It had been about 15 years or so since I had played at Eisenhower. Since that time, there’s been a complete makeover with all the sand traps being removed and “hummocks,” irregular shaped mounds with un-mowed tall fescue, added to act as replacement impediments around the greens and at strategic locations in the fairways. In some ways the hummocks are better than sand traps (very little maintenance) and in some ways they are worse (multiple attempts may be needed to get away from them once they get you). My only significant interaction with one, that was like two of them close together, was on the par 4 fourth hole where I took a 9. Barry didn’t enjoy his interaction with one on the third hole either. Best to keep away from them.
They are also in the process of building a new clubhouse. The old one has been demolished, and the upper parking lot has been taken over for the construction. Only the lower parking lot remains available, and the pro shop is in a trailer next to the parking lot. The sign out front is a little on the small side so there’s a chance that you’ll drive past it like I did. Trust your GPS when it tells you to turn.
Since starting the Maryland Seniors Golf 100 website in December, followed by the companion YouTube channel of the same name, this is the 9th Maryland course that I’ve played and my 16th round of golf. The round wasn’t a great scoring round, shooting a 25 over 96 on the par 71 gold tees, measuring 5,544 yards. Barry easily outscored me, leading the event from wire to wire. Joining us were new friends Shawn and LJ, who played from the green tees.
Clayt and Barry’s scorecard, the Preserve at Eisenhower Golf Course, April 2026
Videos of the round and of the course will be forthcoming.
Since starting the Maryland Seniors Golf 100 website in December, followed by the companion YouTube channel of the same name, I’ve played 17 rounds of golf. Today’s round was a 10 over 78 at Bowie, which is currently playing as a par 68 course due to ongoing construction that is reconfiguring the 9th and 18th holes and has temporarily shorted the 1st. Currently those holes are expected to return to normal play in June. I have been waiting to do another video of Bowie after the new hole configurations opened up but brought along the camera to film the par 3s just in case one of us made a hole-in-one. Didn’t need it.
The day was cool and overcast with rain expected just after the expected end of our round. Due to a women’s league during the summer, we teed off on the back nine first. My playing partners were Barry, John and Bill, a well-known customer of Dunkin Donuts on Wednesday mornings. Playing from the golds at under 4900 yards.
Clayt’s round, Bowie Golf Club, April 2026
#10: 265y par 4: 4-wood 187 yards down the middle, ¾ sand wedge 57 yards onto the green, two putt for par. Good so far.
#11: 425y par 5: 3-wood into the trees but bounced out near the fairway, topped a 4-wood to under branches, punch out with a 4-wood, followed with a ¾ sand wedge for 55 yards onto the green, two putt for bogey. Multiple bad shots so bogey was pretty good.
#12: 273y par 4: Wheels come off. Pull 3-wood into the trees on the left and lose the ball. Drop one near the woods, hitting four (I know, that’s not the official rule, but I’m not going back to the tee box to hit another.) Pitching wedge onto the green. Three putt for triple bogey. Four over after three is not how you want to start out.
#13: 140y par 3: Carnage continues. Skip an 8-iron across the pond ( but recover the ball on the far side and take a drop). Chip on and two putts for a double bogey. Six over after four.
#14: 277y par 4: Finally settling down. Driver for 210 yards, then ¾ sand wedge for 54 yards, then used a putter from just off the green and one-putted for par.
#15: 240y par 4: 3-wood for 198 yards, chipped onto the green and three-putted for a bogey.
#16: 267y par 4: 3-wood for 198 yards (again), thinned a sand wedge over the green, chipped back on and two-putted for a bogey.
#17: 150y par 3: 6-iron off the toe for 127 yards to the front of the green, 8-iron chip close to the hole then one-putted for par.
#18: 345y par 4 dogleg right around driving range: 3-wood 182 yards, pitching wedge for 111 yards to the left side of the green, chipped on and one putted for a par. Eight over on the back “front” nine.
#1: 301y par 4 dogleg left shorted for construction: 5-iron across the corner, ¾ sand wedge onto the green and two-putt for par.
#2: 160y par 3: 6-iron into the sand trap, sand wedge nicely out, two-putt for bogey.
#3: 288y par 4: Driver for 205 yards but too far left, punch 7-iron under the trees, chip on and two-putt for bogey.
#4: 319y par 4: Driver for 231 yards, ¾ pitching wedge for 89 yards onto the green, two-putted for par.
#5: 168y par 3: 6-iron to about five feet from the hole. Just missed the birdie putt. Par.
#6: 340y par 4: 3-wood for 209 yards, ¾ pitching wedge for 89 yards to just in front of the green, chipped into the hole for birdie. Hadn’t seen one of them in awhile.
#7: 397y par 5: Driver through the top of the trees onto the right that somehow made 223 yards and a clear shot to the green, 4-wood for 179 yards that landed just in front of the green and stopped just on the fringe on the back, putted from the fringe and just left it a little short. Tap-in for a birdie.
#8: 130y par 3: 9-iron hit thin that bumped into the hill and settled on the fringe on the back left. Chipped with an 8-iron to about 8 feet right of the hole. Just missed the putt and tapped in for a bogey.
#9: Mystery yardage par 3 or 4 with a small green cut into the fairway of the old par 5: 7-iron well short of the green. Chipped to the front of the green. Chipped close to the hole and one-putted for a “bogey” four. A score of 35 on the temporary par 33 front. Much sweeter than the “front” nine. Total of 78 for the round.
Clayt’s scorecard, Bowie Golf Club, April 22, 2026
Bowie Golf Club is still playing as a par 68 and the new green for hole #9 probably isn’t going to be ready for another two months. After shooting a 78 there two weeks ago, I thought that my luck would swing back the other direction, and it did, resulting in a score of 87. Though I didn’t lose a ball or have any penalty shots, I managed to four-putt three times and took triple bogeys on two of the par 3s.
Here’s the hole-by-hole details, if you’re interested in hearing about the carnage…
Hole #1, Par 4: Tee boxes are still up but further left due to the construction. Tried to hit a 5-iron across the corner of the dogleg left and caught the tree. Punched out. Pitched onto the green and two-putted for bogey.
Hole #2, Par 3: Tried to hit a 6-iron to a back pin placed behind the sand trap. Landed in the trap. Hit it cleanly out of the sand and over the green. Stubbed the chip and didn’t make it to the green. Chipped past the hole and two-putted for a triple bogey.
Hole #3, Par 4: Topped my driver off the tee, hitting it 156 yards. Hit a pitching wedge to the front of the green and it bounced on. One putted for my one and only birdie – and just about the only high point of the round.
Hole #4, Par 4: Hit my driver 237 yards into the trees on the left. Hit a 3/4 pitching wedge thin and bounced it over the green. Chipped back down past the hole. Three-putted for double bogey.
Hole #5, Par 3: Hit my 7-iron 132 yards onto the front of the green and three-putted for bogey.
Hole #6, Par 4: Hit my 3-wood 223 yards then hit a 3/4 sand wedge 62 yards onto the green. Three-putted for a bogey.
Hole #7, Par 5: Hit the driver 225 yards down the right side then tried to hit a 6-iron onto the green but landed in the sand trap in front of the green. Hit the sand wedge out of the sand but didn’t make it onto the green. Chipped on. Missed the par putt and tapped in for the bogey.
Hole #8, Par 3: Hit a 9-iron onto the front of the green and it rolled off back down to the front apron. Chipped up close with a pitching wedge and one-putted for a par.
Hole #9, Par 3/4: The old par 5 that’s playing like a par 3.5 as it’s around 165 yards with a small round green cut into the fairway. Pushed a 7-iron to short, right of the green. Chipped on and two putted for a bogey/par? Total of 42 on the front, par 33/34.
Hole #10, Par 4: Hit a 4-wood into the fairway then hit a pitching wedge thin just off the back of the green. Chipped on with a pitching wedge and two-putted for a bogey.
Hole #11, Par 5: Hit the driver 213 yards in the fairway. Hit a 5-iron fat for another 101 yards onto a swail in the right round. Hit a pitching wedge 92 yards, short of the green. Chipped on with a pitching wedge then two-putted for bogey.
Hole #12, Par 4: Hit the driver 226 yards into the left rough. Hit a half pitching wedge 62 yards onto the green and three-putted for bogey.
Hole #13, Par 3: Hit an 8-iron 133 yards onto the round between the green and the sand trap on the left and it bounced right onto the green. Two putted for par.
Hole #14, Par 4: Pulled the driver to the left, it hit a tree trunk and bounced back to 199 yards. Chipped back to the fairway then pitched onto the green. Two-putted for bogey.
Hole #15, Par 4: Pulled the 3-wood into the trees on the left and it settled at 194 yards with a clear shot to the green. Chipped on but it rolled just off the green. Used the putter to get it close then one-putted for a rare par.
Hole #16, Par 4: Topped my 3-wood tee shot to just 89 yards. Tried to hit a 4-wood around the trees but caught a branch and the ball landed in the sand trap in front of the green. Hit the sand wedge onto a very wet green following a brief rain storm. Two putted for bogey.
Hole #17, Par 3: Hit a 6-iron into the trees on the right side of the green. Chipped with a sand wedge to get it over the trap and onto the green but the ball landed in the trap, embedding into the far bank. Used the sand wedge to power the ball out and barely onto the green. Left the first putt way short. Two more putts and it’s another triple bogey on a par 3.
Hole #18, Par 4: Tried out Barry’s new Quantum driver and even though it was slightly off the toe, it curved around the dogleg and to the middle of the fairway, about 212 yards with under 100 yards left. Tried to hit a 3/4 pitching wedge and hit it thin and left into a bunker on the 12th hole. I did almost exactly the same thing a couple of weeks ago. Just barely got the ball out the the trap with a sand wedge. Chipped onto the green and two-putted for for double bogey. A score of 45 on the par 35 back nine for a total of 87 on a par 68/69 course. (The USGA handicap system considers the course with the current temporary tees as a par 68.)
I visited the Bay Hills Golf Club in Arnold, Maryland, just five miles north of Annapolis on a Monday in early April. It’s my 8th course on my way to playing every golf course in Maryland that will let me on. It should be over 100.
The cost of the round was very reasonable and included a cart, which unwisely I decided to try walking – mostly to try out a new camera mount on my push cart. Turns out the “hills” part of Bay Hills isn’t just a marketing gimmick. And the camera mount as I was trying to use it was a bust – it hindered my ability to verify that the camera was on or off, resulting in a lot of missed shots and video footage of nothing in particular. A lesson learned.
I played from the white tees, measuring 5,705 yards for a par 70 course. My scorecard indicates I shot a 92 but while I was editing the video I noticed that I incorrectly entered a bogey for the 9th hole even though I one-putted for a par – so I shot a 91. Usually, finding a scoring error results in me having a higher score…
Clayt’s Scorecard, Bay Hills Golf Club, April 2026
Overall, this is a very enjoyable course. The fairways were pretty wide, the holes moderately short, and the greens on the large side, with only one significant forced carry – over the pond on the beautiful 18th hole par 3. I also note the small, old family cemetary just off the 11th fairway – my first, though not the first time I’ve come acrossed expired individuals just off the fairway. That’s a story for another day.
Go play Bay Hills for an enjoyable round. I plan to go there again and next time the video will be much better.
Clayt
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