Glade Valley Golf Club
 On a perfect day for golf we recently made our first trip to the gentle rolling hills of Glade Valley in Walkersville Maryland.
Located just 15 minutes north of Frederick, the course offers picturesque views of the Cotoctin Mountains and Maryland countryside.
Built in 1991 the course remains a favorite among locals providing wide open fairways with plenty "recovery room" yet embodies ample challenge for even the best of golfers.
Today's new courses rely to much on tricked up enhancements in an effort to stand out. But what most course designers fail to realize is that most weekend golfers like a laid back leisurely round without the headache of constantly analyzing every shot. Let's face it most of us have enough stress in our lives, sometimes it's nice to get out and play without having to contemplate the pain one must endure if you don't hit a perfect shot.
Glade Valley is a perfect example of uncomplicated design allowing the golfer some room for error and recover if needed. There are no hidden tricks or surprises, on just about every tee, "what you see is what you get".
 On the course there are a few long Par-4s, reachable in two Par 5s and bunker heavy Par 3s.The fairways were nice and firm during our review so the draw player should get plenty of roll if you can turn the ball over.
Being aggressive off the tee and cutting the corner when necessary can set up for plenty of scoring opportunities.
On the greens most have one dominate slope to negotiate and a single primary ridge. As with every course the closer to the pin the better chance you'll have at sinking putts but the key at making putts beyond gimmie length at Glade Valley is staying below the hole.
Another great quality of the course is the variety of bunkers that dot the fairways and greensides. Some seem big thin and hard like a waste bunkers and a few are small deep and round like links sytle pot bunkers. The bunker variety is very unique with no real dominate theme.
Amigos Favorite Hole: Our favorite at Glade Valley was the Number 14, a short 327-yard par 4.
The hole starts with a tee shot that feels like driving the ball down school hallway. Hardwoods are close on both sides but what you don't see at the tee is at 100 yards out the fairway expands to a much larger landing area than what you currently see.
There is really no advantage trying to pound a driver unless you're a serious “long-baller” and even then there is too much trouble lurking around the green presenting much more risk than reward. The best approach is a fairway-wood or hybrid leaving a short iron or wedge into the narrowest green on the course.
 The green is very narrow with no bail out room on either side. The entire left side is guarded by a small pond with little to no fringe.
The right side does have some bail out room but large hardwoods flank this side and the thought of chipping out of greenside rough to a narrow green with nothing but water on the other side doesn't leave any room for error.
If you can stick your iron or wedge close to the pin then you should have a good run at birdie. Make sure to check pin position. If the pin is in the back like it was on the day of our review leaving it short will make for a long two putt to save par.
Review Date:
05/27/2006
Course review ratings are conducted on a five point scale. ( 1 = Double Bogey 3 = Par 5 = Eagle)
Tees:
Each tee set was adequately spaced but a few were slightly spotty due to excessive play . The tees needed to be moved around more.
There are four sets of tees to choose from providing challange for every type of player.
Fairways:
The fairways were in good shape and receptive to just about any club in the bag. The wide inviting fairways provide ample room to recover from errant shots.
Rough:
There was one primary cut off rough that was primarily nice with a few spotty areas. We had no issue recovering the many times we found the rough and the gentle slope of most of the greens was receptive to shots without tons of spin.
There were some areas with thick heather type grass but you had to a serious wayward shot to find a terrible lie.
Traps:
Each trap is thoughtfully placed both greenside and in the fairway. The fairway traps were easy to negotiate except for a few that were slightly out of site. Some greens are very well bunkered with a varitey of differing sizes.
Each bunker was nicely goomed with an adequate amount of sand. Getting up and down from the greenside bunkers were relatively easy if you had a good lie.
Greens:
The gentle rolling contours of the greens at Glade Valley offer plenty of challange and scoring oppourtunity for the putter who can roll a good line.
The condition was first rate rolling smooth at a manageable pace. Depending on pin placement there should be plenty of opportunity for birdies because most of the greens are very receptive to approach shots.
Amenities:
The cluhbouse at Glade Valley is outfitted with all the is extras you may need prior to your round. The grill area has a big screen tv perfect for post round beverages.
There is a full length driving range adjacent to the parking lot and a large practice green across from the first tee. You have no excuse for not sinking putts once on the course!
Staff Services:
Everyone on the staff was pleasent with a no frills attitude.
On a hot 80 plus degee day the course had plenty of cold water on the course but cart attendent was no where to be found . Didn't make sense not to have someone out selling beverages on a holiday weekend.
Pace of Play:
We had no issue with pace during our round and didn't wait much on the group in front of us. We did see one Marshal on the course minding pace.
Overall Average:
3.9, Birdie Course
Good Course, worth a play
We would like to thank Mr. Kevin McCormick of Pure Golf for having us out to visit and review the course.
CLICK HERE for additional course information...
Location:
10502 Glade Road, Walkersville MD 21793
Tee Time Phone:
301-898-5555
Course Type:
Public
*The opinions expressed in this course review are those of the individual reviewer(s) and do not reflect the editorial opinion of
www.GolfinAmigos.com
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