Review: The Links at Challedon (Part 2)

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

The tenth hole is a long par 5 at 585 yards, and has trouble in the form of high grass and trees running down the right side. The fairway doglegs pretty hard right about 250 yards out, so there's plenty of opportunity to cut the dogleg and make the hole play a little shorter. Still, I don't imagine many people hit this green in two, not with the green being tucked behind a cluster of three bunkers. Plus it's quite a shallow target. For most, this is a very three-shot hole, with second shots looking to favor the left side to gain the best angle into the green.

The tenth hole.

Approaching the tenth green.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is a short par 4 at 340 yards, so not quite drivable. While you could certainly lay up, that's a mistake in my opinion, since that brings the pond right into play. Far better to use driver and carry the water completely, taking it out of play. However, that will leave a potentially awkward pitch, since the green is guarded by three bunkers in front. It's not a large green and rather narrow, but still, this is a relatively easy hole.

The eleventh hole.

The eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is a mid-length par 3 with a green surrounded by three bunkers and a fairly significant back-to-front tilt. Not much else to say about this one, hit a good iron and you can make a birdie.

The twelfth hole.

The thirteenth hole is a mid-length par 4 playing slightly uphill. The fairway has two bunkers on each side, protecting the landing area; if you want a reasonable view of the green you'll want to favor the right side on the drive. Go left and you'll have a semiblind approach. The green is guarded by two more bunkers, with steep falloffs right and long into dense forest.

The thirteenth hole.

Approaching the thirteenth green.

The thirteenth green.

The fourteenth hole is a fairly long par 3 at 210 yards. The hole plays over a valley with brush and a stream at the bottom, and of course dense forest surrounds the hole, but all they really do is frame. You probably won't lose a golf ball unless you hit a really bad tee shot. The green is quite large and fairly undulating, with a bunker on each side.

The fourteenth hole.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is just under 420 yards and features the tightest drive on the course. There are trees running down the right side, close to the fairway, and O.B. in the form of a road takes up the entire left left side. The safe play is to use a fairway wood or long iron, but that will leave a mid to long iron into the green. And that's not something you want, since the green is fairly small and undulating and has two bunkers in front. If you want to get close, you need to have a wedge or short iron for the second, and that means using driver. So, not an easy hole here.

The fifteenth hole.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is a short par 4 at 330 yards, but it's not one you can drive. The best play is to use a wood or long iron to reach the top of the hill; if you hit driver you'll end up with a half-wedge from a downhill stance into a shallow green guarded by sand in front and a steep dropoff behind. That's not a shot you want. But you don't want to lay back too far, or the second will be completely blind. Reaching the top of the hill will leave a full 100 yard wedge. The second shot from there is still not easy, but it's better than the alternatives.

The sixteenth hole.

The sixteenth green.

The seventeenth hole is 540 yards, though practically speaking it plays shorter than that. The tee shot is completely blind and there's very little indication of where to go. Luckily the landing area is very wide and hazard free, so there's plenty of freedom. If you want to go for the green in two, you'll need to carry a pond and negotiate a L-shaped green protected on all sides by four bunkers. Laying up left of the water will leave a pretty simple pitch, so that's not a bad play (unless you're me and thin your third over the green, completely ruining the whole point of playing safe).

The seventeenth hole.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole is a fairly uncomplicated mid-length par 4. Favoring the right side, flirting with the fairway bunker, is preferred, since a greenside bunker guards the left side of the green. The green itself is fairly small and narrow, and slightly domed. Not a bad way to finish, but not especially inspiring either.

The eighteenth hole.

The eighteenth green.

If a round at Challedon cost $30, I would say it's not a bad way to spend an afternoon. It's not a particularly good or interesting course, and the tees were in extremely bad shape, but for the right price point I can deal with a lot. But this is central Maryland, so of course it doesn't cost $30. It costs $60, and that's absolute highway robbery for what you get. The course is mediocre to average at best, the greens were slow, the tees were apocalyptically awful for that price, the routing is terrible in numerous places (essentially forcing you to take a cart to deal with several gigantic gaps between greens and tees), and there are houses everywhere, so it's not even a particularly scenic course. $60 can get you a round at George Wright with money to spare, and George Wright is light-years beyond Challedon. If you don't want to go all the way to Massachusetts, $60 can also get you a round at Mt. Pleasant in Baltimore, which despite being a muni features a far more interesting design than Challedon. Oh, and it's better maintained too. 

Frankly, how the course is open (and busy too!) is beyond me. The fact that golfers are willing to put up with this is the reason public golf has such a poor reputation. We can do better than this. We deserve better than this. Stop giving crappy courses your money, just for them to turn around and give us inferior product. Nothing will change unless we force their hands.

Bottom line, don't play inland courses with "Links" in the name.