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: Orchard Creek Golf Club (Part 2)

It's time to see the back nine at Orchard Creek, go here if you haven't seen the front.

The tenth hole is a mid-length par 4 that plays gently downhill to a fairway protected by several bunkers, one right and three left. I'm not entirely sure what it was, but this tee shot made me feel distinctly uncomfortable. There's no reason not to use driver, but I didn't, and neither did my brothers. Anyway, the second shot is a wedge or short iron to a long green bisected by a ridge and protected by a bunker right.

The tenth hole.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is a short par 3, playing 165 over a native area. When you step onto the tee, all you can see is the top of the flag, and you have to do some searching just to find that. Once you've done that and hit your tee shot, you'll find a very interesting green. For one, the long and narrow green runs away from the tee, but in case that wasn't enough, it falls away in a series of three separate tiers. If you're all the way in the back, as I was, taking two putts is going to be a very tall order. Oh, and don't miss left or long, you probably won't find it.

This is all you can see on the eleventh tee.

The eleventh green is a unique one.

The twelfth hole is a fairly simple shortish par 4, going back up the hill the tenth and eleventh played down. It's a sharp dogleg left, and you're best suited cutting off as much of that dogleg as you can. There's a bunker guarding the front right section of the green, so the further left you are, the better angle you'll have, not to mention you'll have a shorter shot. If you can draw your drive around the tree near the tee, you'll be even better off.

The twelfth hole.

Approaching the twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is a very long par 4 at 470 yards, though it really isn't as tough as the yardage might indicate. There's no trouble on the drive, so feel free to blast one as far as possible. You'll need that distance in order to get a decent view on the second shot. A lone bunker guards the green to the left, which once again slopes from front to back. The hole is very accepting of run-up shots, and considering you'll be approaching with a mid to long iron, you'll probably want to take advantage.

The thirteenth hole.

The thirteenth green.

The fourteenth hole is also a par 4, but manages to be a whole 200 yards shorter than the previous hole. Yes, it's a 270 yard par 4. And it's a good one too. A decision has to be made on the tee. Do you play safe out the right, leaving a difficult uphill pitch over a bunker? Do you lay up short and left, a more difficult proposition but one that leaving you a straightforward second? Or do you go for the green, which is pressed up against a native area right? My brothers and I all went for the green, and our scores ranged from birdie to triple bogey. And that is the sign of an excellent short par 4.

The fourteenth hole.

Playing it safe leaves a difficult half-wedge to the fourteenth green.

For the fifteenth hole, we go from a par 3.5 to another par 3.5. Of course, the last hole was technically a par 4, and this is a 260 yard par 3. Sure, it plays downhill, but that's still a very long par 3. If you're really long, you can get away with an iron, but for most of us, a wood is necessary. Much like 13 though, the length is really all this hole has going for it. There's a pond left, but I'd hesitate to call it a real hazard. Even with a wood, you'd still have to hit a really bad shot to go in it. The green is pretty simple, and there are no bunkers. All in all, not the best hole in the world.

The fifteenth hole.

The sixteenth hole is by far the longest hole at Orchard Creek, playing to a brawny 587 yards. The first and most obvious issue is the native area running down the entire left side of the hole. That native area narrows the fairway about 200 yards from the green, meaning that a poorly hit drive has to contend with it. A pond sits about 75 yards from the green, so most third shots will end up in the wider portion of the fairway between the native area and the pond. The green is shallow and protected by a bunker front left, so laying up out to the right definitely opens things up. This is a par 5, but it's not much of a birdie opportunity.

The sixteenth hole.

You probably won't be getting to the sixteenth green in two.

A good place to be in two.

The small sixteenth green.

The seventeenth hole may be 30 yards shorter than the fifteenth hole, but this is still a 225 yards par 3 we're dealing with. Other than a couple bunkers right, there's not a lot to this hole, it's just a bit of a slog, considering it comes at the end of the round.

The seventeenth hole.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole is a reachable par 5, playing less than 500 yards. The tee shot is uphill to a semiblind fairway, and other than a small fairway bunker and some O.B. far to the left, there's plenty of room to work with. The second shot is more interesting. A ditch filled with long grass surrounds the last 100 yards of the hole on three sides. You can certainly lay up short, but when the hole is 493 yards, having a third shot that long is disappointing. If you go for it, the green is on a peninsula, with very little room for error. Now, the green is pretty big, but going just a few feet over, left, or right will result in a penalty. You can easily finish with a birdie or even an eagle, but a bogey or double is almost as likely.

Not much to see on the eighteenth tee.

Approaching the eighteenth green.

The eighteenth green.

My memory of Orchard Creek is unfortunately dominated by something other than the course itself. Even though we were in upstate New York, the weather was hot enough to make even the Deep South proud. 95 degrees with humidity to match. And for some reason, the owners of the golf course decided not to put any water out for people to drink. No, you have to buy water for $2.50 a bottle (or $3 if you buy from the beverage cart). So while the round itself only cost $40 per person on a Saturday morning, the reality is that you'll spend a fair amount more than that keeping yourself hydrated. I think all told we spent at least $20 extra.

It's unfortunate that the experience was marred by heat and dehydration, because Orchard Creek is a genuinely good golf course. There's no really outstanding holes, but there really isn't anything too weak, and most of the course features good strategic golf. As I said in the first part, the course didn't cost much to build, and the architect did a great job. The condition of the course was great, and there was plenty of strategic interest. The fourteenth is a fun little short par 4, the knob in the middle of the sixth green was quirky, it's a generally fun golf course. I'd say it's definitely worth playing, and that $40 is a pretty good price. Just remember to bring water with you if it's hot.