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.