Review: Maple Run Golf Club (Part 1)

I'm not entirely sure why I haven't reviewed Maple Run before today. It's not a good golf course, but neither is it boring. And I've lived close by for the past 10 years. There was just always someplace better to go. Well, not anymore! With this, there is just a single public golf course in Frederick County, Maryland, that I haven't reviewed, and probably never will. Sorry, Clustered Spires, but you really are that boring.

Actually, Maple Run might have suffered the same ignominious fate, but there's a very specific reason why I was inspired to do this review. We'll get to it eventually, but for now, let's kick back and check out what Thurmont, Maryland, has to offer the golfing universe.

The first hole is the longest hole on the course, playing 560 yards. The hole is a mild dogleg left; the landing area is blind if you're a longer hitter, but other than that there's very little to worry about on the tee shot. The second shot plays gently downhill toward the green, and if you're not going for it in two the lay-up is also quite simple. A single bunker guards the front-right part of the green, which is surprisingly undulating for an otherwise-nondescript neighborhood golf course. Nothing extraordinary, but much more interesting than you might expect. It's still an easy opening hole, but you do have to work a little for the birdie.

The first hole.

Approaching the first green.

The first green.

The second hole is 370 yards and plays slightly downhill and slightly left to right around a small bunker. Beyond that, the fairway is wide open. You do want to hit driver to get a full view of the green, but in the absence of any hazards beyond that single bunker, there's really no reason not to. The green is fairly large and does have some mounding in front to encourage an aerial approach. 

The second hole.

Approaching the second green.

The second green.

The third hole is 385 yards, though with the tee shot playing downhill and the fairway bending nearly 90 degrees right, there is opportunity to make it play much shorter. A small group of trees between the tee and bulk of the fairway encourage you to bail out left; doing so will leave you with a much longer second shot. And seeing as this green is quite shallow, has multiple sections, and has a bunker in front, a long approach is not ideal. Better to challenge the trees and get yourself within easy wedge distance.

The third hole.

The third green.

The fourth hole is 160 yards and plays to a rather challenging and quite shallow green. A ridge runs through the middle and is the high point of the green; slopes fall away on both sides. This makes shots from the wrong side of the ridge tricky, as you have to correctly judge the distance to both get over the ridge but stop yourself from going too far. A bunker front left makes right the obvious bailout point.

The fourth hole.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is a mid-length par 4 that bends slightly left around a bunker before dipping down toward the green. Much like the second hole, you need to hit driver (or at least a solid 3 wood) to get over the high point in the fairway and get a view of the green on the approach. Fortunately, and also much like the second hole, the playing corridor is quite wide. A single bunker left guards the green, though there is a pretty steep falloff behind that you probably want to avoid.

The fifth hole.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is just over 200 yards, and while that distance is somewhat mitigated by the downhill nature of the hole, this is still quite a tough tee shot. The green is on the small side and divided into distinct tiers, with the whole thing sloping back right to front left. There's also flanking bunkers and a large willow protecting the left side. I don't imagine too many birdies are made here.

The sixth hole.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is 360 yards with a fairway that bends hard right while sloping significantly from right to left. As a result, it's quite difficult to hold this fairway. The smart play is to hug the right treeline; this both shortens the hole and gives you the best angle for the second shot. The green is small and sloped pretty sharply from back to front, with a single bunker front left.

The seventh hole.

Approaching the seventh green.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is a mid-length par 4 that plays to a blind fairway. The playing corridor is wide open, so using driver isn't an issue. A good drive will leave just a wedge into the green. While the eighth green is bunkerless, it is also very small, undulating, and surrounded by mounding. You do have to be on with your wedge play on this front nine.

The eighth hole.

The eighth green.

The ninth hole is one that I can't believe still exists in its current configuration. This 515-yard par 5 turns right at around 250 yards, doglegging around a residential neighborhood alarmingly within reach of even a slightly sliced drive. Seriously, the direct route from tee to green takes you over at least two houses. Who in their right minds would live there? I don't know, but I have no sympathy for the presumably constant stream of golf balls raining down on them.

Anyway, once the tee shot is dealt with the rest of the hole is quite easy. No bunkers other than the O.B. lurking right, though the green does have a bit of an odd quirk to it; the back is shored up by a low stone wall. Not sure why they did that instead of using earthworks, but it certainly adds a unique layer of "don't miss long" that most other holes can't replicate.

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.