To use an overworked metaphor, Arthur Hills had a magnificent canvas on which to create
The Links at Lighthouse Sound,
Ocean City's
newest and by consensus best golf course in the opinion of players and disinterested raters
alike. Nature endowed the 1000-acre site with truly majestic pristine beauty and Hills,
a world-class designer, took advantage of the opulence to fashion a course that has
people comparing it to Pebble Beach. The comparison is a bit of a stretch, but Lighthouse
is definitely magnificent. And very difficult.
The site, a former farm that includes a very visible silo on No. 7, varies markedly in
geographical features, with the result that the course defies a single label. Lighthouse
is part bayside, marshside and inland hardwood course. Also, because of the site's
highly asymmetrical boundaries, the course has a somewhat unique routing plan that
includes a 9th hole that is a considerable distance from the fine clubhouse.
Opened in April 2000, the course is just a short drive from the beach. It is situated just
off Maryland Route 90 directly across Assawoman Bay from Ocean City. The bay,
the St. Martin's River, the abundant marshland, and the hardwood forest provide an
aesthetic backdrop that is truly magnificent.
After three fairly routine holes - a short par 4, short par 5 and a par 3 to a double green
shared with the 2nd - Hills escorts you out to the scenic bayside holes, 4-7. The
4th has a tee box almost directly on the water. You may hesitate to hit your tee shot here,
as the view of the Ocean City skyline, across the bay and so close you can almost touch it, is
spectacular.
The 385-yard (430 yards from the tips) 4th doglegs right around the bay. The landing
area of the tee shot is between a fairway bunker left and expansive marsh on the right
that extends the entire length of the hole to the slightly elevated green. The long par
3 5th hole also lies directly by the bay and marsh. From any tee, this hole is imposing,
but from the back tees, it is best to invoke grace from the golf gods before striking a shot
that must carry 218 yards and settle on an elevated green with a bunker and steep bank in front.
The medium length par 4 6th is distinguished by a tee box that sits on a promontory.
Here, a fishing pole might be suitable equipment along with your driver. The slightly uphill
hole has a two-tiered green with a dramatic back-to-front slope that lists to the right.
A pin location back left demands a career approach shot.
Hole 7 begins the journey back inland away from the bay. This gargantuan hole that
starts with a tee box next to the marsh measures anywhere from 405 yards from the very
forward tees to 622 yards from all the way back. The tee shot is straight out over
a corner of the marsh to a right-veering slightly uphill fairway. The tall white silo, set
against the Maryland sky, is your aiming point off the tee on this hole that demands two
enormously well struck shots and a short pitch that requires the precision of a clockmaker.
I hit a monster tee shot and absolutely nailed a 3-wood, and I barely cleared the water
channel that lies about 60 yards in front of the green. My perfectly struck lob wedge left me
well above the hole, leaving me with two nervy putts for par. Most players will find this and
the other three par 5's among the most difficult three-shot holes they have ever played. Hills' intent
is to take away the risk-reward feature of the par 5's for all but the longest and brashest hitters.
After the very short par 4 8th, which lies right next to the 1st hole, you drive over marsh
into the hardwoods section of the course to get to #9. Here you are a considerable distance
from the clubhouse. The drive takes you over a 1,500-foot wooden cart bridge, putatively the
longest such bridge in the U.S.
Beginning with No. 9, an extremely long par 4 to a green with a pronounced elevation, the course
changes dramatically from a links to a woodland character. A hardwood forest and the
St. Martin's River provide a riveting backdrop to holes 10-13 that include two excellent
par 3's (11 and 13) and the straight-away 545-yard 12th.
Like No. 7, the 12th is a three-shot hole, requiring length and uncanny precision.
About 120 yards out from the green is a bunker in the center of the fairway.
It does not pay to try to clear the bunker, as the fairway behind forms a ridge, and your ball with
likely careen left or right into the trees. An oak tree guards the left side of the fairway slightly
forward of the bunker and the alley formed by it and the bunker is as narrow as a
sewing needle hole. It also doesn't pay to try to reach the green in two, because it
is elevated and steeply banked, and the front right portion of the green is shaped into a
large mound that will likely kick any approach shot that is short back off the putting surface.
Lakes, woods, and environmental areas backdrop the outstanding series of holes, Nos. 14-17
that include three very long par 4s and one short par 4. The course finishes with a risk-reward
par 5 of 505 yards (532 from the back). The hole plays back east toward the bay and is situated
along the bayside marsh. The hole doglegs dramatically to a green elevated some 20 feet and
steeply banked in front. A drive that avoids the fairway bunker right and is far enough out on
the dogleg leaves a view of the green. However, if you cut the dogleg too sharply with your drive,
a stand of trees some 150 yards out from the green obscures your view of the green.
Lighthouse Sound has people buzzing, not only for its remarkable setting but for its difficulty.
According to one of the club's assistants, it was Hills' intention to build a course where par was
an excellent score. Indeed, here anything within 10 shots of your handicap should be cause for
celebration. To date, the head pro's best score is a 74.
In the interest of difficulty, Hills has created some quirky features and elements. The large
mound in front of the green at No. 3 virtually hides the whole putting surface. It is
unnecessary and Hills allegedly admitted to staff he wouldn't have put it there if he
had to do it over. The architect also engaged in a bit of overkill when he raised the
green and created effectively no bail-out at the 5th, which some have called the hardest par
3 on the East Coast. Similarly, he has raised the 9th green dramatically, a feature that seems unnecessarily penal,
because most golfers will have to hit a long iron and wood into this green. The
center fairway bunker of No. 12, coming as it does so close to the large tree on the left,
forces a long third into a green that is hard to hold for even accomplished players.
These few quirks notwithstanding, the course deserves the accolades it is receiving. And kudos go
to developer Tom Ruark for also building a clubhouse on the bay as fine as they come.
It has a stylish pro shop, cozy restaurant with complimentary coffee and hot-dogs, and a wood-paneled atmosphere
that rivals the best private clubs.
Ruark, from Salisbury, got his entrepreneurial feet wet selling newspapers and cutting lawns in
Cambridge, Maryland. He was an official in the local county health department when he bought a
couple of homes and fixed them up for resale. His introduction into home development led
to his buying a farm in Salisbury, which didn't have a golf course, and developing
Nutters Crossing.
That course opened in 1991. In 1997, Ruark opened Rum Pointe, a Pete and P.B Dye collaboration that
many considered to be the finest course on the Maryland shore. That is, until Lighthouse opened.
The Lighthouse project was caught up in legal entanglements for several decades before Ruark took it over.
Because a sizable percentage of the 1000 acres at Lighthouse was marshland and therefore
couldn't be developed, Ruark agreed to pare down the planned number of homesites from 1,500
to less than 100. Under the revised plan, only 94 homes will be built on the property. Meanwhile,
Ruark has applied for certification under the National Audubon's Sanctuary
program. 
Ocean City Golf
