Play Day: Bulle Rock
Every Wednesday we profile another place to play. Today our destination is Havre de Grace, MD, and Bulle Rock.
It is vintage Pete Dye, railroad ties and all. And Bulle Rock just keeps coming at you with one strong golf hole after another.
It can at times be intimidating, exhilirating, frustrating, or all of the above... and it is always a treat to see how your game stacks up against the architect and his Dye-abolical creation. Put together a good round at Bulle Rock and it is very satisfying indeed.
The course has earned numerous honors, including this one from Golf Magazine: #26 among the Top 100 Courses You Can Play.
It is a short spin down Interstate 95 into Havre de Grace, Maryland, and WELL worth the drive.
Ed's Scouting Report:
Green Fees: Regular In-season rates are $130, including cart, range balls and unlimited use of the short game area. Caddies are also available.
Best Holes: So many choices, but I'll pick these two:
#13: (See photo) It is a par 4 that stretches to 476 yards from the back tee, 438 from the Golds and 415 from the Blues. A great dogleg right that winds around a ravine. Lose it right and you're dead. Hit a good drive and you're still faced with a long second shot, most likely off a downhill/sidehill lie to a narrow green guarded by bunkers, one of them framed in railroad ties. Pars here are rare.
#18: Par 4, 485/459/422 yards. There is nothing tricky about this closing hole, just a demand that you hit it long and straight. Water runs all the way up the left side... but if you get too timid off the tee, you'll end up in the right rough with a severe sidehill lie. That greatly increases the odds that you're second shot will end up in the drink. Having fun yet? The green has all sorts of interesting movement. It is a wonderful closing test at the end of a challenging round.
Local Knowledge: Keep the driver in the bag on the par 5 2nd hole. For all but the longest hitters, it is a three shot hole anyway. Bunkers and other junk on the right are intimidating, and as a result, more drives get yanked (and lost) to the left. This hole is a great one to play conservatively to survive an early-round big number.
Nice Touch: Junior-Parent Golf on Mondays During July & August -- any golfer 17 or under, accompanied by a full paying adult, can play free during those two summer months.
Click here for a video tour, contact info and key Bulle Rock links at TeeItUpPhilly.com.
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Ed Abrams anchors mornings on KYW Newsradio, and you can hear his Golf Reports there on Fridays and Saturdays. He has also created a pair of websites: www.DealTrackerGolf.com, featuring leads on the best golf equipment deals… and www.TeeItUpPhilly.com, with video course tours, audio swing tips and local golf deals
