Outstanding layout, fast greens at Waverly Woods
—Kevin Dunleavy
Washington Examiner

Par/Yardage/Rating/Slope:
72/7024/73.1/132
Course rating
Conditions: 5
Layout: 5
Facilities: 4
Value: 4
(Max rating: 5)

Description: Designed by Arthur Hills, 11-year-old Waverly features wide, playable landing areas and fast greens. Built on farmland, the course defies easy description. Housing developments are springing up around Waverly, spoiling some sight lines, but rarely encroaching on the course.

Reasons to play: Outstanding, thoughtful layout on rolling, varied piece  property. The 2002 Maryland course of the year might have the best greens on a public course in the Washington area. The bentgrass looks splotchy, but plays perfectly—hard, fast and true. Challenging for strong players, playable for high handicappers. Good location, near Ellicott City, one minute off Route 70.

Best hole: No.8, Par 5, 554 Yards, Long tree-lined hole, very attractive from tee. Fairway slopes downhill and to the right, giving players an opportunity to reach the green in two shots, acharacteristic of all of Waverly's par-five holes.

Preservation: A stone ruin, formerly a corn crib for the Waverly Plantation, was preserved and lies between the driving range and the 10th fairway.

Irish eyes: Notre Dame grads Tom Healy and Joe Hills (son of Waverly Woods' designer) build courses that are for golfers, putting more money in range and practice facilities than in the clubhouse. They also own the best public course in Montgomery County, Blue Mash, and are building a private course in Healy's hometown. Chicago Highlands, in the western suburbs, has enticing skyline views.

Friendly fairways: Landing areas are wide, but accuracy helps as taking the correct line will often propel balls further toward the hole to a level area. There aren't alot of bunkers at Waverly. Water is in play on only one hole. "In a lot of cases, it's the landforms that serve as hazards," says Healy.

Switcheroo: Waverly Woods' nines were flip-flopped. No. 18, formerly No.9, is a par-five that plays toward the clubhouse. Benign No. 10 used to be.the opening hole, now'replaced by four challenging holes to start.

Signature hole: No. 12, Par 4, 370 Yards. Waverly Woods' back nine is a thrill ride, full of elevation change and distinctive holes. No. 12 plays shorter than on the card. Reaching the fairway downslope will leave a wedge to the elevated green, framed beautifully by trees.

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Wonderful Waverly
—Bill Kamenjar
Washington Golf Monthly

Ah those lovely February "spring" days. You know, the ones where 70-degree temperatures strike from out of the blue. It's midweek and luck is on your

side because you and a few buddies had a hooky day previously scheduled. Suddenly you realize you've stumbled upon a unusually uncrowded golf course under glorious midseason weather conditions.

After the round is over and you retreat to the clubhouse, you feel vulnerable. It begins to sink in how deeply you missed the game after a long winter of hibernation. The last thing you need to hear is the starter say, "You want to play some more? It's unlimited today." The answer comes faster than an Arnold Palmer golf swing. Before you know it, your group is heading back out to the first tee. In truth, playing more than 18 holes your first round of the season can be a mistake, especially when you playa course like the Arthur Hills designed Waverly Woods in MarrionesviHe, Md. Waverly Woods is the kind of course that exposes the slightest of mistakes. If you tire a little bit, your early precision can turn into shots headed for a creek. If you haven't knocked off the rust yet, you'll find yourself with even tougher sidehill lies on the layout's rolling terrain. Either way, there ate no bargains to be had when trying to hit into Waverly's well-conditioned greens. Every hole at lhe layout has a way of making you think. Even though the course feels fairly airy and forgiving at times, you'll suddenly find yourself having to decide between a draw and a fade, a punch and a flop, a long iron and a fairway wood. Hills designed it that way, as he wanted to let the terrain dictate how the course should be attacked.

One thing that immediately stands out is that there are very few bunkers on the property. There are not a whole lot of quirky trees that get in the way either. That's because Hills felt that he did not want them to dominate the strategy of the holes. Instead he lets the natural features slow you down. Take the par-4 third, for instance. Although the right side looks like the way to go, only a well-struck bomb will clear the tall grass and stream that run straight down the right side as the fairway cuts across it from left to right. Play far left to a severely sloping hill and take your chances on how far the ball will end lip from the 150 marker. Distance control is critical on the approach shot, as the green slopes away from a steep hill on the right.

The brute of the layout is the 449-yard par-4 ninth hole. Wind usually hits you in the face, which means a long iron or wood into a small green protected by a bunker on the right front. The fairway does wrap around the left side of the green, giving you some bailout room there, but that leaves a chip shot over a hill onto a small ledge. Those factors alone make it one of the tOughest pars on the course. The back nine starts with a fun, short, downhill par 4 with plenty of room off the tee. It's another one of those give-and-take-away holes. You have to make sure you hit the approach shot deep enough onto the green because a false front can leave the ball rolling back to your feet. At 352 yards, however, there is good opportunity for birdie.

The 512-yard, par-5 11th hole can be another birdie opportunity, which you might need when you get to the 222-yard par-3 No. 13. An even tougher hole follows, as the par-4, No. 14 demands a well-struck drive down the right side to ensure staying out of the high stuffon the left. The 14th plays 460 yards from the tips, and distance control on the approach is critical on the two-tiered green. The closing hole is memorable in that it's a par 5 that is reachable with two really well struck balls by the longer hitters. A marshy area splits the first and second landing areas and the green is elevated all protected by a lot of bunkers. This does not bode well for players who like to run their balls up to the pin.

Played all the way back, Waverly Woods can be a monster at 7,024 yards. The two shatter options, 6,602 and 6,304, make the course very playable while still maintaining a big-league feel. In all, this diverse offering that winds around the grounds of the historic Waverly Mansion is well worth the visit. Just don't forget your in-season game. It won't let you easily find it if you happen to leave it behind.

-Bill Kamenjar