Wilmington CC (South & North Courses) (Private)
Wilmington, DE
South Course #4
1960, Robert Trent Jones
With Wilmington Delaware being the long-time home of the DuPont family, it's no surprise that a place like Wilmington Country Club comes with a history and pedigree. The club evolved from the Delaware Cricket Club (formed in 1882), which begat the Delaware Field Club (circa 1885), several members of which formed Wilmington Country Club in 1901 (with 12 DuPonts on the original roster), and thrived for 60 years at a location near Wilmington's current-day Tower School (part of the original golf course eventually became a Wilmington municipal course now known as Porky Oliver's). In 1960 the club moved to it's current site on Route 52 and built two courses designed by Robert Trent Jones. The land was formerly made up of three farms (some of the old fieldstone walls that seperated the fields are still intact) and was partially routed over land adjoining Henry Francis DuPont's Winterthur estate. The South Course hosted the 1971 U.S. Amateur, won by Canadian Gary Cowan when he holed out an improbable 130-yard 9-iron from deep in the trees on the final hole of the then-stroke-play event, to win by three.
Fat Guy Update, 2011: First of all, this place is the dream we all dream of. The stone-gated entrance with a sign so sublte it's easy to drive right by. The long tree-lined entrance drive. Two unbelievable classic golf courses, great conditions, first-class clubhouse and facilities. The short game complex is jaw-dropping and looks like it belongs at a TPC course. The range is awesome and even has a winterized teaching barn on the far end.
North Course: The North is somewhat more playable and shorter than the South, although a hair tighter off the tee, but still with the same great conditions and classic lines.
South Course: The South has wider fairways than the North, with more contours to the greens, and more strategic water hazards. Definitely the longer and tougher of the two. #3-#5 is Wilmington CC's version of Amen Corner. These three tricky water carry holes are lurking to wreck your round early. #3's rolling elevation changes and water carry approach from a downhill lie over a large pond are vaguely reminiscient of the 15th at Augusta. The short par-3 4th has a two-tiered pond tucked right up against the green, as does the short approach on the dogleg par-4 5th. If you can get through that stretch dry, all that's waiting for you is more great classic holes with a premium on long uphill approaches. In 2009, the club pulled out Jones' original course drawings and spent $4.5 million on a Keith Foster restoration (Foster designed The Quarry in San Antonio among others, and has also done restorations at Colonial, Southern Hills, CC of Detroit, and Philadelphia Cricket) that added bunker complexes and removed upwards of 500 trees, which reopened sight lines, widened tee ball lanes, reduced water usage, and improved turf conditions in shady areas.
Fat Guy Review, 1999: SOUTH COURSE
The best course in the state of DE. A truly classic design with great use of rolling elevation changes. Built on part of a former DuPont estate. Well bunkered but never ridiculous, plays long from the Whites. The layout places a premium on long- and mid-iron uphill approaches. Great conditions. The testy greens are quick but roll true, with lots of subtle undulations. They can occasionally break opposite your initial read, so look at your putts here from all 4 sides. Great clubhouse and staff. Rating: 9
Best Bar Nearby: The grill room on-premisis has views overlooking the course and a nice 8 seater Mahoghany bar. Order the snapper soup, ranked among the top 10 in the country.
Outside the club, Buckley's Tavern a couple miles North on 52 is a cozy, preppy little spot with a nice dining room, alfresco Summer dining on the roof, and always a friendly soul sitting at the bar. The bar is casual, but the dining room does have a dress code ("Proper Attire Required", whatever that means, I think basically it's no hats, tank tops, or cutoffs). Decent classic hot wings and tasty quesadillas top a mostly Southern-inspired menu. A nicely mixed crowd, and a very popular spot with the local Blue Bloods (sometimes even parking is a problem), so call ahead for reservations, go for a late dinner, or be prepared to wait for a stool or table at the bar. Check out their Sunday Pajama Brunch (1/2 price if you come still dressed in your PJs).
Or head for Wilmington's re-developed waterfront district and hit 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.
Esquire digs Wilmington's Dead Presidents Pub & Eatery. "If you're visiting Wilmington (and who wouldn't be?), the bartenders at this laid-back Irish pub in Little Italy are going to know it, because they'll have no idea what to pour you. But if you ever come back, your drink'll be at the bar before you are. (618 North Union Street; 302-652-7737). You're having: Chicken Nixon and a Yuengling." They also like Kelly's Logan House (www.loganhouse.com). "Kelly's Logan House has a history of hosting legendary bad-asses: Al Capone. "Wild Bill" Hickok. Former heavyweight boxing champion John L. Sullivan. Things have settled down a bit since the bar opened more than 143 years ago in the Trolley Square section of the city, but it still gets plenty rowdy in here on the weekends with eager coeds. There are two outdoor decks, one at the front of the house; another in the back, plus an upstairs floor where the local bands play and a packed dance floor downstairs, where you'll find a DJ spinning old and new hip-hop and club hits."
In downtown Wilmington, you'd be hard pressed to find a more classic place to belly up for an old school cocktail than the lobby bar at the Hotel DuPont. Then 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).
To my knowledge, there are only 4 Gentlemen's clubs in the entire state of Delaware, but 2 of the 4 are right across the street from each other here in Wilmington. 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 2 dancers out of 9 that had anything larger than an "A's", and one of those 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 their 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-like 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 if your car is as dirty as your mind.
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 Fat Guy'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 cheesesteak 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.