Review: The Bucks Club (Part 1)

The Bucks Club. It certainly sounds like an exclusive place. Very fancy and succinct. Of course, reality is often disappointing, and in reality the Bucks Club is not a bastion of exclusive privacy. It's actually a public course, dating back to 1961. It was built by William Gordon, who also designed Deerfield in Delaware. Well, mostly. At some point a portion of the course was sold off for housing, and new holes (12-16) were routed in between the new development. But for the most part, this is a William Gordon course. Now, I liked Deerfield quite a lot, so let's find out if the Bucks Club is of the same caliber, and if the new holes fit in with the old.

The first hole is a reasonably gentle opener, a short par 4 of just 345 yards. It plays slightly uphill with some long grass left and a couple bunkers pinching in about 225 yards. They can be cleared with even a 3 wood, though of course you could lay up short, leaving a short iron second. The green is sloped from back to front and flanked by sand. 

The first hole.

The first green.

The second hole is a short par 5 at just under 500 yards and plays to a blind fairway. There's a single bunker left, just barely visible from the tee, and O.B. in the form of houses further left. While such a short par 5 would normally be reachable in two for a fair number of people, a giant bunker about 10 yards short of the green means an aerial approach is required. No running woods up onto this green. There's no real difficulty around the lay-up area, just be careful of drifting too far right; there are overhanging trees that will block out shots. The green is fairly large and very undulating, something which will become a theme here. If you're more than 20 or 30 feet out on most of these greens, you can't take a two putt for granted.

The second hole.

Approaching the second green.

The second green.

The third hole is a short par 4 at 330 yards and doglegs significantly to the right. Trees in the corner prevent you from going straight at the green, but I wouldn't be surprised if some big hitter could get very close to driving the green. with a big fade. For most people, the drive is a long iron or wood to a fairway that slopes from right to left, directly against the dogleg. Play too conservative a line off the tee and you'll definitely run through the fairway. A good tee shot will leave a wedge to a fairly large green with sand on both sides.

The third hole.

Approaching the third green.

The third green.

The fourth hole is a mid-length par 3 of about 180 yards, though it plays 20-30 feet downhill. The tee shot is not easy, as the green is one of, if not the smallest on the course. It's also well protected by a bunker left and a larger bunker front right. While it's not as undulating as some other greens, this one has a decent amount of back-to-front slope to it, and with forest lurking long, you don't exactly want to go over this green either. Basically, it's a good idea to hit this green. If you miss, you'll be working to even make a bogey.

The fourth hole.

The fifth hole is 425 yards and swings left around trees, with a couple of bunkers on the outside of the dogleg. If you can hit a draw, you'll be much better off. The green is slightly propped up, undulating, and protected by bunkers on each side. 

The fifth hole.

Approaching the fifth green.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is the longest of the Bucks Club's par 3s at 210 yards. It plays over level ground, but a group of bushes obscures part of the green, and the part you can see is protected by a small, deep bunker. The green has three knobs within it, two left and one right, which make both putts and chips rather tricky. This is definitely a hole where you aim at the center of the green and hope to two putt. 

The sixth hole.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is another fairly short 5, playing just a few yards longer than the second. The tee shot is blind, but beyond that there's no hazards on the drive. Or on the second shot. Nothing beyond a few trees. You can see the two bunkers around the green from well back, but there's a small hidden pond short right of the green, which absolutely comes into play if you're planning on hitting your second shot within 50 yards of the green. Not a fan of blind water hazards in pretty much any circumstance, and this is no different. The green itself is small and filled with humps and bumps. It's a good green for a short par 5, but again, the blind pond kind of spoils things.

The seventh hole.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is a mid-length par 4 playing through a relatively narrow corridor of trees to a partially blind fairway. No fairway bunkers, so as long as you keep it between the tree lines, you'll be okay. Long hitters may want to consider a 3 wood or long iron, since the fairway does bend about 250-275 yards out. The second shot is slightly downhill to a particularly bumpy green with bunkers left and short right.

The eighth hole.

Approaching the eighth green.

The eighth green.

The ninth hole plays parallel to the previous hole and is pretty much the same length. There is a fairway bunker this time, positioned on the outside of the dogleg. Again, you'll need to hug the dogleg with the driver, otherwise you'll potentially run out of space. The green here is less lumpy than some of the others, but it does have quite a lot of back-to-front slope to it, so if you're like me and end up on the front of the green with the flag in the back, you'll have a long and extremely slow birdie putt and will in all likelihood three putt.

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.