has a bunker right and is sloped fairly significantly from back to front.

The fourteenth hole.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is the longest hole at Quail Valley, and in this case that really means something. This hole can stretch all the way to 625 yards, which is quite a lot. It's not very exciting for the first 500 yards either; there's noting on the drive save a large tree about 150 yards out that can catch pulled or hooked drives. However, the same creek that crosses the fourth returns here, acting in a similar fashion, splitting the fairway about 100 yards from the green and forcing the golfer to either risk carrying it or staying short and leaving a slightly longer third than one might like. The green is wide and shallow, with a single bunker behind.

The fifteenth hole.

Approaching the fifteenth green.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is 430 yards, and the drive is simple. However, it is advantageous to favor the left side of the fairway. Doing so will leave a superior angle, since the green is not particularly large or deep, and three small bunkers protect the right side.

The sixteenth hole.

Approaching the sixteenth green.

The sixteenth green.

The seventeenth hole is the shortest hole at Quail Valley, playing 160 yards over a pond. The green is on the larger side and two tiered, with bunkers on either side. The front hole location is tricky here, since you don't want to go over and leave a tricky putt or chip down the tier, but obviously you don't want to be short either.

The seventeenth hole.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole is 40 yards shorter than the fifteenth, but at 585 yards it's still pretty long. The drive is pretty wide open, but things get trickier on the second. You have a choice to make: Either stay left of a pond right that splits the main portion of the fairway from the green, leaving a long third, or attempt to carry the water, leaving a short and simple pitch into the green. The green itself is elevated and slopes from back to front; while there is a bunker right, the main issue is a massive grassy hollow left. Getting up and down from there is likely near impossible. 

The eighteenth hole.

Approaching the eighteenth green.

The eighteenth green.

It's a shame Quail Valley waited until the very end to throw an interesting green complex at the golfer. More greens like the eighteenth would make this course worth a second visit. But alas, it is just the one, and nothing else here is memorable in any way. It's an easy and inexpensive course, and while there's nothing wrong with that, I don't feel any need to play here again. This is about as generic as golf courses get.

Beer of the Week

The beer: White Russian Blonde Stout

Brewed by: Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, Maryland

Description (from Untappd): "The only Dude approved beer. Grab your rocks glass and slide on your favorite house robe, this creamy ode to the White Russian cocktail packs all the punch without any of the mixing work."

Would I buy it again? First off, this is a very interesting style. You see blonde ales fairly often, but a blonde stout? Not a very common occurrence. But what that means for this beer is that even though you'd expect a White Russian–flavored beer (something that includes coffee liqueur and cream) to be pretty heavy. But this one isn't. It's very tasty and fairly light as well; it's easy to drink. I'd definitely buy it again.

Review: Quail Valley Golf Club (Part 1)

Now that winter is essentially upon us here in the Northeast, there's a whole lot of golfers with plenty of spare time. If you're ever really bored, here's a little something to keep you busy for a while: The alphabetical golf course challenge. I picked this up from a post on Golf Club Atlas, you take each letter of the alphabet and pick your favorite golf course that starts with that letter. You won't have every letter (good luck finding an X golf course), but you can get close. That brings us to Quail Valley in Littlestown, Pennsylvania, an otherwise-ordinary golf course save for the fact that its name starts with a Q. Is that a good reason to play and review a golf course? Not really, but it was only a 45-minute drive, so why not get Q out of the way? And besides, I've played new golf courses for less reason. 

The first hole is a simple 400-yard par 4. The fairway slopes a bit from right to left, and there are a few small trees, but otherwise there's nearly unlimited space on the drive. However, because of the bunker left of the green, favoring the right side of the fairway is a good idea. The green is also pretty straightforward, with not much in the way of significant undulation. 

The first hole.

Approaching the first green.

The first green.

The second hole is 185 yards, and at the very least it's a bit more interesting than the first hole. The green slopes a fair amount from back to front, and is guarded by a deep bunker left and a tree right. That tree is very much in play, and I'm guessing it catches quite a few slices. And that bunker probably sees more action because of the tree as people bail out left. I'm not usually a big fan of using trees in such a bold manner, but this one works well. 

The second hole.

The third hole is a mid-length par 4 playing to a pretty narrow fairway, squeezed by trees on both sides (and O.B. to the right). Using driver isn't the greatest idea, in my opinion; you're better off using 3 wood to hit the fairway and accepting the longer second shot. The green is medium sized and slightly domed in the front, with a bunker front left and a significant falloff behind.

The third hole.

Approaching the third green.

The third green.

The fourth hole is 565 yards from all the way back, which is pretty long by most course's standards, but at Quail Valley things are different. We'll get to that. The drive here is very open, which is good, if a bit boring. A stream cuts across the fairway about 75 yards short of the green, so the lay-up does require some restraint if you're not confident in your ability to clear it. The green is shallow and wide, with a single bunker right.

The fourth hole.

Approaching the fourth green.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is a fairly long par 4 at 425 yards, with a very narrow stream (more of a ditch) lurking the whole way down the left side of the fairway. A solid drive over the crest of the hill will leave a wedge or short iron into the green, which is relatively long and narrow and has a pond right. In addition, a small bunker lurks long and left to catch people playing a little too safely.

The fifth hole.

Approaching the fifth green.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is a fairly short par 4, playing 350 yards. There are numerous large trees crowding the fairway, and the hole doglegs significantly about 75 yards short of the green. If you want to ensure a clear second, you need to hit the drive at least 225 yards, but since the fairway is narrow using driver is a dicey proposition. It shouldn't be an issue if you're playing from the whole way back, but it is something to think about. The green is on the larger side but has bunkers left and short, plus the green slopes away slightly at the back, so one should be careful not to fly their wedges too far. You can quite easily end up in an awkward position over the back of this green.

The sixth hole.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is a mid-length par 3 with a green sloped from back to front and a single bunker left. There clearly used to be another bunker right, but it's been grassed over (presumably to relieve the maintenance budget, there are a few grassed-over bunkers at Quail Valley). All in all, a pretty simple hole.

The seventh hole.

The eighth hole is 385 yards and bends nearly 90 degrees about 250 yards out, with the fairway ending in a cluster of trees. With more tree in the corner of the dogleg, you'll need to hit a fairly specific drive to ensure a clear shot at the green. If you do that, the pond that splits the fairway about 50 yards short of the green is no issue. The green is sloped from back to front and a single bunker protects the right side.

The eighth hole.

Approaching the eighth green.

The eighth green.

The ninth hole is a 540-yard par 5 with a tee shot playing uphill. You need to get over the hill to get a view of the green, but with forest left and a blind marshy area right (luckily you see it on the first hole, so I did know it was there), this is a fairly tight tee shot. If you're not going for the green in two, you'll want to lay up out to the left, and preferably as far as you can. The ideal position is where the fairway bends right. This will give you the best angle into the green, which is angled left to right and has a large bunker in front. Second shots laid well back will have to go straight over that bunker, as will people going for the green in two.

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.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Smoked Maple Porter

Brewed by: Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, Maryland

Description (from Untappd): "Available exclusively in Snowplowed Hibernation Pack - The flannel shirts of beer. Brewed with maple syrup and a hefty dose of lumberjack musk, this smoked porter has the perfect smoky sweet balance that feels like a hug from your favorite red and black buffalo check shirt."

Would I buy it again? It's been a while since I've reviewed a Flying Dog beer, but I couldn't resist buying the Snowplowed winter pack, since it had three beers that looked really interesting. We're starting off with the least noteworthy of the bunch. I was promised a smoked maple porter. What I received is certainly smoked, and certainly a porter, but maple? Maybe a little hint of it, but the smoke is definitely dominant in this beer. It's not bad, but it's definitely the weakest of the three beers in the pack. I'd buy it again to get the other two, but I wouldn't get it on its own.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Blueberry Crumb Crumb

Brewed by: Rockingham Brewing Company, Derry, New Hampshire

Description (from Untappd): "Collaboration with Bearded Baking Co in Manchester, NH. Brewed with 25 lbs of Blueberry Crumb Cake and extra cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, lactose & blueberries"

Would I buy it again? I wasn't quite sure how this one would turn out, but I was pleasantly surprised. You see a cake-flavored pastry stout and you expect it to be absurdly sweet, but this really wasn't. I couldn't distinctly taste the blueberries, but they added enough balance to counter all the sweetness of the other ingredients. I'd buy it again.

Review: Rattlewood Golf Course (Part 2)

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

You don't often see back-to-back par 5s, but Rattlewood is an exception, as the tenth is a 520-yard par 5. After a surprisingly long carry over a pond, the fairway slopes sharply from left to right. That slope makes the second shot very difficult if you want to go for the green in two, since the green is shallow and very heavily bunkered. While some golfers may have the length to go for it, it may be wiser to bail out short and right, leaving a relatively simple uphill pitch running along the length of the green. 

The tenth hole.

Approaching the tenth green.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is 340 yards and ostensibly not drivable, but since the hole plays downhill the whole way, you can get closer than you might think (especially if you make judicious use of the cart path, as my brother and I did). Favoring the left side, flirting with the left-hand fairway bunker, will leave the best angle into the green, which is protected by a bunker front right and a steep dropoff behind.

The eleventh hole

The eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is a long par 3, playing 225 yards over a shallow valley. The green is quite tough to hit; it's not very deep and the bunker protecting the right side is a very major obstacle. This is a hole where you aim at the center of the green and hope things work out with the putter.

The twelfth hole.

The twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is Rattlewood's final par 5, playing 530 yards to a fairway guarded on the left side by tall grass and O.B. The drive is generally downhill, but because the fairway slopes up the whole way, don't expect to get too much roll. Beyond that, there's not much to the hole beyond a greenside bunker front right. If you can't reach the green in two, simply leave a good distance for the third. Not the most interesting hole in the world.

The thirteenth hole.

The thirteenth green.

The fourteenth hole is 340 yards with a very wide-open tee shot. Technically there's O.B. about 50 yards left of the fairway, but that's really not much of a concern. Feel free to use driver and get as close to the green as possible, but if you do that, be sure to favor the right side. There's a bunker covering the front left section of the green, making pitch shots from the left side a tricky proposition. Approaching this green is easier if you lay back and use a full wedge, I will admit. 

The fourteenth hole.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is just 300 yards, making it potentially drivable for longer hitters. The green is hidden behind a pair of bunkers (and a couple small trees), so going directly at it is probably not a great idea. A slinging draw aimed around the right bunker can sneak on, however. If you don't have the length, favoring the right side of the fairway is a good idea, as that will give you the best angle for the second shot. The green has a fair amount of back-to-front slope and is fairly shallow, so missing long isn't a great idea.

The fifteenth hole.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is a pretty uncomplicated mid-length par 3, playing 170 yards. The green is fairly narrow, with a bunker right and a noticeable slope left. Missing the green on either side will leave a tricky recovery.

The sixteenth hole.

The seventeenth hole is a mid-length par 4 playing slightly uphill to a fairway sloped from right to left. The fairway's wider than it looks, the trees looming over the left side of the tee stop about 100 yards out, so one can miss left. The second shot is a wedge up to a green protected by two bunkers; the green is highest in the middle and falls away from that point on all sides. It's not by a huge amount, and this isn't a tremendously tricky green, but it's not simple either.

The seventeenth hole.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole is a 350 yard par 4 doglegging about 90 degrees left around mounding covered with grass and a few trees. You can get pretty close to the green by challenging the dogleg, or you can play safely with a long iron to the middle of the fairway, leaving a full wedge second. The green is on the larger side, sloped from back to front, with two bunkers left and right. It's not a tough finishing hole unless you're a colossal moron and hook your tee shot straight into the pine trees (my brother and I are both colossal morons).

The eighteenth hole.

The eighteenth green.

Fun fact: Rattlewood is actually the easiest golf course on Earth. It must be, since my brother and I broke 80 fairly handily despite us both making double bogey on the final hole. It was his new record by several shots. Everything about this course is mild. The greens aren't massive, but they're not small. They're not flat, but they're not particularly undulating. There's not unlimited space for the driver, but the playing corridors are very, very far from narrow. There are some greenside bunkers, but not too many. It's an easy course, and you know what? There's nothing wrong with that. Not every course needs to be tough. Golf is tough enough as it is. There's nothing to write home about, but there's nothing egregious or irritating either. It's a pleasantly average golf course with an average price tag ($45) that makes you feel good about your game. Sometimes that's all you need.