A sampling of the best golf Maryland has to offer

BALTIMORE -- Maryland is a small state compared to neighboring Pennsylvania and Virginia, but with nearly 200 golf courses -- one for about every 49 square miles of land -- a golfer is never far from a fairway. The terrain varies widely, from the sand dunes of Ocean City to the rise and fall of the lush western mountain foothills. In Maryland's temperate climate, it is sometimes possible to play from March to November.

Because Maryland lies so close to the country's seat of power, there are many tracks frequented by Presidents and other dignitaries. Most of these are private clubs. But everyone can watch the real celebrities (professional golfers) at work during the annual Kemper Open at TPC Avenel.

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Folks in the Baltimore-Washington area (and the bedroom communities which extend well to the west) are generally well-traveled, so they have come to expect a lot from their home courses. They get it, too. Many Maryland golf courses are the handiwork of world-class architects and are tended like works of art (which, perhaps, they are). Here's a sampler.

Ocean City Area

The greatest concentration of Maryland golf links is in Ocean City, one of the East Coast's premier vacation spots. In the strand where sea meets land, designers have the luxury of terrain much like that of Great Britain's legendary layouts.

Eagles Landing overlooks the Assateague Island National Seashore, and is an environmental microcosm of wetlands, ponds, grasslands and tidal pools teeming with wildlife. The Michael Hurdzan design fits the setting like a crane in a marsh, but it will penalize those who are too distracted by its beauty.

Also fronting on Sinepuxent Bay is Rum Pointe, a prime collaboration between Pete and P.B. Dye on a strip of windswept linksland next to the Atlantic. The area's only bentgrass track has 17 holes overlooking the bay.

Gary Player's River Run (410-641-8400) isn't new, but the designer's gauntlet-style back nine is as daunting as a layout fresh off the drawing board.

Beach Club Golf Links lies minutes from the beach but offers two memorable golf routes -- the parkland Inner Course, a 7,020-yard layout designed by Ed and Brian Ault; and the Brian Ault-designed Outer Links, a shorter, shotmaker's test.

The Ocean Resorts Golf Club, a Larry Jones design, measures just 6,605 yards, but presents challenges of precision rather than length, such as seven holes ringed by water.

A clever renovation brought the Bayside Course at the venerable Ocean City Golf and Yacht Club new views of the ocean, more interaction with tidal marshes, and a stronger hand in the local golf market.

The Links at Lighthouse Sound is the area's don't-miss venue, and an Arthur Hills tribute to environmental sensitivity. A 1,500-foot cart bridge connects the parkland opening holes with a beautiful and challenging odyssey along Assawoman Bay.

Eastern Shore

Between the ocean and the Chesapeake Bay lies a fertile farming region laced with streams, wetlands and environmental areas - and a generous helping of good links-style courses.

The long-awaited River Marsh course at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay in Cambridge measured up to expectations. The Keith Foster-designed course has an enviable setting along the wide Choptank River as it flows into the bay. Holes 17 and 18 are among the region's best finishes.

Couched in a 150-acre resort, Harbourtowne Golf Links (410-745-9066) in St. Michaels is a delightful Pete Dye creation that plays along Eastern Bay for nine holes, then plunges into a narrow route through piney woods before emerging again on the bay.

The 27-hole Hog Neck Golf Course in Easton is a lot more attractive than the name (derived from the farm it replaced) sounds.

A regional favorite that garners four stars from Golf Digest, the 1976 Lindsay Irvin design reopens after renovation in Spring 2003.

Queenstown Harbor's Lakes and River courses are consistently ranked in the state's top 10. The River Course tiptoes through environmentally sensitive areas along the Choptank, while the Lakes dodges bunkers and water hazards a bit more inland. Both courses are priced under $50, an incredible value for the quality.

Baltimore/Annapolis Area

Counties surrounding these two vibrant and very different cites can have it all -- country roads winding among sprawling horse farms and small towns, plus proximity to the metropolis. A golf course has to be good in this priceless real estate. These had no trouble making the grade:

Bulle Rock is the course everyone wants to play. Pete Dye's creation earned Golf Digest "best new upscale course" status in 1998, and was one of only 12 courses to receive a five-star rating in 2002. The route relies not on gimmicks but a plethora of water hazards and 125 bunkers.

Another outstanding course is Beechtree Golf Club, where Tom Doak plotted a tough but honest test of golf while preserving the natural lay of the land. It's a clever track, part woods and part meadowland, with fast, true greens and critical choices to be made on every hole. Golf Magazine named this course in its "2002 Top 100 Courses You Can Play."

On the new Renditions course, every hole is a recreation of a landmark hole on a course that has hosted one of golf's four major championships. The historic theme carries through to the 1930s-era clubhouse, with its Grand Slam memorabilia.

Swan Point in Issue is an oasis of quiet, with only two parallel holes, homes set well back from the fairways, and natural buffers of marshland and forest. Golf Week has called this Bob Cupp creation one of America's Best.

Also garnering some heavy kudos is the Ault & Clark South River Golf Course in Edgewater, named third in the state in 1999 by Golf Digest.

Washington, D.C. Area

Maryland's "Capital Region" is home to some trusty old public layouts such as the 1955 George Cobb classic, Glenn Dale (301-262-1166), once a favorite of the Washington Senators baseball team. Old-timers still talk about Mickey Mantle driving the green of the 370-yard third hole.

Potomac Ridge is an Ault/Clark design which borders Mattawoman Creek on five holes and flirts with two lakes on another three holes. Ault and Clark also collaborated on Marleton, only 6,200 yards but a tight, enjoyable test of golf, and Cross Creek, an exciting reclamation of an abandoned gravel pit.

Straddling the Interstate 270 corridor which feeds both Baltimore and Washington, Montgomery County is a vibrant area where many commuters live and play. The county (www.montgomerycountygolf.com) owns and operates five good courses -- Hampshire Greens, Falls Road, Laytonsville, Poolesville and Rattlewood. Another local government operation is RedGate, an above-average municipal track owned and operated by the city of Rockville. RedGate has lots of elevation changes and quick greens.

Little Bennett (301- 601-9209) is a notable 1994 Michael Hurdzan design built in the hills near Clarksburg. The undulating fairways become progressively narrower, culminating in sculpted greens that spoil many a birdie attempt.

Blue Mash is living up to Arthur Hills' reputation of no tricks, no forced carries, no blind shots -- just a traditional "thinking golfer's" layout with some water and generous but slick greens. The course gets its name from a former slave settlement on the property, Blue Marsh, which the residents called "Blue Mash."

 

Western Maryland Golf

Growth outward from Baltimore and Washington has transformed Frederick and Washington counties from bucolic farmland to bustling suburbia -- and affluence has its rewards, including good golf courses.

Frederick County's P.B. Dye Golf Club is best known for its waterfall on the ninth and 18th greens and its views of Sugarloaf Mountain, but is just as remarkable for its predatory bunkers.

Looking for drama? Whisky Creek has it, with tees that drop as much as 100 feet, huge boulders, lakes, wetlands, rock walls and all the trimmings Ernie Els and Michael Poellot could muster.

Ault & Clark's Worthington Manor has the enviable combination of wetlands and views of Sugarloaf Mountain, but don't expect a walk in the park. The route is narrow and unforgiving. Golfers are also thanking designer Brian Ault for The Links at Challedon (301-829-3000) in Mt. Airy. The course is well-bunkered throughout with water on five holes and large, rolling greens. Creative mounding adds spice to the relatively flat Glade Valley course, a track with large but slippery greens.

Veteran Joe Lee of Cog Hill and Doral fame created the course at Musket Ridge (301-293-9930), using his trademark technique of making hazards visible so they guide the player to the best path and a rewarding experience. The course, which opened in 2001, is located on what was a strategic overlook during the Civil War.

Located at the outer edge of commuting distance, Washington County lies at the crossroads of I-70 (the Baltimore/Washington corridor) and North-South I-81. One 43-year-old area course that has stood the test of time is the semi-private Beaver Creek Country Club (301-733-5152), a Bermuda grass track with water on five holes. The newer Black Rock Golf Course is a rolling scenic track that opens in the Shenandoah Valley and climbs to great views of the Appalachians. The route has many extreme elevation changes and some serious doglegs.

One of the historic main routes for pioneers traveling west bisected the length of Alleghany County, a region with some of the prettiest mountain scenery in the state. The area's natural legacy is preserved in state parks and forests. One of these, Rocky Gap State Park, is home to the Rocky Gap Lodge & Golf Resort. The course is Maryland's only Jack Nicklaus signature course, a mountain beauty with severe changes in elevation. The back nine drops to meadowland, where it engages a creek and the 243-acre Lake Habeeb.

Former NBA player and coach Don Moran financed the transformation of Gobbler's Knob to the popular Fore Sisters Golf Course (named for his daughters) in the foothills of Dan's Mountain in Rawlings.

Maryland has a remarkable number of courses for its size. It is also laced with interstates. Finding good golf in the "Old Line State" (a reference to the area's stalwart Revolutionary War troops) is a piece of cake.

For tourist and travel information on Maryland, go to www.mdisfun.org

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