Course Report: Musket Ridge

Musket Ridge Golf CourseSo a couple of buddies ask me to trek up to Musket Ridge Golf Club near Frederick, Maryland for an early afternoon Saturday round of golf.  I managed to get a kitchen pass (husbands, you know what I’m talking about) and I’m heading west on I-70, ready to play.  The fact it was a low humidity 80 degree day with slight breezes (translation:  a perfect day for golf) made me that much more excited to play.

Musket Ridge did NOT disappoint.  I had not played it in several  years and from what I recalled, it was pretty open and “player friendly”.  While the appearance of “openness” still exists, the rough is, well rough, and grown up a bit so you should not hit it there or be prepared to deal with it.  I did manage to “test the rough” a few too many times to score well but hey, that’s golf!

The course itself was in superb shape.  The greens rolled fast and true.  They held shots well and although quick, they weren’t terribly quick – if you know what I mean!  One need for improvement was a few (and certainly not all) of the sand traps seemed to be missing a lot of sand and were hard packed…maybe the recent rainstorms had something to do with it but we’ll chalk it up to ongoing repairs.  Besides, aren’t you supposed to miss the traps?  I managed to get into a couple  of those traps and didn’t play so well getting out of them…alas, live and learn!  One thing I noticed and recalled from the last time I played there were the absolutely beautiful views everywhere.  The blue sky with several puffy white clouds only added to the beauty of this track on this day!

A couple of holes that I remember being extra fun to play are #9, an uphill par 5 which is a three shot hole and requires accuracy on your 1st two shots in order to have an uphill short iron approach and the following #10, downhill shorter par 5 which is reachable in 2 if you play it smart and avoid the left side bunker city – which I didn’t!  Another is #17, an uphill par 3 that normally requires a long iron to a fairly large green and I recall was always a challenging hole for me.

We had a wonderful day of golf as the pace of play was pretty good for a Saturday.  No real holdups and we noticed lots of ladies out playing.  Perhaps they were practicing for the upcoming Symetra Tour in Maryland.  What is the Symetra Tour?  Well it’s the official developmental tour of the LPGA and enters its 32nd competitive season in 2012.

The inaugural “Challenge at Musket Ridge” tournament, part of the LPGA’s Symetra Tour, will take place August 20-26, 2012. This event marks the only current women’s professional golf tournament in Maryland.  See details about the event, ways to get involved and more on the Challenge at Musket Ridge site.

Between now and then, go out and give Musket Ridge a play.  Tell them Lefty from Waggle.com sent you!  Make sure you have a nice cold beverage in their very comfortable bar facility after your round.  I know we surely enjoyed our day there and I believe you will too!

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top