Review: Locust Hill Golf Course (Part 2)

It's time to take a look at the back nine at Locust Hill, go here to see the front

The tenth hole is a mid-length par 4 that doesn't have much going for it. Even the course's website calls it the easiest on the course, with its only advice "keep the ball in bounds." The fairway is wide and essentially hazardless beyond a few trees, and the green is quite large as well (though admittedly it does have some undulation to it). There are two bunkers greenside, but they're not difficult to avoid.

The tenth hole.

Approaching the tenth green.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is quite a long hole, playing 440 yards uphill the entire way. There are no bunkers, but there's some very large trees close up on the left side. That definitely leads your eye out right, which lengthens the hole and gives you a worse angle on the second shot. The green is perched up at the top of a hill, with a steep dropoff right and three bunkers protecting the left side. And the green itself is hardly flat. I don't imagine too many birdies are made here.

The eleventh hole.

Approaching the eleventh green.

The eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is 180 yards and plays downhill over a pond (which isn't really a major factor) to a green angled from left to right and sloped quite sharply from back to front. It's surrounded by three bunkers as well. This is a real all-or-nothing sort of par 3, which can definitely work well, but this hole is way too long for the green complex. This hole would be fine if it was 130-150 yards, but not 180.

The twelfth hole.

The thirteenth hole is a 550-yard par 5 playing out to a wide fairway with a small cluster of trees left crowding in quite close, leading the golfer's eye out to the right. That's certainly the safer play, but doing so means your second shot will be blocked out by a group of dense trees right that starts about 150 yards out from the green. You may need to lay up quite a long way back if you go too far right. Hugging the left side means you can go directly at the green on the second shot. Not necessarily reach it, since this is a pretty long hole, but get fairly close. Like the previous hole, this green has a fair amount of back-to-front tilt, and there's also three bunkers left.

The thirteenth hole.

Approaching the thirteenth green.

The thirteenth green.

The first few holes on the back nine haven't been terrible. Not great, but I was able to derive some slight enjoyment from them. The fourteenth hole ... not so much. This 430-yard par 4 is nearly a 90-degree dogleg, with the turn coming about halfway through. That means, realistically, you have to hit a long iron or maybe a fairway wood if you can hit a big draw threaded between flanking bunkers to match the fairway's sharp turn. At about 250 yards, the fairway ends, dropping down significantly to a second fairway and eventually the green, which is tucked in among mounding and is protected by a large bunker left. I know that doesn't sound completely unreasonable, but trust me, the margin for error on the tee shot is so small. You're coming out of a chute of trees, and if you miss the narrow fairway on either side, trees will block you out entirely from going at the green on the second shot. It's just not fun in any way. Holes like this can be good — there's a hole at Sagamore quite similar to this one that I really liked. The execution there, however, was far superior to Locust Hill (Donald Ross is a legendary architect for a reason). That hole was fun. This one is not.

The fourteenth hole.

Approaching the fourteenth green.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is 425 yards and plays to a flat, featureless, very wide fairway with water lurking right. There's no reward for playing close to the water aside from a slightly shorter shot, as the angle into the green (which is more of an isthmus green than a true island) is actually better from the left. The water's just here to punish bad shots, which is not fun. This hole could have been ripped from any one of a thousand Florida golf courses; it's even got the tacky houses in the background to complete the effect. I guess I can say that the green is kind of interesting, with a little false front and some noticeable elevation changes. But that doesn't salvage the hole.

The fifteenth hole.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is 170 yards, 90% of which plays over an incredibly scenic and not at all algae-covered pond. The green is medium sized and has a fair amount of back-to-front tilt to it. There's also a couple of bunkers to keep shots coming up just short from bouncing back into the water. Like the twelfth, this hole would benefit from being a bit shorter, though I don't think that would make a huge difference in how much I like this hole. It's just a bit too stereotypical for me.

The sixteenth hole.

The seventeenth hole is a shortish par 5 ruined by one of my least favorite design features: the blind water hazard. The fairway here looks quite generous, but about 275 yards out that width is cut by more than half by a pond that runs for a hundred yards or so up the right side. The only indication of the water is a red flag which is hardly the most obvious thing in the world. Essentially, longer hitters are forced to lay up on the tee shot here, which basically forces a lay-up on the second shot. It's not even that interesting a lay-up, since the water is pretty easy to get past and there aren't any other real hazards in play. The third will be a pitch to a large green with bunkers in front, left, and right.

The seventeenth hole.

Approaching the seventeenth green.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole is the cliche long par 4 with water in play that somehow manages to fumble the water aspect. The fairway here is pretty wide with two bunkers wide right. Not too difficult. The second shot is then a mid iron over a pond to a medium-sized green ringed on three sides by bunkers. It's a difficult approach, yes, but the real hazard for lower-handicap golfers is the sand, not the water. The pond doesn't come within 30 yards of the green, which makes it a massive obstacle for higher-handicappers but not lower ones. And there's a word for hazards that excessively punish bad golfers instead of good ones: stupid.

The eighteenth hole.

The eighteenth green.

It's difficult to put my precise feelings on Locust Hill into words. I've certainly played worse golf courses. It's no Links at Gettysburg, or any of the other bad but not quite as offensive to the world golf courses out there like Maryland National or Heritage Hills. There were even a few holes that I kind of liked. But man, when I walked away, I was just thoroughly miserable. I played this course in May, and I only wrote this review last month. It's taken me months to work up the feelings necessary to write about Locust Hill, and that's just not a good sign.

Here's the thing: Before the round, I knew Locust Hill was going to be a bad golf course. That much was obvious just from looking at it on Google Maps. But I at least hoped it would be entertainingly bad. Maybe even so bad, it's good territory. But Locust Hill doesn't reach that level. It's bad, but it's not fun. It's not even bad or interesting enough to make fun of. It's just there, an incredibly mediocre golf course that sapped my soul of literally any feelings at all. I honestly think I'd rather play Links at Gettysburg than this one again. At least that course I can properly insult. Locust Hill is a void where interesting golf goes to die, and I never want to see, hear, or think about it ever again.

Review: Locust Hill Golf Course (Part 1)

Are you tired of Ed Ault yet? I hope not, because he's back again with yet another golf course. This time, we're in Charles Town, West Virginia. No, not Charleston, capital of West Virginia, or Charleston, famous city in South Carolina, Charles Town, well-known for not being either of those more significant places.

Unusually, I've never played Locust Hill, even though I've lived within an hour for the past several years. There's a couple reasons for that: for one, you need two people to make a tee time. Also, at least from above on Google Maps, Locust Hill hardly looks like an appealing or fun place to play. Lots of houses and water. Even the name itself feels unpleasant. Who wants to play at a golf course called Locust Hill? But who knows, maybe Locust Hill will surprise us. Let's find out.

The first hole is 430 yards and doglegs left around a very large fairway bunker. The fairway is split about a hundred yards from the green by a narrow ditch, and there's a pond running right of the last quarter of the hole. The water can come into play on the second shot, but it really depends on how close the flag is cut to it. For us, we had the hole on the left side of the green, which made the pond little more than an afterthought. More important are the two greenside bunkers, one short left and the other behind. Seeing as the green is not exactly generous in terms of depth, those bunkers are quite significant, and it's probably best to play safely to the middle of the green. This is a fairly tough opening hole.

The first hole.

Approaching the first green.

The first green.

The second hole is the longest hole at Locust Hill, playing 590 yards. It is also quite uninteresting. The hole is flat and plays straightaway, and while there are a couple bunkers right that drives have to contend with, there's really not much to worry about hazard wise. Oh sure, there's O.B. left and trees right, but they're more framing than actual hazards. The second shot in particular is really, really boring. Just advance the ball with no thought. The green is medium sized with bunkers front right and left.

The second hole.

Approaching the second green.

The second green.

The third hole is a mid-length par 4 with water and high grass left; the fairway subtly but definitely slopes from right to left toward the water, so a fade is the preferred option on the tee shot. There's O.B. far right, but you'd have to hit a pretty big slice to reach it. A solid drive will leave a wedge or short iron into the green, which is narrow and protected by two small bunkers left and one behind. 

The third hole.

Approaching the third green.

The third green.

The fourth hole is 415 yards with O.B. wide right of the fairway, which is otherwise pretty open. A good tee shot will leave a short iron into the green, which is carved out of the bottom of a hill. It's L-shaped and has some pretty noticeable slope and break to it. There are two bunkers left; basically, considering the general left-to-right slope of the green, left is a very bad place to miss.

The fourth hole.

Approaching the fourth green.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is 175 yards from all the way back, though I definitely think this hole works better from the next set up. The green is quite narrow and fairly undulating, with three bunkers ringing the front section. It's quite a tough shot with a mid iron in hand. From 150 yards and the second set of tees, this becomes a fun little short par 3. That makes this next bit unfortunate, but the fifth hole is yet another entry in my long-running series "holes that clearly arose because the architect was short one on the routing." In this case, you finish the fourth, walk a short distance to the fifth tee, play the hole, then immediately double back the way you just came to reach the sixth tee, which is also near the fourth green and fifth tee. This hole quite literally pokes out into nowhere. Nothing like cart golf, right?

The fifth hole.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is 375 yards and plays over pretty level ground to a fairway that's split at about 250 yards out for no particular reason. There's no hazard there, just rough. So as long as you're okay with a wedge from the rough, there's no reason not to use driver. That will take the fairway bunker left out of play. The green is medium sized and protected by a bunker left.

The sixth hole.

Approaching the sixth green.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is a mid-length par 3 at 180 yards. It plays to a fairly large green with a bunker close left and a pond long and left. Bailing out right is a safe play, though of course with the right-side hole location that works a little less well.

The seventh hole.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is 510 yards and starts off in the same area as the fifth and sixth tees (you actually need to pass in front of these tees to get to the sixth hole after finishing the fifth), with the tee shot playing downhill to a wide fairway protected by a large bunker left. That bunker can be carried on the tee shot, which brings the green more into play on the second. A pond lurks left for the last 75 yards of the hole, so both people going for the green in two and those laying up need to consider the water. The green is protected by bunkers front left and back right, along with the water which also curls around the back.

The eighth hole

Approaching the eighth green.

The eighth green.

The ninth hole is 370 yards and plays to a fairly narrow fairway with trees close in left and two bunkers on a mound right. The fairway cuts out 250 yards out (again), and while there's no big hazard there, there are a couple of rock outcroppings about 50 yards short of the green. Not exactly a hazard, but still, not something you want to hit. A 3 wood will leave a wedge or short iron into the green, which is sloped quite severely from back to front and has bunkers left and long.

The ninth hole.

The ninth green.

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

Beer of the Week

The beer: Snallygaster Peach Mango Cream Ale

Brewed by: Berkeley Springs Brewing Company, Berkeley Springs, West Virginia

Description (from the can): "This fruit-infused cream ale has the juicy sweetness of a peach and the citric tartness of a mango ... watch out for Snally!"

Would I buy it again?: I'm not quite sure how I feel about this one. On the one hand, I actually think the peach-mango combo works pretty well. On the other, this beer was completely incapable of maintaining a head, and it doesn't quite feel fully carbonated. We're talking about a pretty small brewery here, and this does feel a bit amateurish. Decent, but I feel like a bigger, more established brewery could do better. 

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.