Walk 18 with James

This week, just before the craziness of my girls going back to school and hockey season starting back up, I decided to head over to Maryland and play a few courses I'd always wanted to tackle — but never had the convenient opportunity. It was good timing for a quasi-staycation, and all three courses — while decidedly different in their character (one public, one resort, one muni) — were extremely enjoyable tracks. Monday, Aug. 26 — Chesapeake Bay Golf Club, Rising Sun, Md. Chesapeake Bay Golf Club is a 20-minute drive west from the University of Delaware, halfway between North East and Rising Sun, Md. The course, built in 1969 by Russell Roberts, features rolling hills, ample elevation changes, generous fairways, and well-maintained grounds from tee to green the whole way. For a $60 Monday morning green fee (discounted $10 from the BuggyBall™ rate), I was treated to a fun and challenging (but not overly so) course, a great walk, beautiful scenery, and lush, smooth fairways. Cou...

 It was the best of nines, it was the worst of nines. (Sorrynotsorry, Charles.) Jonathan's Landing , in Magnolia, Del., just south of Dover, feels as though somebody took a nine-hole links course and a nine-hole residential parkland course, shoved 'em both in a blender, and, voila! And while the course doesn't play that long (4,871 yards from the forward tees; 6,622 from the tips), there are challenges around every corner that put course management at a premium throughout the entire par-71 layout (five par 3s, four par 5s, the rest par 4s).

Situated just north of the heart of Wilmington, Del., Ed Oliver Golf Club boasts over 120 years of history, having been the original home of the Wilmington Country Club. While elements of my visit there were a welcome step back in time, others were, well ... less than enjoyable.

Throughout the next couple months, I'll share a hole-by-hole walkthrough (literally!) of my home course, Garrisons Lake Golf Club .  The course has been around since the 1960s, struggled some at the beginning of the current century, but has been taken over by the Delaware State Parks system and revitalised in recent years under the leadership of GM Steve Farrell and his crew. It's truly become a hidden gem, and the course is routinely in the condition one would expect from a $70 or $80 course. For a full review, click here . The layout is a standard 4-10-4 par 72 with distances ranging from 4,190 yards to 7,060 yards (Garrisons uses the Longleaf Tee System, offering six sets of tees to accommodate players of all ages, genders and abilities), most fairways are pretty heavily lined by trees, and more than half of the non-par 3s feature a dogleg or forced carry. Although over 90% of golfers at Garrisons Lake opt to use buggies, the course routing makes for a truly excellent walk. ...

Since July 1, I've admittedly hit a bit of a slump. I've been getting more power off the tee, my putting has still been solid, but everything in between went south for the past six weeks. Sure, I've been hitting consistently in the low 90s, but I went seven straight rounds without breaking 90. After a respectable 89 on Wednesday as a visitor at Wild Quail Country Club, in Wyoming, Del. (another Ed Ault design, so it played similarly to Garrisons and Maple Dale!), I decided to play the forward tees at home yesterday for a change to try to get a little more comfortable playing offence and regain some confidence.

For 8-1/2 years, I lived a stone's throw from Maple Dale Country Club , on the west side of Dover, Del. And, for some reason, I'd never played it ... until yesterday. Despite the "Country Club" moniker, Maple Dale is open for public play, and, hankering for a little variety from my usual complement of courses, I snagged a midday Tuesday slot for $55 (no walking discount). While I didn't get much in the way of variety from my usual fare (it played very similarly to Garrisons in places), it was nonetheless an enjoyable round. The course is pretty standard parkland fare, with some holes heavily lined by trees but others pretty wide open. Tee boxes and fairways are in excellent shape, greens play to about a 9-10 and are sloped and well guarded, and there's plenty of trouble. The par-3 third is particularly unforgiving, featuring a well-guarded green replete with bunkers, shrubs, and a pond that forces either a lofted shot or pinpoint accuracy. As far as the course...