Review: Worthington Manor Golf Club (Part 1)

It took over 7 years, but at long last, I have played every public golf course in Frederick County. The final course in the county is Worthington Manor, an upscale "country club for a day" just south of Frederick, right along Interstate 270. The course opened in 1998 and was designed by Ed Ault (maybe, it was the Ault-Clark design firm). Though, contrary to most of my experiences with Ault golf courses, which are generally user-friendly and easy to score on, Worthington Manor is actually a stern test, having hosted the Maryland State Open and multiple U.S. Open qualifiers. Beyond that, I knew very little about the course going in and didn't have too many expectations. Frankly, all I was hoping for was to not have a repeat of Maryland National. Would Worthington Manor meet that modest goal? Let's find out.

The first hole is a mid-length par 4 playing to a fairway tilted at a 45 degree angle from the tee, with a bunker left and one right to catch overly safe slices. Obviously, with a stream at the bottom of the hill left of the fairway and a steep embankment running the entire length of the hole, left is not the place to miss. You can play safely right with a long iron, but you'll have a fairly long second shot, and this green is less than conducive to anything less than a wedge. The big feature of this green, besides the big bunker left, is a ridge running through the middle, splitting the green in two, but that's not the only thing it has going for it. By and large, Worthington Manor has tough, undulating greens, and they're not to be treated lightly. People who take on the dogleg and left bunker will have just a wedge into the green, and while that's not an easy shot, it's certainly better than coming in from 150-175 yards away.

The first hole.

Approaching the first green.

The first green.

The second hole is 395 yards and starts off roughly similar to the first, with a drive to a fairway angled diagonally, with a creek left and a fairway bunker guarding the straight line between tee and green. While the green is bunkerless, the numerous fairway undulations mean that you'll probably want to have as little club as possible on the second, though of course a safe wood or long iron is also an option. The green is also plenty undulating, with the front right hole location my brother and I saw presenting plenty of challenge. Essentially, anything long is extremely difficult to get near the hole, with a small knob coming in from the right side deflecting any chips/putts from beyond the hole. Interestingly, though you'd have less green to work with, short is definitely the miss with this particular hole location.

The second hole.

Approaching the second green.

The second green.

The third hole is one of, if not the toughest hole on the course, so I hope the first couple got you warmed up. At 435 yards, it's not tremendously long, especially considering the downhill tee shot, but the fairway is sloped sharply from right to left (and falls away quickly if you stray too far right); in addition, a small ravine cuts in from the left, narrowing the fairway beyond 250 yards. It's very tough to hit driver here. A good 3 wood will leave a mid to long iron uphill to a green separated from the fairway by the ravine. While the green lacks any particularly bold contours, it's very far from flat, and it's not very big either. Hitting driver will definitely give you a much easier second shot, but it's tough hitting the landing area. Considering how badly laying back on the tee went for me (I ended up with a triple), however, I think next time I'll try the driver. It could hardly go worse.

The third hole.

Approaching the third green.

The third green.

The fourth hole is just a few yards shorter than the previous hole and plays similarly – downhill tee shot, uphill second – but somehow it feels much shorter. That's likely down to the much more forgiving nature of the tee shot; you can pretty much hit it anywhere here, even straight at the green, completely ignoring the fairway. That's what my brother and I saw the groups in front of us do, and that's what we did. Sure, you may end up with a blind shot from an awkward stance, but when you have just a wedge in hand, it feels worth it somehow. The green isn't too remarkable, with some elevation change but nothing to write home about, though there are three bunkers dotted around.

The fourth hole.

Approaching the fourth green.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is 530 yards, and while the hole technically plays uphill overall, the tee shot is significantly downhill, and when you combine that with a dry, fast-running fairway, you can hit some long drives, meaning this is definitely a green you can get to under regulation. That second shot is up to a small, heavily sloped green surrounded by four bunkers. Admittedly, two of those bunkers are only sort of close to the green, but when you're coming in from 200 yards plus, the margin for error is a lot bigger. For those laying up, there's a long bunker right of the prime lay-up area to deal with. 

The fifth hole.

Approaching the fifth green.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is decidedly not my favorite hole on the course. There's just a bit too much going on. It's 200 yards, so fairly long, but there's a little pot bunker just in front of the green, which is shallow and wide rather than long and deep. The odds of landing a ball on the green behind that bunker and getting it to stay on the green with a mid or long iron is ... minimal. This hole would be fine with the three other bunkers and water lurking all around. Or if it was shorter. The tees we played from were at 150 yards, and that was honestly fine. That's a short iron, you can get some height and spin and keep it on the green. From 200 yards though? This would not an enjoyable hole.

The sixth hole.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole once again presents us with a tee shot over a stream to a fairway angled left, with bunkers to clear on the ideal line to the green. This is the last time Worthington Manor presents this particular challenge, but having it pop up three times in a seven-hole stretch is not ideal. At 370 yards, the hole's fairly short, and if you can clear the bunkers, the fairway goes from climbing to falling, so you can get some extra roll. The green's certainly not driveable, but you can leave yourself just a little pitch if you're bold enough. Most people I imagine aim out to the right, leaving a full wedge down to the green. The back-left hole location we saw is especially tricky, as a knob cuts into the green from the left, ensuring that any shot from the left side will absolutely not stay near the flag. And that's interesting, considering that the majority of hole locations would favor an approach from the left, as a large bunker protects the right side and the golfer is naturally tempted to challenge the fairway bunkers. Just a bit of neat local knowledge that I'll keep in mind for future rounds.  

The seventh hole.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is the shortest hole at Worthington Manor, playing 175 yards over a stream to a green carved into a hillside. This is a very tricky hole, but unlike the sixth, it's in a good way. The green is tilted sharply from back to front. Putts from above the hole are incredibly slippery and it's all to easy to leave a long second putt. So you don't want to be long. However, the fairway is heavily sloped, and while I can't say for certain, I'm willing to bet any shots that don't make the green will roll back down. So you don't want to be short either. Honestly, the three bunkers around the green barely matter. I don't know if it's my favorite hole here, but I like this one a lot more than the sixth.

The eighth hole.

The eighth green.

The ninth hole is 555 yards and essentially plays straight. The landing area is blind, as the fairway crests a hill about 250 yards out. But it's open, and the bunker in view is fairly easy to clear. Much like the fifth, you can get some serious roll as the fairway tumbles downhill toward a marshy area in front of the green. Hit a good drive, and you're left with a pretty binary decision: Either lay up short of the marsh or risk it all and go for what's practically an island green. There's plenty of room around the green to miss, so if you can make the carry, it may be worth it, as the green is wider than it is deep. It's also canted sharply from back to front, with some other smaller undulations breaking the green up into sections. Since it's not impossible to find golf balls in the native area and the green is friendlier than you might think, if you can go for it, it's not the worst decision in the world to do so. 

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.