Chesapeake Bay Golf Club at North East - Review

I have to start out with my home track. I learned the game on these narrow fairways and now live beside the 16th green, so I’ve got a bias for the course.

Let’s get one thing straight from the get-go…Chesapeake Bay Golf Course at North East has nothing to do with the Chesapeake Bay. While the course has some water on it, it is about half a mile from any navigable water, and that’s not even the Bay. CBGC North East is located just south of the town of North East, MD, which lies at the head of the Northeast River which flows into the Bay about 2 miles to the south. So don’t expect stunning vistas of the great Chesapeake from any tee box.

CBGC NE started as nine holes in 1990 and went to eighteen in 1994, so the track has matured nicely. Every hole was carved out of the woods and they began their life as extremely narrow slots. They have been widened quite a bit, so just remember that as you try to keep your drives in play.

This is a short yet challenging par 70 that stretches 6400 yards at the tips. Only two holes are side-by-side, the rest are lined by woods or homes. The regular tees come in at 6000 yards give or take, so the driver is left in the bag most of the round. If fact, clubbing down is the rule on this course because in order to score you MUST BE IN THE FAIRWAY. More than one golfer has commented that they’ll never play CBGC NE again because they lost too many balls or couldn’t score or both. These guys either just had to hit their drivers or tried to out muscle the course. If you approach your round with the idea that keeping the ball in play is not boring and pars are your friend, you’ll have a great round.

All but three greens are small, long and narrow. They are normally well maintained and run true. Reading them however is a challenge that I still haven’t mastered after 13 years.

Downsides of CBGC NE: Cart paths are mostly unpaved, although management has promised paving this year, as they did last year and the year before that, etc. Bunkers are varied in sand consistency, depth and maintenance quality. Even after 14 years there are still rough, bare, rocky spots around the course. With lost balls etc, weekend rounds can hit 5 hours. (I’ve gotten around in 3 ½ hours playing a match play tournament, so slow play is not the course’s fault.)

Reasons to play CBGC NE: The golf challenge is the thing; you need a plan and must make golf shots in order to score. It is the most difficult course to recover from bad shots that I’ve ever played. The fairways have been in great shape as have the greens and tee boxes. The cost is reasonable for the round, especially with the deals available. Great view from the club house over looking four holes and the food, mostly grill fare and a few entrees, is very good. Staff is top-notch.

This is worth trying more than once as its with experience that the course will grow on you. I still like it the best of all the local (affordable) tracks. Try it and let me know your thoughts.

Fairways and greens,

Jim

Cecil County Golf Courses

Here is a list of the public tracks around Cecil County with their websites. My reviews will start being posted ASAP!



Cecil County Recreation - Golf

Bulle Rock brings LPGA Championship to Upper Bay

McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca Cola, will relocate to Bulle Rock starting in 2005. The Board of Directors unanimously supported the decision to move the Championship to Bulle Rock in order to grow the event because of the greater potential to raise money for Ronald McDonald House Charities. During the tournament's 24 year history, it has raised $41.6 million for Ronald McDonald House and other children's charites.
The 2005 McDonald's LPGA Championship will take place the week of June 6-12, 2005 at Bulle Rock. The tournament office will remain at its present location in Rockland, Delaware.
Anyone wishing to volunteer may contact the LPGA at http://www.mcdslpgachampionship.com/ or call 302-428-1681.

Content from www.bullerockgolf.com

Make Money Blogging!

Golf in Cecil Co, MD; Here We Go!

Hello Golfers!

In the weeks and months to come I will be posting as much information as I can on golf related activities in the Upper Chesapeake Bay region. The goal is to provide golfers planning visits to Cecil County, MD with inside info on the great public golf available in the area, plus some tips on where to stay, eat and relax in northeastern Maryland, plus nearby New Castle County, Delaware and Chester County, PA.

Our home base for these reports will be North East, MD, home of Chesapeake Bay Golf Club, North East. (Its sister club, CBGC Rising Sun...formally Chantily Glof Club...is about 5 miles north of here.) I've been a member of CBGC since it openned in 1990, and moved into a home next ot the sixteenth green in 1998 so I've seen this course change and mature. I've also seen new courses be contructed in the area so that now golfers have a variety of tracks to play with greens fees from $30 to $150 and slopes from the low 100's to the high 140's.

This area is by no means a new Mrytle Beach or even Ocean City, MD, but there are some fantastic tracks in the area. Bulle Rock in Havre de Grace, MD is the premier course, home now to the LPGA McDonald's Championship to be held in June, 05. Wyncote in Oxford,PA has drawn rave reviews since its openning. Patriot's Glen Golf Course in Elkton, MD is about three years old and offers a challenging yet very playable addition to our inventory of choices for the visiting golfer.

Its January with 8 inches of snow on the ground, so what a better time to start thinking about teeing it up! I hope my reviews and current information will help golfers pick the right courses for their visit to the area, so keep checking back as more reviews get posted. I'll also let you in on the best places to stay and eat and believe me there are some fine dining to be discovered in North East and Cecil County.

So we're off and running; lets play 36!

Fairways and greens,

Jim