Work has kept me busy recently; but, my fellow golf enthusiast and friend Mike Barber played this weekend at The Woodlands. I asked him to send me a review of the experience and this is what I received. Enjoy.
One of my first rounds of golf this year was played at Diamond Ridge’s upscale sister course, The Woodlands. The winter tees were still in use, but you could look back and see the young new grass emerging on the perfect tee boxes that awaited the start of the official Baltimore golf season (which doesn’t begin until after someone wins a new green jacket in Augusta). We slogged through the mud and cold that day and agreed to return to avail ourselves of those perfect tee boxes during our official season, which we did today.
It’s possible to play the Woodlands for as low as $25 in the winter, but this time of year expect to pay the full price of $72 on weekends plus another $5 for range balls. This places the course among the upper tier in cost and establishes the expectation for an excellent golf experience, which I believe the Woodlands offers. The course was in great condition and showed signs of recent improvements on the day we played. The first thing you notice is the new electric carts. While they don’t have GPS, they are comfortable and quiet and like a new car, no rattles. The score cards supplied with the carts now have maps of the holes with yardages to hazards noted. The practice area supports the two courses on the property, so it is quite large. The driving range is expansive, the range balls are new and the variety of practice targets work with most of the clubs in your bag. There is a short game area behind the range with practice bunkers and a brand new putting green that wasn’t open yet. It is possible to spend an entire afternoon here just tooling up for your next round.
The course is well maintained and in excellent condition. The bent grass fairways are luxurious though sometimes soggy, but that was not the case today. The lies in the fairway, while often uneven due to their undulations, were fair and firm. The bunkers had new sand and were in excellent condition. The greens, like the fairways, have extensive undulations but I found them to be fair and fast with no conditioning problems. The 9th hole does not return to the clubhouse, so a snack shack is provided. You can get a big juicy hot dog for $4 or a deli sandwich for $7 to keep you going at the turn. We saw the cart girl 2 times during our round so we did not go hungry or thirsty.
My gripes with the course are minor, but there are a few. I like to walk sometimes and this is not a walking course. The trek from the 2nd green to the 3rd tee extends over a bridge and around 2 holes which would leave you huffing and puffing over your tee shot. You have to use mats on the driving range but they are soft and in good condition. I just find that mats can give you a false impression on small miss-hits. The pace of play was a little slow for me, 4-1/2 hours. We watched the group in front of us almost all day long. Finally, there are many blind shots on the course that would leave a first time player a little mystified. The 9th hole with its 80 yard wide fairway looks inviting, but the real play is to follow the cart path to the right of the bunker. Hitting to the fairway leaves you an awkward angle to the green and too far away.
These gripes aside I should emphasize that the Woodlands offers a fine golf experience at a fair price. Higher handicap golfers may suffer a little here from its blind shots and undulating fairways and greens. But for those with the game to take on this challenging course, I say go for it.
.jpg)
Comment
RSS
Email
Print
