Beer of the Week

The beer: Provocative Photography

The brewery: Rough Edges Brewing, Waynesboro, Pennsylvania

Description (from Untappd): "A full-bodied [wheat beer, with] banana, clove, and a hint of vanilla."

Would I buy it again? Another week, another hefeweizen. Oops. I prefer this one to last week's simply because this one doesn't taste like raspberries. It doesn't do anything spectacular, it just sort of tastes like a wheat beer should. And that's enough for me, especially on those hot summer days.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Welcome to Razwell

The brewery: UFO Beer, Boston, Massachusetts

Description (from the website): "Natural raspberry flavor is added to this delightfully sweet and slightly tart raspberry hefeweizen to give it a delicate fruit flavor. The raspberries are balanced by the clean, wheat beer taste making it a delicious blend of sweet and refreshing for any season."

Would I buy it again? It is a well-balanced beer; the raspberry pairs nicely with the wheat flavor. I'm just not one who particularly enjoys raspberries. I probably would not buy this one again, but that's just me. I think it's a good beer, just not for me. I'll have to look out for other beers from this brewery though, I like their theming and their beer names.

Review: Wilmington Municipal Golf Course (Part 2)

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

The tenth hole is a mid-length par 4 that parallels the first, and much like the first, there's not much trouble on the tee shot. Also like the first hole, the tenth features a pair of fairway bunkers within 50 yards of the greens, although these are much more aggressive. The cross bunkers are about 25-30 yards short and do a decent job of obscuring just how close to the green they are, thanks to the slightly uphill nature of the second shot. From the fairway, it does look like the green is absolutely surrounded by sand, but there is plenty of space short. The bunkers left and right of the green are more threatening, and the green itself has plenty of back-to-front and some right-to-left tilt to it. It's not an easy green to putt, and missing right will result in a very tough chip (or bunker) shot.

The tenth hole.

Approaching the tenth green.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is actually a fairly tough par 3, playing nearly 200 yards to a small green. There's a crossbunker 20 yards short, making playing the ground game tricky, and the green is closely guarded by sand on both sides. Plus, there's also the road long to make those with a tendency to thin the ball nervous. The green itself isn't particularly easy either; it's got plenty of slope to it and falls away at the back more than you might think, and getting up and down from beyond the green when 90% of the green is sloped away from you and you're 3 or 4 feet below the level of the green is a tricky task.

The eleventh hole.

The eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is the longest hole at Wilmington Muni and the final par 5 the course has to offer. The tee shot's relatively tough, as the fairway's squeezed between tall pines and sandy waste (which is all over the place but is especially relevant on this hole), and three bunkers guard the ideal line from the tee. The ditch from the second hole also cuts across this fairway, but it does so at a point where you're not going to reach it with your drive while being close enough that it's not likely to threaten your second shot unless you do something disastrous on the tee. However, it does extend for a hundred yards or so up the right side, and seeing as the green is best approached from the right, that portion of the ditch is absolutely something to worry about. The green itself is significantly built up and elevated, and is protected by three bunkers while also possessing a lot of back-to-front tilt. This is no automatic birdie hole for even the best golfers.

The twelfth hole.

Approaching the twelfth green.

The twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is 415 yards, bunkerless, and almost dead flat. You might think then that this hole has very little to offer, and yes, the drive is very easy. However, things become more complicated at the green, which is the most interesting one on the course (barring the Volcano, that is). It's pretty big, but it's elevated a couple feet above the surrounding fairway, with knobs front right, back right, and mid left. Like the eleventh, this green also subtly falls away at the back. It's not difficult hitting the green, but two putting is no guarantee, and if you miss the green, you have a myriad of options to try and get the ball close. So, despite having literally nothing in terms of natural features, the thirteenth still manages to be one of the more interesting holes at Wilmington.

The thirteenth hole.

Approaching the thirteenth green.

The thirteenth green.

The fourteenth hole is 380 yards, and much like the previous hole, it plays dead straight to a wide-open fairway. Naturally, the second shot is a bit more complicated. The green is small, elevated, and surrounded by four bunkers. Not the most interesting hole in the world, but solid enough.

The fourteenth hole.

Approaching the fourteenth green.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is also not the most interesting hole in the world. For the third hole in a row, we've got a mid-length par 4 playing parallel to the previous hole (although this one is at least partially separated from 14 by a cluster of dense trees). When you've got a course as tightly routed as Wilmington is, this sort of thing can happen. The fourteenth plays uphill to another open fairway – why there are no fairway bunkers on this or the previous two holes is an excellent question – and like the last hole, the green is well guarded by sand. However, the fifteenth lacks both the interesting green that the thirteenth had and the more compelling, more immediate bunker scheme of the fourteenth. The sand's there, but it's not as compelling a threat. Obviously, no hole on this course lacks strategic interest, it's a Donald Ross course, but I'd probably call this hole the weakest of the bunch.

The fifteenth hole.

Approaching the fifteenth green.

The fifteenth green.

When I say that the sixteenth hole is a long par 3, I'm underselling how long this hole can play. For our round, the back tees were set at about 230 yards. That's pretty long, but this hole can play even longer, as there's a tee spot 40 yards further back, all the way out at 270. We're straying into short par 4 territory at that point. There's even a cross bunker about 50 yards short that looks an awful lot like a fairway bunker for tee shots from all the way back. I don't know if the tee is new or if this hole was originally a par 4, but let's just say I wouldn't be surprised if either were true.

Anyway, from the more reasonable 230-yard tee, this hole presents a solid if manageable challenge. The green is quite large and completely open in front, so you can absolutely run a ball up. However, missing left or right will land you in a bunker. The green itself doesn't do anything too crazy, though it's filled with smaller undulations and breaks. 

The sixteenth hole.

The sixteenth green.

The seventeenth hole is a short par 4 at just 340 yards, and it shares a fair amount in common with the seventh, which plays alongside it. Unlike the past few par 4s, this hole does have fairway bunkers; there's one left and one about 30 or 40 yards further up on the right side. While there's space to avoid these bunkers, they ensure that you're always going to be thinking about something on the tee shot. No mindless drivers on this hole. The set-up is important, as this green is quite small and tucked behind a line of three bunkers, with a fourth bunker right. The ideal line is from the right, preferably from short of the right-side fairway bunker; get too close and it becomes difficult to get enough spin/height to keep the ball close to the hole. The green falls away at the back, but the rest is tilted pretty significantly from back to front.

The seventeenth hole.

Approaching the seventeenth green.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole ends the round in an appropriate, if not exactly exciting, fashion. At 430 yards, it's on the longer side, but the tee shot is wide open. Just don't top it, because there's a pair of old-school top-shot bunkers right in front of the tee. Hit a solid drive, and the two fairway bunkers forming a gate 50 yards short of the green become essentially irrelevant. The green here is quite large and sprawling, with a single bunker left. However, it's got lots of back-to-front slope to it, along with numerous smaller undulations, kind of like the sixteenth. This is a tough green to putt. Also, and this is one of those undefinables that maybe only I feel, but I really like this hole's sense of occasion and place. It feels grand, somehow, and very connected with the rest of the course. The green just before the clubhouse and the bunkers framing that green give a solid sense of conclusion. 

The eighteenth hole.

Approaching the eighteenth green.

The eighteenth green.

Wilmington Municipal is not the greatest golf course ever. It's good, but I wouldn't call it anything beyond that. In the great Donald Ross municipal pantheon, I'd definitely place it above Triggs and Mark Twain (and above Charleston Muni, which is of course not a Ross course, but the geographical similarities make it an easy comparison), but it's not as good as Shennecossett or Jeffersonville, and it's nowhere close to George Wright. The third and fourth holes are easily the best holes – perhaps not surprising, considering they occupy the only section of the property with really significant elevation change – but there's definitely some other solid stuff like the ninth and thirteenth, and the greens overall are very interesting. In the end, though, Wilmington suffers a similar issue to Cape Arundel: It's too easy off the tee. There are exceptions – there always are – but by and large you can pretty mindlessly slug driver around and be reasonably assured you'll have a shot at the green on your next shot. This course would benefit greatly from the addition of 10 or so strategically placed fairway bunkers. A little something to tighten up the focus on the tee. 

That said, Wilmington does have quite a few other things going for it. The compactness of the layout and lack of any severe hazards like water mean that you can quite easily go the entire round without losing a golf ball. It also means that, despite being just as crowded as the Myrtle Beach courses, a round here is a much smoother and faster experience. 18 holes here for the three of us took about 3 and a half hours. That's about 30 minutes faster than the next fastest round we played, and 90 minutes faster than our slowest round. Also, we got to walk, which is the true way to play golf.

Oh, and then there's the price, which is perfectly in line with the municipal courses of the Northeast. Walking 18 holes at midday during the week was $31 per person. That's anywhere from a fourth to a sixth of the price of the Myrtle Beach courses we played. Needless to say, none of those courses were four to six times better than Wilmington. There are courses that offer better value (and I've played quite a few of them), but not many. And as a breath of fresh air in between a block of slow, ponderous Myrtle Beach cart golf, Wilmington is tough to beat.  

Beer of the Week

The beer: Hypocritical Brown Ale

The brewery: Rough Edges Brewing, Waynesboro, Pennsylvania

Description (from Untappd): "Dark ale with notes of caramel, chocolate, coffee, and toffee."

Would I buy it again? While this beer definitely did have all the notes and flavors it said it would have, it also was more distinctly bitter and hoppy than I would have preferred. Not enough to ruin it, but definitely noticeable. This is a solid beer to drink if you've already had one or two and are looking for something mostly inoffensive. But if you're like me on this particular day and just running in for one quick beer, I'd get something else.

The Sweetest Real Estate In The Solar System

Way back in 2019, the New Horizons space probe passed by the Kuiper Belt object Arrokoth, a 20-mile-wide chunk of ice that bears an uncanny resemblance to a snowman. Arrokoth is thus officially the farthest object ever closely observed and explored, and unless a new target for New Horizons to be pointed at is found in the next few years (an unlikely scenario, considering how little fuel New Horizons has left), Arrokoth will hold that record for a very long time.

 NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

While the snowman resemblance is kind of neat, there really isn't much to Arrokoth to excite the average person. It's a chunk of ice floating around billions of miles away. However, scientists were intrigued by the object's color; Arrokoth is a rusty red, which isn't generally a color that ice becomes. The theory at the time was that the solar wind had converted Arrokoth's various ices into organic molecules, and that these organic molecules were responsible for the object's unusual color.

Unfortunately, New Horizons couldn't turn around for a second look to answer this very important question, but it didn't need to, courtesy of a new study. The experiment the researchers undertook was shockingly simple: Build a miniature Kuiper Belt object, bombard it with high-energy electrons to simulate billions of years worth of solar wind, and observe the results.

The first thing they noticed after irradiating their chunk of ice was the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are actually quite common throughout the universe. But beyond that, they found a couple surprises, namely a sugar you're familiar with: glucose. The very same glucose, in fact, that your body depends on. So, if you went out there, dug up a little chunk, and licked it, the ice would actually taste sweet. It's those various sugars, the researchers said, that give Arrokoth its unusual color.

But before you suit up for the longest trip to the candy store ever undertaken, there's a catch to Arrokoth's sweetness. During their test, the researchers also detected glycerol, which is an important ingredient in soap. And that's not such a nice thing to eat. Unless, of course, you've just dropped the F-dash-dash-dash. Ralphie would probably appreciate a sweet-tasting soap ... so long as he doesn't get his tongue stuck to it.

Review: Wilmington Municipal Golf Course (Part 1)

Myrtle Beach is a golfer's paradise. There are so many courses, and while I would say Myrtle Beach lacks a true standout great golf course, there's plenty of quality golf to be played. It is essentially everything any golfer could ever want. 

And yet, something's off about the Myrtle Beach golf experience. Take your average Myrtle Beach vacationer: They're probably not going to be a hardcore, passionate golf enthusiast. They may love to play golf, but if you ask them what their favorite Ross, Tillinghast, Doak, or Coore-Crenshaw course is, they're probably not going to have any strong opinions. Or any opinion. No, the average Myrtle Beach golfer is there to hang out with buddies, drink beer, and play terrible golf. And that's fine, it's good they can have a place to do that. However, if you're like my brothers and I, who are decidedly more serious minded about our golf – and consider walking the definitive way to play – Myrtle Beach isn't the greatest overall golf experience. There is no walking on the Myrtle Beach resort courses, and there are no sub–4-hour rounds. Moorland was nearly 5 hours. No wonder, considering how tough a lot of Myrtle Beach courses are, how many people the resorts jam onto their courses, and the general "I spent my money, I deserve to take as much time as I want" attitude most golfers bring to the course.

I'm probably being a little unfair. There are probably plenty of walker-friendly golf courses in Myrtle Beach, but I don't think any of them are particularly noteworthy in terms of design or architecture, and to be honest I didn't drive 8 hours to play average golf.

Fortunately, however, Wilmington Municipal exists. It's a bit of a drive from Myrtle Beach (though not nearly as far as Charleston Muni), but your reward is a genuine, recently restored Donald Ross course that's both cheap and walker friendly in the middle of North Carolina's eighth largest city. Yes, another Donald Ross muni. Hey, North Carolina was his winter home, the man designed a million courses in Pinehurst alone, so of course there are Ross courses all over the state. So now the question is: How does Wilmington stack up in the Donald Ross municipal pantheon? 

The first hole is a fairly straightforward, if fairly long par 4 at 430 yards. The fairway's wide open, with no bunkers in play on the tee shot. There is a gate of bunkers about 50 yards short of the green, but obviously those don't come into play if you hit a solid drive. If you slice right into the trees or are a shorter hitter, then it's a different story. The green's fairly large and also pretty open, though it is pretty undulating. All in all, a pretty typical Ross gentle opening hole. 

The first hole.

The first green.

The second hole is a 525-yard par 5, and ups the difficulty from the first hole. There are two fairway bunkers, and while the first one on the left side is pretty easily carried, the one on the right side is much more threatening. And this fairway isn't particularly wide, with there being some less than pleasant sandy waste area left and the main road far right. Also complicating things is a ditch and small stream crossing the fairway about 150 yards from the green. If you don't hit a good drive, that ditch becomes a problem, and if you can't carry it, you're going to have an awfully long third shot. Not what you want on a not particularly long par 5. But if you do hit a good drive, the green is reachable in two, and open in the front. It is slightly elevated, as most greens here are, and nestled among a group of mounds, with a fairly large bunker left. Those mounds are incorporated into the green as well, making it a pretty tough green to putt. 

The second hole.

Approaching the second green.

The second green.

The third hole is the longest par 4 at Wilmington Muni at 435 yards, and while that's just a few yards longer than the first hole, the third is no joke. The hole bends right through a fairly narrow playing corridor, with pine trees pressing in from both sides. Also, the fairway is tilted hard from right to left, the opposite direction the hole doglegs. You pretty much have to hit a fade if you want to hit driver and hold this fairway. Pull it off, and you'll have a flat stance and a short iron second shot. You can lay back with a wood or long iron, but that will leave you with a mid iron second shot up the hill from a downhill, sidehill lie, and that's probably not what you want. The green is pretty big, tilted from back to front, and guarded by a bunker front right, so if you can, favoring the left side on the drive is preferable. Just don't run out of fairway.

The third hole.

Approaching the third green.

The third green.

The fourth hole is Wilmington Municipal's most difficult and distinctive hole for good reason: It's the classic Donald Ross Volcano hole. It's also kind of funny that this course's Volcano comes at this point in the round. The Volcano hole at Shennecossett? The fourth hole. The Volcano hole at Bedford Springs? Also the fourth. Three Volcanos, all three separated by hundreds of miles, and they're all fourth holes. Yet, they all manage to play distinctly, each intensely memorable in their own way. Shennecossett's played up to a horizon-type green, with a single tree behind, while Bedford Springs saved the 50-foot climb for the last 50 yards, resulting in an almost comically abrupt platform for the green. 

While the elevation changes at play here at of course less extreme than Bedford Springs or even Shennecossett, this Volcano has the benefit of playing downhill, and with the back side of the hole bereft of trees, you get a fantastic long view of a large portion of the course. And it's not like we're talking a few feet of elevation here; the dropoff behind the green is easily 15 or 20 feet, and this green is both small and steeply sloped. There's also a pond wide right if you slice, though it's far enough out that I don't imagine it catches too many golf balls. Overall, I think this slots into the middle of the Volcano tier list: Better than Shennecossett's, but lacking the comic insanity of Bedford Springs. All three are great golf holes though, and there's no shame in Wilmington coming second in this contest. 

The fourth hole.

The fifth hole is a mid-length par 4 playing out along the edge of the property, with trees and O.B. running down the entire right side. The fairway's pretty wide and there aren't any hazards, so driver is an option off the tee. A good drive will leave a wedge or short iron into the green; while the sole bunker on the hole is 50 yards short of the green, the green isn't completely defenseless. For one, it's got plenty of undulation to it, but in addition, there's a pretty steep falloff right. So while hole locations on the left side of the green are pretty benign and give you a good chance at making birdie, hole locations right are significantly more treacherous, and you'll want to play safer with the second shot.

The fifth hole.

Approaching the fifth green.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole isn't particularly long at 375 yards, but like the previous hole it also works along the property line right of the fairway. And this hole actually does have fairway bunkers in play, with the one left coming into play if you use a wood or long iron off the tee and the one right becoming an issue if you use driver. No matter what, you'll have something to think about on this tee. The green here is pretty small and backed up against the main road, and with no trees to catch wayward shots, you really don't want to hit a thin on your second shot. You're best off approaching this green from the right, as there's a bunker left and the back right portion of the green falls away, meaning approach shots from the left have a lot less room to work with.

The sixth hole.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is another fairly short par 4, this one just 350 yards. The tee shot here is basically blind, and while the fairway is fairly wide, there is a bunker right of the landing area that you really can't see from the tee. If you're like me, then this won't bother you. Golf isn't fair sometimes, and there's plenty of space to avoid that bunker. But I can imagine that bunker leading to some frustration in other golfers. And it's not like this hole's very long. Even if you hit a wood on the tee, you'll only have a wedge or short iron at most for your second shot. Good thing too, because this green is by far the most well guarded we've seen so far; the green itself isn't large and falls away at the back, and it's surrounded by four bunkers. Precision is the name of the game on this hole.

The seventh hole.

Approaching the seventh green.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is by far the shortest hole on the course, playing just under 150 yards, which I think qualifies it as a short par 3. And if you hit the green, it's a good birdie opportunity. The green's got some back-to-front tilt to it, but nothing extreme, and these greens don't roll too fast. However, if you miss the green to either side, you're in for a tough par. The bunker shot from either side is tricky as the green's pretty narrow. Even a slight thin or overshot pitch out of the sand will go right through the green into the opposite bunker. It's definitely something that's in the back of your mind. Oh, and if you try to get cute, the bermuda rough does not effectively stop golf balls from rolling back into the sand. So, this hole's not tough, but if you hit a bad tee shot, you need to take your medicine and accept bogey as a possibility, or you could definitely rack up a big number.

The eighth hole.

The ninth hole is the shortest of Wilmington's three par 5s, playing 510 yards. Interestingly, while the hole bends left, it's best to hit a fade off the tee, as there are trees immediately right of the tee and there's a fairway bunker right where a good draw would end up. There's also three smaller fairway bunkers right, so if you do want to hit driver and get to the green in two, you'll need to step up and hit a really good one. Of course, if you accept this as a three-shot hole, you can stay short of the fairway bunkers, but unlike a lot of par 5s where the lay-up shot is just a matter of advancing the ball, there is trouble to deal with on this hole. There are two more fairway bunkers pinching in, one left and one right, around 75-100 yards from the green. Nothing dramatic, but more than enough to give you something to think about. The green is partially tucked behind a bunker front right, but there's a lot of room left to miss, and if you can't quite get at the green itself, 10 yards left isn't a bad place to miss. I like this hole; it's not difficult and pretty easy to birdie, but you have to think and execute to do it, and that's really all you need.

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.