Deerfield G&TC

Wilmington/Newark, DE

www.deerfieldgolfclub.com/golfHome.cfm

Architects: William and David Gordon, 1955. Yardage: 6,323. Par: 70. Slope: 136.

'09 Greens Fees: $79 non-resident weekend ride, $73 @ 11:00, $66 @ 15:00, $70 weekday ride

Directions: From Wilmington, Del. via Kirkwood Highway
Take Kirkwood Highway
(Rt. 2 West) out of Wilmington
toward Newark and the
University of Delaware.
Take a right on Possum Park Road.
Continue straight crossing Paper Mill Road
at the Bank of America Building (Possum Park becomes Thompson Station Road.)
The entrance to Deerfield Golf & Tennis Club
will be about a mile down
Thompson Station Road on your left.

Golfweek's 2009 Greater Wilmington's Best Course You Can Play

T&L Golf Review: Play the wild elevation changes and tree-lined corridors of Deerfield Golf & Tennis Club in Newark, just west of Wilmington. Originally a satellite facility of DuPont Country Club, the course functioned for several years as the private reserve of MBNA executives until Bank of America swallowed the credit-card giant in 2005 and posted its interest elsewhere. That decision is paying off: These days Deerfield is a superb state-owned course.

Best Bar Nearby:  In Newark, Esquire digs Deer Park Tavern (108 W Main, www.deerparktavern.com).  This corner landmark has been around since 1851, and the three-story Victorian wrap-around porches give it a New-England-meets-Wild-West feel.  A sick menu of regional microbrews, try the house brew Taylor's Grog, made specially for Deer Park by local Twin Lakes Brewing.  Also a great selection of sandwiches, flat iron steaks, and marinated London Broil.

HIf you're headed back towards Wilmington/Philly, hit Wilmington's re-developed waterfront district for Iron Hill Brewery. Hand-crafted microbrews, and a full, varied menu (entree's $9-$18) featuring good wings, dynamite wood-oven pizzas, and ribs in a rootbeer-based BBQ sauce.

In downtown Wilmington, hit Zanzibar Blue Wilmington Jazz Club (1000 West St, ground floor of the Brandywine Bldg, 302-472-7000). An annex of Philly's most sophisticated jazz venue, which was named to the Top 100 Jazz Clubs in the country by Downbeat Magazine. Featuring international cuisine in a seperate dining area and attracting big name jazz acts, ZBW epitomizes cool. For clubbing, try 1206 (N. Union, 302-384-8781).

Wilmington isn't exactly Gentlemen's Club Central. With slim pickens in town, you might try Fantasia's Gold Club (@ I-495 & Rt 13, 302-428-8888, closed Sundays, www.thegoldclubs.com). But this place is something of an enigma. Despite being a cavernous space, recently remodeled, with multiple plasma TVs, new furniture, bouncers in tux vests with headsets, and the whole nine, there was a glaring lack of talent for a place this big and this close to Philly. There were maybe two dancers out of 9 that had anything larger than an "A's", and one of the two must've been tipping in at close to 200. The other 7 looked like crackheads. There were maybe two halfway-hot dancers in the joint, and this was on a Saturday night. The tunes were half great/half awful, one minute they'd be playing Disturbed, the next it was Kool & The Gang. Virtually no crowd on a Saturday night, whether that's a cause or a result of the lack of talent, who knows. Maybe try the Wednesday night amateur contest, the talent may be better. Or hit Hak's Sports Club Go-Go Restaurant & Lounge (1050 S. Market, 302-655-8515). The name of this joint is a mouthful, but the talent is a slight upgrade from the Gold Club, plus it's right across the street. However, Hak's has basement-ish décor, bad service, and tame hands-off couch dances under watchful supervision. Their Saturday car washes featuring the club's dancers might be worth a post-round visit.

In the suburbs, Stanley’s Tavern (2038 Foulk Rd, N. Wilmington, 302-475-1887, 52 to 141N, L onto Foulk Rd) won Best Of Delaware Wings, although they're lightly breaded and just OK in The Kid's book.

For hotspots, check out regional weekly rag Spark (www.sparkweekly.com).

Where To Grub: Head for Wilmington's waterfront district. For midscale, head for Joe's Crab Shack, and be sure to order the crab dip as an app. For upscale seafood, Harry's Seafood Grill, or C.W. Harborside (www.cwharborside.com, West St) for seafood, steak, and chops (entrées $9-$39). Timothy's On The Waterfront house specialty is BBQ ribs. Their hot wings are doused in Tabasco only, kinda borderline stupid hot. Decent weekend crowds with DJs, outdoor dining weather permitting.

Downtown: Best Of DE Critics Choice Upstate for crabs: Rossi’s (4th & Lincoln) serves huge crabs year-round. One is a meal. Upscale dining at Moro (1307 N Scott St, 302-777-1800, www.mororestaurant.com), or Deep Blue Bar & Grill (111 W. 11th St, 302-777-2040).

Suburbs: For some tasty Southern Italian, Lamberti's Cucina (1300 Centerville Rd & 514 Wilmington Pike; 95 N Exit 9 Marsh Rd, Right? off ramp, 3 lights, make left @ 3rd light, restaurant on right). Harry's Savoy Grill (2020 Naaman's Rd, 302-475-3000, www.harrys-savoy.com) does sophisticated quality food with a slightly masculine slant and without too much pretension. Order the house specialty prime rib. Wilmington's best cheesesteaks can be found just north of town in Claymont DE at Claymont Steaks (Rt. 13). A small is almost more than you can eat.

Further Diversions: Wilmington's Blue Rocks baseball club on the Riverfront epitomizes all that is good about minor league ball: up and coming talent that hustles, a great family-friendly stadium (just a wedge from I-95) that's so clean you can run around barefoot, $2 hotdogs, and best of all, $3 beers. Check the home schedule at www.bluerocks.com.