Bulle Rock GC
Havre De Grace, MD (about 30-45 minutes north of Baltimore, 30 minutes south of Wilmington DE)
1999, Pete Dye
From Wilmington DE & Points North: Take 95 SOUTH
EXIT 89 Havre De Grace
LEFT off ramp
RT. 155 EAST
2.2 mi.
Stay in Right hand lane when road splits for 155 & Rt. 40
RIGHT @ light onto RT. 40 WEST
1.9 mi.
Just after Aero Fuels, course on right
'10 Fees: $125 (down $40 from 5 years ago)
12/1-3/31 $79
#26 on Golf Magazine 2008 Top 100 You Can Play
#9 Golf World 2008 Reader's Choice poll
Fat Guy Notes: Per everybody: Newish Pete Dye design ('99). Supposedly phenominal, generally regarded as best public track in MD/DE/SE PA/S.NJ area. I've heard it mentioned in same sentence with Pinehurst and Pebble Beach. Now home of an LPGA major (McDonald's Classic, fomerly hosted by E.I. Dupont CC). If you're liquid, definitely book a time.
Golf Magazine Course Spy: Bulle Rock Golf Club
Published: July 01, 2008
Bulle Rock Golf Club Havre De Grace, Md. 7,375 yards, par 72 Green fees: $150 410-939-8887, www.bullerockgolf.com
SERVICE: You haven't seen this many guys approach your car since the deluxe wax treatment at the car wash. Unfortunately, service in the clubhouse was almost nonexistent. We had to ask the hostess in an empty dining room to find the bartender.
PACE OF PLAY: The course was pretty clear, and when one group caused a holdup, a ranger was there right away, and we never waited again. That said, this is a demanding course, so expect a four-hours-plus round.
QUALITY: Bulle Rock is ranked No. 26 on Golf Magazine's Top 100 Courses You Can Play, and it delivers that quality. Knee-knocking tee shots, small greens and brutal rough made us feel like we were playing in a major.
VALUE: Anytime you spend more than $50 on a course, it's an expensive day, but Bulle Rock delivers. The course doesn't jack up the rate on weekends, either, so you won't need to take a day off from work — unless you want to.
VERDICT: This has to make the must-play list for anyone who lives near Baltimore, Philly or Washington, all less than two hours away. Bulle Rock is not a destination resort, but it's worth a detour if you're visiting the Chesapeake Bay region.
Where To Booze & Grub: Silks Restaurant on premisis goes for a casual elegance vibe, with upscale selections from a varied menu. For lunch, grab a $4 beer, the lobster bisque, and something on a bun; it's tough to choose between the crab cake and brisket sandwiches or the 1/2 lb. burger. For dinner, start with a Washington Apple or Swamp Water martini ($8) and the crab & lobster pretzel app, then for an entree go for the house specialty Shrimp Cassandra, or try the Santa Fe Chicken, the Surf & Turf, or the ribs.
For something with more local flavor, drive 5 miles to nearby Aberdeen, where AAA Magazine recommends Gabler's Shore Restaurant (2200 Perryman Rd., Aberdeen, 410-272-0626, www.bluecrab.com , only open through Sept?). On the shore of the Bush River, named Best Crabs by Baltimore Magazine in 2000, '97, '95, '93, '92, '89. Summer vacation feel & amazing crabs. Reservations recommended. Or, my buddy Mike C. recommends the Italian food at Olive Tree. Try the fettucinni in wine sauce.
From the website: "Many players at our course wonder where we got our name – Bulle Rock.
The name goes back to the 1730s when James Samuel Patton brought to this continent, Bulle Rock, a stud horse that would become known in history as The Father of All Thoroughbred Horses in America.
Some years later, Patton’s granddaughter, Cassandra Durbin, received a male colt from that same bloodline as part of her dowry when she married Richard Sappington, owner of Blenheim Stud Farm in northern Maryland – the site where our course is now located. Cassandra’s colt was named in honor of her grandfather’s stud – Bulle Rock.
And so when Blenheim Farm became a golf club, the legendary horse’s name seemed a perfect choice for a legendary course.
Per Richard Rounsaville, General Manager at Bulle Rock, "Both nines start the same way at Bulle Rock with medium-length par-4s that are a dogleg left. No. 1 gets you into the flow of the course with views of Chesapeake Bay in the distance, while No. 9 has you looking at a lake. The second hole is where Pete Dye really hits you in face. He knocks you in the eyes as to what’s ahead.
No. 2 hole is a long par-5 (572 yards from the back tees and 459 from the forward), a stunning golf hole. You tee off from the top of a hill into a valley with trees on both sides. There’s great bunkering and a huge rock wall.
You’re ready for a change of length and scenery when you reach the par-3 No. 3, a slight downhill hole that measures 177 yards from the back tees and 121 from the forward. To reach this picturesque green framed by a beautiful grove of trees you have to go right. The big problem is an array of five bunkers on the left and a pot bunker in the front.
No. 5, a par-4 that measures 483 yards from the back tees and 355 from the forward, is one of the toughest holes on the course. It’s a big sweeping uphill dogleg left that you will find just a bear because of the prevailing wind.
One of the scenic favorites is the long par-4 No. 13 (476 yards from the back tees and 380 from the forward), a 90-degree dogleg right. There’s a huge ravine to the right of your landing area that you can’t see from the tee, In that ravine lie the rugged ruins of an old stone house.
The par-3 No. 17 is rated as the easiest hole on the course, but even so called “easy” can be a test here. Make sure to take an extra club to avoid the bunker that can threaten your tee shot. This hole plays 194 yards from the back tees and 122 from the forward.
No. 18 is one of the best finishing holes you’ll ever play. Pete Dye called it the toughest finishing hole he ever built. Here you have to brave a lake that runs along the entire left side of the fairway on this par-4 that measures 485 yards from the back and 345 from the forward."