Bulle Rock

[Jim Franklin]

I just played Bulle Rock and the course looks to be set up relatively easy for the women. It will certainly play hard as the rough is thick and the greens were slick, but the long holes will play short and the short holes will play long. Those long holes are a bear from the normal tees, but the women will be playing them so far up it was sad.

The Big Wiesy was out there practicing too. Boy, she has a nice swing.

[Jerry Kluger]

It does offer the option though of making it more difficult if they really start tearing it up in the first or second round.  I like the course and there is a great variety of short and long holes, uphill, downhill, sidehill, etc., and I can imagine that the greens will be tough if they are quick.

[Matt_Ward]

Jim:

Do you know what the total length will be for the Women's LPGA Championship?

It's a shame the course cannot be stretched just a tad for the ladies -- people may come away with the belief that Bulle Rock is a creme puff and that's far from the truth.

Jim -- what are your thoughts on the dog-leg right 9th hole. Some people see the hole as Pete Dye gone mad -- I like the hole to a degree but I can easily see the viewpoints of those who disagree.

[Martin Del Vecchio]

I got to play the 9th hole twice; once from the "back" tees, and once from the "championship" tees.

The first time, I hit a perfect drive, and had a wedge to the green.

The second time, I hit a decent drive, and had a 4-iron to the green.

I think it's safe to say that that green is more difficult to hit with a 4-iron than it is with a wedge.

PS  I hit both approach shots into the sand.

[PThomas]

I played there a few years ago...a nice course, but fairly difficult in the Dye fashion

[Dan Herrmann]

BR is certainly a very, very good golf course (although I prefer Beechtree about 4 miles south).  I like #2 a lot  - a wonderful par 5, and #9 is a pretty whimsical hole with its risk/reward.

We're heading down there next week to catch some LPGA golf.   From what I understand, parking will be at the Cal Ripkin baseball stadium up in Aberdeen.  

By the way, I've heard that the work at DuPont is going very well, and the course is supposed to be open in July.  A friend of mine who's a member there said many are sad that they don't have the LPGA anymore, but they're thrilled about the course reworking.

[Geoffrey Childs]

I truly loved Bulle Rock and I thnk its strategies are under appreciated due to everyone harping on difficulty.

There is plenty of room to play provided you play the correct set of tees and do not get suckered by Pete's demonic tricks.
The greens and greensites are wonderful as well.

I think too many on here tend to downplay difficult golf courses simply because they can't play them well or refuse to stay within their skill level when trying shots. That Does not mean the course is of less inherent merit!

I greatly prefer it to Beechtree even though I really liked Beechtree.

[mike_malone]

 Geoff,

   I agree! A friend of mine who has trouble hitting it 200 off the tee played the smart route all day long. I took the bold route. He beat me straight up even though I gave him six strokes.
      The risky route is hard to resist here.


    I think the combo of here and Beechtree is wonderful. If you throw out cost they provide equally enjoyable games.

[Jerry Kluger]

Geoff: I enjoyed Bulle Rock everytime I played it and I thought the 9th was an interesting risk/reward.  The trick is playing from the correct tees as it can be really enjoyable if you can play the holes as they were intended.  To tell you the truth, I did not think the par 3s were anywhere near the quality of the rest of the course, especially those on the front. There are some really strong par 4s including the 18th but if they play it too far forward, the teeth will be knocked out of the course and the scores could be very low.

[Billsteele]

I played Bulle Rock the Saturday before the Hidden Creek outing. In speaking with one of the assistant pros, he indicated that the course would play in the range of 6400-6500 yards for the LPGA event. I have to agree with Jerry re the par threes. Generally, I think Dye designs strong par threes but I thought the four at Bulle Rock were pretty pedestrian. I really liked #'s 2, 13, 14 and 18. But I must admit that I didn't "get" #9. I pushed my tee ball into the finger of fairway on the right and was "rewarded" by a shorter shot but one that was semi-blind (I could only see the top of the flag on a front pin location). It didn't seem like a great reward given the risk...although players who trust their swing and are accurate short iron players may disagree with me.

[Dan Herrmann]

Geoffery - the primary reason I prefer Beechtree is the significantly lower cost.

But as Mike said, both are a great deal of fun to play and make Harford County, MD a up and coming golf destination.  It's also very interesting to compare/contrast Dye with Doak here.

Both are very good courses!

[Jerry Kluger]

Bulle Rock had planned a second Dye course and a conference center but they abandoned the plan as they were not making it financially; I don't know what is happening now.  

[Tim Bert]

I was at Bulle Rock a few weeks ago, and the people there were telling me that they sold out on the second course and are instead putting up homes.

The day I play, the wind was blowing steady at about 25 and gusting up to 40.  The previous day it had rained a good bit, so we weren't getting much roll.  I played the back nine with a few guys that worked at the course and they said it was as tough as they had ever played it.  It would be nice to see the wind kick like that at the LPGA event next week.  It certainly gave the course an extra set of teeth (not that it needed it.)    

[Jim Franklin]

Matt -

I believe the course will be set up around 6500, but that's not the point. The tough holes are going to play easy, and the easy holes are going to play a little tougher, but not much. Sorry to take so long to respond, but I was in Denver where the Women's Open will be. I like the fact that they are making #18 a 465 par 4.

[Jim Franklin]

Matt -

Regarding #9, I really like the green complex and have no qualms with the finger fairway on the right. I can hit it fairly far, but have never tried that route since it would be such a short shot I could spin the ball. I would rather have the mid iron in. It is not my favorite hole there nor is it my least favorite. It is a shame they are making that course A LOT easier than it really is. I hope they move some of the tee boxes for some of the holes over the weekend.

[Matt_Ward]

Jim:

The funny thing is that the toughest set-up would only fit Annika's game better.

Bulle Rock should not be "dumbed-down" in order to fit the masses on the LPGA Tour.

P.S. Speaking of Denver -- I'm there now and will report on several of the newer courses that have opened -- namely Pradera by Jim Engh.

[Jim Franklin]

Matt -

Not to "thread jack" my own thread, but I just played Pradera yesterday. It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed some of his greensites. The tee on #16 is pretty interesting with a fantastic view. I think my tee shot stayed in the air about 15 seconds. I will be curious to hear your thoughts, but I had a lot of fun playing it. The other interesting bit (which you will experience, but after next week they won't) is that there are no yardages on the sprinkler heads or yardage books or pin sheets. You had to eyeball everything and maybe that's why I shot a 74 which could have been a 68 if I made any putts and didn't hit it in the gunch on 16.

[Tim Bert]

Did anyone see the tournament today?  Is it on TV, or just for the weekend?  It looks as if it wasn't playing too difficult today based on the scores I saw.

It was nice to see that they are playing the 11th at almost the 600 yard tips, even if they are playing some of the other holes up.  I read somewhere that it is the longest hole the women have ever played on the tour.

[Kyle Harris]

Stavros,

Interesting you mention lightning, someone got struck playing golf in no-so-far Avondale (not sure if it was Hartfeld or Loch Nairn or what, though).

[Geoffrey Childs]

Cory Lewis had warned me that it isnt really a golf course and he turned out to be right.  Nice turf conditions, good terrain, but probably the one of the worst designs I've ever seen.  

Stavros

Could you please provide some specifics about individual holes to justify calling Bulle Rock one of the worst designs I've seen.

I played there last year with Tony Pioppi and George Bahto and to a man we absolutely loved the course for its interest and strategies.  We watched all day as the group ahead of us attempted shots that so obviously suckered them into trouble that it was amusing. THere is plenty of room to play if you choose the correct set of tees and don't overstep your abilities.  The greens have interest for putting and short game possibilities as well.  

I plan to get back to Beachtree since I last played it with Ran but right now I prefer Bulle Rock.  Please tell me what Tony George and I missed?

[mike_malone]

 Geoff,
    Calm down; he is talking about another course.

[Geoffrey Childs]

Mike- My bad - I guess I need to learn how to read carefully.

My blood pressure is back in place- Thanks and sorry to Stavros

[Dan Herrmann]

Other than the quirky #15, the course impressed me today.  The course played extremely fair - rewarded good shots and really punished bad shots.  I just wish they played it a bit longer.

It's a pretty darn good leaderboard, and I suggest you try to catch some of the action on CBS this weekend.    Or, even better, take I-95 to MD-22 and see it in person.

They were handing out discount coupons to come back and play BR after the tournament.  A combination of BR and Beechtree would be a great weekend if you're coming in from out of the area.

After seeing the pros on the course today, I'm revising my opinion of BR upward.  Good job, Mr. Dye!

(PS - It's been a couple of years since I've been to a pro Tour event, and I forgot just how slow the players are on the greens.  No wonder the new slogan of the PGA TOUR is "These guys are slow!")

[Tommy Williamsen]

O have written about BR before.  I agree that it is a stong difficult course.  It just wasn't any fun.  I don't even know why I don't particularly like it.  The first time I played it I couldn't wait until the round was over.  I thought maybe I should give it another chance.  I still couldn't wait to get off the course.  I tried two more times and liked it less each time.
The course has some excellent holes and some holes like the cape 18th that Dye has built a hundred times.

Ron Whitten sang its praises the year it opened and the hype seems to still exist.