Review: The Links at Challedon (Part 2)

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

The tenth hole is a long par 5 at 585 yards, and has trouble in the form of high grass and trees running down the right side. The fairway doglegs pretty hard right about 250 yards out, so there's plenty of opportunity to cut the dogleg and make the hole play a little shorter. Still, I don't imagine many people hit this green in two, not with the green being tucked behind a cluster of three bunkers. Plus it's quite a shallow target. For most, this is a very three-shot hole, with second shots looking to favor the left side to gain the best angle into the green.

The tenth hole.

Approaching the tenth green.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is a short par 4 at 340 yards, so not quite drivable. While you could certainly lay up, that's a mistake in my opinion, since that brings the pond right into play. Far better to use driver and carry the water completely, taking it out of play. However, that will leave a potentially awkward pitch, since the green is guarded by three bunkers in front. It's not a large green and rather narrow, but still, this is a relatively easy hole.

The eleventh hole.

The eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is a mid-length par 3 with a green surrounded by three bunkers and a fairly significant back-to-front tilt. Not much else to say about this one, hit a good iron and you can make a birdie.

The twelfth hole.

The thirteenth hole is a mid-length par 4 playing slightly uphill. The fairway has two bunkers on each side, protecting the landing area; if you want a reasonable view of the green you'll want to favor the right side on the drive. Go left and you'll have a semiblind approach. The green is guarded by two more bunkers, with steep falloffs right and long into dense forest.

The thirteenth hole.

Approaching the thirteenth green.

The thirteenth green.

The fourteenth hole is a fairly long par 3 at 210 yards. The hole plays over a valley with brush and a stream at the bottom, and of course dense forest surrounds the hole, but all they really do is frame. You probably won't lose a golf ball unless you hit a really bad tee shot. The green is quite large and fairly undulating, with a bunker on each side.

The fourteenth hole.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is just under 420 yards and features the tightest drive on the course. There are trees running down the right side, close to the fairway, and O.B. in the form of a road takes up the entire left left side. The safe play is to use a fairway wood or long iron, but that will leave a mid to long iron into the green. And that's not something you want, since the green is fairly small and undulating and has two bunkers in front. If you want to get close, you need to have a wedge or short iron for the second, and that means using driver. So, not an easy hole here.

The fifteenth hole.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is a short par 4 at 330 yards, but it's not one you can drive. The best play is to use a wood or long iron to reach the top of the hill; if you hit driver you'll end up with a half-wedge from a downhill stance into a shallow green guarded by sand in front and a steep dropoff behind. That's not a shot you want. But you don't want to lay back too far, or the second will be completely blind. Reaching the top of the hill will leave a full 100 yard wedge. The second shot from there is still not easy, but it's better than the alternatives.

The sixteenth hole.

The sixteenth green.

The seventeenth hole is 540 yards, though practically speaking it plays shorter than that. The tee shot is completely blind and there's very little indication of where to go. Luckily the landing area is very wide and hazard free, so there's plenty of freedom. If you want to go for the green in two, you'll need to carry a pond and negotiate a L-shaped green protected on all sides by four bunkers. Laying up left of the water will leave a pretty simple pitch, so that's not a bad play (unless you're me and thin your third over the green, completely ruining the whole point of playing safe).

The seventeenth hole.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole is a fairly uncomplicated mid-length par 4. Favoring the right side, flirting with the fairway bunker, is preferred, since a greenside bunker guards the left side of the green. The green itself is fairly small and narrow, and slightly domed. Not a bad way to finish, but not especially inspiring either.

The eighteenth hole.

The eighteenth green.

If a round at Challedon cost $30, I would say it's not a bad way to spend an afternoon. It's not a particularly good or interesting course, and the tees were in extremely bad shape, but for the right price point I can deal with a lot. But this is central Maryland, so of course it doesn't cost $30. It costs $60, and that's absolute highway robbery for what you get. The course is mediocre to average at best, the greens were slow, the tees were apocalyptically awful for that price, the routing is terrible in numerous places (essentially forcing you to take a cart to deal with several gigantic gaps between greens and tees), and there are houses everywhere, so it's not even a particularly scenic course. $60 can get you a round at George Wright with money to spare, and George Wright is light-years beyond Challedon. If you don't want to go all the way to Massachusetts, $60 can also get you a round at Mt. Pleasant in Baltimore, which despite being a muni features a far more interesting design than Challedon. Oh, and it's better maintained too. 

Frankly, how the course is open (and busy too!) is beyond me. The fact that golfers are willing to put up with this is the reason public golf has such a poor reputation. We can do better than this. We deserve better than this. Stop giving crappy courses your money, just for them to turn around and give us inferior product. Nothing will change unless we force their hands.

Bottom line, don't play inland courses with "Links" in the name. 

Review: The Links at Challedon (Part 1)

Here's a golf pro tip for you: If a course is called "The Links at X," you're probably better off steering clear of it. My first "Links at" was the Links at Gettysburg, which is by far my least favorite course. Seriously, it's so, so bad. I've been tempted to play it again so I could savage it in my review, but then I'd have to spend money to play an absolutely awful golf course. Plus the money on the 10 golf balls I'd lose. My second "Links at" was Brigantine, which was a housing development course, but was at least on the ocean and actually not terrible.

And now we have the Links at Challedon, located in Mt. Airy, Maryland, a town that is not anywhere close to the ocean, unless you're from Nebraska and your idea of ocean adjacent is anything within 100 miles. It was built in the 1990s by Brian Ault, son of Ed Ault, designer of so many Mid-Atlantic golf courses in 60s-80s. Like Brigantine, it's a housing development course, so the housing isn't nearly as omnipresent. That's still not a particularly promising start, but who knows, maybe Challedon will surprise us.

Spoiler: It won't.

The first hole is a par 5 of 540 yards with a tee shot playing up to a blind fairway. There's O.B. on both sides, but the playing corridor is reasonably wide. Not wide enough that it's no issue, but there's enough room to breathe and comfortably use driver. For the second shot, it's best to favor the right side on the lay-up, flirting with a small fairway bunker; this will give a slightly better angle into the green, which is fairly shallow and protected by two bunkers front left, as well as another bunker behind.

The first hole.

Approaching the first green.

The first green.

The second hole is a longish par 4 at 420 yards, but plays shorter since it's downhill the whole way. The tee shot is pretty open, though you'll want to favor the left side. That will leave a better angle into the green, which is protected by two bunkers to the right. The greens at Challedon generally aren't flat, but they're also very slow, so they're not as interesting as one might expect or hope for.

The second hole.

Approaching the second green.

The second green.

The third hole is a long par 5 at nearly 560 yards, and it's super fun in that it basically forces driver out of your hands. Wait, not super fun. The opposite of that. I mean, it's not like you can't use it, but there's very little space between the O.B. left and pond right. The pond makes this hole an exercise in safety: Hit a long iron off the tee, hit another up the fairway, which is wide open past the pong, then hit a wedge into the green. It's a shame, because I like the green site perched on the hill, and there's a definite advantage to favoring the higher left side on the second shot. That gives you a flatter stance and a better angle. But the unnecessary pond annoys me too much for me to like the hole.

The third hole.

The third green.

The fourth hole is a mid-length par 4 where, once again, you won't want to hit driver. The fairway ends about 100 yards from the green as the hole bends left over a small stream, so all you need is a 3 wood or long iron. The second shot is a wedge to a flat green protected by the stream and a bunker to the right.

The fourth hole.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is a nice little par 3, playing just 130 yards downhill. The green is medium sized and surrounded by three bunkers, plus there's steep falloffs into jungle left and long. I wish the green was a little more interesting, but short par 3s are always good to see.

The fifth hole.

The sixth hole is an awkward hole, especially from all the way back. It's 395 yards from the tips, and the drive is straight up a miniature mountain to an incredibly narrow fairway threaded between trees on both sides. You'll obviously want to exercise restraint off of the tee with a wood or long iron, but you need to carry the drive almost 250 yards to have any view of the green. If you can thread the needle, you'll have a wedge into the green, which is long, narrow, and guarded by a bunker left. The hole's a lot better if you play from the next tees up, which cuts 50 yards off the total length and makes it much easier to clear the hill, even with a long iron. Requiring accuracy off of the tee is one thing, but this hole goes a bit too far.

The sixth hole.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is a semiblind par 3 with two bunkers in front. It's 160 yards, so not too terribly long. The green is pretty big, so some long and very slow putts are possible. 

The seventh hole.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is a mid length par 4 where once again driver is taken out of your hands. Shorter hitters are probably fine, as the pond that separates the fairway from the green is nearly 300 yards away, but it is something to think about. A good 3 wood is fine. That will leave a wedge or short iron into a green with a decent amount of back-to-front slope fronted by bunkers on both sides.

The eighth hole.

The eighth green.

The ninth hole is a short par 4, but at 340 yards it's not really drivable. If you're using less than driver, you'll want to favor the left side, flirting with a large fairway bunker. That will give you the best angle into the green, which is narrow and protected by a bunker front right. While you probably won't reach the green, a drive that can carry 275 yards or so will take a sharp downslope and gain a fair amount of extra distance. You can get pretty close, but you'll have a potentially awkward half-wedge over a bunker to a shallow target. This may or may not be worth it; it depends how confident you are in your short game. Laying up is probably the smarter play.

The ninth hole.

Approaching the ninth green.

The ninth green.

That's it for this week, next week we'll look at the back nine.

Review: Rattlewood Golf Course (Part 2)

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

You don't often see back-to-back par 5s, but Rattlewood is an exception, as the tenth is a 520-yard par 5. After a surprisingly long carry over a pond, the fairway slopes sharply from left to right. That slope makes the second shot very difficult if you want to go for the green in two, since the green is shallow and very heavily bunkered. While some golfers may have the length to go for it, it may be wiser to bail out short and right, leaving a relatively simple uphill pitch running along the length of the green. 

The tenth hole.

Approaching the tenth green.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is 340 yards and ostensibly not drivable, but since the hole plays downhill the whole way, you can get closer than you might think (especially if you make judicious use of the cart path, as my brother and I did). Favoring the left side, flirting with the left-hand fairway bunker, will leave the best angle into the green, which is protected by a bunker front right and a steep dropoff behind.

The eleventh hole

The eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is a long par 3, playing 225 yards over a shallow valley. The green is quite tough to hit; it's not very deep and the bunker protecting the right side is a very major obstacle. This is a hole where you aim at the center of the green and hope things work out with the putter.

The twelfth hole.

The twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is Rattlewood's final par 5, playing 530 yards to a fairway guarded on the left side by tall grass and O.B. The drive is generally downhill, but because the fairway slopes up the whole way, don't expect to get too much roll. Beyond that, there's not much to the hole beyond a greenside bunker front right. If you can't reach the green in two, simply leave a good distance for the third. Not the most interesting hole in the world.

The thirteenth hole.

The thirteenth green.

The fourteenth hole is 340 yards with a very wide-open tee shot. Technically there's O.B. about 50 yards left of the fairway, but that's really not much of a concern. Feel free to use driver and get as close to the green as possible, but if you do that, be sure to favor the right side. There's a bunker covering the front left section of the green, making pitch shots from the left side a tricky proposition. Approaching this green is easier if you lay back and use a full wedge, I will admit. 

The fourteenth hole.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is just 300 yards, making it potentially drivable for longer hitters. The green is hidden behind a pair of bunkers (and a couple small trees), so going directly at it is probably not a great idea. A slinging draw aimed around the right bunker can sneak on, however. If you don't have the length, favoring the right side of the fairway is a good idea, as that will give you the best angle for the second shot. The green has a fair amount of back-to-front slope and is fairly shallow, so missing long isn't a great idea.

The fifteenth hole.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is a pretty uncomplicated mid-length par 3, playing 170 yards. The green is fairly narrow, with a bunker right and a noticeable slope left. Missing the green on either side will leave a tricky recovery.

The sixteenth hole.

The seventeenth hole is a mid-length par 4 playing slightly uphill to a fairway sloped from right to left. The fairway's wider than it looks, the trees looming over the left side of the tee stop about 100 yards out, so one can miss left. The second shot is a wedge up to a green protected by two bunkers; the green is highest in the middle and falls away from that point on all sides. It's not by a huge amount, and this isn't a tremendously tricky green, but it's not simple either.

The seventeenth hole.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole is a 350 yard par 4 doglegging about 90 degrees left around mounding covered with grass and a few trees. You can get pretty close to the green by challenging the dogleg, or you can play safely with a long iron to the middle of the fairway, leaving a full wedge second. The green is on the larger side, sloped from back to front, with two bunkers left and right. It's not a tough finishing hole unless you're a colossal moron and hook your tee shot straight into the pine trees (my brother and I are both colossal morons).

The eighteenth hole.

The eighteenth green.

Fun fact: Rattlewood is actually the easiest golf course on Earth. It must be, since my brother and I broke 80 fairly handily despite us both making double bogey on the final hole. It was his new record by several shots. Everything about this course is mild. The greens aren't massive, but they're not small. They're not flat, but they're not particularly undulating. There's not unlimited space for the driver, but the playing corridors are very, very far from narrow. There are some greenside bunkers, but not too many. It's an easy course, and you know what? There's nothing wrong with that. Not every course needs to be tough. Golf is tough enough as it is. There's nothing to write home about, but there's nothing egregious or irritating either. It's a pleasantly average golf course with an average price tag ($45) that makes you feel good about your game. Sometimes that's all you need.