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: Swan Point Yacht & Country Club (Part 2)

It's time for the back nine at Swan Point Yacht & Country Club, go here if you haven't seen the front.

The tenth hole is a 420 yard par 4 that plays parallel to the ninth on the opposite side of the lake. It's best to be on the right side of the fairway on the drive, as trees hang over the fairway 100-150 yards or so from the green, blocking out shots from the left. While technically there is water in play on both the drive and the second, it doesn't come into play on either shot. The greenside bunker right is more concerning. There's nothing left, so if you're looking for a bailout, that's a good place to miss.

A group let me play through and I was hurrying, so no picture from the tenth tee.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is the best hole at Swan Point, and one of the most memorable holes I've played. It's just under 170 yards, and plays over a marsh to a peninsula green angled 45 degrees away from the line of play. Beyond the marsh is the Potomac River. It reminds me a bit of the 15th hole at Atlantic City Country Club, and any hole that can do that is bound to be good. Except this hole might even be better, because there's a legitimate place to bail out on this hole. You can lay up right if you want, something that really wasn't an option at ACCC. I like the true do-or-die aspect of ACCC, but being user-friendly is also a good thing, and if a good golfer wants a birdie, they have to take on the full risk.

The eleventh hole, jutting out into the marsh.

The bunker surrounding the green catches slightly wayward shots, something I made sure to utilize.

The eleventh green, overlooking the marsh and the Potomac.

The twelfth hole is also a par 3, but you would be completely forgiven for playing it as a par 4. At 235 yards, it's very long, and much of that distance is over the marsh. Again, a bunker left of the green serves less as a hazard and more of a catcher's mitt. The green is quite large for the golf course, and the central back portion is noticeably elevated. There is room to bail out right if the carry is too much. This hole is intimidating in the sense of when I stepped onto the tee, I had no idea where the hole was. It's semiblind, and it took a while to find the flag poking up above the marsh grass. Obviously, this is a tough hole, but in terms of being memorable, the eleventh is better.

Trust me, the twelfth green is there.

The twelfth green is very elevated in the back.

The thirteenth hole is the final hole where the marsh comes into play, and it is a doozy. It's just under 400 yards, which isn't long, but the first half of that is over the marsh. To the left is marsh. To the right, trees. Going from shorter tees minimizes or eliminates the carry, but even so, there is not much fairway available. And while I wouldn't enjoy that on every hole, it's okay to have this sort of hole once or twice a round. The thrill you get when you blast a drive through a strong headwind into the heart of the fairway is intense. The green is guarded by bunkers left and right, and behind is more marsh and the Potomac.

The thirteenth hole. A good tee shot is very recommended.

Approaching the thirteenth green.

I took a lot of pictures on this hole.

Looking back at the neighboring arm of the Potomac.

Looking back down the thirteenth.

The fourteenth hole is a 525 yard par 5 that doglegs right back into the forest. You might be tempted to hit down the right side, but if you do, the trees will block you out from going at the green. I'm sure people have hit this green in two, but since you need to go left off the tee, it would require two big shots. The key feature of this hole is a line of five bunkers that separates the green from the rest of the fairway. The closer you get to them, the better angle you'll have. The green itself has a noticeable swale running through the middle, which is impressive considering how small it is. This isn't a hard hole, but it's one that needs to be played patiently.

The fourteenth. That's the last of the marsh in the lower left corner.

It would take an impressive shot to get home in two from here.

You can see four of the bunkers in the bunker wall here.

Not such a good place to approach the fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is a mid-length par 4 with a drive through a narrow chute of trees. The fairway is fairly wide, but a pond right and OB left mean there's not a whole lot of room to work with. The pond continues up to the green, but as has often been the case, two bunkers sit between the green and the water, acting as a buffer. The green is best approached from the left, and a gentle fade will suit you well. There are more birdieable holes at Swan Point, but this is the one I birdied, so it can't be that difficult, can it?

The fifteenth hole.

Approaching the fifteenth.

It's definitely preferable to miss the green left.

Looking back down the fifteenth, with the Swan Point water tower in the background.

The sixteenth hole is a bit longer than the fifteenth at 410 yards, but still, it's not exactly a long par 4. Again, the tee shot is through a chute of trees, although this hole doglegs noticeably to the right. Ideally you want to be on the left side of the fairway, as that will give you the best and most open shot at the green.

The sixteenth hole.

Approaching 16.

The sixteenth green.

The seventeenth hole is by a considerable margin the shortest par 5 at Swan Point, playing at only 485 yards. The hole is pretty wide, but a pair of internal fairway bunkers in the right central portion of the fairway do narrow things a bit. The ideal shot is a draw between those and the left tree line. Do that, and the green is pretty much wide open. This is an excellent opportunity to get a birdie, or even an eagle.

The seventeenth hole.

The seventeenth green is behind the bunker. I had trouble finding it when I played.

Looking back down 17.

The eighteenth hole is actually the shortest par 4 at Swan Point at 345 yards, which is a refreshing change of pace. There is water right, but it's behind trees for the most part and doesn't come into play until you reach a point about 280-300 yards from the green. For that reason, I would recommend using a wood or long iron off the tee. Don't bother bringing the water into play, and you do want to be in this fairway. The green is narrow, and flanked by bunkers. But this is hardly a tough hole, and coupled with 17, it's entirely possible to finish birdie-birdie, which is an excellent ego boost and very much appreciated after some difficult stretches earlier in the round.

The eighteenth hole.

The eighteenth green.

By all rights, I should hate this course. It's narrow and tree lined in most spots, and if there aren't trees, there's water. But while I certainly wouldn't call this my favorite course in the world, I didn't dislike it. That's honestly mostly because of the scenery, some of those holes on the river look incredible. And this really doesn't look like any other course I've played in Maryland, it really does have a Southern aesthetic to it. I'm not entirely sure I would be fooled into thinking I was in Myrtle Beach, but considering there's two whole states in between Swan Point and South Carolina, it's pretty close. There are plenty of the longer-leafed pines that are so common in the South. So I'll give the advertising line on the website some credit.

As for the course itself, I really would advertise it as a Myrtle Beach course transplanted to southern Maryland. Lots of water but user friendly at the same time. It's a bit cookie-cutter and bland in places, but in others, it's intensely memorable. Holes like the second, eleventh, and thirteenth are not easily forgotten. I wouldn't say I'm in a rush to get back down there, but I would be willing to play the course again. I'd enjoy playing it in drier conditions. And I think that's saying something, that a golf course with water in play on 12 holes and is a 2 hour drive off is worth a second playthrough.