Fore Sisters Golf Club (Rawlings, MD on 10/21/17)

After playing at Polish Pines, we headed back towards I-68 and stopped at Fore Sisters Golf Club for our afternoon round. We were running late, but it turned out that wasn’t any sort of problem!

We headed out right away, in-between a small shotgun event that teed off in the morning. Those groups finished up as we played the first hole, and then we had the course to ourselves! Guess that is one of the advantages of golfing so far out in the boonies! We played in four hours as a foursome, on a very involved course. So, I’d say we got around just fine!

Fore Sisters was a bit of a surprising find in multiple ways. First, the course is located in the mountains of Western Maryland and is no doubt what I would call a mountain course. The terrain is quite severe but what was surprising was that the course had plenty of playable holes, albeit with its share of quirky ones! Second, the location seems to be an unusual spot for an eighteen hole course, as Rawlings is surrounded by small towns. I suppose golfers in Cumberland come play at Fore Sisters, but I wouldn’t think it gets much play.

I tried to play the blue tees, but it is one of those courses where the tee box distances never matched the scorecard. Some blue tee boxes were being worked on while others didn’t seem to exist. On the scorecard the blues are 70.3/129/6211 (par 71), but I think the course maxed out around 5,900 yards while we were there. No matter really, it is on the shorter side and has small, sloping greens.

One thing that struck me about the course is how open it is, for a mountain course. Don’t get me wrong, there are some tough holes and spots you cannot miss, but the tee shots are more inviting than I was expecting. There are plenty of short par 4’s to beat up on if you can keep it in play. One guy in our group is a shorter hitter and manages to keep it in play all the time, so he did well. You have some slope to bring back misses and a few parallel holes on the back nine, if you need to fan one.

The other thing to note about Fore Sisters are some goofy holes! For example, the three par 5’s on the front need to be played once just so you know where you are going. The 3rd is only 434 yards but you need to land the drive on the right half of the fairway and try to keep it there for a look at the green. The second shot will be from a severe hook lie and if you are laying up, it is probably just a pitch down the fairway. The green is cut into a hillside and sits maybe 30 feet above the fairway.

The 6th is 494 yards and a sharp dogleg left. A draw will work for the drive, but then the hole makes a left turn. The fairway then slopes towards the out of bounds on the right side, with a tree guarding the left side. My tip is to hit a hard hook around the corner if you have it!

The 8th is likely the strangest hole at Fore Sisters! It is a long par 5 that plays like three par 3’s. The drive is straightaway and the layup plays to a lower fairway, off to the right and over a creek. The third shot then goes back over the creek to the left! The green is surrounded by trees so your options are limited to go for it in two, unless you hit the long ball.

I think the par 3’s are the best holes at Fore Sisters. Oddly, there are six of them to pick from to enjoy! The best one was the downhill 7th. It played 151 yards, but the scorecard has a mystery tee box showing 167 yards. That tee box was likely in someone’s backyard! There is a pond short and left of the green to gobble up balls, and it is tricky to judge the distance. I settled on a club less and that turned out near perfect for me.

The maintenance was acceptable, given that our green fee was only $32 to ride. It is a mom and pop type course out in the country so make sure to set your expectations accordingly. Tees were being redone and some bunkers looked like they were being filled in, but everything was playable. The fairways were softer and on the longer side. The greens were the full and smooth, and what I thought was a good holing pace.

Would I recommend Fore Sisters? Sure, but probably only if you’ve played the other public options within a couple hours. Unfortunately, the course has some goofy holes, but most mountain courses do. The plus is that you get some views, especially this time of year, and can enjoy the outdoors. Just make sure to drive it straighter than I did if you play here!

#1 (383 yard par 4):