My family and I did some sightseeing up in Pennsylvania over the holiday weekend. We went to Gettysburg, Valley Forge and did some touristy things in Amish country. Of course I brought the clubs and found a place to play after dropping them off at the airport.

I had a couple rounds penciled in near York, PA on Tuesday and headed that way after leaving Baltimore Washington Airport. Greystone looked like my best bet off I-83 and I managed to walk on for $28. I teed off around 5pm, hoping that the storms would stay away and that I could beat the setting sun.

After playing the first few holes, I thought geez, Greystone sure looks a lot like Musket Ridge! For those who don’t know, Musket Ridge is another course in Maryland, about an hour away. It is set on similar terrain and come to find out, designed by the same guy! And, that “guy” is Joe Lee.

If you’ve played Musket Ridge then you’ll probably recall that the course has an open feel to it, considering its hilly location. The similarities between Musket Ridge and Greystone felt uncanny, with similar routings, similar playability and both being well-bunkered (a few too many bunkers for my preference) as well. For reference, I played the black tees which are 72.5/139/6600.

For the most part, Greystone is friendly off the tee as it allows you to find a lot of tee shots. Although, the fairways are narrow and tend to pinch in the driving areas and around the corners of the doglegs.

When it comes to signature holes, the 8th is it! It is a longish par-3 that plays downhill to a green guarded by hazards on either side. To the left is water and to the right are trees. There is no place to bailout either, unless you want to hit a bunker shot towards the water.

The 10th is another standout hole. It is a double dogleg par-5 that goes left off the tee and then back to the right. A deep fairway bunker gives the option of playing over it or out to the right. Even if you don’t go for the green in two it might be worth it to play green high and left, which will leave a simpler pitch shot.

Greystone is a county course and the only maintenance quibble that I have are the greens, which were slower than they looked and bumped just enough to create some doubt. It wasn’t awful by any means but asking $76 for a weekend morning round seems steep.

The course drained well and the fairways and tees were cut short. The rough was thick, but I was able to slash at least a mid iron out of it. It does appear that the course gets a lot of play as there were plenty of divots.

I had no expectations of golfing today, so it turned out to be a fantastic holiday afternoon! The storms stayed away and I cruised around in 3 hours and 15 minutes, finishing as darkness fell. Plus, the course had the American flags on display for the holiday. As long as you don’t have to pay the rack rate I think you’ll enjoy Greystone.

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):