MD/DC/VA Golfers - Twelve Monkeys Mental Divergence

[Terphack]

Beautiful day at Waverly today. A little cool to start but warmed nicely with a strong breeze. Other than a handful of backyard swings the last couple of days I hadn't even touched a club since February. Eating too much BBQ, and long WFH hours, I packed 8 lbs on to my old rusty swing and it sure showed. Early on I was ok off of the tee and approaches but had zero touch around the green and putting. As I began to tire out around 14 the tee ball went away and the chipping and putting improved. Didn't accurately keep score, best guestimate is mid to high 90's. The course was in fabulous shape and packed. 10 minute tee times were great for pace of play. We played in 4:35, taking that long because the two randos we were paired with were pretty slow. No complaints, it felt good to be out there, it didn't really feel that slow. Instead of pool noodles around the flag stick there was a piece of PVC pipe that was cut so the ball would be 3/4 in the cup when holed. Worked well.

Saturday league starts this weekend, first event at Rocky Point, hopefully I can move by then.

[SullGolf]

I have PB Dye in it's own category in the area. It is different enough that it doesn't compete with those courses for my attention. I'll be in a mood to play there or not.

I actually hated PB Dye the first time or few I played it, but it's grown on me over the years. I really enjoy it. The only thing that still grinds my gears about it is all of the blind landing areas. It makes the course not fun to walk, because there's no fast way to walk 50 yards down the fairway to make sure you aren't hitting in to anyone. Last time I was there I had to do that on the 12th hole, which is probably the worst hole for that to occur.

I think the par 3s there match up well with any set of par 3s in the area. They all play different lengths, require different shots, and have good views.

[FAbb]

Whiskey still always feels like a "destination" course and I mean that in a bad way (like Bulle or Queenstown).

Totally agree. It makes me want to not like it, even though it's arguably every bit as good of a golf course as Worthington. It feels like there's just an air of superiority about the place.

[FAbb]

I like pb dye quite a bit. Lots of variety, and fun green complexes. It's a sneaky good walk, too. A bit hilly, but transfers (save for 9 green to 10 tee) are excellent. There are some great power slots you can try and find off the tees for extra yards. I also agree with sull that it's more it's own ball off wax.

[FAbb]

Wait, is Sully saying he had to check to see if it was safe to hit his second shot on 12 at pb dye? As in, his drive didn't even make it to the top of the hill?

 

https://giphy.com/gifs/the-office-laughing-nbc-Z9OGuQyrfHAE8

[dcmidnight]

At Whiskey I feel like there is always the potential for a 6 hour round because of the number of events and tournaments they have there. Too far from me and way too $$$ for the hassle. Plus the uphill range doesn't win me over either. WM by a mile for me in most every category. I actually dont think the post round hang is such a runaway - I really like the new bar at WM with the big screen tv showing people coming up 18 - its a very underrated feature of the place. I do not think Whiskey is walkable at all but then again, I dont consider WM a good walk either.

Shot 79 this morning, had an hour or so break and then won my Wed night league match. Starting to get into a little rhythym and decided to take the week after Memorial Day to just donk around local and play for 8 or 9 straight days. Feeling really good right now out there. In between matches since nothing is open and there is no place to sit, I took a 45 minute nap in my car. One guy in my group thought this was totally odd - the other two took no issue with it. I have an SUV with blacked out back windows - nothing to see here.

Pounding down some leftover pulled pork for dinner - I'm glad I liked it bc we will have leftovers for a week.

[SullGolf]

Tee shot. Give me a modicum of credit.

[tungstenplug]

I've been playing golf for 20 years and still get excited the night before a round. It's like Christmas morning but happens 40+ times per year. Hope it never goes away

Playing @ Stonewall tomorrow

[eagle1997]

it's okay to enjoy courses on their own merit without comparison. of course, that's not a lot of fun in our Top5 world of ranking everything.

tldr: i like pretty much all golf courses. there's always something fun, exciting, different, annoyingly unique or basically good to appreciate.

 

we've done this so many times, but let's review "our" local rankings of public courses on (roughly) the 270/70 corridor. i welcome the forthcoming debate the list and rankings.

from roughly south to north:

falls roadhampshire greensnorthwestneedwoodblue mashlaytonsvillelittle bennettpb dyeworthington manorhwiskey creekmaryland nationalmusket ridge

Top, 5 in my book:

Blue MashWorthington ManorLittle Bennett/PB Dye (tie)Maryland National

i love Whiskey, but the cost and other options push it off my list. i've never made a trip up to urbana to play whiskey on my own, it's either been an invite from a fellow threadizen or an official Hive event. can't say the same about any other course up that way. the guys at Hwiskey have always been great to me, but I can understand why others might think it's got an "elitist" feel... pricing alone makes it certain that it feels that way. the parking lot cements the fact that they are catering towards a specific demographic. In essence, they WANT to price people out of the equation. the food/whiskey selection there are on point, and you'll notice it. 2MoreTerpz's theory of "rich people prefer to pay more for things" definitely applies. service has always been excellent.

little bennett and pb dye are fantastic, usually a great value especially in the afternoons, and very challenging. between the 2, i'd play pbd more, but littleB has a special place in my heart based on our multiple summer solstice events we've had there. a couple years ago, some of our guys played 70 holes in one day. that's not a typo. any course that can accommodate that level of crazy - with nary a hitch - deserves credit. pbd has some nutso green complexes and a few memorably difficult holes. i've had some incredibly fun times there, regardless of score. years of turkey shoots, nuff said.

the ones no one on this thread that tends to mention are maryland national and musket ridge. musket is great - if it were lower in montgomery county (rather than basically hagerstown) it would be a #1 must play. i love the routing, the views, the greens, the variety of holes. i wish i played it more often, but with so many other choices between me and there, it's a once-a-year-if-that proposition. maryland national is a bit closer, an arthur hills design and is typically in very, very good shape. they had a tree in the middle of #2 fairway which messed with your 2nd shot (a par 5), but it came down years ago during one of the derechos. i miss that tree. there is probably the dumbest hole in all of maryland on the course (#16, a ridiculously stupid par 4). but hey, at least it's memorable. i love the topography, the rises and runs and so many of the holes there otherwise. it's got the ineffable "flow" that many courses aspire to and never achieve.

blue mash (another arthur hills design) is my top choice tho. played in a wednesday league there for many years when i was working in the area. my personal "best score" on each of the holes is (-20)... i've either birdied or eagled every one of those bastardos. learned a ton about course management and my own game while playing there. fantastic practice area. good vibe. typically stupid hot bartenders. a few good beers on tap. so much closer than other places. it's easily my #1.

here's the thing: i really enjoy all the other courses i've listed here in one way or another. no matter what, it's still golf with friends. being in this area, i can completely recognize that we're totally spoiled with the available selection and variety with our public golf. each course poses its own individual challenge, whether it's raw length (northwest), incredibly slow pace but close (falls road), being virtually unwalkable (hampshire greens), short but stout (needwood and laytonsville). i'd rather be golfing at any of the places listed here, than not.

anyway, just my 2cents.

round recap: i went 50/39 at tv-o yesterday. city -my unfortunate partner- played great. pq-anon played great. fort played great. i was the wet dutch oven in the bedroom. still had a great time and appreciated the invite to city's CC... he literally gave zeroFs about how poorly i played, which was supercool of him. lost big money to the PQ/Fort team, oh well, deserved to lose, happy to pay out. the company and walk were worth at least that much, and really so much more.

sidenote: happy to see fabbo back on the thread!

[misplacedtexan83]

Dude blows his wad on courses but no pinehurst recaps —

 

[eagle1997]

pinehurst recaps are best done in pictoral form. i've taken more than my share behind the camera over the years.

[bandondunes54]

I really like the Worthington Manor, PB Dye, Whiskey Creek (and even throw in Musket Ridge, Maryland National and others) debate. Worthington Manor is easily my favorite public course in Maryland. The only other course that is on it's level is Bulle Rock, maybe. I just like that there are so many ways to play most holes. Every time I feel like I know how to play a hole, my misses start doing something different and I start taking different lines to get different angles. Plus where the pin is changes my approach off the tee. Basically it's all about angles out there. It looks wide open but being in the right portion of the fairway is the way to score well there. Or to be a machine like John Marshall. The green complexes are tough, it plays firm and fast (mostly), and it'll test each part of your game. Plus if you walk, and it's a tough walk, you get a $14 discount.

I'm one of the few that may like PB Dye more than Whiskey Creek when you put price into play. Both are courses where my strategy for each hole has yet to change the dozens of times I have played them. But I will say PB Dye is an easy walk except from 9 to 10. The updates have been fantastic. Trees have come down (the right ones to give it a better look and it's more playable), a silly water feature was removed on 4, the awkward hazard was grassed over on 15 or 16, and the conditions have been really good the last couple of times I have played. Whiskey Creek is a great course and a tough one for sure. But I am not a huge fan of the people working there and it's just more expensive than I feel like is necessary. The range sucks and usually it's a longer round. But the conditions are awesome, the elevation changes are huge, and 18 is gorgeous.

I don't know Maryland National and Musket Ridge as well; I have played them 2-3 times each. Musket is definitely the best scramble course in the area. So many doglegs to cut off if given a chance. Fun track for sure. Maryland National is funky at times but has grown on me. Blue Mash is also one of my favorites in Maryland by far. Great walk but maybe a little too flat. Great green complexes. The conditions are great on the greens but can be sketchy at spots, especially the holes set back in the trees. Also played in that Monday League and had tons of fun. Just tough to get to if you're coming off a highway. I'd join there but their membership is downright stupid as members can't play before 11 on weekends.

Other random thoughts: I think Little Bennett is just okay. I know I'm in the minority there. Like Falls Road, especially the new-ish front 9 but it's the busiest course in Maryland. Hampshire Greens is fine, just have to hit high irons over and over and over again. Northwest is a sleeper, always enjoy playing there but both nines end on duds. Northwest's Inside Nine is the true sleeper in the entire area. If you can score well there you can score well anywhere.

I only got on here to see altsean's recap of the event of the year against Vinay and it did not disappoint. Just saddened it got lost in the Maryland reopening discussion.

[Creedo77]

Just wanted to drop in with a quick note. Been playing Laurel Hill since 2014 and I played it today. It was in the best shape I've seen it in years. Obviously, the closure helped but it was firm and fast and the greens were pure.

Most likely won't be like that by the summer, so if anyone is interested definitely head out there.

[eagle1997]

laurel hill is my favorite NoVa course BY FAR . need to get out there, thanks for the reminder @Creedo77 !

edit: i just checked the date. the first Trolls Riding Unicorns event happened there, april 21, 2016. damn. that was over 4 years ago. last time i saw hoop i think. SIGH.
[img]https://s3.amazonaws.com/golfwrxforums/uploads/731/5EBH78NIQNQP.jpg[/img]

[mizuno player]

I have a new found like for PB Dye. Not all 4's and 5's are driver.

Same with Worthington. First few times I played I did not care for it. Starting to like it now. Need to learn how to play a few holes though. Even though I've never played it very well.

Little Bennett. Love the range and the speed of the greens. That's about it.

Whiskey Creek I like a lot. It's a fun course to play. Would love to play that all day Hive event there.

 

[dcmidnight]

I rode with PAMatt that day and may not have laughed that hard for a full 18 holes since then.

[dcmidnight]

One course that Eagle left off the Frederick list is Clustered Spires. I only played there a couple times and it was a few years ago but I thought it was a pretty fun track for the $20 that I paid. Its not necessarily worth the hour plus drive to play there but IMO if you lived near there and it was your home track, you would not be sad about it.

Agree about Musket Ridge as well. But for me its as far away as Mattaponi Springs and I'd rather play MS 10 times out of 10.

People laughed a few years ago when we said that the "Frederick corridor/area" might have the best collection of public golf in the country. I'd stand by that. Top notch course choices from the very top of the price range to the very bottom. And some very good tracks on there.

[dcmidnight]

Are they cart path only right now? I work and live less than ten minutes from there and my only complaint about the place is that they are CPO so often. Otherwise its a 10/10.

[Creedo77]

usually they’re always off the path after April 1. Most of the problem is they over water the place but the greens were the firmest I’ve seen them since the Middle Atlantic Am event 3 years ago.

pace of play was pretty good too albeit for a 445 tee time, didn’t get backed up until 16

[TheCityGame]

It was me and Eagle vs Fort and Q.

Eagle was

https://media.giphy.com/media/Jrl4FlTaymFFbNiwU5/giphy.gif

on the front, but I was like

https://media.giphy.com/media/QMHoU66sBXqqLqYvGO/giphy.gifOn the 10th tee, I just handed him a

and it was ON.

He proceeded to go par-par-birdie. Made a huge net par on 15 and a par on 16 when I was bogey, and we ended up halving a very tough fort/Q team on the back.

Q's been hitting the ball great. Yesterday on the 5th hole, sort of downwind, fairway runs left to right in relation to the tee, TVJ and I both hit bombs (I had a 150 in and the hole is listed at 430. Anyway, Q was 50 yards past us. I know this to be true because shot it with my laser because it was so murdered.

Did I mention it was his 3-wood. His only bogey yesterday was because he flew a green with a pwedge.

 

[dcmidnight]

I had a bizarre thing last night that I've never seen before. My partner, who is a 10 I think , decent stick, plays a lot of golf - teed it up in front of the marker on the first two holes. Now for me, thats one of those "rules" I think is nitty more than anything - but it is what it is. I told him about it and he moved it. Then I saw him do it again on 5 and again on 7. I let it go - secretly hoping someone would call him on it. Is this a spatial awareness thing, meaning he physically cant tell if his tee is between two points? The guy plays a lot of golf too, I dont get it. He is definitely not a guy who is purposely trying to cheat - and again, how much advantage is two inches on a 300 yard hole.

But it was so bizarre.

[FAbb]

That's one of those things I just don't get, at all. People feel compelled to tee it up as close as humanly possible to the front of the teeing ground, even though it makes no difference.

[HighBoomingDraws]

Did the thread just travel back in time to 2018?

[misplacedtexan83]

That was a good year. First time an open invite Wrx outing to pinehurst happened.

 

[TheCityGame]

From the year 2030. . ."2028 was a good year. It was the last time tex mentioned the pinehurst invite thing and it was 7 years after anyone else remembered what he was talking about."

[2moreTerpz]

no first session of the wednesday night league so we set up a nine hole match. 20$ match. 2$ junk. birdies are two dots. 2mores (miss fairway miss green make par or better). hogans. sandies. greenies. wasabis. poleys (net applies). offners (net applies).

1 - i go hogan, wasabi, birdie for a 1 up lead and 4 dots

2 - partner makes a poley net par. opponent makes a 2more sandie (back left pin, from left bunker, A+ bunker shot to 18"). We're 1 up and up 3 in dots

3 - my chip has jussst too much pace and hits the flagstick but doesn't stay in the hole. opponent hits a thin one that runs 40 yards up the hill onto the green and two putts for par and the greenie. we're 1 up and up 2 in dots

4 - i'm the only fairway ball. i hit a mediocre tiny wedge on the green a little short. should be a hogan. my opponents miss the fairway, miss the green and have par putts of like 3 feet. they both make for 2more dots ... and i miss a putt inside 2 feet to give away the hole and my hogan dot. AS match. AS in dots.

5 - my partner with a full stroke hits the green just inside our opponent getting a half stroke. half stroking opponent runs his putt well by. stroking partner does the same. partner misses losing his hogan dot. opponent makes for the hogan dot. 3.5 beats 4. other opponent got a 2more dot. Down 1. Down 2 dots. (my opponent got 5.5 strokes on the first 6 holes. no one strokes in the last three. we are NOT supposed to be down)

6 - opponent and i are both just short of the green. i play an agressive nippy chip with a 60 that grabs, releases, and barely drops into the hole. really sweet shot. opponent tries to putt and gets a turf valley bounce. back to AS. we pick up the offner and two birdie dots to go 1 up on dots.

7 - no balls in fairway. i was like 3" into the rough in an awful awful like and was quite pleased to hit a shot that ended in the fringe. but i three frutt. opponent three putts. my partner two frutts for a 1 up lead and his 2more dot puts us up 2 dots.

8 - after missing the green my partner skulls his chip but it slams into the grass over the bunker, pops up, runs onto the green and rolls out to like 10 feet. opponents shot was well inside mine on the green so he gets the greenie when he rolls it into gimme range. my partner rolls it in for the poley dot. LOL. dormie and up 2 dots

9 - i go three wood five wood onto green. i lag my eagle putt to a foot for the hogan wasabi birdie. opponent also goes hogan wasabi birdie after lagging his eagle putt. partner just misses birdie. other opponent makes a poley birdie. we win the match 1 up. i thought we were down three on dots but in hindsight i think i need to get better at counting them. lol.

[misplacedtexan83]

Cool story in 2020

2030- WTF is that city guy talking about still.

[dcmidnight]

I'd rather play a $100 nassau then try to keep track of half the stuff in 2mores post...

Last night my partner, who again is a 10 and a decent stick but maybe shaky around the greens - he is lining up a chip and I'm thinking god that lie is brutal, the rough in spots is still juicy bc they have not been able to mow. Nah, he nails it dead on the pin at perfect pace and drops in for a birdie net eagle. Best part about it was - it was the Square Strike wedge.

[SullGolf]

2MTs dot terms made me think I was having a stroke. I understood all the words, but strung together it’s like a foreign language. It seems familiar enough that I should understand it, but my brain doesn’t comprehend it.

[FAbb]

I think the junk dots are fun. And actually the more junk you play, the more even it tends to turn out.