Ocean City, MD or Course Between there and Wilmington, DE.

[Pearson10M]

I have off next week and heading down to see my dad who lives in the area between West Chester, PA and Wilmington, DE. Was thinking of heading to Shenandoah NP and then heading over to Ocean City area for two nights for some golf. Play there 2 or 3 courses and then head back up to my dads. It's about a 2.5 h drive from OC to my dad's, so I could play and just drive back.

 

Was thinking about Lighthouse and Glen Riddle, but they are a pricey. Would do one, but maybe not both. Any others that people suggest either in that vicinity or on the way back toward Wilmington that may not be as pricey? I like fun courses, but not too challenging, but not "easy" either. Terrain is desired, scenery a bonus.

 

Thanks.

[Carolina Golfer 2]

Rum Pointe in OC is just as good as Lighthouse in my mind and much better than Glen Riddle

[dslatt33]

100% agreed With Carolina. Rum Pointe is a far better value then Lighthouse in my opinion. But, that being said I would choose Rum and Lighthouse if I could only play two courses in the area.

[davep043]

Another one to look at is Bayside in DE, a solid Nicklaus design. However, it doesn't look as if its any less expensive than Lighthouse.

[Pearson10M]

Great! Thank you for the help/responses. I think now it will be Rum and Lighthouse. I'll look at Bayside, too.

[ArtMBgolf]

Baywood Greens gets you drive started, so it's shorter after you play.

On the way back to DE, you have Frog Hollow + Back Creek in Middletown, DE or

Rock Manor in Wilm, DE. They are not in the class of Lighthouse, Rum, Baywood, but

they are cheaper.

[cristphoto]

Can anyone confirm the two courses at Bay Club have shut down? They always offered good bang for the buck.

[rsh0308]

White Clay Creek in Newark if looking for something closer to Wilmington. A tad more expensive than Rock Manor but a nice experience, free range balls and nifty GPS carts, kind of resorty or private (vs muni) feel where you wouldn’t expect it. Worth mentioning I like to walk but that place would be impossible to walk the way it’s mapped out.

[Joe V.]

> @cristphoto said:

> Can anyone confirm the two courses at Bay Club have shut down? They always offered good bang for the buck.

 

Yep, gone. And you're right, nice value for the money and they always had the nicest staff.

[dokodiy]

Rum pointe in OC. QueensTown and HunterOaks (windy link course) near Kent island for future reference.

[Pearson10M]

So I am in OC right now and will be playing Rum Pointe tomorrow before heading back to the Philly/Wilmington, DE area. Played River Run yesterday and The Links at Lighthouse Sound today. At River Run, played by myself and today with a couple of guys. Tried to play Heritage Harbor on the way down, but they were closed due to getting 2" of rain the night before.

 

River Run was a mixed bag for me. Cart path only, not an issue as they got a lot of rain too. The fairways were in very good shape. The grounds crew were busy clearing a lot of downed branches and debris from the storm the night before. Very thumbs up here. The greens were not in great shape. Thin cover, patchy, and sandy and not swept. I'll cut them some slack as the storm blew a lot of junk around. I didn't think the layout was bad but it has some quirky loops for holes 11-15. Some very good and fun holes requiring thinking and good shot placement. It was very, very windy. Gusts were well over 30 mph and steady in the open areas of 15-25 mph. For $80/18 w/cart at this time of year, I don't think was great value. You can get a $52 deal on GolfNow for mid AM, but I wasn't there early enough. Course is laid out in and around a wetlands area and housing development. Saw the cart girl about 7 times. Big thumbs up here. Would play other courses in area before playing here again.

 

Lighthouse is a gem. Great course and the views are great. Nothing too challenging here, but not super easy either. Fairways were in very good shape, but I was frustrated that people didn't fill their divots. Greens were in excellent shape. I think the highlight was driving over the longest golf cart bridge in the US (1500 ft) over a wide salt marsh. Hole 5 and finishing on the uphill green on 18 were very picturesque. I love that they have a practice chipping area, putting green , and range (w/ free range balls) with your greens fees. Staff was super accommodating. My scheduled Tee time was 12:09 and right after a group of 16. I was playing by myself. I got there early to do some practice chipping and the starter suggested that I go out with a pair of gentlemen at 10:45 to beat the group and not have a 5+ h round. Guys were great, and we all were about the same ability, so it made for some great competition. I had a little discount for my greens fees and paid $75 (versus $109). This course is a much better course value than River Run. Negatives: Cart girl once on the front 9. Not at all on the back 9. No water on the course. Thumbs down here. Would play here every time I visited OC.

 

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FINAL UPDATE

Played Rum Pointe today. Links style course by the definition. Windy and cool off the ocean made for some very short drives and shots. I played whites with my group and it's listed as 6030 yards, but it played today, with the wind like 6500 yards. On a 170 Par 3, both my partner and I teed up up 4I and were 4 yards short of the green. Normally I can hit this 190-200 on a solid hit with a 15 yard rollout.

 

Nice conditions all around, greens especially. Fairways in very good shape, but why don't people replace/repair their divots? Cart girl came around once of front 9 and again on back 9. Great views on almost all the holes of the ocean. Some holes played right along the shore. Thumbs up here. Staff great. Starter gave us a little history of the place when going over the rules. This place has more difficult greens with their varied elevation compared to Lighthouse. Hole 15 is a very challenging hole. Green is truly hidden. It is not visible from the fairway as it is in a "crater" between mounds and bunkers on three sides.

 

My ranking for folks interested in playing would be: 1) Lighthouse 2) Rum Pointe (just a little less). River Run, not even in the same conversation.

 

Thanks all for the recommendations.

[RayGorman]

Nice to hear about Rum Pointe... We have Bear Trap Dunes, Rum Pointe and Newport Bay on our schedule next month. Hopefully things will dry out and warm up by then.