Golf's About To Get A Bit More Expensive

Also, people died.

That's the general situation in Taiwan after an explosion and fire at Launch Technologies, a golf ball manufacturer that produces golf balls by contract for companies such as Callaway, TaylorMade, and Bridgestone. The incident is responsible for at least 9 deaths and 100 injuries.

But we're golfers here, and clearly the most important issue is how this will affect the prices of golf balls. While I'm no economist, Launch Technologies was previously responsible for producing about 20% of the world's golf balls, and removing one-fifth of the total supply while demand remains the same will probably result in higher prices. Which is great, because golf balls weren't already absurdly expensive. I love spending $50 on golf balls that end up lost in a forest off the third fairway. Now it'll be $60, and this time I'll hit them into the pond next to the fifth green. Excellent.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Dunkel

The brewery: Port City Brewing Company, Alexandria, Virginia

Description (from the website): "Dunkel is a German-style dark lager from Bavaria, made popular in Munich and known for balancing a dark malt character with lager smoothness. Port City's Dunkel is chestnut in color with a toasty malt aroma, and flavors of nut and caramel. This easy drinking lager is medium in body, finishing with a refreshing crispness."

Would I buy it again? Yeah, this is a very solid lager, I'd absolutely buy this again. Not much to say beyond that, lagers don't tend to be too complicated, so as long as the hop profile is kept under control, it's tough to go wrong with it. It's a little dark for the 100 degree day I drank this on, but that's not on the beer. Blame global warming for making it 100 degrees after Labor Day weekend. It would be amazing on a slightly cool early fall evening.

Review: Greencastle Golf Club (Part 2)

It's time to take a look at the back nine at Greencastle Golf Club, go here to see the front.

The tenth hole is 435 yards, and the first 350 yards of the hole is pretty inoffensive. Plenty of space, no bunkers, very little to worry about besides O.B. very far left. That's fine. The green is a different story. The last thing a long par 4 needs is an island green, but that's what the tenth presents. Sure, the island's quite big, as is the green (it's extremely long and split down the middle into two tiers), but the average golfer's going to be using a mid or long iron on their second shot. They're going to miss that island plenty of times. Meanwhile, good golfers will barely even notice the water. It's an issue of punishing the wrong group of golfers.

The tenth hole.

Approaching the tenth green.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is by far the shortest hole on the course at just 135 yards. However, it plays up the side of a mountain. All you can see is a large bunker and the very top of the flag. If it was just the giant hill, this hole would a little odd but fine. However, there's a few trees separate from the forest left that overhang quite far out. You miss left at all, and you can get caught up in those trees and drop down into potential disaster. It's not great. The green is medium sized and two tiered, with the top significantly higher than the bottom.

The eleventh hole. It's a little uphill.

The eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is technically the longest par 4 on the course, playing a whole yard longer than the tenth. The drive plays over a deep valley to a fairway draped over a narrow plateau; the ideal play here is a 3 wood or long iron to the top of the plateau, leaving you a short or mid iron from a level stance. The second shot is over a second valley with a pond at the bottom. Of course, you can use driver on this hole, since the pond doesn't come into play until you've gone something like 315 yards, but you'll be left with a very uphill shot from a very steep downhill lie. The green has a large bunker behind it and is fairly unremarkable, though if you end up short your approach will roll back quite a bit. This is quite common, I think, as the green is higher up than it looks. Either that, or the yardage lies to you, because both my brother and I left our approach shots precisely the same amount short, and I don't think that happened by accident.

The twelfth hole.

Approaching the twelfth green.

The twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is 540 yards, with the fairway playing between two O.B. lines – houses left and a farm right. There's plenty of space in between, but still, I'm never a fan of having O.B. on both sides. Especially when you can't tell there's O.B. right because it's obscured by trees. Beyond the O.B., there's not much to the hole. Hit the fairway, hit a good layup, then hit the green. At least the green has a couple bunkers next to it, and it's got some decent back-to-front slope.

The thirteenth hole.

Approaching the thirteenth green.

The thirteenth green.

The fourteenth hole is a longish par 3 at 185 yards that plays over basically level ground. The green's nothing to write home about, but what is noteworthy is the bunkering. There are six bunkers around this green, and while five are quite small, there's a big one right of the green. It's so big, in fact, that there's a bridge going through the middle so you don't have to go incredibly out of your way to get around. I don't think I've ever seen a bunker bridge before, so if you want to see that, Greencastle is one of your likely very few options.

The fourteenth hole.

Not a great picture of the fourteenth green, but I was more interested in the bunker bridge.

The fifteenth hole is a mid-length par 4 playing to a fairway with a severe left-to-right slopes. There's also a pair of large bunkers alongside the fairway. Also worth mentioning is the O.B. far left, which I wouldn't normally figure as being in play, but since my brother hit a golf ball out that way, I guess it's more in play than I initially thought. The green is fairly large, with a decent amount of back-to-front slope, and flanked by bunkers.

The fifteenth hole.

Approaching the fifteenth green.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is a welcome (?) return to form after a few noncontroversial, slightly dull holes. It's 545 yards and bends hard right, so unless you can hit a big fade with the driver, you may want to use a 3 wood. However, you don't want to be too far right, because there's a cluster of trees farther up the dogleg that will block out shots aimed anywhere close to the green. You won't even be able to easily reach the ideal lay-up. This is not a hole that can be reached in two. It's long, and also there's a pond in front of the green. Also, the green's very shallow. It's not even an easy shot when you have a wedge in your hands. It's not as blatantly bad as some of the holes here, but it's got a bunch of design elements that don't really mesh together very well.

The sixteenth hole.

Approaching the sixteenth green.

The sixteenth green.

After some funky routing (the seventeenth tee is about 200 yards from the previous green, quite close to the landing area from the sixteenth tee), the seventeenth hole is 430 yards but plays steeply downhill the whole way, so if you can hit a good drive, you can really get some distance, potentially leaving yourself just a little wedge second. Thankfully, it's a wide-open drive, so feel free to pull driver and go for it. The green is somewhat undulating and protected by water left and a bunker right.

The seventeenth hole.

Approaching the seventeenth green.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole is 15 yards shorter than the previous hole, but since it's uphill the whole way, it effectively plays significantly longer. Much like the ninth, the fairway is quite narrow, but there are no hazards, so it's effectively a wide-open playing field. A good drive will leave a short iron into the green, which is fairly long and narrow and protected by three bunkers left. 

The eighteenth hole.

Approaching the eighteenth green.

The eighteenth green.

Clearly, we're not dealing with a masterpiece of design here. Greencastle is not a good golf course in any sense of the word. Actually, it's worse than I remembered. The eighth hole in particular is just such a bad, bad hole. And the third is so incredibly ugly. I guess I can say the last third of the round isn't entirely terrible. Not good, average at best. At the very least, it was $45 to play the course. (Cart included, this is NOT a walking-friendly golf course. Try to contain your surprise.) Not a great price, but for a Saturday afternoon, it's not the worst. I wouldn't spend my money here again, but it's not the highway robbery that the Links of Challedon was.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Sunlit Wit

The brewery: Monocacy Brewing Company, Frederick, Maryland

Description (from the can): Appearance/light haze, pale golden, bright white foam; Aroma/light citrus zest, coriander, subtle floral, very light spice/clove, mild breadiness; Taste/low bitterness, faint sweetness up front with a refreshingly dry finish, delicate touch of tartness; Texture/effervescent, extremely low astringency, light body, subtle coating effect in the finish

Would I buy it again? The initial taste of this beer was promising, but it was downhill from there, as I thought the aftertaste was kind of watery. The exact opposite of dry, if I'm being honest. Frankly, this beer isn't great, not awful, but definitely not one I'd go for again.

Review: Greencastle Golf Club (Part 1)

Not every golf course can be great. Not all of them can be good. Some aren't even average. Not every course can reach the median. Obviously. That's how medians work. Greencastle Golf Club, residing in the Pennsylvania town of the same name, is distinctly below average. I played it 20 years ago in a junior golf tournament, and while I couldn't remember much, I did remember it wasn't very good. And that's why I wanted to play it. I usually prefer to review the good golf courses, because wouldn't you know it, I usually prefer to play a good golf course. But I think it's also important to highlight the not so good. The silly. The dumb. The outright ridiculous. At the very least, bad golf gives me something to talk about. 

The first hole is a short par 4 at just 340 yards, which also plays significantly downhill. It might even be drivable for longer drivers, though with the green being blind from the tee it may not be the greatest idea to do so. There are no bunkers, but a slice hit over the containing mounds will likely disappear; left is much better, since that's just the ninth fairway. The green is medium sized and fairly flat, with bunkers short and left. It's a very gentle opener.

The first hole.

The first green.

The second hole is 380 yards and plays gently uphill the entire way. This is fine, and the fairway appears to be completely open. However, there's a blind pond left of the fairway, about 300 yards out. Many golfers won't have the length to reach it, so it's not a big issue, but some will, and so those longer drivers may want to use 3 wood. The green is partially tucked behind the pond and is fairly shallow, with a bunker also guarding the right side.

The second hole.

The second green.

The third hole is just under 200 yards and plays uphill to a green protected by what has to be the worst water feature ever installed on a golf course. Two waterfalls, one behind and one in front of the green. Not even the slightest pretense of naturalness. They're horrendously ugly eyesores that could never, ever exist in reality. Where would the water come from? They had a choice here, either include the hideous fake waterfalls or have grass on the tees, and they chose the waterfalls. Make sure you take an extra club or two, this hole plays long, but try not to be above the hole, as the green slopes pretty sharply from back to front. It wouldn't a good hole without the waterfalls, but man, it's sure a terrible one with them.

The third hole. I hate to shatter the illusion, but those waterfalls in front and behind the green? They're manmade. Reality is often disappointing.

The third green.

The fourth hole is the longest hole on the course, playing nearly 560 yards down and back up a large valley. The tee shot is very downhill, though it's squeezed slightly between a steep hillside right and a large bunker and O.B. left. There's space to breath, but not a lot. Don't go too far left either, or you'll end up blocked out by trees jutting out from the left side about 150 yards from the green. I doubt too many people go for this green, but you may end up with a longer third then you want. Then again, considering the multitude of bunkers short of this green, it's likely safer to lay back at 100 yards. Plus, the green being shallow, elevated, and basically completed fronted by a bunker, you'll want altitude on your third shot to ensure you hold the green. I wouldn't say this is a bad hole, but it is rather overcomplicated and busy. 

The fourth hole.

Approaching the fourth green.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is 415 yards and plays significantly downhill. This one's so close to being decent, but instead it's just awkward. The tee shot is the issue here: The drive is hit through a needlessly claustrophobic chute of trees, with maybe 20-30 yards between them. Now, the trees left work fine, I think. They guard the corner of the dogleg and the ideal driving line. The trees right are the issue. Ideally, they'd be completely gone. That would offer golfers a choice: Hit a bold drive flirting with the left tree line or bail out safely toward the open right side with a wood or long iron. But, with the trees there, there's no sense of any shot being safe. So why not play aggressively? At least eliminate one group of trees by taking driver and aiming left. Also, considering the rest of the hole is extremely wide open, the tiny gap in between the trees feels silly. Anyway, if you've played fairly safely, you'll have a downhill short iron into a green protected by a pond left and a bunker right. However, if you play boldly, you'll catch a big downhill slope and run down, leaving yourself just a pitch or little wedge. Not the worst hole, but perhaps the most disappointing.

The fifth hole, featuring a completely clear view not obstructed by unnecessary trees.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is what every non–low handicap golfer loves to see: A long par 3 that's 90% carry. At 215 from all the way back (190 from the next set up), the sixth presents a shallow, banana-shaped green and lots and lots of marsh in front of it. Not much to say about this one, it's just not a good or enjoyable hole. No interesting green or anything beyond "don't chunk your tee shot." Bland, uninspired, and honestly too difficult for the caliber of golfer playing this course.

The sixth hole.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is a mid-length par 4 that is, to be honest, a bit awkward. The tee is set in dense trees, and the view off the tee is not very informative. You can't see the green, the fairway, and you can't even really tell where either are. The hole bends hard left at about 250 yards, so the ideal play is to that point (trees in the corner of the dogleg prevent you from cutting off too much, unless you can hit a massive draw), which will leave a downhill wedge or short iron to a bunkerless green with dense forest beyond. 

One would be forgiven for thinking otherwise, but the seventh hole is out there in this picture somewhere.

The eighth green. There's a hole there eventually.

If the previous hole was a bit awkward, the eighth hole is a tragedy in two acts.

Act 1: The seventh and eighth hole play parallel to each other in a very narrow corner of the property. Normally, when holes play so close to each other, they're routed in straight lines. But the seventh and eighth are both significant doglegs. This works okay for the seventh, where the turn comes at about 250 yards, but not so well for this hole, where the turn is optimistically about 200 yards out. This is a par 5, by the way. Your choices off of the tee are lay up with an iron or hit a driver over the heads of any golfers on the seventh fairway. Oh, and if you go through the fairway, you'll be in a group of houses.

Interlude: The fairway in the landing area, vague as it is, slopes significantly from left to right. That will become significant in a moment.

Act 2: The green location is apocalyptically awful. Key to the issue is a massive tree just short left of the green. Branches overhang about three-quarters of the green, which means you can't approach this green from the air from most of the fairway, not unless you've laid up specifically on the right side. You cannot hit this green in two if you've hit a good drive. Not on purpose or you're extremely, ridiculously precise. This is bad enough, but there's also a bunker in front of the green, which is quite shallow and angled from right to left. So you can't run an approach into the green either. Oh, and there's a runoff just beyond the green, which, if anything, is sloped from back to front. 

To put it simply, despite being a 470-yard par 5, it's likely the least scorable hole on the course. If you can make a par, you're doing great. 

A whole lot to see on the eighth tee.

Approaching the eighth green. Note the massive tree protecting the left side of the green. It's a beautiful tree, and I understand why it didn't get cut down, but good lord, don't put a green behind it. Especially when the fairway slopes from left to right.

The eighth green. And yes, this is an absolutely horrendous place to approach this particular green from.

The ninth hole, as a hole, is mostly fine. The drive is uphill to a narrow fairway, but with no fairway bunkers or any hazards, actually hitting the fairway isn't a huge priority. The second shot will be blocked by trees if you really slice one though. The second is also uphill to a green with three bunkers surrounding it. It's a long green, with a decent amount of back-to-front slope. No, what makes this hole silly rests about 100 yards short of the green. For whatever reason, a tiny patch of marsh splits the fairway in two. It's not reachable from the tee, so it's not exactly a strategic obstacle. It's just sort of there. And when I say tiny, I mean tiny. Like, 15 feet across. It looks horrendous. The only thing I can figure is its there for drainage reasons, but it's not even at a low point. Not really. It's baffling and comical.

The ninth hole.

The ninth green.

The patch of marsh splitting the fairway in two. Marsh can look good. This does not.

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

Beer of the Week

The beer: Vanilla Double Wizard

The brewery: Black Flag Brewing Company, Columbia, Maryland

Description (from Untappd): "This 8% ABV Hazy Double IPA features a heavy hitting blend of Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe hops throughout the whirlpool and dry hopping, along with a large drop-in of Tahitian Vanilla Beans. Imagine the vibrant pithy citrus notes of these popular hops blended with the mellow, full-bodied sweetness of pure vanilla bean; a genuine hopped orange dreamsicle!"

Would I buy it again? The beer itself is perfectly fine. Very juicy, with a citrusy flavor, it's easy and pleasant to drink, and I like it. But there's an issue: I taste literally no vanilla. And with a name like "Vanilla Double Wizard," I was really expecting at least a little vanilla. I wanted to experience a vanilla-flavored IPA, but I got something much more average. So I'd probably pass on it in the future. Good, but not what I was looking for.

World Golf Hall Of Fame Downsizing, Moving Out Of Florida

Tragic news for, um, probably someone out there. Although honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if no one was disappointed the massive World Golf Hall of Fame complex in St. Augustine, Florida was moving back to its original home in Pinehurst. A much smaller, less complex home. I certainly don't have any strong feelings; I never went and had literally no interest in going, which is probably part of the problem the World Golf Hall of Fame faced. A golf museum would be interesting, but the WGHF facility was enormous, with multiple mediocre, overpriced golf courses. It went all in on being a "destination," but you don't just conjure a golf destination out of dull Florida swamp. 

Streamsong? Whatever are you talking about?

Actually, let's talk about that. Streamsong (along with Bandon Dunes, Sand Valley, Cabot Links, etc.) works because the golf is inspired. Golf courses designed by people who care about golf. The WGHF was way too corporate, way too sanitized. And the people behind the WGHF thoroughly overestimated the place's attraction. They hoped for a million visitors a year. They got a quarter of that at most, and for the last 10 years got about 5% of that lofty goal. Frankly, I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did. Golf is just not that popular a sport.

I don't know if the new Pinehurst location will be any more successful than the St. Augustine location, but at the very least, Pinehurst is a golf town. Golfers will be in the area. And it does rain in North Carolina pretty often. I don't think it would make up for a rained-out round at Pinehurst No. 2, but hey, at least you don't have to sit in your hotel room now! That's a great tagline for the new World Golf Hall of Fame: "It's better than doing nothing."

Beer of the Week

The beer: Blueberry Wheat Ale

The brewery: Ellicottville Brewing Company, Little Valley, New York

Description (from the website): "A dry and fruity wheat beer with the perfect amount of mellow blueberry flavor. EBC has been brewing this beer for over 10+ years as it continues to grow in popularity — even internationally."

Would I buy it again? Personally, I wouldn't, but that's because I'm just not a huge fan of the blueberry taste. If you enjoy blueberries, I think you'd get a lot out of this beer. It's got a good balance of blueberry taste and beer taste. Also, a clarification on the brewery name: This brewery has multiple locations, including one in Ellicottville, N.Y. But this particular bottle was brewed and bottled in Little Valley. Very important information right there.