With new tricked-up golf courses breaking ground each year, it's good to know a classic like the Eisenhower Golf Course in Anne Arrundel County is still alive and thriving.

A favorite among the local golfing community, Eisenhower was the first golf course in the county and opened its tees, fairways and greens for public play back in 1969.

The layout meanders though 220 acres of rolling forestland that has matured gracefully over the years. The subtle nuances of the course really make you think. Club selection both off the tee and on approach is critical to managing your round and posting a good score.

The design puts more of an emphasis on shot making ability than distance, but at 6,659-yards has plenty of length to challenge the long hitter. The assortment of tree-lined fairways, blind shots and doglegs requires more use of your golf intellect instead of the 460cc driver in the bag.

Once on the course you realize why it's a favorite among locals.

The layout constantly keeps you on your toes with various hidden features. You're presented with a variety of fairway slopes, hidden bunkers and greens that look inviting but have two sides of trouble just off the green.

These subtle nuances and surprises are best taught through repetition of playing the course.

Even though it was our first time playing Eisenhower, we immediately wanted to play the course again. A few tee and approach shots played differently and we could have posted a better score. But in the end, that's essentially what makes a classic design like Eisenhower fun, you can always learn something new about the course and your game, no matter how many times you play there.

So during an era where tricked up courses get all the headlines with gimmicks and high daily fee prices its nice to know courses like "Ike" offer a good value and stand the test of time.

Amigos Favorite Hole: Our favorite hole at Eisenhower Golf Course was the 396-yard par 4 number-3. From the tee the holes seems like a straight-forward Par 4.

You start with a blind tee shot over a ridge to a fairway with a generous landing area. Our plan was to aim down the middle and see what happens.

After our tee shot we progressed up the fairway and soon realized that the course had a "little surprise" in store for us.

What you can't see at the tee is the set-up on the right side of the fairway that is out of view. Just over the fairway ridge are four strategically placed bunkers awaiting your drive.

So from the tee, we thought 2 of us had hit perfect fairway splitting drives. What we found out was that we had put one of those in the bunker. Luckily one of the two was just a bit left and was safe in the fairway.

Your second shot is back down the hill to a large green. Again club selection is crucial, and gauging the correct iron to hit down the hill is a tricky assessment.