A Pleasant Round

So I golfed with Auntie by myself for the first time yesterday. The ladies league I joined were playing too early the day before, so I decided to play with Auntie in the afternoon. Seri isn't leaving for Korea for another week, but she already shipped her golf clubs back home and has to finish packing. At first I was a little nervous about golfing just with Auntie (what would we talk about? should I bring snacks for her like Seri always did?). But the day turned out to be quite pleasant.

Coincidentally, we were playing a course called Mt. Pleasant. I hadn't played a full 18 at this course for a few years, so I was looking forward to the back nine. When I arrived at the clubhouse, I was surprised to see Bea. She seems to be going through some kind of mid-life crisis, judging from the fact that she often golfs with men who aren't her husband these days. But who am I to judge? Her boy-toy of the moment is a young Korean man who could be her son's age. I politely introduced myself, and then I shuffled off, not wanting to be a part of any tawdriness. Turned out, Auntie and I had the tee time after them, but we played leisurely and gave them plenty of space.

Auntie is a very consistent golfer. She is super-slim and petite and has a great short game. She also has a cool-as-a-cucumber demeanor that instantly put me at ease. She drove the cart and let me walk as much I wanted, since it is better for keeping my leg pain at bay. Our conversation was focused on the golf, just the way I like it. Mt. Pleasant has a few blind tee shots and tilted fairways, so I was always asking questions like, "Is this a dogleg left?," "Where should I aim to keep it in the fairway?" and "Is there a bunker behind that green?" Aside from that, it was comments like "Good putt!" and "Great shot!," the usual niceties that let your golfing partners know that you're appreciative of their game.

After the front nine, I had shot 10 over, so I knew it wasn't going to be a spectacular round. The back nine was harder, I think, starting with a par 5 that had rolling fairways as steep as a roller coaster ride. After a double-bogey on that hole, and a triple-bogey on the next hole, a par 3 shielded by bunkers (I really need a bunker lesson), I knew all was hopeless, so I relaxed a little, just trying to enjoy the day and enjoy the sunny skies and the breeze on my face. With the pressure off, I managed to make some pars, and then came hole 17, a long par 3 that brought some unpleasant memories to mind.

It's a downhill 167-yard tee shot over thick brush to a long, narrow green with bunkers on both sides and a drop-off of rough so steep on the right that there is a wooden staircase for golfers to climb back up to the green. The last time I had golfed this hole, as I recall, I hit an errant tee shot to the right and landed just at the base of the wooden staircase, just far enough from it not to impede my swing but not far enough for me to hit a wedge shot over it. I was stymied by those stairs, for sure.

This time, I was determined to land the green. I took a few deep breaths and took aim with my 3-wood. I flexed my knees. I kept my arms nice and long. I did not pick up my head too soon. The result? A stick-straight drive that landed at the edge of the green. Of course, I three-putted from there and made bogey, but still... I was darn proud of myself.

Oh, and I noticed that they removed the old wooden staircase, grassed it over and installed a new set of stairs at the back of the green. So I guess I was not the only one who'd been stymied by those old stairs.

Charm City Courses: Clifton Park

Finally played Clifton Park on Saturday. I was a little apprehensive, after hearing about Dodi’s experience playing there at twilight and getting harassed by trespassing locals from the surrounding Northeast Baltimore neighborhood. My hubby said he used to play Clifton Park often when he lived in the city and once had his golf cart hijacked by some teenage boys, but he said 99% of the time, his rounds passed without incident. Still, he advised me to leave my purse at home just to have one less thing to worry about.  

As we drove into the golf course parking lot encircled by chain link fence adorned with a tiara of concertina wire, I began to wonder what the day would bring. Fortunately, our playing partners were Jen and her hubby Todd, two of the funniest Baltimoreans I know. So whatever happened, at least there would be laughter involved.

Clifton Park is Baltimore’s first public golf course and was built in 1915 on the grounds of the summer estate of Johns Hopkins, the guy they named that famous hospital and university after. In fact, Hopkins was originally going to build the hospital on the Clifton Park site, but it was too far from the center of the city.

The grounds are well-kept for a city course. It has a new short game practice area put to regular use by the First Tee program. The putting greens are immaculate, the fairways are nicely trimmed, and the rough is tall enough to hide a ball from even the keenest eyes. The tall grass also has the stickiness of Velcro and attracts plenty of litter, leading to repetitive fairway chatter: “Is that my ball?” “No, it’s a piece of trash.” “Is that a ball?” “No, it’s a plastic wrapper.” "What about that?" "That's a leaf."

Weather-wise, it was in the mid-80s and a bright, sunny day. Perfect for golf, but after a few holes, I felt that familiar pounding feeling in my head that would soon blossom into a full-blown migraine. I also had this wicked pull hook I couldn’t shake, and the rolling fairways made it hard to find a level. But the company was fun and I did snap some nice pictures:

Looking back at the clubhouse from the end of the first hole fairway, the Baltimore city skyline looms in the distance.

Mother’s Garden was built in 1926 at Clifton Park, as a shrine to all of Baltimore’s mothers. It has undergone restoration and preservation efforts over the years.

A wide fairway blocked by a hedge running the width of it led Jen to quip, "This is kind of an equestrian layout." Fortunately, we were all able to get our balls to jump over it.

Todd noticed the grey stone ornaments sticking up from an out of bounds area and said, "There's a bunch of tombstones over there!" which led me to joke, "You mean someone left some frozen pizzas out here?"

The panoramic view of the skyline from the tee ground of the 18th. A day's work is almost done.

Safety-wise, we had little to worry about that day. Two rangers rode around all day long, keeping an eye on us tourists from the suburbs. There were a couple of holes where the fairways were bordered by rowhouses, and I could see how the proximity tempted kids from the neighborhood to hop the fence on a regular basis. But today, they were elsewhere, and except for having a nonconsensual religious service forced upon us by way of loudspeaker from a parked van, there were no violations against us.

Would I play there again? I would never say never. But next time I need to bring more water so I don’t get a dehydration headache. And my husband said I should also bring a parasol.

Charm City Courses: Forest Park

A couple weeks ago, hubby and I played Forest Park with Seri and her husband. Located in Northwest Baltimore, Forest Park has a totally different feel than Mt. Pleasant. While Mt. Pleasant is so hilly that riding a cart is advisable, Forest Park has a flat, wide open feel and is easily walkable. The course straddles a road called Hillsdale, but since it was a weekend, there wasn't much traffic on it.

On the outside, the Rawlings-Fulton Clubhouse looks like a modest white building, but it has been totally refurbished on the inside, with event space and some of the cleanest, newest bathrooms I've ever seen at a municipal golf course.

There's lots of tree planting going on all over the place. Or maybe they're planting grape vines next to those wooden stakes. Can you imagine? Golfing at a vineyard in the city!

The clubhouse looks shiny and new from the back too.

Yes, fairways are wide and flat.

So wide and flat, they need tall, bordering trees to separate the fairways.

Another wide fairway.

Houses are close to the edges of some holes, so it looks like more trees are in order to protect them from errant balls.

Some distinctive boulders.

And of course some stairs to look at the action ahead on a downhill fairway.

Here's another set of stairs, but obviously much more recently constructed.

One par 5 has a unique method of helping you find where your ball lands: color coded trees.

Are these wooden steps to the beach? No, just a little bunker staircase. And yes, my ball landed in that sand trap.

When play is slow, what's nicer than a bench to wait on?

Looks like someone was whiling away some time with a Natty Boh!

I shot a 103 on that round. Greens were fast and hard to read due to the overcast skies. But I would definitely play here again. Because it's flat, and adjacent holes are somewhat open to each other, it's easy to find other people's balls flying into your fairway. So just be on the lookout for that. Or wear a helmet.

Charm City Courses: Mt. Pleasant

I'm lucky enough to live within 30 minutes drive of 10 public golf courses. Half are owned by the county and half belong to the city. Each system has its own player discount cards. Since I live in the county, I have always gotten the county card every year, which is why I have mainly stuck to the 5 county courses.

This year, I finally bought a discount card for the city courses too, so now I can play both systems at reduced rates. One of the city courses is actually located in the county. That’s Pine Ridge, where I’ve played many times this year. This spring, I am making it a project to play the remaining city courses.

I'll start with Mt. Pleasant, which my brother-in-law says is "where all the really good people play."

Hubby and I had a 10:30am tee time on a Sunday morning. The pro shop is a tiny shack with faded wood paneling that looks like it hasn't changed since the 1950s. The first thing that hit me was the smell of bacon wafting through the air. Someone was having a proper breakfast before a round, or maybe an early bacon cheeseburger.

At the starter booth, we met up with Seri and her husband, who was wearing thick black spectacles, which were kinda hip for a nuclear physicist. We all rode golf carts since it's a hilly course. No wonder it's got the word "mount" in the name. And a road called Hillen runs through it. 

On hole one, a bushy-tailed fox scurried across the fairway with a fresh-caught squirrel dangling from its mouth, and with that auspicious omen, we were off. It was quite foggy that morning, and I didn't quite know the lay of the land, so my second shot landed in another fairway. But I recovered and bogeyed the first hole. (Remember, a bogey is a decent score for me.)

On almost all the holes, the greens were unreadable, partially due to the fog dulling the nap of the short grass, but also due to general scraggliness. This, along with the sloped fairways that had severe drops and blind roll-offs, made Mt. Pleasant a tough course for me.

But it definitely had some local charm, such as...

...a concrete pedestrian bridge over noisy traffic...

...roller-coaster fairways...

...rickety iron stairs to have a look-see over the ridge...

...wooden picture-frame fences (wonder if this was here when Arnold Palmer played this course in 1956?)...

...tight par 3's deep in the valleys...

...classic Baltimore rowhouses lining some of the fairways...

...and other historic housing (like this mansion owned by the neighboring Taylor's Chapel) giving a sense of place and a feeling of another time.

So how did I score on this round? Well, I broke 100 in the other direction, unfortunately, and I shot a 102. But not too bad for playing a course for the first time. I'll do better next time.