Tag: Par 68

  • 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

  • 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 from his 10 June 2026 round at the Bowie Golf Course, Bowie, Maryland, with a score of 84.
    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

  • Bowie Golf Club on June 3, 2026

    Sam, Barry and I played from the gold tees at the Bowie Golf Course today. The weather was beautiful, sunny with a slight breeze and temps in the low 80s. Got around the course fast, finishing a leisurely pace at 3.5 hours. The greens are in great shape and were rolling faster than we’ve seen in some time. Hole #5 was particularly tricky with the hole cut near the bottom of the slope down to the front tier. Fairways and rough are coming in nicely. Most of the tee boxes still need more time. And the course is still playing as a temporary par 68 so the scores aren’t as good as they seem.

    Sam scored two birdies and finished with a 78. Just one double bogey on the par 5 11th hole, pushing the tee shot into the woods, chipping out, then pulling his second shot left.

    Barry took a triple bogey on the par 3 5th hole, primarily due to the hole location mentioned previously. He also had a double on the par 4 first hole. We found out how fast the greens were when he chipped onto the green and it rolled off the back.

    I took an unusual route to an 81. I had double bogeys on the two front par 3s and a triple bogey on the par 4 17th. I got a birdie on the par 4 15th hole after a 203 yard tee shot with my 3-wood and a PW chip to a back pin for about a 4-foot putt. Beside the one birdie, I had 8 pars, 5 bogeys, 3 double bogeys and one triple. Only hit two fairways but was on the green in regulation 11 times. The driver was not as well behaved as last week. Hit a couple of trees and sliced one pretty good. I had two one-putts and only one three-putt, but sadly had a four-putt on the par 4 3rd hole. My estimated handicap hangs at about 18.1.

    No video from this one. We’ve seen the video(s) from Bowie and I probably won’t do another one until the first, ninth and 18th holes open up in their new configurations. Not sure when that will be. Until then, here’s the scorecard from the round.

    Golf scorecard for Sam, Barry and Clayt's round at the Bowie Golf Course on 3 June 2026. Sam shot 78, Barry 86 and Clayt 81.
    Bowie Golf Course, June 3, 2026 (Gold tees)

    Planning to play the River course at Queenstown Harbor tomorrow for my 12th course since starting on this journey. And thinking about Clifton Park on Monday for the 13th and Carroll Park on Friday for the 14th course, both of which are in Baltimore.

    See you out there on the course. Clayt

  • Golfing in Maryland: A Perfect Day Out

    The warm weather is upon us with today’s lows starting in the 70s and reaching the 90s by the afternoon. Prime golf season in Maryland and anyone that’s able to should be out there.

    Barry, Mac and I hit the Bowie Golf Course bright and early. A warm workday with threats of thundershowers mid-afternoon seemed to keep a lot of people away. Usually a single would get paired with a threesome but not today. We didn’t catch up to the group in front of us until the fourth hole. They seemed to be struggling and abandoned the round after the turn. We didn’t catch up to anyone else on the back nine and nobody caught up to us. We finished in about 3 hours and 15 minutes without particularly hurrying. Mac shot from the white tees while Barry and I shot from the golds, giving us about 900 yards advantage.

    I came out smoking on the front nine, hitting the first six greens in regulation, and ending up with a 36 on the temporary par 33. Barry was breathing down my neck with a 39 after making a birdie on the temporary par 3 9th hole and Mac was just two back of him.

    On the back nine, Barry was the consistent ball striker and putter, carding a 41 on the par 35 side to finish with an 80. I was a bit more erratic, losing balls on the 10th and 15th holes and finishing up with a 43 for a total of 79. Mac finished with a 46 for a total of 87.

    Pluses: This was my fourth best round of the year as judged by the temporary USGA course rating and slope (not the one on the scorecard). While I only hit 4 fairways on my tee shots, I wasn’t far off and was able to hit 11 greens in regulation. I had 9 pars, 7 bogeys and two double bogeys (from the two lost balls). And, of course, Barry and Mac were great company. My self-calculated handicap index dropped from 18.7 to 18.1.

    Minues: Even though I was on 11 greens in regulation, I didn’t make one birdie putt. At Langston two days ago, I was on 12 and didn’t make one. That’s 23 birdie putts in a row that didn’t go in. And today there were 4 three-putts, which is better than the 6 at Langston but still something I need to start putting work into. Perhaps on Friday I’ll got to a course instead of a driving range to hit balls and then spend some time on their putting green. Likely a wise investment of my time.

    I will also note that the Senior mid-week price for 18 holes with a cart has gone up from $38 to $42. Still pretty inexpensive compared to a lot of courses. Additionally, the course is still under construction and playing as a par 68 and the progress suggests they may not get back to “regular” play for at least another month.

    All-in-all a great day. Recommend you get out there and play every course in Maryland or maybe just your local favorite.

    Here’s the evidence.

    Completed scorecard for Barry, Mac and Clayt at the Bowie Golf Course on 20 May 2026, Barry and Clayt scored 80 and 79, respectively from the Gold tees, and Mac scored an 87 from the White tees.
    Barry, Clayt and Mac’s scorecard from Bowie Golf Course on 20 May 2026.

  • My Best Golf Round in 20 Years at Bowie

    Today, or at least the first half of the day, was beautiful with mid-70s temperatures, sunshine and quite windy. As of this writing, the rain and possibly thunderstorms are set to arrive. Phil had advance booked a tee time for him, Coop, John and myself at Bowie, teeing off just after 10 a.m. After the rainy round on Monday where every shot resulted in spray, the fairways and greens were firm and dry and the shots were rolling well.

    As for my round, this was the best scoring round that I’ve had in at least 20 years, shooting a 74 on a par 68/69 course. I had one birdie, 12 pars, four bogeys and one double bogey. While I only hit four fairways, I was on the green in regulation 13 times. Another highlight was hitting my driver 283 yards on the par 5 7th hole, the farthest I’ve hit it this years by a lot, leaving just a pitching wedge to the green.

    Sadly, there isn’t any video for this one. I’ve already posted videos of golf rounds at Bowie and wasn’t planning on shooting another one until the first and ninth holes were fully opened. For anyone that hasn’t read prior posts, Bowie has been building a new driving range and the construction has impacted holes 1, 9 and 18. The par 4 first hole has a temporary tee box and is playing shorter than its posted 301 yards for the golf tees. The par 5 ninth hole has a tiny temporary green playing as a 170 yard par 3 or 4 and will reopen as a par 4. And the par 4 18th is reported going to have the tee boxes moved back to make it a par 5. The course will revert back to a par 70 from its current temporary par 68. The next Bowie video I’m planning will feature the layouts of the new and improved holes.

    Here’s the evidence, as recorded by Phil using his “net from par” scoring system.

    Golf scorecard for Clayt, Phil, Coop and John at the Bowie Golf Course on May 13, 2026. Clayt shot 74, Coop 79, Phil 84 and John 92.
    Clayt, Phil, John and Coop played Bowie on May 13, 2026.

  • 17th Round (Bowie Golf Club replay)

    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.

    Scorecard for Clayt's Bowie round of 68 on April 29, 2026.
    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.

  • 2026 Round #14 – Bowie Golf Club

    Completed scorecard for Clayt's golf round at the Bowie Golf Club in Bowie, Maryland.
    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.)