Maryland National Golf Club (Middletown, MD on 03/24/13)

Maryland National was round #2 yesterday and although pricey ($55 twilight in the off season), it would have been worth every penny if we could have gotten through all 18 holes. If I would have know about the snow chasing us away after 16 holes I would have probably suggested a cheaper play but Maryland National is a brilliant course. Everything about the course was great. The conditioning for so early in the season was awesome, better than some courses that I have played during peak season elsewhere. The tees had plenty of grass and the ball sat up in the fairways. The fairways provided for a bit of roll and were free from divots while the greens were fast and pretty much blemish free. A good putt and good read was rewarded here. The course was easy to get to (just off of I-70) and was in a cleared out hilly area with good surrounding views. Most of the courses that I have played since moving to the East Coast have had trees lining each hole on both sides which I find uninspiring. From the clubhouse here one can see a good portion of the course, maybe 12 or 13 holes and even though many holes are not tree lined I found them plenty challenging. For reference I played the Gold Tees at 71.6/136/6474. The course starts out with a downhill par 4 to a green hidden from the tee and then a big downhill par 5 that is reachable with some solid shots. The 4th hole moves slightly left which requires a perfectly picked line off the tee to avoid the fairway bunkers and then gradually rises back up a hill. I love the gradually rising holes with fescue behind the greens. Circling Raven did this on a couple holes and one course I played on my trip across the country last year did this. This way, iIf there is a road or house behind the green it is not visible. The course features 5 par 3’s and the collection is as good as any that I have played. The 6th is a downhill par 3 that is framed by trees behind the green, water left, and allows for a bailout right. The 11th is mid length par 4 that is similar to the 4th in the fact that it has a large fairway bunker that requires some thought on the tee shot line. Then it has some mounding that creates a somewhat blind 2nd shot. This type of mounding also came into play on a couple other holes. The 227 yard par 3 12th is one of the better par 3s that I have played. The hole dropped at least two clubs and had a bailout area left so while long, it was enjoyable to play. I have played too many long par 3s that feature water on one side and those are never fun to play because it just adds to the difficulty of an already tough hole. The 14th is another par 3 (on the perimeter of the course) and is surrounded by trouble. My round finished after the 16th, a short and tight par 4, so I cannot comment too much on the finishing couple holes except just driving by them in the cart. The 18th seemed like a tight finishing hole requiring an accurate drive and a forced carry over a natural area to the green. The course had a bit of a split personality in that most holes were open, but there were a few really tight driving holes. Other challenges came from the many bunkers, collection areas around the greens, and the varied lengths of the holes. There were a couple minor things that I did not like about the course which were too many short and tight par 4’s (three of them) and that some holes were too close together. These aren’t major issues because the rest of the course was so good though. Normally I make a point to write that I don’t like par 71 courses, but because there were still 4 par 5’s and interesting par 3’s I didn’t really notice the par 71 until I looked at the scorecard. The course is pricey, but I would highly recommend it.

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