Walk 18 with James

 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.