We had two days left on our visit to Maryland with both days having rain in the forecast and we had yet check off playing a golf course here. Remember, Denny and I are down to needing only to play golf in Maryland and Oklahoma to fulfill our desire of playing golf in all 50 states. On Tuesdays morning we loaded up our golf clubs in a fine mist and started heading for the Marlton Golf Club in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, only to turn around a few miles out when it started raining much harder. Since I'm recuperating from a cold, I wasn't thrilled about playing golf in 60 degree weather in the rain. So I called and cancelled our tee times and we drove home.
After our rather late lunch the rain slowed to a drizzle and then a fine mist and then it seemed to stop, so Denny suggested trying to get in a round of golf since the chances of rain on Wednesday were even greater than on Tuesday. I was agreeable so off we went to the course, just a few short miles west of our campground. Located on the edges of a housing development and built apparently as a member golf course, Marlton Golf Club is open to the public now. When we arrived, the man at the counter identified himself as the manager for the past year and explained that the fairways were being aerated that day and the golf course was in rough shape. He said that when he was hired the previous year the fairways had been reduced to dirt and he was working hard at getting the course back into its original condition. Fair enough. We had figured that we would be paying greens fees of $41 for me (adult) and $33 for Denny (senior) to play eighteen holes with a riding cart, but since we arrived at 2:30PM we were in the twilight rate period so we each paid $32 to play. And we were the only people on the front nine.
Normally the rules here are cart path only, but on this day the manager allowed us to drive using the 90 degree rule. The fairways are indeed rough, as are the tee boxes but most of the greens are in decent shape. The sand traps are currently like concrete and it is obvious the prior management allowed the golf course to fall into near ruin. All of the recent rains and flooding from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee certainly haven't helped the condition of the golf course either. That being said, the layout of the course is fun; the sand traps (when in playable condition) would present obstacles on several holes and there are a couple of par 3 holes with ponds that make you have to be careful of your club choice. There are elevation changes, some sharp dog legs and deceptively slow greens so while the course is relatively short, it's also tricky. From the longest (blue) tees, the yardage is 6181 with a rating/slope of 69.9/122. From the whites it's 5751 and 67.6/116 and the red tee yardage is 4677 with a rating/slope of 68.2/115.You cross the public roadway to access the back nine where there are a few more houses near the golf course but none that make you feel you might hit them with an errant tee shot. There is no feeling of being crowded by the homes at any point on the course.
As a matter of fact, it's pretty darned quiet on the back nine, as evidenced by the young buck who stood on the 15th tee box with us while Denny teed off. As you can see, it was still pretty wet in the woods and underbrush on the golf course.
Denny and I played winter rules due to the extremely rough conditions on the course but if the grounds crews can ever get it back into shape, this would be a course we'd definitely play again should we be in the area. In the fall it would be beautiful. I hope that new young manager is able to make his dreams for this course come true.
No comments:
Post a Comment