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.