Risk / Reward Hole 9

Bulle Rock Golf Club:

Pete Dye’s Mid-Atlantic Champion Thoroughbred.

The U.S. Eastern Seaboard is ripe with centuries of history and more than a few notable world-class golf facilities. The town of Havre de Grace at the mouth of the Susquehanna River is one of those places that blends both history and outstanding golf together. The seaside city lies mid-way between Philadelphia and Baltimore and was nearly named the capitol of the U.S. during the initial congress held over 200 years ago. It is now home to a burgeoning suburban population that relishes the access to beautiful Chesapeake Bay and is home to one of Pete Dye’s most daunting designs.

Bulle Rock Golf Club opened for play in 1999. In keeping with the region’s rich history of gangsters and gambling, the course bears the moniker of the first thoroughbred race horse brought to America. The layout is routed over a very striking landscape of sharp hillsides and valleys. The elevation changes are stark in places and subtle, yet challenging in others. The course features over-sized greens with pronounced slopes defending par. A great blend of length and shot making finesse are required to navigate the routing making for a memorable Dye experience. Our shot makers selections represent both the demands of the course and the rewards it offers to those with a deft touch.

The final two holes on the front nine provide great opportunities for both the power hitters and finesse players alike. The par 5, 8th hole parallels the entry road to the clubhouse and is one of the rare holes not framed with trees. The fairway is a slight dogleg left from tee box with bunkers on either side that need to be avoided. A drive that splits the fairway will leave a downhill second shot into a green framed with a steep bank on the right and a fall off with a pair of greenside bunkers to the left. A layup will leave a downhill lie for the wedge shot. The daring player will execute their second with a fairway wood or hybrid as the shot of choice to run the ball close to the pin. The closing hole is a great example of a risk / reward design, mind you, only for the biggest of hitters. The dogleg right par 4, has a large pond between the tees and the green. The safer route is to play to the wide part of the fairway on the left of the water leaving a lengthy approach to the green. However the fun play is to take dead aim at the flag and hit your drive as hard as you can to attempt to clear the pond. A finger of fairway offers a shorter route to the target, but leaves an challenging uphill wedge shot over a fronting trap for your second shot.

The home nine has a fine collection of holes that test your nerve and skill. One of the most challenging is the 13th. The lengthy dogleg right  par 4 has a steep fall off into a creek bed that forms the inside corner of the hole. The fairway is slender at the corner so only the most accurate drive will find the short grass. Dye presents another option which allows shorter hitters to play safely short of the corner and to the wide landing area short of the green.  The 15th hole is the final par 5 hole and one that presents a host of options. The fairway plays straight away from the tees, but is interrupted, requiring careful distance control off the tee.  A decision must be made from where the drive ends. You will have to chose either a safer layup shot across the creek to your left leaving a wedge to the green, or a well-struck fairway wood or hybrid to carry the rough and creek taking dead aim at the pin. Two well played shots, can provide one of the few scoring opportunities on this exceptionally challenging routing.  

Many think of courses filled with  bold, wooden-faced water hazards and bunkers lined with railway ties when Pete Dye is mentioned. Neither of those design characteristics is central to this Mid-Atlantic beast. Dye embraced the landscape provided and used the elevation changes and subtle, natural water courses to full advantage. Bulle Rock is certainly one of Dye’s more challenging designs if the wrong tees are selected, however the routing does offer some creative and fun challenges should you play it forward where you should. Having hosted the LPGA Championship five times, this major-worthy facility is consistently ranked at the top of public-play courses in Maryland. With easy access from the I-95, a visit to Bulle Rock needs to be added to any trip itinerary should you find yourself driving along this historic corridor.