Detailed description of Swan Point Yacht & Country Club
Swan Point Yacht & Country Club, is a Semi-Private, 18 hole golf course located in Issue, Maryland.
Swan Point Yacht & Country Club started as a nine-hole golf course In 1988 golf course designer Bob Cupp, expanded and redesignd Swan Point. The course is reminiscent of courses found in the Carolinas. Maybe it’s because either water or marsh can come into play on 12 holes.
The signature hole is the par 5 No. 4 hole (520 from the back tees and 377 from the forward) with an island green. The entire left side of the fairway is guarded by a lake, and rather than taking a risky second shot over water with a fairway wood, most golfers lay-up and pitch over the lake to the island green with a short iron.
Another favorite par-5 on the front nine is No. 6 (571 yards from the back tees and 461 from the forward). Off the tee there are two bunkers guarding the left side. When you play your shot to the green, you’re aiming at a small elevated green surrounded by four deep bunkers.
Two of the more diff holes are the back-to-back par 3s on Nos. 11 and 12. No. 11, measures from 109 to 168 yards depending on the tee box. This hole is all carry over marsh to the smallest green on the course. On top of that, the green is surrounded by a wrap-around bunker that gathers all tee shots short, left, and long. The only place to miss here is to the right. Visually, this hole is very intimidating. No. 12 requires another carry off the tee to one of the larger greens on the course. However, this tee shot is considerably longer than played on the previous hole as no. 12 measures 235 yards from the back tees. The large green is two-tiered guarded by a bunker on the left. Left of the bunker is marsh.
No. 13, a par-4 measuring 373 yards from the back tees, has a forced carry over the marsh. A good tee shot is essential on this hole.
No. 18, is a par-4 that measures 345 yards from the back tees and 252 from the forward. Play your shot right of center off the tee. But be careful because a huge tee shot could reach the water on the right side. A well-bunkered green requires some accuracy as you make your approach shot.
Distances, ratings and slopes for Swan Point Yacht & Country Club: 6,859 yards (73.1/130), 6,454 yards (71.2/127), 6,001 yards (68.9/125), 5,579 yards (m: 67.2/118 w:72.1/125), 4,992 yards (69.3/116)
$41 (cart included), played on Tuesday, January 2009 at 10am
Played here for the first time on 1-13-09, a bleak and chilly day, with temps hovering around 40 and overcast, thus, did not get to experience the course at its best. Things were pretty soggy, so it was cart-path only, and there was zero roll on anything anywhere.
Having said that, the course was in decent shape for January. Fairways are bermuda, were all browned out. Only spots of green were either weeds or putting surface!
Course is very nice: excellent layout, fully utilizing all the architects bag of tricks on a very level piece of ground. Lots of mounding, bunkers, water, and some beautiful tall older trees. Some excellent vistas of the Potomac river, as well. Absent elevation change, the architect did a very nice job in making 18 unique holes, although he did do some wierd stuff: # 6 is a longish par 5, with water down the left on the first third, more water down the left between 150 and 30 yards out from a green which sits atop an inverted water glass (seriously, it is an inverted truncated cone about 15-18 feet tall, and one foot off the putting surface the surface drops away at a 60 degree angle, all the way around: maybe the architect was inspired by a volcano?), with huge bunkers surrounding it and disaster behind. Good luck getting a longer iron to hold on that puppy! Otherwise, it is a pretty cool course: tee boxes are large and flat(and there are at least three on every hole): fairways are fairly generous in the landing area, although a few neck down sharply near the green (#9 for instance); bunkers are many, and were a little rough, but hey, it IS January: greens were medium large, not too heavily contoured for the most part, and putted fairly true, if a little slow, but again, it IS January.
Course is walkable, with only a few long distances between green and tee. Pro shop is smallish, but seemed well stocked, and the one guy working was pleasant. The restaurant is not open on Monday and Tuesday. The course is easy to find, but it is a long way from anywhere.
I paid $43 with tax, which I thought was about $10 steep for this time of year, considering conditions and its remoteness. I do plan to go back and play it later in the year.
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$76 (cart included), played on Saturday, August 2011 at 8am
Have played this course several times this summer. The layout is like a "beach course" - very flat, lots of water. It is an attractive course. On Mondays and Tuesdays there are coupons which make it a great bargain. On Saturday I paid $89 which I thought was high but they did give a dozen Pro VI's included with the price. When we played late in August the greens were showing some fatique but were not bad. Earlier in the month the greens were good. The bermuda rough was a little over ball deep and we spent a lot of time trying to find balls in the rough, even close to the fairway. They nestle down where only the top of the ball is showing. All in all it's a nice course and I would recommend it to all levels of golfers.