Category: Clayt’s Journey

Struggling a Little Less – Bowie Golf Club

After struggling a lot at Compass Pointe on Monday, I went back to Bowie today to try to find my game and had a little bit of success though still have a lot of work to do. Granted, Bowie is a lot easier than Compass Pointe but getting a little confidence back goes a long way. Phil, Bill, Mac and Willis were in the group in front and Sam and Dave were stuck with me. It was about 79 degrees when we teed off but had hit 97 by the time we finished. Before the day was out it had reached 100 with a heat index of 114. No video since we’ve already showcased Bowie and the holes under construction haven’t reopened yet. I’ll post another Bowie video when they do.

My final score was an 86 with seven pars, eight bogeys, one double and two triple bogeys. Had one one-putt, 15 two-putts, just one three-putt, and very sadly one four-putt on a par 3 that I hit with my tee shot. Some might ask how the round went, well here you are. Others might want to just skip to the scorecard at the end.

Teed off on the construction shortened first hole with a 6-iron for 172 yards in the fairway. Hit a soft pitching wedge 52 yards to about 20 feet past the pin in the front. Two putted for par.

Second, pulled a 5-iron left 160 yards into an overgrown shrub. Hit a pitching wedge out of the shrub for about ten yards. A chip with the sand wedge didn’t make the green. Chipped with the pitching wedge and two-putted for the first of two triple bogeys.

Third. Hit driver 212 yards to a large pine tree on the left side of the dogleg right. Always have trouble driving this hole as the gold tee box is on the right side near trees and I have trouble hitting a fade on demand. Hit a half 7-iron through the green and just off the back. Chipped with a pitching wedge back to the hole and two-putted for the first bogey of the day.

Fourth. Good tee shot with the driver about 240 yards just into the left rough where the fairway narrows down. Hit a 3/4 sand wedge for 82 yards onto the green and two-putted for my second par.

Fifth. Hit a 7-iron 141 yards just off the left side of the green. Pitching wedge chip past the pin and two-putted for my second bogey.

Sixth. Teed off with my 3-wood for 214 yards into the center of the fairway. Hit a 3/4 pitching wedge for 79 yards onto the green and two-putted for my third par.

Seventh. Hit my driving off the tee down the right side for about 240 yards, leaving a mid-iron shot into the green on this par 5. I topped my 5-iron for just 103 yards into the left rough. Hit a 3/4 sand wedge onto the green just past the hole and two-putted for my fourth par. Not bad so far, other than that triple bogey.

Eighth. 9-iron off the tee for just 107 yards but made it onto the front of the green. Horrible first putt followed by a marginal second putt, then two more putts for a four-putt and my first and only double bogey of the day.

Ninth. Temporary green still in effect. Pulled a 5-iron left of the green for 170 yards, chipped with a pitching wedge and two-putted for a par.

Tenth. This short hole continues to haunt me. Hit a 3-iron off the tee to play it safe. Hit it out of bounds on the right. Hit a second tee shot fat for just 150 yards but leaving just about 115 yards. Hit a 9-iron thin and rolled it down the fairway about 85 yards. Chipped on with a pitching wedge and two-putted for my second and last triple bogey.

Eleventh. Hit the driver off the tee into a tree on the right side. It fell into the rough on the good side of the tree for about 182 yards. Hit a 5-iron for 152 yards in the middle of the fairway, followed by a 3/4 pitching wedge for 89 yards onto the green. Two-putt for sixth par of the day.

Twelfth. Hit a 3-iron off the tee for 173 yards into the fairway. Pulled a pitching wedge to the left of the green for 103 yards. Chipped on with a pitching wedge and two-putted for my third bogey.

Thirteenth. Hit a 9-iron 115 yards to the fringe in front of the green. Chipped on with a putter then one-putted for my seventh par.

Fourteenth. Hit a driver into a tree on the right and it bounced back into the fairway for just 58 yards. Hit a 4-wood 166 yards to the front of the green. Chipped on with a pitching wedge and two-putted for my fourth bogey.

Fifteen. Pushed a 3-wood into the woods on the right. Took a drop then hit a 9-iron 109 yards onto the green. Two-putted for my fifth bogey.

Sixteenth. Hit my 3-wood 223 yards into the right rough. Hit a half sand wedge about 50 yards onto the green. My one and only three-putt resulted in my sixth bogey.

Seventeenth. Hit my 6-iron to the left rough. Chipped on with an 8-iron then two-putted for my seventh bogey.

Eighteenth. Hit my driving into the driving range. Re-teed and hit it 210 yards into the right rough near the sand trap. Pulled my 9-iron to the left of the green for 127 yards. Chipped to a foot of the hole with a sand wedge and one-putted for my eighth and final bogey.

The struggle is real. Hope to see you out there. Clayt

Clayt’s scorecard, Bowie GC, 15 July 2026

July 15, 2026
Crashed and Burned – Compass Pointe Golf Course – South/West, #16

For every great round of golf I suspect there is an equal number of bad rounds and some of them are going to be traumatic. Today was that day. Barry, Rick and Sam joined me at the South/West course of Compass Pointe on what most people would consider a great day in Maryland in July. Those of us having one of the worst rounds they can remember probably really didn’t notice the weather – but it was hard not to notice that the course is beautiful and in great shape. The tee boxes, fairways, greens and even the sand traps were in the best condition of any I’ve played this year. I just wish I could have enjoyed it a little more.

The course was definitely one of the more difficult that I’ve played recently but that wasn’t the cause of my issues. My ball striking, usually my strength, was consistently pulling the ball left, often with a strong draw sending it into the woods. I’m sure that I lost at least six balls during the round. It very well could have been more. After I go back through the video I’ll have a better idea, but at some point I quit counting and threw the USGA rules out the window. My score of 105 generally speaks for itself but along with the ball count it’s a little fuzzy and could well be higher. I’ll know the real extent of the damage after getting into the video. Producing this one may take a little longer.

After playing the front nine from the white tees we decided to play the golf tees on the back. On the front, three of us were into the 50s and the other just shy of it. The golds helped out with only me hitting 50.

I started off with triple bogeys on the first two holes and two balls lost in the woods. Six triples, six doubles, three bogeys and three pars for the round. The three pars were on the last three holes. On those, I hit the fairways, hit the greens and two putted to keep me coming back for more.

Here’s the scorecard.

Barry, Clayt, Rick and Sam, Compass Pointe South/West, 13 July 2026

And here’s the placeholder for the video. Clayt

July 14, 2026
The Heat in Bowie Lifted – Though Only Temporarily

Played the Bowie Golf Club today with Phil, Willis and John. For those of you hoping the new course layout is in play, you’ll be mostly disappointed as #1 and #9 continue to play short, though #18 is now playing as a short par 5 (but still dangerous as Barry – in the other foursome – put two tee shots into the driving range). The good news for those of us playing was the weather with temps in the upper 70s and cloudy – substantially cooler than it’s been in a couple of weeks.

My game struggled right out of the gate. That seems to happen more often when we tee off on the 10th hole first and today was no exception. Teed off with a 4-wood and hit it into a sand trap – and Bowie’s sand traps are no picnic. With just 85 yards left, I hit it thin over the green, chipped back and three-putted for a double bogey. It was a roller-coaster for the next five holes, making par, double, par, triple, and double bogey. Finished up with par, par and par to card a 45. A little on the high side for someone alleged to be about a 17.3 handicap.

Fortunately, the second (front) nine was much more kind to me, hitting 7 of 9 greens in regulation and only three-putting once. Par, birdie, bogey, par, bogey, par, bogey, par and par resulted in a two over 36 for a total score of 81.

My highlight was a 234 yard tee shot on #11 that got me a shot at the green on the par 5 that has long vexxed me. The lowlight was a four-putt and triple bogey on #14.

Here’s my scorecard. After round notations are in red. Clayt

Clayt’s scorecard, Bowie Golf Club, 08 July 2026

July 8, 2026
The Heat Dome Has Settled Above the Bowie Golf Course

Well, it is officially July in Maryland and the weather reports have hinted at a heat dome coming to the state – well it has arrived at the Bowie Golf Course. Phil, Barry, John and I had a 9am tee time and it was reasonably pleasant but by the end of the round you could tell that it was hot. My car’s thermometer indicated it was 98 degrees and the “heat index” was reported to be 112. Not that pleasant for a bunch of old guys.

I think Barry took the low score of the day with an 80. My putter settled down a little bit today so I only took 35 putts – one chipped in with the putter from the fringe, two one-putts, 12 two-putts and only three three-putts. Started off hitting well with the driver but struggled as the round went on. Lost one ball when I pulled the driver hard left, hit a tree that shouldn’t normally be in play, and had it bounce back into the pond in front of the tee box. Took a six on that par 4. Finished with nine pars, five bogeys and four double bogeys. Four fairways and eight greens hit in regulation.

Was completely soaked by the end of the round. Hopefully the rest of July will be a little kinder to the old guys.

Here’s my scorecard. As usual, the red notations were made after the round. Clayt

Clayt’s scorecard, Bowie GC, 01 July 2026

No video from the one as you’ve all seen previous shots from there. When the first and ninth holes return to their intended layouts, I’ll reshoot it and post. They should be close to getting them open. The new scorecards have the new configurations included.

July 1, 2026
Wicomico Shores is a Hidden Gem – Maryland Course #15

Why have I not heard of this course before? Probably because it takes it takes a while to get there. It’s a par 72 hidden in Mechanicsville in St. Mary’s County. It took me under 90 minutes to get there but it was worth the drive. Prior to going I made some “flyovers” of each hole using Google Earth so that my video of the round would show an overview of the hole before seeing the shots. The Google Earth shots did not do the course justice. It was much more beautiful in person. The satellite shots were obviously taken in winter when the trees are bare and the grass is brown and the topography is completely lost. This place was so green and hilly, and the sand traps and greens were well cared for and in great shape – though the greens were pretty slow.

One of the things I forgot about this time of year was the number of kids out of school and out hitting the courses during the week. Up until now, I was acustomed to kids being in school, adults working and just us seniors out on the course. That has now changed. On the plus side, I had the good fortune of catching up with two “kids,” Matt and Reed, on the third hole and they agreed to let me tag along. I was solo on this outing as the regular players in our group all begged off on the road trip as if it were to another state. Their loss on this one, though I will talk the course up and see if we can get a group there. After the round I discovered that GolfDay had ranked Wicomico Shores as the 35th best public course in Maryland. I haven’t played all of the first 34 but they might be selling this one short.

Matt, Reed and I didn’t take the round too seriously. I played reasonably well from the whites though my 92 isn’t going to lower my handicap. Putting is still a little shaky with six three-putts, though I do think I’m getting more comfortable with the new Odyssey putter. Most of those were the result of very weak first putts from long distance and uphill. That’s something I need to work on. On the plus side I had a birdie and hit eight fairways and seven greens in regulation. On the negative side, I lost two golf balls and scored an 8 and a 9 on two of the par 5s.

Matt and Reed reported their scores, with a smile, as 64 and 70, respectively. I’m not sure if they kept score after about the 13th hole and even though I’m not a golf rules expert I’m pretty sure they weren’t following all of them…

Here’s the video.

And here’s my scorecard. Notations in red were made after the round. Highly recommend making the drive to this course. I imagine it’s even more beautiful in the fall.

Clayt’s scorecard, Wicomico Shores, 29 June 2026

June 30, 2026
When do you need to buy a new putter?

Well, if you’ve seen the YouTube video on my putting woes, you’ve probably concluded that my problem is in my head and not in my putter and I’d probably have to agree with you. I bought that putter in 2007 and my putting has gone downhill every since. But, in my defense, I think the putter is good if I hit it exactly on the sweet spot every time. Quitting golf for almost ten years then playing once a week, now about twice a week, and I’m not going to be hitting the sweet spot every time.

By now you probably know where I’m going with this. After reading an article by MyGolfSpy (a website you should at least visit) about their testing and rating of 75 different putters, they concluded that zero torque putters were for real and that the Odyssey AI-Dual Square 2 Square #7 putter was rated by the testers as the best at virtually every distance. So my thought was that if I get this new fancy putter that is just about as perfect as a putter can be then whatever problems I still have must be all mine.

So I went down to Dick’s Sporting Goods and found the putter on sale for $50 off. Of course I bought it and hit practice putts in my basement in preparation for the putter’s introduction to real putting greens on a real golf course.

And today was the day. Overall, the weather was beautiful and relatively cool, and Phil and John witnessed her maiden round. (She doesn’t have a name yet but that’s coming.) I shot a 79 which was pretty darn good for me. The putting was somewhat of a mixed bag, primarily because I didn’t know how hard to hit the putts. I had five three-putts, which isn’t a record for me. Again, primarily because I would hit the putt too soft or too hard – not because of the direction. Three-putts on the first two holes had me a little nervous about my new love.

By the end of 18 holes, I was back feeling confident that it was going to be a long-term relationship, finishing with seven one-putts and two birdies, and 34 total putts when I average 37 a round. I only hit two fairways and seven greens but did well otherwise.

Videos, you might ask? I started to video the round but after three-putting the first hole I thought better of the idea and turned it off. I didn’t need anything other than my putting to think about. But the video showing off the putter will come soon enough.

What else am I doing about my horrible putting? Well, I’ve downloaded a copy of Dave Pelz’s Putting Bible and started to read it. I’ve made it to the fourth chapter so far and the short version of what I’ve read so far is that a pure pendulum straight-back straight-through putting motion is best and there are a lot of bad ways to putt and they still might go in and alot of ways a really good putt might not go in. I’m working on the pendulum motion. Will keep you informed of my progress.

In the meantime, here’s my scorecard from today. Clayt

Clayt’s Scorecard, Bowie Golf Club, 24 June 2026

The red notations were added after the round.

One more thing. Bowie has printed their new scorecards pending the reopening of the shortened golf holes. Hole #18, around the new driving range, is now playing as a relatively short par 5. Holes #1 and #9 are still shortened. The “soon to be” yardages have been added and the course rating and slope numbers have been revised.

June 24, 2026
Maryland Course #14, Carroll Park Golf Course, Baltimore, June 2026

This is our 14th course on our way to playing every golf course (that will let us on) in Maryland – over 100. Baltimore’s Carroll Park is a nine hole par 34/68 “executive” course that opened in 1923. It has seven par 4s and two par 3s, and measures 2787/5574 from the blue tees, 2593/5186 from the whites and 2536/5072 from the reds. The course is wedged between I-95 and US Route 1 in an industrial area so truck and train noise is pretty much a constant.

Barry, Rich and I teed off around 9:30 on a Friday and the course was pretty open. Just in front of us was a foursome of kickball golfers who let us play through on the second hole. Their holes are marked with blue flags so you’ll see those and soccer balls throughout the video.

The day turned out to be much hotter than expected, reaching 99 degrees by the time we got off the course. A constant breeze, relatively low humidity and riding in carts certainly made the round much more bearable. I also commend the staff for keeping coolers of cold water throughout the course.

There are no water hazards on the course and relatively few sand traps – though I found two of them and Barry enjoyed the same one twice. All of the traps that I had a chance to see were in good condition. Beside the wooded areas adjacent to some holes, the biggest hazard was the ankle-high to calf-high grass in some of the tree lined holes. Hitting into those areas made it difficult to find your ball easily. I lost two balls in there was I gave up after a quick look and didn’t want to slow the round down.

The greens were a little on the small side but seemed well maintained and rolled slow but well.

We played from the blue tees as the white tees were a little short for us. Rich only played the front nine and finished with a 46. Barry and I played 18. Barry finished with an 87 while I shot a 90. Now that I’ve seen the course twice, I believe I could play it much smarter than I did this time. The course looks pretty wide open but there’s a definite premium in keeping it in the fairway on your tee shot even if it means clubbing down and losing some distance.

Recommend you get out there and play.

Carroll Park scorecard – front, June 2026

Carroll Park scorecard – back, June 2026

June 20, 2026
Clifton Park Golf Course, Baltimore, Course #13, June 8, 2026

Bill, Rick and I ventured into Baltimore to play Clifton Park. The land was once owned by Johns Hopkins and his “summer house” mansion still graces the park adjacent to the golf clubhouse. A couple of sources indicate the course was opened in either 1915 or 1920. At least five other courses were previously built in the Baltimore area, all private and exclusive, but this course remains the oldest course in Maryland the public can play. On the journey to play every course in Maryland (that will let me on), this is the 13th course.

In some ways this is the most interesting course I’ve played so far. You can tell it has history and that the course was primarily built by pick and shovel and not by moving around tons and tons of dirt. The course follows the natural contours of the land and has small tee boxes, sand bunkers and greens. The fairways and greens are in good shape. There are no water hazards but several places where you can lose a ball and plenty of mature trees to knock your ball down if you get too close. The cart paths – not sure if they were added later but I’m thinking it’s likely – are only near the tee boxes and greens, probably to minimize wear and tear and to get you going in the right direction. And then there’s the mansion anchoring the center of the course and an old cemetary on the right side of the 14th hole.

For me, this course is a “must play” if you’re interested in playing only the “important” courses in Maryland.

My round from the gold tees (5364 yards) went well mostly because I successfully hit a series of “miracle” recovery shots that landed on the green after hitting a problematic drive. Watch the video to see how many trees I hit over. My score of 85 on a par 71 was better than what you’d expect from my drives. The course was less forgiving to Rick, scoring a 52 on the front before he had to leave. Bill opted to enjoy life and forego any scoring.

By the numbers. I didn’t lose any balls – almost always a good sign. I only hit the fairway in regulation three times but hit the green seven times. I only had a single one-putt, 13 two-putts and (sadly) four three-putts. No birdies, six pars, 10 bogeys and two double bogeys. In my own unofficial handicap calculations, this score brought it down to a 17.6.

The nine-hole course at Carroll Park is scheduled to be our 14th course. We’ll probably play it twice that day. I’ll post the scorecard and video when it’s done. In the meantime, here the card and video for Clifton Park. Highly recommend you go there and play.

Clayt and Rick’s scorecard, Clifton Park Golf Course, 08 June 2026

June 11, 2026
Bowie Golf Club on June 10, 2026

Made it back out to the Bowie Golf Club on June 10th with Phil, Bill, Coop, Barry and John. It rained the entire way to the course but stopped shortly before our tee time. As is customary every other week during the summer at Bowie, we teed off at the 10th hole. The 10th and 11th holes at Bowie generally give me the hardest time. Ten is a short par 4 with water in front of the tee box, water down the left side and out of bounds down the right. The 11th is a fairly long and tight par 5 with with woods running down the right side and scattered trees down the left.

Clayt’s scorecard, Bowie Golf Course, 10 June 2026

Today, I hit a 5-iron on the 10th followed by a pitching wedge onto the green. Two putts for a par and I was off to a good start. The 11th had other ideas for me. I pulled my driver into the trees on the left. After two poor punch out shots, I was able to hit an 8-iron over another tree then an 8-iron onto the green and two-putt for a double bogey. It went downhill from there with a three-putt on the next green for a double, and splashed a ball on the next tee shot for another double.

The rollercoaster back continued with a two-putt par on the 14th, driving the green and three-putting for a par on the 15th, a two-putt bogey on the 16th, a three-putt double bogey on the par 3 17th and a two-putt double bogey on the 18th. Finished the back nine with an 11-over par 46. It didn’t look like this one was going to be used in my handicap calculations.

On to the front nine where I finally settled down and salvaged a somewhat respectable score, considering the carnage on the back nine. Two-putt par, two-putt bogey, three-putt bogey, one-putt par, one-putt par, two-putt bogey, two-putt par and two-putt par. The wheels came off just a little at the temporary green par 3/4 9th hole playing somewhere around 180 yards. Hit a 5-iron fat and into the right rough. Bad chip, bad chip and bad chip and I was on the green and one-putted for a bogey. Front nine totaled 38 on the temporary par 33. Total for 18 was 16 over par 84.

It was still a good day out on the golf course and a struggling round builds character. By now, I should have a lot of character.

By the numbers: Eights pars, four bogeys, and six double bogeys. Three one-putts, 11 two-putts and four three-putts. Six fairways and seven greens in regulation. No birdies but no four-putts or triple bogeys.

See you out on the course. Clayt

June 10, 2026
Queenstown Harbor – River Course, Maryland Course #12, June 4, 2026

The River Course at Queenstown Harbor has the reputation of being one of the best courses in Maryland and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Bill, Wendell, Gus and I played from the gold tees which measured a paltry 5,861 yards, far short of the 6,568 for the blue tees and 7,096 for the green. Being an old guy, an 18+ handicap and not being familiar of the course (particularly where definitely not to hit)the course tired me out, finishing with a 96. Having no birdies, just four pars and three lost balls will get you to 96 pretty quickly.

The course is definitely beautiful and in good shape. The tee boxes, fairways, bunkers and greens were all pretty meticulous. Why does the course also have the reputation of being tough? Well, there’s water, marsh, knee-high grass and large deep bunkers throughout the course and fairly often you can find all of them on one hole. If you’re hitting the ball straight and can put on large, fast greens then this will give you an edge on that $1 nassau. Not to say this isn’t a fun course. It certainly is and we had a great time – primarily because the score didn’t mean anything to any of us. I’d certainly have liked to score better and next time I believe I will, but the beauty of the course, the good company and an occasional good or great shot was all that I needed.

For those interested in seeing the round at our 12th course, from my point of view, here it is. And the scorecard follows, with my edits in red after I’d had a chance to review the tape. I would never make it on the PGA tour as I’d be disqualified more often than not – I make a mistake on the scorecard fairly often. Sometimes in my favor and sometimes against. On this one I thought I had a triple bogey when I really had a double and I forgot to count the lost ball on the 18th hole. Gained one, lost two. Thought I had a 95, then a 97, then a 96.

Clayt’s 96, River Course, Queenstown Harbor, June 4, 2026

June 7, 2026