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.
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