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: The Woods - Mountain View (Part 2)

It's time to see the back nine of the Mountain View course, go here if you haven't seen the front.

The tenth hole is a mid-length par 4 playing up onto a small plateau. There is a single fairway bunker on the right side, but it's kind of out the way and not particularly visible. I doubt it sees much action. The two greenside bunkers probably catch a lot more golf balls. The second shot has to negotiate those bunkers and hit a very small green with O.B lurking behind.

The tenth hole.

No carts in this picture, and the fairway bunker is (barely) visible.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is the longest par 3 on the Mountain View course, though at 180 yards it's not exactly back-breaking. But a mid-iron over a valley to a small, shallow green isn't the easiest of shots either. And there's not exactly a recommended place to miss, short isn't great, long is especially not great. Honestly, if you're confident at all in your bunker play, the sand is the least-worst miss here.

The eleventh hole.

The twelfth hole is the longest par 4 on the back nine, but at 416 yards, it's not exactly unreasonable. From the tee, you can't see much, just a sliver of fairway that disappears over a rise. That conceals the most interesting part of the hole -- the significant left-to-right slope of the fairway. It's normally tricky enough hitting from a significant sidehill lie, but the two greenside bunkers left and short of the green make the second shot even trickier. Obviously it's easier to hit a fade with the ball below your feet, but doing so brings those bunkers more into play. The draw is the better shot, but is more difficult considering the stance. Definitely one of the best holes on the course.

The twelfth hole.

The twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is the final par 3 at the Mountain View course. The hole is bunkerless, but it does a good job of being interesting even without sand and its modest length. The tree left of the green is immediately an issue, as is the big drop-off to the right and behind. The green itself is reasonably inviting and easy to hit, however, so I'd say that it isn't a terribly difficult hole. Just don't miss right or long.

The thirteenth hole.

The fourteenth hole is a short par 4 at less than 340 yards. However, this is easily the tightest hole on the golf course; while there are few trees on the right side, the slope makes recovering extremely difficult. A stream runs down the entire length of the hole to the left, any shot hit over there is dead. The green is not particularly big, but there are no bunkers. Just don't go left. Now, I think this is a pretty good-looking hole, but I'm not so sure it's a particularly good hole. It's very claustrophobic. Now, it's not long, which helps a little, but still, you'll have difficulty swinging freely on the tee.

The fourteenth hole. Nice to not have any houses in the picture.

Approaching the fourteenth green.

Looking back down 14.

The fifteenth hole is a 534 yard par 5 that is kind of dull for the first 400 yards. There are no fairway bunkers and the hole marches slowly but steadily uphill for much of the time. You can't see the green until you get within 150 yards or so, and when you do, you'll learn why it's a very bad idea to go for the green in two. There's a pond in front of the green. Oh sure, if you look at the scorecard you can see that there's water in front of the green, but still, I'm not a huge fan of blind water hazards. So basically, the first two shots are just to get yourself in a decent position for the third, but there's no real challenge at all to those first two shots. The third shot is definitely one to make the golfer pay attention, what with the pond in front and the four bunkers behind. But it's all concentrated too much, the hole would be better if some of that challenge were spread out. Put a couple of bunkers in the two primary landing areas, make the golfer think a little bit on the first two shots.

The fifteenth hole.

 

Still no sign of the green.

The very heavily defended fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is the shortest par 4 at the Mountain View course, playing a downhill 310 yards. It's also, as far as I can tell, the course's calling card. Go to Google and you'll find more pictures of this hole than any other. Which is fair enough, it is an impressive view on the tee, and you can see all the way to South Mountain, a few dozen miles to the east. The hole itself drops to a low point about 75 yards from the green, then rises back up a bit to a green surrounded by three bunkers. A drive down the left side will give you the best angle at the green. This is probably the best birdie opportunity on the golf course.

The sixteenth hole.

 

The sixteenth green.

The seventeenth hole is a mid-length par with a pair of fairway bunkers encroaching on the right side. A fade is definitely the best shot to hit off the tee. The second shot is pretty straightforward, though the green is fairly shallow and you definitely don't want to miss long.

The seventeenth hole.

The seventeenth green.

Considering all the deer poop littering the entire course, it's only natural we saw a few of the culprits

The eighteenth hole is a par 5, and is also the longest hole on the course, weighing in at 570 yards. I'm honestly not a big fan of that, finishing off with such a long, strenuous hole. But taken in isolation, it's definitely nice looking, winding through a narrow valley up toward the clubhouse. A draw benefits you on the tee, and then a fade will give you the best approach to the green. The green is quite small, so even if you do have the length to get there in two, which is doubtful, you probably won't hit it anyway. You need to hit three solid shots to have a birdie opportunity, and at the end of the round, that can be a tall order.

The eighteenth hole.

Approaching the eighteenth green.

The eighteenth green.

Fun fact, this is the third Mountain View golf course that I've played. And unfortunately, it's my least favorite of the three. And I swear, it's not just because of the gratuitous deer droppings. Or because I played like crap. Considering the rugged terrain, building a coherent golf course on this particular property was always going to be a challenge. But forcing the course into certain corridors because the property is also a housing/resort development? It's a recipe for an incredibly disjointed golf course. The Mountain View course is spread over a very large area and only in a couple of areas can you see multiple holes from the hole you're playing. The distances between greens and tees are regularly vast; I would not want to try to walk this course.

Now, Mountain View is not without merit, the terrain obviously lends strategic interest and there are some memorable holes. But it's not a course I see myself playing again. If you're looking for a golf course in the West Virginia panhandle, Cacapon is better in pretty much every single way. It's walkable, it's more interesting, the views are better, and the prices are similar.

Fair warning: Next month I'll be reviewing another housing development golf course. But hopefully it'll be different enough for some interesting comparing and contrasting.