Whiskey Creek Golf Club, Ijamsville, MD

Have now played this course twice this summer and enjoyed both experiences, most recently, last weekend after the area had received over 10 inches of rain. First, the layout - the scenery and course design are beautiful, very hilly, and generally the holes play uphill and downhill (not many side hill lies out there). I like to get a sense for the hole from the tee box and with the exception of #13, every tee area gave a good feel for the hole you would be playing. Number 13 was the only disappointment with a blind tee shot and no aiming/target line. Whack and hope!

Aesthetics - the views are dynamite and some are stunning. The dramatic downhill #5 is a blast, as is #12. Gorgeous scenery. On the other hand, some minor but annoying elements are missing. For example, would it be too much to ask for a simple marker board on the tee boxes to show distances and a simple schematic of the hole you are about to play? There is no course layout, anywhere. Not on the scorecard, not on the website, not on tee markers. This is a silly omission.

Conditions - My second time out was after ten inches of rain and the course was cart path only. This is a shame as there are very few yardage markers from the fairways (sprinkler heads or other markers) so we were forced to go back and forth across the fairway to our ball, grab clubs (multiple, just in case), in order to hit the shots. Otherwise, the conditions were great - raked bunkers, well-trimmed fairways. HOWEVER, the greens are disappointing. Whiskey Creek has opted to use a cheap and fast growing type of grass for the greens that craters easily, leaves huge holes and repairs poorly. This is what the other reviews mean by the greens being beat up. I play a private club in Erie, PA and we have bent grass that is beautiful, though a couple public courses opted for this same type of grass. I hate it. Try putting a true line after a weekend of steady play has turned it into a moonscape!

Friendliness - The starters and staff are great. Pro shop folks were helpful and friendly. The starters are very good and very personable. It is a well-run operation (yes, I agree that they want to keep play moving) but I never sensed anyone playing the "heavy;" quite the opposite, in fact. Only negative here was that pro shop clothing was very picked over the last time I played here (September 16) so I could not find any good shirts by this time in the season. Next year, play earlier!

Overall - the ruins of the farmhouse in the middle of #18 sort of encapsulate my feelings about Whiskey Creek. When you drive up and take that sort of scenery in, you know you are about to experience something unique and very satisfying. It was a great experience, although not cheap, and a course I will definitely play again.

Don't stop and the smell the roses; we have a business to run.

The layout is great; it's challenging, but we played the middle tees and really enjoyed the character of this great course. Good shape overall, but the greens were a little beat up. My regular foursome all agreed on the front 9 that this was our best outing ever, and we've been on a lot of great courses. The bar, grill, and clubhouse facility are first rate. We stopped at the turn for dogs and beers, but we stayed a little long and let the group in front get ahead of us.

After the turn, our outlook changed 180 degrees. We don't play fast. We drink beer and smoke cigars and we're not great golfers, but we work not to slow the pace for groups behind us. Today, we were ahead of the pace according to the GPS on the carts, and we were not holding anyone up, but there was that gap in front of us. The staff at Whiskey Creek was all about getting everybody through after a frost delay, and we got contant encouragement to catch up to the group ahead. Too much encouragement. After being repeatedly offered "help" in keeping up, I hit my first bad drive of the day and ended up angrily picking up (I never pick up) on two holes.

If you can play and enjoy 4-hour rounds, this is the course for you. If you bristle at being urged to make room for as many paying customers as possible, go somewhere more relaxed.