Beer of the Week

The beer: Cherry Pie Imperial Ale

The brewery: Southern Tier Brewing Company, Lakewood, New York

Description (from the website): "Southern Tier is thrilled to partner for Year 3 with our WNY neighbor, Perry’s Ice Cream! Our newest Imperial Ale is inspired by one of Perry’s newest flavors: Cherry Pie. With notes of tart cherry, sweet vanilla, and rich, flakey crust, Southern Tier’s Cherry Pie brings all the deliciousness STBC is famous for!"

Would I buy it again? The balance on this particular beer is excellent. You get the tart cherry, but there's also a creamy vanilla taste as well as a bit of breadiness. Basically, this is another quality imperial ale from the experts in the field. I'd happily buy this again.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Platter's Chocolate Hazelnut Porter

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

Description (from the website): "Brewed with our friends at Platter's Chocolate Factory - a rich and elegant porter with creamy nutty sweetness, roasted malt, & waves of decadent chocolate."

Would I buy it again? Chocolate and hazelnut is a classic combo, and it only makes sense to mix them together in a beer. And surprise, surprise, it works really well in this beer. It's not too difficult to drink but still has plenty of flavor to it. And it's not hoppy at all. I'd happily drink this again.

Review: Rocky Gap Golf Course (Part 2)

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

The tenth hole is a 560-yard par 5 that initially plays over open, flat ground. Three bunkers surround the otherwise-wide fairway, though the right-side bunker can be carried pretty easily. That's definitely the side to favor. Now, while I'm sure there are people who can get to this green in two, in practical terms no one is doing that. The green here is wide and shallow, and separated completely from the fairway by a stream running across the front. There is just no space available for a fairway wood to successfully hit and hold the green, particularly as you'll be hitting from a downhill lie. This is distinctly a three-shot hole, with the second a matter of keeping the ball in play and leaving yourself a good yardage. Even so, the third is also from a downhill lie and not exactly a walk in the park. I don't imagine a whole lot of birdies are made here.

The tenth hole.

Approaching the tenth green.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is 420 yards, and while the tee is elevated, the hole plays otherwise uphill the entire way. The fairway is reasonably wide, but there's dense forest left and a couple of large trees right to keep the right side from being too obvious a bailout. A good drive will leave a short or mid iron uphill to a shallow, two-tiered green tucked behind a large bunker. It's better approached from the right side, but even so, the approach is a tough one.

The eleventh hole.

Approaching the eleventh green.

The eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is 160 yards and plays slightly uphill to a large green with two flanking bunkers. The big thing with this particular green is that the front third or so is in a little amphitheater of sorts, with the back portion being much higher. It's a nice little collection area if the green is in front, but if you end up on the wrong level, two-putting will be tricky.

The twelfth hole.

The twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is a very long par 5 at nearly 600 yards (they did not have the tees anywhere close to being that far back for my round), though the distance is certainly mitigated by the fact that the fairway tumbles downhill something like 50 feet from tee to green. There's tall grass and a road left, so right is the place to miss, even with a big fairway bunker on that side. This green is out of reach for most golfers, but even on the lay-up, you still need to think about the pond right; you can lay back and take it out of play completely, but then you'll have a hundred-plus yards on the third shot, and that's not a great feeling. The green itself is fairly narrow and curled around the pond, with a bunker short left and beyond.

The thirteenth hole.

Approaching the thirteenth green.

The thirteenth green.

The fourteenth hole is a mid-length par 4 with a small stream cutting across the fairway about 275 yards out from the tee. There's enough brush and tall grass on either side to preclude clearing it, so this tee shot is a pretty straightforward lay-up where you want to avoid the two fairway bunkers right. A 3 wood will leave a short or mid iron to the green, which is medium sized and well protected by two large bunkers. It's not an easy second shot, with the front bunker pretty much necessitating a fully aerial approach.

The fourteenth hole.

Approaching the fourteenth green.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is technically the shortest of Rocky Gap's par 5s, being slightly shorter than the fifth. Of course, that hole played more than a hundred feet downhill, while this one plays slowly but surely uphill. It's a narrow fairway here as well, squeezed on both sides by trees and tall grass. The second is going to be a lay-up for most people anyway, but a large bunker cuts the fairway off about 75 yards from the green, and with precious little space between wood lines beyond it, the third shot will be a full wedge. There's just no good reason to play this hole any other way. The green is narrow, with a bunker left to protect slightly wayward shots from disappearing. 

The fifteenth hole.

Approaching the fifteenth green.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is 190 yards and plays downhill to a shallow green sloped sharply from back to front protected by bunkers in front and to the left. It's not the greatest hole in the world, mostly because it's a bit too long for how little green there is to work with, particularly with that bunker in front.

The sixteenth hole.

The seventeenth hole is also a par 3, playing 180 yards to a long, narrow green poking out into the forest. There are two bunkers, one short and one left, and the green is subtly undulating and tricky to putt. This is by far the better of the back-to-back par 3s, and it looks very good carved out of the hillside. 

The seventeenth hole.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole is a long-ish par 4 at 430 yards, and while in isolation I think this is a solid hole, it doesn't really fit in with everything else we've seen. The fairway, while framed by bunkers, is wide open and virtually devoid of trees, and that feels like a strange choice on an otherwise very forested golf course. The green is well-bunkered and quite similar to the twelfth, with the front portion being in its own separate tier below the back half. It's not a terrible green design, though I'm not sure we needed to repeat it.

The eighteenth hole.

Approaching the eighteenth green.

The eighteenth green.

All things considered, it would be pretty baffling if Rocky Gap weren't at least somewhat interesting, considering the abrupt, severe landscape. And it certainly has some memorable holes, particularly the fifth and sixth. But the property, of course, also holds Rocky Gap back. The land is too broken and mountainous for really good golf. Simply getting to 18 holes had to have been a challenge, and you can really tell the architect was struggling at the end with the back-to-back par 3s.

The course was in solid shape, and while it's not walkable (I'm sure you could, theoretically, but I didn't), the price was reasonable. $60 for 18 holes with a cart is really not too bad, and this is a better-than-average golf course. That price does come with a caveat, however: You have to play after 2 PM. The normal, non-twilight rate is over a hundred bucks, and that is way, way too much. So long as I can get that twilight rate, I would play here again. It's a reasonably fun and scenic golf course.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Bock Lesnar

The brewery: Rough Edges Brewing, Waynesboro, Pennsylvania

Description (from Untappd): "This full-bodied beer has a rich and toasty malt profile with a smooth amber hue, perfect for the colder months. Inspired by strength, it has bold flavor in every sip. This brew took home the championship belt at the 2025 Brewsgiving Festival in Pottsville, PA."

Would I buy it again? It's been a while since we've seen Rough Edges on here, but I was in Waynesboro for Thanksgiving dinner (not on Thanksgiving day, obviously) and had some time to kill. And I'm glad I did, because while this may not officially be a doppelbock, it's pretty much as good as. Same taste, same feel, same satisfaction. I love these kinds of beers, and as long as it's around, I'd buy more.

Review: Rocky Gap Golf Course (Part 1)

In Maryland, once you go west of Hagerstown, it's tough to find space for golf. The terrain is rugged and there is quite literally very little land between the Potomac to the south and the Mason-Dixon Line to the north. Maryland quite infamously narrows down to less than 2 miles wide when you reach Hancock. It's small wonder than that the first golf course you find past Hagerstown is very nearly in Cumberland, 50 miles to the west. It's also little wonder that Rocky Gap Casino, Resort, and Golf Course is pretty much on I-68, the main road through western Maryland, so much so that the exit for the resort (and state park) pretty much feels like its for Rocky Gap and nothing else.

There is another reason to be curious about Rocky Gap beyond geographic convenience — it was designed by Jack Nicklaus. Now, I should probably qualify that statement and say that I highly doubt Mr. Nicklaus, he of 18 majors fame, made more than a cursory publicity visit to Rocky Gap (if he even did that). It was almost certainly someone at his architecture firm who did the real work. Still, it says Jack Nicklaus designed the course on the website, and I've never played a Nicklaus golf course. So, what could his team to with the rugged landscape of western Maryland? Let's find out.

The first hole does a decent job at setting the tone for the round in terms of what you're going to see. The landforms are severe and the fairway pretty clearly had to be carved out of a hillside. This par 4 is about 380 yards, and the fairway is pinched between three bunkers, two left and one right. A fade is the better choice on the tee. A good drive will leave just a wedge. The green is medium sized with a bunker left, and while I wouldn't call it a particularly wild or interesting green, it's definitely not flat. All in all, a reasonable opening hole.

The first hole.

Approaching the first green.

The first green.

The second hole is also about 380 yards, though it plays quite differently. The tee shot climbs dramatically to a fairway that turns left around a deep bunker. You ideally want to reach the top of the hill to get a view of the green, but between the bunker left and the scrub-covered hillside right, there's not a massive amount of space for a driver. It's not impossible, but nor is it the most inviting prospect. If you do use driver successfully, your reward will be a little wedge slightly downhill to a green cut into the hillside with a bunker left keeping slightly wayward approaches from bounding down into oblivion.

The second hole.

The second green.

The third hole is a long 450-yard par 4 playing through a chute of trees to a wide, sloped fairway with native areas and woods on both sides. The fairway does end at some point, but you'd have to hit it at 300 yards for that to be a concern. The second shot is a mid iron over that central valley to a green on the far side. It's got a single, deep bunker front right, and the green is medium sized and angled from left to right. You definitely want to approach the green from the left side of the fairway; even so, this is a tough second shot and a tough hole overall.

The third hole.

Approaching the third green.

The third green.

The fourth hole is a shortish par 3 at 160 yards, which is made even shorter as the hole plays significantly downhill. The green is sloped from left to right, following the slope of the hillside its carved from. There's a shallow bunker left and a very deep one front right. Neither are fun to be in. Still, the hole isn't long and the green, while not massive, definitely isn't small. 

The fourth hole.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is a dramatic 540-yard par 5 tumbling a hundred feet downhill to a massively wide fairway split into upper and lower levels by a pair of central bunkers. While the upper side gives you a better angle, the fairway ends about 275 yards out, meaning that longer hitters will run out of driver space. The right, lower side has more space, but it also puts you behind trees and prevents you from going directly at the green in two. The trees pinch in from the right around 75 yards from the green, so you either need to lay up well short of that or get past that on the lay-up. A single bunker protects the right side of the green, which is otherwise pretty straightforward. Even so, this is a fun and memorable hole, and definitely the sort of thing you expect to see in such a mountainous setting.

The fifth hole.

Approaching the fifth green.

The fifth green.

Speaking of holes that feel carved out of the wilderness, the sixth hole is quite intimidating when you step onto the tee. Actual golf terrain is scarcely visible. All you get is a few slivers of the green in between dense underbrush. This is a 220-yard par 3 with a green far below in a valley, but while the tee shot looks incredibly difficult, there's actually plenty of open space down there to work with. It's not easy, and the green has a couple of bunkers around it, but it's nowhere near as tough to lose a golf ball here as you might think.

Not much to see from the back tee on the sixth hole..

It's a little better from the next tee up, but not by much.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is a medium-length par 4 playing to a narrow fairway with forest on both sides, as well as a single bunker right. That bunker can be cleared with a driver, but with little wiggle room it's a tough choice to make. A good long iron or fairway wood will leave a short iron for the approach. The green here is on the far side of a tiny stream (barely more than a trickle when I was there, though admittedly western Maryland was experiencing a pretty severe drought), and while it's quite narrow, it's also pretty flat. Find the green and you'll have a decent chance at birdie.

The seventh hole.

Approaching the seventh green.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is not a long par 5, being just over 500 yards, but it also plays dramatically (if steadily) uphill. It would take two big shots to get to the green in two. The hole isn't overflowing with hazards, with just one small fairway bunker right, but since the hole is quite narrow, it doesn't need much else as it squeezes through the trees. The green here is the most interesting part of the hole; it's separated into three distinct sections, an upper tier at the back, with a central ridge dividing the front two-thirds of the green into roughly equal halves. Find the wrong section of green, and two putting will be a challenge.

The eighth hole.

Approaching the eighth green.

The eighth green.

The ninth hole is another mid-length par 4, and like the second this one plays up to an elevated fairway. With the hole bending slightly left and a cluster of trees positioned in the corner, you really need a draw on hand if you want to use driver here. For most, a fairway wood is the play, hopefully reaching the top of the hill and leaving a short iron or wedge second shot. The green is fairly narrow and squeezed between two large bunkers.

The ninth hole.

The ninth green.

That's it for this week, next week we'll check out the back nine.