The Ocean City area provides a wide assortment of courses that rival any other golf destination on the East Coast.

The variety of course styles and designs range from seaside links to lush parkland layouts like the Gary Player designed River Run Golf Club in Berlin Maryland.

The course opened in 1991 and is set along the St. Martin River providing an assortment of hazards routed around and within the layout.

Small tributaries, marshland and other water hazards are abound, working in perfect harmony with the course providing obstacles to challenge your golf prowess and inspire your minds eye with the aesthetic beauty of this tranquil setting.

The front nine is relatively open and can be summarized as a lush links design, while the back nine provides tree lined fairways and a parkland setting for many different target approaches.

The course literally has the feel of two distinct courses from the front to back nine. You are slowly feed a increasingly test of golf as you proceed from hole to hole working your way to the 18th green.

But for all the challenge River Run has in store for the seasoned golfer Mr. Player did an excellent job at providing a quality experience for the less accomplished player. With five sets of tees the course can set up dramatically less difficult from the forward tees. The back two sets of tees require shots through tighter angles that are not present from the forward tees.

One of the most impressive elements about the course was the lush conditions from tee to green. Each green showed few signs of divots, the fairways were impeccable and the rough is thick and lush. River Run Golf Club was one of the best conditioned courses we've seen in a while.

Amigos Favorite Hole: With plenty of choice for favorite holes at River Run we decided the long 576-yard par 5 No. 17 was our favorite.

Like many of the holes on the course the tee shot sets up nicely and the large fairway makes a nice target. You can cut off some distance by staying on the right side of the fairway but the safest route is to play down the left side which for most will require a three shot approach to the green.

If you have the length to go for the green in two, your second shot is to an increasingly narrow target culminating at the green that is guarded by trees both the right and left and behind the green.

If you lay up before the green within a short wedge shot of the green you should have a good putt left birdie.

The green is large with a couple of wavy ridges breaking the green into three distinct parts. If you can get your ball close enough to the hole and on the same level as the pin you should have a straight-forward putt with minimal break. But if you miss your target and have to putt across the waves to the pin speed will be key in keeping the ball within tap in for your par