Review: The Links at Challedon (Part 1)

Here's a golf pro tip for you: If a course is called "The Links at X," you're probably better off steering clear of it. My first "Links at" was the Links at Gettysburg, which is by far my least favorite course. Seriously, it's so, so bad. I've been tempted to play it again so I could savage it in my review, but then I'd have to spend money to play an absolutely awful golf course. Plus the money on the 10 golf balls I'd lose. My second "Links at" was Brigantine, which was a housing development course, but was at least on the ocean and actually not terrible.

And now we have the Links at Challedon, located in Mt. Airy, Maryland, a town that is not anywhere close to the ocean, unless you're from Nebraska and your idea of ocean adjacent is anything within 100 miles. It was built in the 1990s by Brian Ault, son of Ed Ault, designer of so many Mid-Atlantic golf courses in 60s-80s. Like Brigantine, it's a housing development course, so the housing isn't nearly as omnipresent. That's still not a particularly promising start, but who knows, maybe Challedon will surprise us.

Spoiler: It won't.

The first hole is a par 5 of 540 yards with a tee shot playing up to a blind fairway. There's O.B. on both sides, but the playing corridor is reasonably wide. Not wide enough that it's no issue, but there's enough room to breathe and comfortably use driver. For the second shot, it's best to favor the right side on the lay-up, flirting with a small fairway bunker; this will give a slightly better angle into the green, which is fairly shallow and protected by two bunkers front left, as well as another bunker behind.

The first hole.

Approaching the first green.

The first green.

The second hole is a longish par 4 at 420 yards, but plays shorter since it's downhill the whole way. The tee shot is pretty open, though you'll want to favor the left side. That will leave a better angle into the green, which is protected by two bunkers to the right. The greens at Challedon generally aren't flat, but they're also very slow, so they're not as interesting as one might expect or hope for.

The second hole.

Approaching the second green.

The second green.

The third hole is a long par 5 at nearly 560 yards, and it's super fun in that it basically forces driver out of your hands. Wait, not super fun. The opposite of that. I mean, it's not like you can't use it, but there's very little space between the O.B. left and pond right. The pond makes this hole an exercise in safety: Hit a long iron off the tee, hit another up the fairway, which is wide open past the pong, then hit a wedge into the green. It's a shame, because I like the green site perched on the hill, and there's a definite advantage to favoring the higher left side on the second shot. That gives you a flatter stance and a better angle. But the unnecessary pond annoys me too much for me to like the hole.

The third hole.

The third green.

The fourth hole is a mid-length par 4 where, once again, you won't want to hit driver. The fairway ends about 100 yards from the green as the hole bends left over a small stream, so all you need is a 3 wood or long iron. The second shot is a wedge to a flat green protected by the stream and a bunker to the right.

The fourth hole.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is a nice little par 3, playing just 130 yards downhill. The green is medium sized and surrounded by three bunkers, plus there's steep falloffs into jungle left and long. I wish the green was a little more interesting, but short par 3s are always good to see.

The fifth hole.

The sixth hole is an awkward hole, especially from all the way back. It's 395 yards from the tips, and the drive is straight up a miniature mountain to an incredibly narrow fairway threaded between trees on both sides. You'll obviously want to exercise restraint off of the tee with a wood or long iron, but you need to carry the drive almost 250 yards to have any view of the green. If you can thread the needle, you'll have a wedge into the green, which is long, narrow, and guarded by a bunker left. The hole's a lot better if you play from the next tees up, which cuts 50 yards off the total length and makes it much easier to clear the hill, even with a long iron. Requiring accuracy off of the tee is one thing, but this hole goes a bit too far.

The sixth hole.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is a semiblind par 3 with two bunkers in front. It's 160 yards, so not too terribly long. The green is pretty big, so some long and very slow putts are possible. 

The seventh hole.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is a mid length par 4 where once again driver is taken out of your hands. Shorter hitters are probably fine, as the pond that separates the fairway from the green is nearly 300 yards away, but it is something to think about. A good 3 wood is fine. That will leave a wedge or short iron into a green with a decent amount of back-to-front slope fronted by bunkers on both sides.

The eighth hole.

The eighth green.

The ninth hole is a short par 4, but at 340 yards it's not really drivable. If you're using less than driver, you'll want to favor the left side, flirting with a large fairway bunker. That will give you the best angle into the green, which is narrow and protected by a bunker front right. While you probably won't reach the green, a drive that can carry 275 yards or so will take a sharp downslope and gain a fair amount of extra distance. You can get pretty close, but you'll have a potentially awkward half-wedge over a bunker to a shallow target. This may or may not be worth it; it depends how confident you are in your short game. Laying up is probably the smarter play.

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.