Review: Neshanic Valley Golf Course (Lake Nine)

It's time to check out the Lake Nine at Neshanic Valley, go here to see the Meadow Nine. Also, since the course treats each nine as its own entity, I will do the same, so we're going to go one through nine again.

The first hole of the Lake Nine is 435 yards, which is on the longer side for par 4s, but as the hole plays dramatically downhill it doesn't feel quite that long. The fairway is pretty wide, but with three fairway bunkers left and a sharp slope leading down into a native area right, there isn't a huge margin for error if you are a bit wayward off the tee. The second shot is a short iron down to a green filled with broad undulations protected by two bunkers left, with the native area lurking off to the right.

The first hole.

Approaching the first green.

The first green.

The second hole is not a long par 4 at 360 yards, but it features a tee shot over a marshy native area to a fairway well protected by three fairway bunkers, with the marsh continuing to threaten right. Because the hole is not long, the best play is a 3 wood or long iron out to the wide part of the fairway out left; this will leave a wedge or at most short iron into the green. You'll even have a better angle that if you try to squeeze a driver between the bunkers and native area. So, no reason at all to be aggressive, as you don't gain anything from it. Play for par here and move on.

The second hole.

Approaching the second green.

The second green.

The third hole is a mid-length par 3 benched comfortably into a hillside. The green is fairly narrow and sloped from right to left, though the most noticeable feature of the hole is the large and very deep bunker covering the entire left side of the green. Missing right may leave you with an awkward stance on the chip, but if you're not confident out of bunkers, it's easily the better place to miss. It's a pretty simple hole, but a solid one nonetheless. 

The third hole.

The third green.

The fourth hole a long par 4 at 460 yards, and it's a tough one too. The fairway is generous, but with multiple bunkers right and a native area left, there isn't much in the way of wiggle room. To make matters more difficult, the last fairway bunker drastically narrows the fairway right at the point where many people will hit their driver. Of course, one could use a 3 wood to give yourself more space, but that really does turn this hole into a par 5.

Provided you do hit a solid drive, the second shot will be a long iron to a fairly open target. The green is large and slightly punchbowl-like, gathering slightly wayward shots and bringing them in closer. There's a bunker left, but plenty of fairway and open space right if you're looking for a bailout. I would say this is a good example of the Robert Trent Jones maxim of "hard par, easy bogey."

The fourth hole.

Approaching the fourth green.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is nearly 600 yards from the tips and routed straight into the prevailing wind, which was blowing quite strongly for us. No getting to this one in two. Obviously, the lake left of the fairway is attention grabbing, but it's not as in play as you might think; even a mediocre driver will get past it. What it does to is encourage you to play out to the right, which brings a pair of fairway bunkers into the equation. The smart choice is to ignore your instincts and favor the left side.

While there is no grand decision to make on the second shot, it does have to negotiate three large fairway bunkers scattered around the lay-up zone, so simply blasting away isn't a great idea. And while the green is bunkerless, it is far from an easy proposition. A swale of sorts eats into the left center of the green, and all the slopes feed toward it. Front hole locations are particularly tricky here, as the green slopes away, making it difficult to get even a wedge to stop close to the hole. The fifth isn't a hole for the thinkers, but there is something to do on every shot, which is something a lot of par 5s struggle with. This is no easy task and no birdie hole, so I do appreciate it for that, at least.

The fifth hole.

Approaching the fifth green.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is a mid-length par 4 that doglegs hard right around a large fairway bunker. The fairway turns about 250 yards out, so if you want to comfortably hit driver without worrying about running out of fairway, you do need to challenge the dogleg. Carry the bunker and you'll have just a wedge into the green, which is also bunkerless but does have a subtle front-to-back slope to it. A careful second shot, landing just short of the green, will work well here.

The sixth hole.

Approaching the sixth green.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole isn't a particularly long par 4 at 380 yards, but with bunkers down the left side and water lining the right, there isn't much room for error on the tee shot. Of course, since the hole does bend left, you can use driver to try and cut the corner, but that brings both the water and sand more into play, since the fairway is narrower the further you go. A 3 wood to the heart of the fairway is the safe play, followed by a wedge or short iron into the green, which has water right and a bunker short left.

The seventh hole.

Approaching the seventh green.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is a fairly long par 3 at 220 yards, and while the tee shot looks intimidating with the water right and short, it isn't quite as in play as you think. The small bunker right of the green is really the most important hazard here, as I'm confident not too many people overclub enough on a hole this long to find the back bunker. The green is tilted pretty sharply from back to front, so it's definitely beneficial to leave the ball below the hole.

The eighth hole.

The eighth green.

The ninth hole is not a tremendously long hole on paper, playing 525 yards from the tips, but on a rapidly cooling evening with a fresh wind straight into our faces, even a par 5 of modest length can become a long slog. The fairway is pretty wide, though there are three bunkers scattered around and O.B. left to catch big hooks. A good drive is vital in order to carry a strip of native area cutting directly across the fairway about 150 yards out from the green. Obviously, carrying 400 yards in two shots isn't usually a big deal, but in adverse weather conditions, even that can become difficult.

Once you cross the native area, the hole climbs dramatically, with two cross-bunkers from the right cutting in about 20 yards short of the green to give long hitters something to think about on their second shots. The green is medium sized and a bit lumpy, with bunkers short left and long right. In better conditions, I don't imagine this hole is tough, since it's very wide, but through in cold and 20 MPH winds and even this hole can wreak havoc.

The ninth hole.

Approaching the ninth green.

The ninth green.

Neshanic Valley is obviously a very different animal to Hendricks Field and has very different strengths and weaknesses. This is a beefy, broad-shouldered sort of golf course, whereas Hendricks Field is much smaller scale and ultimately easier. That said, I generally enjoyed them about the same; they're both good golf courses, but both lack something to really elevate them beyond that level.

In Neshanic Valley's case, it feels like a golf course I've played before. You could switch out a hole from a course like Worthington Manor or Dauphin Highlands and place it here, and it would fit in just fine. You'd never know you'd added in a puzzle piece from a golf course a couple hundred miles away, because they're all basically the same. A solid, pleasant modern design, not overly tricky but far from easy, somewhat lacking in pizzazz or charm. The whiff of upscale daily-fee "country club for a day" is strong here. Yes, it is a fairly affordable round – $75 with cart included isn't terrible, especially considering where Neshanic Valley is – and unlike the municipal courses closer to New York City, getting a round here wasn't an exercise in futility, but still, this isn't a course I'd go out of my way to play again. The golf here is good but relatively uninspired, with no real standout or memorable holes. You'll have a good round here, but not a great one.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Neon Dynasty

The brewery: Mobtown Brewing Company, Baltimore, Maryland

Description (from Untappd): "A dry and crisp Japanese-style Rice Lager brewed with German Mandarina Bavaria Hops. Slightly grassy and very lightly sweet up front, with a tart citrus zing on the finish that leaves you wanting more."

Would I buy it again? This was an interesting beer. I do usually like the rice lagers, but this one had much more of a fruity tartness to it than I was expecting. And unfortunately, I'm not a huge fan of tart beers. I think it's solidly made, but it isn't for me.

Review: Neshanic Valley Golf Course (Meadow Nine)

Michael Hurdzan is not the most celebrated name in golf course design, but the man is a legend of the field nonetheless. He may not have a Cypress Point or National Golf Links of America to his credit, but Erin Hills, Calusa Pines, and Devil's Paintbrush are pretty well known and generally excellent courses, and that's just three courses in a list of hundreds that he and his associate Dana Fry have worked on in some capacity.

Arguably though, Hurdzan's most valuable contribution to the sport is the book Golf Course Architecture: Design, Construction & Restoration, which is nothing less than the most important book on golf course architecture written in the past 90-odd years. It's not exactly the most entertaining thing in the world, but it's jam-packed with valuable information for the budding golf course architect and is worth reading if you're even tangentially related in golf course design. I've read it multiple times, though it has been quite a while. Still, the book certainly left its impression.

When it comes to Hurdzan's actual designs, however, I am much less aware. I actually thought I'd never played a Hurdzan course before Neshanic Valley, a 27-hole facility located in the surprisingly bucolic and rural hills southeast of New York City, but as I was researching, I found that wasn't the case – Little Bennett in central Maryland is also a Hurdzan design. This wasn't quite the special occasion I though it was. Still, even beyond the architect behind the course, Neshanic Valley had a place on Golf.com's best public courses under $100 list, which made me eager to play it.

A slight disclaimer: Neshanic Valley consists of three essentially equal nines – Meadow, Ridge, and Lake, with a shorter executive-style nine for beginners. We played the Meadow and Lake nines, which I feel is not the ideal configuration; I think I would have preferred to swap out the Lake nine for the Ridge nine. In a perfect world, my brothers and I would have played all three of the primary nines, but we lacked the time (and I lacked the energy) to do so. Fall golf has plenty of positives, but long daylight hours is not one of them.

The first hole is not a particularly short hole at 420 yards, but beyond that it's a pretty gentle opener. The fairway is quite wide and there are no bunkers in play, nor is there much in the way of other hazards. You have a green light to use driver and blast away. The second shot is a little trickier, as there's a bunker right and a small mound built into the left-front corner of the green, but it isn't anything too unreasonable.

The first hole.

Approaching the first green.

The first green.

The second hole is 30 yards shorter than the previous hole, but is noticeably more thought provoking and tricky. There are two bunkers in the landing area, one on each side, pinching the fairway in right where most people will hit their driver. That means you either need to challenge this narrower stretch of fairway or lay up short of it, which will leave you with well over 150 yards into this green. That's not great on a hole that's only 390 yards, and doubly so when you consider the green itself. It's small, fairly undulating with a false front and a falloff on the back section, and well protected by sand. Not a target you want to be approaching with an 8 or 7 iron in hand.

The second hole.

The second green.

The third hole is a 200-yard par 3 that plays slightly downhill to a green angled from left to right that's sloped from right to left. That makes a fade the prime option here; hitting a draw brings both the right greenside bunker very much into play. The green also falls away slightly for the back third or so, making those back hole locations a bit trickier.

A slightly interesting tidbit: the left-side bunker was added several years after the course opened, sometime between 2010 and 2013. Not sure why, since it doesn't really add much to the hole. I guess it could prevent some golf balls from bouncing into the native area further off to the left, but it just feels like a curious addition.

The third hole.

The third green.

The fourth hole is not a long par 5 at 520 yards, and with the fairway being as wide as it is, there's no reason not to use driver. There is a bunker left, but even a mediocre drive can get past that without issue, and the fairway's initially severe right-to-left tilt can also be carried with a good drive. Play it right and you should have a long iron or fairway wood into the green. Three cross bunkers cut across the fairway about 350-400 yards out, but they're only an issue if you've hit a poor tee shot. If you don't quite have the length to reach the green in two, the lay-up is pretty simple, as is the third. If you can go for the green, it's open in front but is flanked by bunkers. Overall though, this hole presents a solid chance at birdie or even eagle. 

The fourth hole.

Approaching the fourth green.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is a long par 4 at 460 yards and plays up along the top of a ridge parallel to the previous hole, which is down below. There's a long bunker right, but similar to the bunker on the fourth, it can be carried without much difficulty, making the tee shot easier than it looks. The approach is a mid iron to a green with a small bunker right and a large one about 20 yards short (which we'll get to in a moment), but that doesn't tell the full story. This green is quite small and has some interesting topography to it: the low point is left and roughly midway through, meaning the front half slopes away and the back half is sloped sharply toward this low spot. Back hole locations are obviously difficult because of the semi-tier bisecting the green, but front hole locations are deceptively tricky, as it's tough to get a golf ball to stop. You're really encouraged to hit a low running shot into the green with those front hole locations, which brings that seemingly innocuous not-quite-greenside bunker into play. This is really kind of an interesting hole, despite not looking like much initially.

The fifth hole. The old silo behind the green is a dead giveaway as to what this land was before the golf course was built.

Approaching the fifth green.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is a mid-length par 3 that plays uphill to a medium-sized green tilted pretty severely from back left to front right that's protected by bunkers on both sides. Because of that green tilt, left is definitely the worse miss; the right-side bunker is really not that bad. Otherwise, this is a pretty straightforward hole.

The sixth hole.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is a short par 4 at 340 yards, but it plays significantly downhill, which does bring the green into play for longer hitters if the wind is also in your favor. For most people though, this is a drive and pitch par 4. Oddly, the fairway is placed well away from the native area left, mostly taking it out of play while discouraging people from taking the direct line at the green. Because of this, it's pretty obvious that one has to aim away from the green out toward the fairway bunker to get the best angle. And if you're long enough that the fairway bunker isn't a concern, this drive really isn't very interesting, and frankly the second shot isn't much better. The large greenside bunker short and left doesn't come into play much, and the pitch is hit straight along the axis of the green, which is almost perpendicular to the line of play. The concepts to make this a good hole are there, but the fairway just isn't wide enough, unfortunately.

The seventh hole.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is a long par 4 at 445 yards, and while the green lacks the charm of the fifth, there's no question that this hole presents a stern test. The fairway isn't exactly narrow, but it isn't overly generous, and with two bunkers right and a native area left, there isn't a whole lot of wiggle room on the tee shot. A solid drive will leave a short to mid iron to a mid-sized green with fair amount of back-to-front tilt guarded by two bunkers to the left.

The eighth hole.

Approaching the eighth green.

The eighth green.

The ninth hole is a big, sprawling 575-yard par 5 with a tee shot that plays over a small ravine to a fairway threaded between two bunkers. The one on the left doesn't do much, but the one on the right guards the direct line at the green and is very much in play. Skirt by that and the longest hitters can go for the green in two. Admittedly, for most golfers this is very much a three shot hole, making a bailout left a distinctly smart play.

Let's say that you catch this hole downwind and you've hit a good drive. You have two options with the second shot: Either play safely out right, avoiding the large pond dominating the left third of this hole, or you can go at the green, attempting to carry the water. The pond does end 20 or 30 yards short of the green, so there is space. The green itself is angled from left to right and high on the edges, encouraging shots hit from the left side. Bailing out well to the right of the pond on the second shot is a safe play, but the pitch over the right-side greenside bunker to this green is not an easy proposition. I think, overall, this is a solid hole, but it would be better if it were maybe 40 or 50 yards shorter. In its current state, it asks questions that only really good (ie, really long) golfers can answer. Shortening it up will bring the green into play for more golfers, which would be more fun.

The ninth hole.

Approaching the ninth green.

The ninth green.

That's it for this week, next week we'll take a look at Neshanic Valley's Lake Nine.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Gingerbread Cookie Stout  

The brewery: Tröegs Brewing Company, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Description (from the website): "Gingerbread is a holiday tradition that begs for a robust dark beer. Loaded with oats, roasted barley and chocolate malts, we’ve elevated this pastry stout to suit your baking rituals. Additions of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, vanilla and clove help hone in on grandma’s time-honored recipe. While others may crumble, Gingerbread Cookie Stout is more than icing on the cake!"

Would I buy it again? I haven't always loved ginger-forward beers, but befitting a beer from my favorite brewery, this one balances the ginger and the breadiness extremely well. It does taste pleasantly like a gingerbread cookie. I hope they keep making this one, because I'll keep buying it.