Prospect Bay Country Club – Course Review

Summary

We played Prospect Bay Country Club in Graysonville, MD on Sunday, November 3, 2013.  When you look at the scorecard, the course doesn’t appear to be that challenging, at least from the white tees which measure 6,196 yards and play to a course rating of 69.5/125.  We played with temperatures in the low 50s and a sustained 1-2 club wind which made it feel colder, and the little track played difficult.  I’m going to file away one key thought from my first round:  you must position your tee shots to the correct length for comfortable approaches.  Prospect continually tempts you with seven par-4s between 290 and 370 yards.  My driver was out and wailing all day but after leaving myself with odd yardages on flip wedges that I haven’t practiced, I failed to get any close and was left with the distinct impression that this course could be had from your favorite distance.  Mine is 100 yards, but it’s difficult sitting on the tee of a 290 yard par four knowing you should lay up with a four iron.  After botching approaches in the 40-70 yard range, the strategy became clear.

Par-4 8th at Prospect Bay

The front nine is out in the open and exposed to whatever winds are blowing in off Prospect Bay but the back is extremely tight off the tee and the holes are well protected.  Despite the sqeeze on the inward half, I preferred it as the shots fit my eye well and I enjoyed the challenge without being buffeted by the gusty winds.

Keep these two tips in mind and you’ll be fine.  Unless you practice partial wedge shots and are comfortable from all distances, layup to your preferred yardage on the little par fours.  On the par five 4th, keep your approach below the hole.  If the pin is cut in front, do not leave your ball on the upper part of the mammoth hump in the green – you will three putt.

The beautiful 10th hole at Prospect Bay

Value (3.5 out of 5.0)

Prospect Bay doesn’t publish their greens fees because of the semi-private nature of the facility however I found information on the 2012 fees on Golf Digest and based on these figures ($55 weekeday / $65 weekend) that include a cart and complimentary range balls, this is a pretty good value.

Facilities (2.5 out of 5.0)

Prospect had a nice clubhouse and restaurant that was a medium cart drive away from the pro shop, but I wouldn’t say it was convenient.  The pro shop is not much more than a small double wide trailer with a few retail items for sale.  The driving range was all grass and was in good shape but only had room for about a dozen players.  There was a medium sized putting green and a small chipping area at the end of the range.

Out on the course, we found a mixed bag.  Playing conditions through the green were excellent, with the bentgrass greens running very smooth and fast, and the fairways in very good shape.  Unfortunately, the cart paths were in need of major repairs.  Seems like they hadn’t been worked on for quite some time and were fraught with crumbling concrete and holes galore.

Customer Experience (3.0 out of 5.0)

When we arrived at the course, we were met at our car by an attendant who loaded our clubs on a cart and then left it there for us.  Not the usual drop at the curb service, but effective just the same.  There was no food available in the pro shop and we drove our cart to the clubhouse only to find it just opened for business at 11:00 a.m.  So we shoveled down some decent tasting pre made sandwiches and were on our way.  I imagine the full service grill would have been open on a nicer weather day and earlier in the golf season.  Our round was paced only by our struggles with the wind, and we navigated a mostly empty golf course in 4 1/2 hours.

I’d like to come back and play Prospect Bay armed with my local knowledge, and in some calmer conditions.  For the record, I played the white tees at 6,196 yards and shot a 10-over par 82.

Overall Rating (3.0 out of 5.0)

The range at Prospect Bay

Baywood Greens – Course Review

Summary

Clubhouse at Baywood Greens

We played Baywood Greens in Long Neck, DE on Saturday, November 2, 2013.  What strikes you about this course is the aesthetics and attention to detail with regard to the landscaping.  Baywood is known for its floral arrangements and during the growing season, they purport to have over 200,000 of the most beautiful flowers, plants, shrubs, and trees adorning the course.  With everything dormant in early November, you could see where the pots and boxes were, but could only imagine playing in a floral paradise.  Around the clubhouse and pro shop, the various appointments and touches were very nice and exuded class.  What I found a little awkward were several gazebos positioned at various points on the golf course.  In these structures were couches and big comfy chairs and I was left to wonder if a group is supposed to pause in route between holes and rest in one of these structures.  Wouldn’t that slow play down?

The course is a distinctly different play from front nine to back.  The outward half has more of a parkland feel with tighter tee shots framed by tall trees and on the back, lots of water comes into play.  I found the back more scenic with many of the shots fitting my eye nicely.  I was able to relax and strike the ball well off the tee and the course is not long so a good ball striking day can lead to ample short iron approaches and opportunities to score.

Conditions were very good but not perfect.  The bentgrass greens were running smooth and medium-fast but a couple of the tee boxes were a bit chewed up with divots (see the photo of me on the 18th tee) and probably could stand to be rotated more frequently.  Otherwise the course was a delight to play and I only suspect heavy play throughout the summer and fall took it’s toll on the tee boxes.

18th tee at Baywood Greens

Playing Tips (from the white tees):

• We were fortunate enough to be paired with a very friendly club professional (Tony) and he had lots of good information on where to position your tee shots which was great.  Without that local knowledge, us first timers would have had a tough day. Thanks Tony!
• It took me nine holes to figure out that pin-hunting was ill advised and some of these greens have a lot of slope.  I started aiming for the fat parts of the greens and kept it below the hole on the back nine which helped take pressure off my putting.
• #1 is a short par 4 but you don’t want any part of the fairway bunkers framing the hole.  Take a 3WD off the tee and you’ll avoid the trouble and have a short to medium iron in.
• The par-5 5th hole is very tight in the landing area for a driver.  I didn’t know this until I watched Tony tee off with a 3WD or utility club.  It’s a three shot par-5 so just get it in play.
• The par-4  fourteenth hole has an island fairway that plays straight out and a chicken fairway that veers right and offers a much longer shot in.  Again, I took 3WD and nailed it deep into the island and left myself with a 110 yard shot in.  Driver could carry through the landing area so leave it in the bag.
• #16 is a risk-reward short par 5 that plays 452 yards from the white tees.  If you bust your tee shot and want to go for it, you better make it on the fly because water sneaks in from the left and protects the green almost all the way across the fairway.  If you’re going to lay up, lay it back on the face of the hill at about 100-125 yards out.  You cannot see the water on the second shot.
• On the par-4 18th, aim farther left then you think.  The left bunker or the cart bridge in the distance is an excellent target.  Otherwise, water creeps up fast on the right!

Value (3.0 out of 5.0)

High season prime time greens fees will set you back $129 if you want to golf on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.  It drops to $109 in mid summer and only eases up after October 27th when the weekend rate drops to $59.  If you want to play in the summer, best to take advantage of the after 1:00 p.m. rate of $79.  Your greens fee includes complimentary range balls, use of the practice facilities, and GPS on carts.

Facilities (4.0 out of 5.0)

Baywood Greens has a large pro shop and an extraordinary sized clubhouse/restaurant where parties and weddings are a regular occurrence.  The white pillared driving range was a beautiful building that had many indoor – outdoor stalls.  We were hitting from mats but there were ample stations to hit from grass, when the tee was open.  There were two putting greens of adequate size and a smallish pitching green with adjacent practice bunker.  While we warmed up, I observed that only two players could comfortably use the pitching green without getting in each other’s way.

On the course, #1 and 2 were playing cart path only, which precipitated a slower than desired start and I wasn’t sure why these holes were roped off.  Elsewhere, there were very few areas to enter the fairways off the cart paths which felt a little awkward but wasn’t too much of an inconvenience.  The “no cart” signs extended way back from most greens, so if you were within 75-125 yards, you needed to grab a stack of clubs and head out on foot.

Finally, we observed that nine holes were being constructed across the street.  The goal is to make Baywood a 27 hole facility, but apparently the construction has been going way longer than expected, and while the appearance of readiness from the road looks close, there is no imminent date to open these extra holes.

The range at Baywood Greens

 

Customer Experience (4.0 out of 5.0)

When we arrived at Baywood Greens, there was a small traffic jam at the bag drop and the attendant didn’t proactively take action to move things along but we eventually dropped after a five minute wait.  When we completed play, the gentleman taking in carts was friendly and cleaned our clubs promptly.  As I mentioned earlier, we played with Tony the pro and he was very hospitable and made our afternoon enjoyable.

The process of teeing off is a little different at Baywood Greens, with the starter coming to get you at the driving range, and you following him in his cart to the first tee.  I suppose that controls traffic and keeps groups from backing up at the tee.  Golf carts are equipped with coolers and fresh ice, which was nice.  The GPS measures your position to the center of the green, but not the flag stick.  The GPS did have helpful playing hints on every hole, but I needed my laser rangefinder to get exact distance to the flags.

I would like to come back and play this course in the spring or summer and fully enjoy the landscaping in all it’s glory.  It was an enjoyable day and having Tony as a playing partner made it extra special.  For the record, we played from the white tees that measured 6,088 yards and I shot a 6-over par 78.

Overall Rating (3.75 out of 5.0)

View of the 12th green at Baywood Greens from the 13th tee.