Ranking the Golf Courses I Reviewed In 2019

It's officially 2020, and what better way to wean off that New Year's hangover than with a big round-up of all the golf courses I reviewed in 2019!

I'll say this about 2019, the golf was occasionally awful, but at least the weather was mildly cooperative. Actually, for a little while in the fall it was downright dry. So it was never a struggle to get a year's worth of review material in, which was very nice. I was also able to get quite a variety of environments this time around, ranging from the marshes of southern Maryland to the boreal forests of the Adirondacks. Anyway, let's get to the list!

13. Cumberland Golf Club

This is about as dynamic as Cumberland gets.

I called it all the way back when I reviewed the course back in January. It would be tough for a course to be worse than Cumberland, and nothing else I played was up to the challenge. Not even close. It's flat, it's boring, and it's not worth your time or money.

The eighteenth is the one mildly interesting hole at Cumberland. It isn't worth the effort.

Find my review of Cumberland here and here.

12. The Woods - Mountain View

One of the more intimidating tee shots you'll ever face.

Sometimes a piece of land just isn't suited for golf. There is such a thing as too rugged, and I think the Mountain View course at the Woods crosses it. The course is completely unwalkable, holes are separated from each other by what often seems like miles, and to make matters worse, houses line almost every hole. The other things I could forgive, but when I play a golf course in the middle of nowhere, I want it to feel like it's in the middle of nowhere. Instead, it just felt like a mediocre housing course.

One of the few pictures I took where there were no houses in frame.

Find my review of the Woods here and here.

11. Range End

The fourth at Range End, quite possibly my least favorite hole of all time.

We go from ridiculously mountainous to nearly dead flat. Range End isn't a bad course, per se, but it is pretty boring. It's packed into a small property, so that means numerous parallel holes, and to top it off, the vast majority of the land is pancake flat. A talented architect could create some interest with cleverly placed bunkers or subtle earthwork, but Range End possesses neither of these attributes. This is about as generic as golf gets.

The twelfth at Range End, the one hole on the course with significant elevation change.

Find my review of Range End here and here.

10. Stamford Valley

The seventh hole is the best one at Stamford Valley.

The only 9 hole course I reviewed in 2019, Stamford Valley has some excellent scenery and a generally interesting set of greens going for it. The stretch from 6 to 8 is honestly pretty compelling golf. The rest of the course is fairly lackluster, if occasionally quirky. And $16 for 9 holes is a bit steep. It's better than most of the other 9 hole courses I've played, but I wouldn't take it over too many 18 hole courses.

There's quite a lot to take in on the eighth tee.

Find my review of Stamford Valley here.

9. Hickory Heights

The fifth green at Hickory Heights.

My experience at Hickory Heights can be summed up in two words: unexpected rain. More than a year on and I'm still annoyed about that. Anyway, the golf course is pretty basic, but it traverses some rolling terrain, which provides some reasonable interest. It's not quite as quirky as Westminster National, but it's not bad.

The sixteenth hole.

Find my review of Hickory Heights here and here.

8. Brigantine Golf Links

The third hole at Brigantine.

This definitely isn't a bad golf course, but it's completely flat and literally every hole is surrounded by houses. As a result, things start to look a little repetitive, especially in April when all the grass is brown. That said, there's some real strategic interest here despite the weaknesses, and the sixteenth is definitely on the short list for most entertaining green I've ever seen. It's worth seeing Brigantine just for that.

The ninth green, overlooking the ocean. Also note the tiny flags.

Have fun if you end up above the hole.

Find my review of Brigantine here and here.

7. Fore Sisters

The third hole at Fore Sisters. Sometimes the round feels more like a hike than golf.

The ninth hole.

Remember what I said about the Woods? How a golf course in the middle of nowhere should feel like it? Well, Fore Sisters does exactly that. It feels wild. There are no houses in view, just forest and mountains. The course is rugged, but it's not completely unwalkable (I wouldn't recommend it, but you can do it). Is it the most compelling course in the world? No, but the setting alone elevates it, and there's some definite quirk around. Plus how many courses have 700 yard holes?

Now that's a hole.

Looking back down the fourteenth. Yes, the 700 yard hole is uphill.

The sixteenth hole.

Find my review of Fore Sisters here and here.

6. Kingsbury National Golf Club

One of Kingsbury National's unique features is a double green, occupied by the first and eighth holes.

The approach on the ninth.

Kingsbury National is a perfectly nice golf course. A few decent holes,  a few parallel holes, nothing spectacular but nothing bad. A typical modern golf course, I'd call it. However, Kingsbury National has an ace in the hole. I'm not sure if it always plays so firm and fast, but it did when I was there, and that made it way more fun than it had any right too be. In softer conditions, this may drop a spot or two.

Golden hour can make any hole look great.

Find my review of Kingsbury National here and here.

5. Swan Point

The second at Swan Point is a rude awakening, but a good-looking one.

The Potomac River behind the sixth green.

Swan Point is not the sort of golf course I'd expect to enjoy. Lots of trees, lots of water, not particularly wide, it sounds pretty awful, to be honest. And yet, I did enjoy playing Swan Point. It's a beautiful spot, and there are some fun holes on the back nine. They're a little too tough for the beginner, I think, but as a sort of not completely terrible golfer, I appreciate the challenge now and again. The thrill of blasting a drive over the marshes to an unseen fairway is something I won't soon forget. Just bring a few extra golf balls.

The tenth hole, with the eleventh in the background.

Trouble surrounds the eleventh green.

The thirteenth concludes quite a scenic three-hole stretch.

Find my review of Swan Point here and here.

4. Glenn Dale Golf Club

The tough approach to the second.

The punchbowl-like sixth green.

The ninth hole requires two mighty blows.

Ah, Glenn Dale, a golf course gone too soon. That's right, we've got a dead course on the list, so unlike the other courses on this list, you'll just have to take my word that this course was pretty fun. Not earth shattering, but there were 18 solid holes with a decent set of greens, and it was a nice little slice of nature in suburban Washington, D.C that you could play for a very reasonable price. The golf world needs more Glenn Dales, not fewer.

The fifteenth hole.

The uphill approach to the last green.

Find my review of Glenn Dale here and here.

3. Orchard Creek Golf Club

Heading down to the first green.

The eighth green, sitting over Bozen Kill

The weather may have been disgustingly hot and I may have blown 7 shots in 4 holes to my brother who was suffering a fair amount of heat exhaustion, but that didn't stop me from appreciating a wonderfully minimalist modern golf course. There was plenty of strategy around, and playing corridors were almost always very wide open. The greens were fun, and the course was very walkable, not to mention affordable. Just bring lots of water with you if it's hot.

The fourteenth is only 270 yards, but it's got many possibilities.

The fifteenth is a 250 yard brute.

Find my review of Orchard Creek here and here.

2. Lake Placid Club - Links

The second hole at Lake Placid, with some impressive mountains in the background.

The sixth green, long, undulating, and dangerous.

The Links course at Lake Placid is, of course, not a real links. It wasn't even particularly firm and fast. But what it does have is a resolutely old-school style. Granted, I haven't seen a whole lot of golf courses (just shy of 100), but I have never seen bunkering like the Links course had. Long, thin ribbons of sand, stretching for dozens and dozens of yards. The course has apparently undergone a recent restoration, and I would just like to commend whoever was responsible for actually restoring the features of the course to the way they would have looked when Lake Placid was built over a century ago. The Links is a tough course, long and often punishing. But it's never overly penal, if you're careful, you can work your way around just fine. Plus there's the little matter of the scenery. The pictures don't do it justice.

The eleventh hole.

It's tough to beat Lake Placid on a July evening.

Find my review of Lake Placid here and here.

1. Copake Country Club

The second green at Copake presents quite a challenge.

I thought the difference between Shennecossett and Keney Park last year was small. Both are excellent golf courses, but I was always a bigger fan of Shennecossett. This year, the difference between Lake Placid and Copake was so small that I initially favored Lake Placid over Copake. Lake Placid is such a beautiful course, of course it was best. How could it not be?

The sixth, one of three sub-300 yard par 4s at Copake.

This isn't just a beauty contest though, and while Lake Placid has plenty of style and substance to go with the scenery, I think Copake is a more compelling golf course. The greens at Lake Placid were often not the most interesting in the world, while Copake presented quite possibly the most compelling set of greens I've ever played. Copake is not a course that can be bludgeoned into submission, it's all about the second shot and the short game there. As such, it varies immensely from Lake Placid, which can be a bit of a brute tee to green.

The eleventh green.

The thirteenth hole, down in a valley.

Let's put it like this: If you gave me one round and a choice between Lake Placid and Copake, I'd go with Lake Placid. But if you gave me ten rounds, I'd probably split it seven/three in favor of Copake. Lake Placid is an excellent getaway course with plenty of charm, but Copake, in my opinion, is just more fun. I would rather play Copake every day than Lake Placid, and that's why I'm putting it at the top for 2019.

It may not be the Adirondacks, but Lake Copake isn't a bad substitute.

Find my review of Copake here and here.

Well, that's 2019 done and dusted. It's been an adventure. I've got a backlog of courses all the way to April this time around, so once again, expect reviews once a month in 2020. Stay tuned!

Review: Fore Sisters Golf Club (Part 2)

We're back with the back nine at Fore Sisters, go here if you haven't seen the front.

The tenth hole is a short but not quite drivable par 4 at 340 yards. The fairway is sloped from left to right, and there's a noticeable dip in the fairway about 200-225 yards from the tee. The second shot is back up to a small green guarded by two bunkers. Going long leaves you a tough downhill chip to a green that slopes away.

The tenth hole.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is a downhill par 3 over a small pond to a severely tilted green more closely guarded by two bunkers. There's quite a bit of break on putts here, and it can be easy to race putts by if you're going downhill. It's a decent hole, I just wish it wasn't the same length as all the other par 3s at Fore Sisters.

The eleventh hole.

The twelfth hole is a fairly short par 4, less than 350 yards, though it plays uphill. The fairway rises and falls as it heads up, and there's a noticeable tilt from left to right. The green is guarded by a single bunker front right. This hole actually returns back to the clubhouse, I'm guessing that not a lot of people stop at 9, and instead play up to this hole if they don't want to go all 18.

The twelfth hole.

The twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is the longest par 4 at Fore Sisters, though it's not even 400 yards. This isn't a long golf course. Interestingly, the distance between green and tee is probably not much more than 200 yards. If it weren't for the dense forest, the green would be easily drivable. That's because the hole is shaped like a big U. You hit your drive about 225 down the fairway, make a more than 90 degree turn, then go over a small native area to the green with a short to mid iron. The green is bunkerless, but it is quite small and has a noticeable back to front tilt. This is the sort of goofy hole I like seeing on courses like this. It helps give Fore Sisters a certain quirky charm.

The thirteenth hole. The green is pretty much straight to the right.

Approaching the thirteenth green.

Looking back down the thirteenth hole.

The fourteenth hole is a fairly unique proposition in the world of golf. You don't see par 6s every day; in fact, it's the first I've ever come across. 740 yards, uphill the entire way. Okay, the current management has placed the tees at a more reasonable 580 yards, but the far back teeing area, the one at 700+ yards, was in better shape than pretty much any other tee on the course, so my brother and I couldn't resist giving the full hole a try. Shockingly, 740 yards is lot. The hole is kind of a slog, to be honest. It's dead straight, there are no hazards save for the trees lining the fairway, and it's pretty much straight. The green, once you get to it, is guarded by two bunkers. Is this a good hole? Of course not. But it was fun giving it a try once.

You're in for a long journey on 14.

The uphill tee shot on 14.

Trust me, the green's out there somewhere.

Getting closer...

The fourteenth green at long last.

Looking back at the long trek up 14.

The fifteenth hole is yet another par 3 of roughly 170 yards, but this is easily the best of the bunch. The green is angled away at a 45 degree angle, and there's a big drop-off short and right. Long and left isn't much better. It's not a particularly easy hole, and since apparently this is the only length that Fore Sisters can manage from its par 3s, it's nice to get a little bit of variety.

The fifteenth hole.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is a par 5 of roughly 500 yards, playing back down the mountain. The uphill climb is finally over. The most obvious issue on the tee is the tree sitting in the middle of the corridor between the forest lines. There is not a lot of room to work with. If you manage to negotiate the trees, the hole is pretty easy. It's easily reachable in two, and the green is only guarded by one bunker. It's a great birdie opportunity.

The sixteenth hole, complete with inconvenient tree.

Approaching the sixteenth hole.

The sixteenth green.

The seventeenth hole is a mid-length par 4 at 360 yards. It's a slight dogleg left, and the fairway is tilted from right to left. The green is small, but shots can be run up from the right side. Definitely not the most challenging penultimate hole in the world.

The seventeenth hole.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole is a thoroughly underwhelming finish. It's technically the longest par 3 at Fore Sisters, but it's still under 200 yards, and that distance is further mitigated since the hole plays downhill. There are no bunkers, and the green is reasonably sized, though it does slope slightly away from the tee. That's the most interesting part of this hole. Considering some of the goofiness we've seen, it was disappointing to end on such a bland note.

The eighteenth hole.

As far as golf courses go, Fore Sisters is a less than impressive example. There are some fun and quirky holes, but the course is so narrow and tree lined it's difficult to appreciate them without feeling claustrophobic. You have to be accurate here, or you will not have a fun day. It's not a particularly thorough examination either, no par 4 tops 400 yards, and the par 3s are all pretty much exactly the same length. A big chunk of the course's 6,200 yards comes at that par 6.

However, despite the shortcomings, I would consider Fore Sisters worth at least one round, for no other reason than its location. You're in the mountains of western Maryland, and it is deep in the wild. Honestly, playing Fore Sisters feels more like a hike than a round of golf, and if you approach it like that, the course starts to make a lot more sense. The course traverses rugged terrain, and you'll have plenty of scenery to look at. It only costs $20 to walk 18, a price I would consider worthwhile. If I played the course regularly I'd probably spend the extra $12 to get a cart, but I doubt I'll be coming back, and I'm glad I got the experience of walking around Fore Sisters. It felt like a real adventure, and that's not a feeling you get all that often playing golf.