One of my favorite parts of the NFL season is when the teams come out wearing those great "throwback" uniforms.
Who doesn't like seeing the old powder blue jerseys of the San Diego Chargers or the old Indian spear on the side of the helmet of the Washington Redskins? We all know it's a gimmick and done to increase apparel sales but seeing those old uniforms in high definition sure does make me reminiscent about an era of football long gone bye.
Well if you're a fan of golf design and can appreciate a good "throwback" then I'd recommend playing a round at Patuxent Greens Country Club in Laurel Maryland. Built in the 1960s this course plays and reminds me of balata balls and hickory shafts.
Target golf might be the best one descriptor suited to describe the overall layout. With tight tree-lined fairways, small target greens and double bending doglegs, this course will challenge the skilled golfer and fully entertain the not-so-skilled with shots and obstacles that will hopefully make you laugh and not cry.
Not that were the best golfer but I wouldn't calls us the not-so-skilled either. We did have a laugh/cry moment that is worth a mention during our round. On the short 151-yard Par-3 No. 7 we faced a front pin placement perfectly placed between two bunkers guarding both sides of the green.
At the tee the target looked to be the size of a postage stamp with no room for error. I hit my shot and my slight pull ended up in the left bunker guarding the green. My second shot out of the thin bunker goes just slightly long, lands on the green just past the hole and rolls off the green into the bunker on the other side.
Ok we've all been there...right? I thinned my bunker shot and ended up off the green in another bunker. What's hard to describe is that I didn't hit a bad shot. It was a good shot. I guess I had less that five paces beyond the pin to work with. On my third shot, out of the other bunker, I was forced to escape away from the pin to a larger part of the green. This left a tricky down-hill putt. Of course I missed the putt and ended up with a lovely double bogey.
Ok, I can live with a double bogey but it was hard to live with a double on this hole. The pin position and green itself was more than tough...it was unfair. I missed my tee shot at most by 6-yards left. The reason my first bunker shot went long was due to the thin sand in the bunker. Ever tried to spin a bunker shot out of a thin trap? The reason I had had to hit my third shot out of the "other bunker" to a safe part of the green was because I didn't want to end up in the original greenside bunker that started this mess in the first place.
Ok, maybe that mess was more deserving of crying than laughing but my pride wouldn't allow either. Of course that was just one hole and there were plenty of other holes to make up the shots.
Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate target golf but my swing on this particular day wasn't up to par. In hindsight Patuxent Greens Country Club would make a wonderful course to learn the game and a great place to work on every shot you can image. God knows we used every club in our bag, I'm sure you will as well!
Amigos Favorite Hole:The Par-4 409-yard No. 17 is the one hole which fully embodies entire flavor Patuxent Greens Country Club has to offer.
At the tee you're greeted with a modestly open fairway guarded by water just off the front of the tee, down the fairway and to the right of the tee and dense woods off the left of the fairway.
If you can hit a good drive you'll be set up with a second to a green guarded by a bunker left front and right back. It's also good to mention there is a small water hazard creek that crosses the fairway just out of sight before hitting your second shot. It's a bit further back off the green and shouldn't be a consideration before your shot but it isn't shown on the scorecard.
In the end this hole is requiring precise shots to walk away with a Par. But of course you have to hit a precise shot; which is vital point to posting a good score at Patuxent Greens Country Club.